Question for current Monbukagakusho's

I will begin studying as a monbukagakusho scholar this fall, though I have not yet been informed at what university.

Currently I am living in Japan, in an apartment where I have been living for two years. However I will soon be moving back to America for the two months before the scholarship begins.

My problem is that I have a lot of great (or average but useful) stuff in my apartment now, and ideally I would like to be able to use that stuff at my new monbukagakusho apartment instead of buying new stuff. My plan is to pack it in suitcases which I will leave with friends, who will then black cat it to me once I have arrived at my monbu apartment.

However, I am unlikely to know the specifications of my living arrangements before leaving Japan, making it difficult to know what to pack.

Thus my question: what items have you had to purchase for your apartment/dorm room here? What items were included with it?

Any advice you could give me about what I should have sent ahead (TV? rice cooker? nice lamps? nice rug? silverware/plates? vcr?) would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

I'm going on a Monbushogakusho this fall too.

I'll be studying at Kyushu University. What your accomodations are like probably varies from university to university. For what it is worth though you can see what Kyushu's international student rooms are like and what they come equipped with here:

http://ish.gozaru.jp/ISH_HP(English)/home.htm

Guarantee: Small.

Not Guaraneed: How Small.

From my previous experience at Akita U, Tokyo U, and Fukui U, you will get a bed, a desk, and maybe a kitchen and bath.

Your room will be between 12'x10' and 12'x15' (including kitchen and bath). There will likely not be a lot of space after the bed and desk are in there.

Keep what you absolutely need, liquidate the rest. You can get what you need later again without much difficulty.

Nall-ohki said:

Guarantee: Small.

Not Guaraneed: How Small.

From my previous experience at Akita U, Tokyo U, and Fukui U, you will get a bed, a desk, and maybe a kitchen and bath.

Your room will be between 12'x10' and 12'x15' (including kitchen and bath). There will likely not be a lot of space after the bed and desk are in there.

Keep what you absolutely need, liquidate the rest. You can get what you need later again without much difficulty.

Click to expand...

Yeah but liquidation in Japan = giving everything away and I don't want to spend a few hundred dollars in two months to buy the same things I just threw away.

You actually had a kitchen in your own apartment? It wasnt a shared kitchen?

Charles Barkley said:

Yeah but liquidation in Japan = giving everything away and I don't want to spend a few hundred dollars in two months to buy the same things I just threw away.
You actually had a kitchen in your own apartment? It wasnt a shared kitchen?

Click to expand...

Yeah, but you have to realize the following:

My room came with 4 things:
- Kitchenette w/ sink and 2 burners.
- 1 twin bed
- 1 desk
- 1 pre-fab bathroom

ALL of these took up equal room, and the only thing else in the room was a very narrow walkway between them (room was about 10'x12' including kitchenette and bathroom)

Our place was brand new and was the only dorm that had individual restrooms/kitchenettes.

I don't actually intend on bringing any furniture. I will be getting rid of most of my stuff--I just don't plan on liquidating EVERYTHING. I wont bring anything that would take up space in the apartment; just peripherals that I would stuff in two large duffel bags and have shipped to me. My question is mainly about appliances, lighting, etc.

Did you end up buying a ricecooker? Any lighting (lamps)? A rug? Blankets? Silverware?

Could you borrow vacuum from where you lived?

Charles Barkley said:

I don't actually intend on bringing any furniture. I will be getting rid of most of my stuff--I just don't plan on liquidating EVERYTHING. I wont bring anything that would take up space in the apartment; just peripherals that I would stuff in two large duffel bags and have shipped to me. My question is mainly about appliances, lighting, etc.
Did you end up buying a ricecooker? Any lighting (lamps)? A rug? Blankets? Silverware?
Could you borrow vacuum from where you lived?

Click to expand...

In my place:

- Lighting was provided.
- Rice cooker was not provided (but it was in the other dorm nearby)
- Blanket and sheets were not provided
- Ricecooker was not provided (but were generally left for you by previous owners in the other dorm - I was the first one to inhabit my room)
- Vacuum was available in the dorm, but almost unneeded - there was very little floor

I live in a "unit" with 8 rooms with a common kitchen. Each of us were given our own set of dishes (cup, bowl, a couple different types of plates, silverware, reusable chopsticks) and we were provided with some pots and pans for the kitchen.
I hardly ever use the kitchen myself, anyway.. I eat light (fruit and yogurt) in the morning, have lunch at the school cafeteria, and I eat a combination of raw veggies and microwaveable or very simple stovetop crap (no cup noodles or top ramen, though, that stuff is terrible!) for dinner a lot of the time because I don't like cooking and cleaning up after my mess.

I will have to move out of this place after 1 year, so I'll eventually have to resupply myself with everything, but I don't mind, I'll only get what I am going to use, which might not be much.

I had to get a pillow, because the one that was provided was way too small and not of the right consistency for sleeping on, if that makes any sense. Needs to be the right combination of soft, yet firm.
I needed to get shirt hangers which I use to hang my stuff out to dry and keep it in the closet, but I got them in packs at the 100-yen store.
I might get a light blanket, the two they gave me are too thick for summer.. and maybe a new futon, the bed situation sucks. We have a bed that is like a thin set of wood planks, and it's very creaky when I roll around, and on occasion it makes my neck or back stiff. Honestly the futon straight on the floor would be much better. A second futon on top might alleviate the situation some, and I'll need an extra for when I move out anyway.

Honestly I would not recommend taking too much stuff, the little kitchen items and toiletries are cheap at Daiso and such, IMO it is worth saving the hassle of hauling a bunch of stuff.

Oh yeah you're already here in Japan. Hmm. That is a bit of a different story...

I'd say have your friends keep whatever you think you might need, and if you end up not needing something, you can toss it or give it away or whatever.