slew of questions regarding living in Japan (study abroad)

[shiningblue]

hello everyone, I have gotten the opportunity to live in Japan for five weeks to study at Aichi Prefactural University. However, there are many questions that I have regarding my stay there. I realize that some of these questions might have been covered in previous threads, so please link them to me if possible. Thanks a lot!

1) I want to bring my labtop with me to Japan, I realize that the AC power should work well since West of Tokyo runs on the same current as the US. However, I am worried about the internet connection that I can get. I will be staying at the dormatory for the week and doing home stay during a few of the weekends. Will I be able to connect? Will I have to pay?

2)Since I am home staying a few of the weekends is there any gifts I should consider bringing to these families? Any suggestions?

3) What, in your opinion, would be the cheapest way to call back to the states (Florida). Rent a cell phone, cards, or pay phones, or maybe something else?

4) Is there anything to do in Nagakute/Nagoya (besides the Expo, of course) that a college student would enjoy?

5) Any other major cultural things that most people wont realize unless they have lived there?

Okay thanks a lot, and there should really be a sticky topic regarding this stuff since this topic or issues regarding things like this seem to come up often.

 

[Numark]

hmmm... 2) I would definately suggest bringing something from your hometown. Something that no Japanese person would be able to get otherwise. For example, chocolate from your local chocolate shop, a photography book about your area (I am from minneapolis so I brought a book that had pictures of the city and sculpture garden) ummm... yeah anything thats cool from your area.

3) you can get phone cards for dirt cheap. I think there is a really cheap one called the Filipino card. Renting a cell phone for 5 weeks would be really expensive.

5) theres a ton of stuff in this category, but one thing I noticed is Japan has a ton of rules. and you don't usually know about them until you break one. (You will do something and someone will say "whoa you can't do that!!" and you'll be like, "why not?" and they'll be all like "YOU JUST CAN'T!!!!"

Its way past my bedtime but I hope that helps at least a little.

 

[ichneumon-san]

how did u go about getting that placement by the way? what are u studying? did u go through your university?

 

[shiningblue]

thanks for the advice Numark, how would one go about obtaining a "Filipino Card?" i know of a few filipino bakeries in my area that sell phone cards, but not quite sure if they are international or what not.

ichneumon - i am going to Japan through a study abroad program in FIU (florida international university, in miami) I am currently enrolled at UCF (university of central florida, orlando), so I am in the process of filling out many transient forms to transfer credits and registering for classes in another school, etc. Many schools offer study abroad programs for either the long term (1 year) or short term (a few weeks). At least in America, you can look at other state schools and see if there is a program that you want to do and apply for it, for the one I am going to do, there was no special experience required, even if you didn't know any Japanese. Just make sure to know the rules of both schools before signing up so you don't screw yourself over (ie, at UCF you need 30 hours -> 1 year of credits after being transient). Oh yeah, while I am there I'll be taking an intermediate Japanese language course and a Culture course (not sure if either or both will be in Japanese).

 

[MeAndroo]

If the university you're studying at is worth its salt, they'll have a computer lab with broadband and an additional area for you to plug your notebook into their network. I wasn't aware of the currency being the same in the US and the area west of Tokyo, so I ended up buying an adapter for a few bucks. As far as the host families, some people have broadband in the home, but I wouldn't assume they all do.

I used the Brastel card to call home. It's pretty cheap and you can get them at any convenience store, and add additional minutes there as well. Look for a yellow and blue package.

For the unusual cultural stuff you don't know unless you live there...isn't that half the fun?

 

[PaulTB]

For the unusual cultural stuff you don't know unless you live there...isn't that half the fun?

Sure ... until you walk out of the toilet at a friends house still wearing the 'bathroom' slippers and have to commit ritual suicide by embarrassment.

 

[Numark]

The phone cards in Japan just have random names sometimes, and I've heard about one called the filipino card that is really cheap, but have never seen one. I just bought an international calling card in the US before I left.

 

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Nagakute/Nagoya :The site of a map and local information retrieval
http://map.biglobe.ne.jp/cgi-bin/se...1&grp=biglobe&el=137/3/06.332&nl=35/10/51.251

 

[shiningblue]

thanks guys, I think that the school will have the computer jacks in designated areas, but I am worried that the dorms that I am staying will not have it. Anybody else willing to enlighten me?

Looks like I'll go with the phone cards in Japan as well. Hopefully I can find some relatively cheap ones there.

As for the particular cultural things, I just don't want to embarass myself the first day there or make a bad impression or whatever on my teacher or the host family that I'll have to be with for much of the time that I am there.

Thanks again!

 

[Iron Chef]

"4) Is there anything to do in Nagakute/Nagoya (besides the Expo, of course) that a college student would enjoy?"

Nagoya is a pretty industrial city with few sightseeing attractions imho. There is Nagoyo castle which is located within the city proper and well-worth seeing but that is only a half-day at best. You might want to check out the Sakae and Fushimi areas as they are pretty popular nightspots that cater to lots of different tastes. In and around Oasis 21 is a nice starting point to explore what Sakae has to offer (reminiscent of Sapporo's Susukino but on a smaller scale). Osu Kannon temple is also a decent enough attraction if you're in the area and you can also check out the Osu shopping district which is home to some 600 different pawn, recycle/secondhand, toys, game, CD/DVD, electronics shops not to mention a slew of affordable ethnic eateries (Mexican, Brazilian, Chinese, All-vegetarian, etc.). Nagoya port might also pique your interest but I found it to be a bit blah... Anyways, I lived in Nagoya proper for over a year (next to Nagoya Dome) so let me know if you have any questions about specifics you think might be interesting. Have fun!

 

[Pachipro]

shiningblue: you can rent a phone for about $2/day and call back to the states for $0.90-$1.60 a minute depending on the plan you select. It's excellent for short term visitors like yourself. Check out this site for more info:

My Site

Most of all, enjoy your stay! It'll be a memoriable experience for you.

 

[Lazaro]

I'dl ike to bump this discussion up because I'm going on this trip with Shiningblue, and I'd like to ask a few questions.

How much would a train ride cost from Aichi Prefectural University to Nagoya? How long do you think this train ride take? Finally how late do the trains run?

How much money do you think I would need to take with me to eat for 40 days?

That's all for now thank you

 

[MeAndroo]

Trains usually stop running around midnight-1:30 am or so, the shorter the trip, the later the train runs...if you're talking about a good long train ride, plan ahead so you don't get stuck at some random station. I'm not sure how much it would be from Nagoya to Aichi, but

a quick search found this

If you'll be traveling a lot in a short time, but want to take the scenic route, aka no shinkansen, consider seisshun juuhachi kippu. It was 12000 yen when I was there, and you get 5-24 hour all you can ride tickets. The catch is you have to use them up by within 2 weeks of using the first.

As far as food money, it all depends on how you want to live. If you're like me, you go out a lot and like trying random stuff. The times when I wasn't doing homestay, I'd spend a couple of bucks for breakfast, maybe some bread or onigiri and a drink, like 6 bucks on a lunch deal somewhere, then 8-12 on dinner. Of course, you can always cut back by eating convenience store food or fast food. I found the best way to save money and still go someplace nice is to pick up those free coupon books they distribute at some major train stations. I can't remember what they're called, but they're colored by season, and have TONS of deals on stuff you might otherwise spend a fortune on, like tabehoudai yakiniku, shabu shabu, sukiyaki and the like.