An Exchange Student Experience in Japan | Lifestyles

For most of us, some of the most memorable highlights of life happen when going on vacation to a foreign country. And it makes total sense: for a moment, you no longer have to worry about work every day, you can spend your time going to unbelievably scenic places, eat food without knowing what it’s called, and learn more about the world in the most real, tangible way of doing so. I also think, especially when it comes to traveling to a place that doesn’t speak your language, that you almost feel like you’re having the rare experience of reliving your childhood again. All of a sudden, there’s so much around you that you don’t understand, and behind every action you take, you’re forced to accept a lot of uncertainty about how things will go. In order to adapt quickly, it takes being as open-minded about everything around you as possible, but from this, relearning to be able to handle even the most normal tasks can feel incredible. 

From the very first day you’re in another country, I certainly believe everyone goes through this. But getting to the point where you can become good friends with people, understand how natives go about day-to-day life (like paying bills and going to see the doctor), and understand the common reasoning behind many situations takes a lot of time and willpower. And it just doesn’t seem possible to learn these sorts of things well in a relatively short time span. I feel you have to settle down for a little while, probably at least for several months to a year.  

So, when I learned about one of my friends’ experiences of studying abroad in Japan and that there were a good handful of exchange programs available at my university, I started to do some research. I ended up finding a program in Nagoya, Japan, and am more than thankful to say that I have been residing here for the past eight months! I originally anticipated staying for one semester, but I extended my stay to another, and at this point, it’s about midterm season and I have it in my mind that I will be going home sometime soon. But I think from all of the experiences I’ve had up until this point, I have plenty of advice which I would like to get across for both vacationers, and people looking to live in this wonderfully unique country as a foreigner.  

Very briefly, Japan is a mountainous island nation with not a lot of flat, usable land for major cities and farming. Quite often, they get hit with strong earthquakes among other disasters, which they rebuild from as quickly as possible. Coming from a technologically disadvantaged feudal era before the 20th century, they saw other countries being subjected to Western powers and miraculously found a way to unify. Old power structures were replaced, and they adopted many Western practices, which helped the country rapidly “catch up.” This eventually led to a period of imperialism and strong nationalism, ending in Japan’s entry and defeat in the Second World War. Afterward, however, during American occupation, more political and social reformations helped lead the country to its status as a major economic world power, and the atmosphere of the country changed entirely. However, due to an economic collapse in the 1990s, which was hard to recover from due to a series of unfortunate events, the economy has been in a continuing recession, with its Yen currency still decreasing against the American dollar. Post-Covid, Japan has increasingly become a sought-after tourist destination, especially as anyone with a stronger currency is able to afford much more over here. Due to this and the country generally having lots of beautiful sights to see, a large boom in tourism has formed. 

In preparation for moving over here, I took a very basic Japanese course at my university to speak the language a bit better. However, in the age of information, it’s quite easy to find a lot of good resources online, and this has by far made up the bulk of my studying. Japan is a country pretty well known for its arts and media as well, so there are plenty of interesting stories to read at every level, and in my opinion, reading things for enjoyment makes spending time in language learning a lot less stressful and easier to do (versus only trying to get through textbooks). If you’re planning on spending a lot of time over here, I recommend studying in this way. Some of the best English learners also go about things in a similar fashion.  

However, if you don’t have much time to dedicate to learning the language, I still strongly recommend at least learning just a few basic words and phrases and courtesies to get around if you’re over here. While there’s still a lot of English signage, social expectations are also quite different as people try to be very polite with one another. For that reason, being able to appropriately say “thank you” (arigatougozaimasu), “excuse me” (sumimasen), or basic numbers can help make getting around a lot less stressful, and you will be more appreciated as a visitor. 

With that said, I still came here with a relatively basic knowledge of Japanese. I still have been continuing with language classes here, but it’s been by reading and trying to make sense of books, Wikipedia articles, random signs, and through talking with natives, which has helped me improve my Japanese ability the most. Actively trying to find groups of people with similar interests can also make it very easy and fun to speak with people, and putting in an effort to spend time with them as much as you can will help you speak and listen much more fluently. Not being fearful of embarrassment and trying to focus on getting information across instead of speaking accurately has also been crucial for this. For me, getting to know people has probably also been the most fulfilling part of my experience as well, and the long trips I’ve made with my friends have also been my most memorable. Things get very interesting once you’re able to start to discover similarities in people, too, in a country that seems very different from the US. I believe the biggest reason why I extended my stay was for the people I met, after all. 

As for other important things to know, you should probably be aware that Japan mostly uses cash, instead of credit/debit cards, for the vast majority of transactions (even for things like rent). That said, you don’t necessarily need to take out too much at a currency exchange before coming here since most convenience stores (called “conbinis”) accept foreign cards at their ATMs. You get the most from your money in this way, in my opinion, in regard to the exchange rates. Japan also has a very extensive passenger rail network, which can be very easily used by getting an “IC card” that can be tapped at ticket gates versus having to buy physical tickets. Fares are simply calculated from where you entered and exited the system, and any type of card works countrywide, even on the buses, too. 

The transportation network really is amazing. Train departure times are down to the second on the largest bullet train lines, and it’s very rare for something to be delayed for more than a few minutes, if at all. Google Maps also works very well for transit planning, however you still need to look at signs as sometimes the app might get train platform numbers wrong. For going to rural areas where less service is available, bringing extra cash and looking at timetables before leaving is advisable, as it’s still possible to get stuck somewhere or end up having to wait a few hours until the next train. Always make sure to check when the last trains are if you’re traveling a long distance. 

Japan also has lots of historic Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples all over the country. Many places are UNESCO World Heritage sites as well, though there are even things worth seeing in the much more spread out suburban-ish areas. With it being easy to travel, you can find something to do in every prefecture.  

It’s definitely been a very fulfilling experience to stay here for this long. I’m glad that I can share what I find to be the most wonderful and worthwhile experiences and help other people put this country on their travel radar. If you’re able to decide on spending a while abroad, Japan just might be one of the best places to do it.