IES Abroad Tokyo

Overall, I had a very rewarding experience during my time with IES. What was great to me about IES was the fact that teachers wanted to make sure you learned while also giving you the chance to explore Japan and your surroundings. Although this is a language intensive program, you aren't pushed to the point of being stressed. You will learn more of the language, but I don't think I was challenged enough academically. What was helpful in learning more Japanese was being surrounded so much by the language and by hanging out with my e-pal. IES pairs each abroad student with an "e-pal", which is a Japanese student attending the university who you can get to know before getting to campus. This was super beneficial for many of the abroad students because they had the opportunity to befriend and hang out with a Japanese student to learn more about Japan's culture. We could practice our speaking skills with them and jump into the social scene with more ease. IES was also extremely involved with the students in providing constant information about events going on around Tokyo. We got to go on two long field trips to the countryside (3-5 days each) and also went on a lot of other student council-run trips around the city. IES Tokyo definitely wants their students to be able to get the most out of their time in Japan. It is a great program for students looking to get immersed into the culture while also practicing their Japanese skills.

This program has everything you would need, expect, and want.... plus more! The location is close enough to the city to be able to go anywhere without much trouble. The people are helpful and kind. They really are there for you for anything. The school is a good environment and the people are fun.

I really enjoyed my daily life in Tokyo with IES. In the mornings from Monday to Friday we had class from 8:45 to noon. Afterward, many of us explore different parts of Tokyo everyday. The freedom in the free time was the highlight of the trip. The staff were students who had participated in an IES Japan program previously and therefore they were really helpful with finding cool places. Day to day class activities included speaking, reading, and writing in Japanese. We would also have special assignments such as interviewing a Japanese person, or cooking with local Japanese students. Homework usually only took about one to two hours, with extra hours in preparation for the two tests. One of the highlights was how IES arranged a weekend homestay in a more rural area of Japan. The staff even looks carefully at the students' and the Japanese families' interests when matching up people for the homestay. Usually during the weekends people would plan mini-trips to a nearby city or we would participate in an IES field trip to a historical or culturally significant site a few hours from Tokyo. In addition to this, there were four optional small field trips within Tokyo and we were able to choose three to participate in. I personally enjoyed going to the Ghibli Museum and making food in Asakusa. A difficulty I encountered was trying to find the motivation to speak more Japanese when I was surrounded by English speakers. I know this sounds ironic, but it is very tempting to just speak your more convenient language and stick to those who can as well. There is not a language commitment requirement, although it was highly encouraged to speak as much Japanese daily as we could, and the classes we took were not with other Japanese students. IES did have a conversational Japanese language partner pairing though with students from Kanda University who were interested in improving their English. That made it easy to make close Japanese friends in only the span of 6 weeks. Many of us would meet up with our conversation partners, or go in a big group, after class. Another difficulty, if you've read anything about Tokyo, is the price of food and cost of living in general. IES does provide some coupons that you can use at two cafes in the Olympic center complex, but I could only eat so many sandwiches in a summer. The Olympic Center is a complex of a few buildings and some dorms (be warned, the dorm rooms are small). We stayed in the dorms and took classes in the buildings within the complex. Many diverse groups came to the Olympic Center, but I had to go out of my way to interact with them. The location of the Olympic Center itself is amazing. It's situated right next to the giant Yoyogi park, a 20 minute walk to Harajuku, and a 10 minute train commute to Shinjuku. There are also some nice restaurants and the indispensable convenient stores in the surrounding the area.

There's a lot to be said for studying in as metropolitan an area as Tokyo. You'll never be able to take advantage of all the opportunities available, and the train system allows you to go almost anywhere in the country with incredible ease. Make sure you get a map of the train system at first though, and keep it with you until you learn your way around.

That's not to say that big cities and bright lights are all there is to Japan though. Most of the country is actually pretty rural, and the scenery is breathtakingly gorgeous. There are beautiful hiking trails, mountains to climb, and gorges to explore nearly everywhere! Nikko is an especially good place for this. If IES doesn't schedule a group trip there, you should go check it out!

Make sure to travel outside the city as much as you can. As exciting as Tokyo is, you'll have the most fun on your trips outside of it. Try looking up famous festivals in Japan and taking a day trip to visit one. They're always great fun, and you'll get to see and try a lot of new things. Personally, I would recommend the Narita Taiko Festival. If drums are your thing, this is for you! Great food and incredible performances every time you turn around. Make sure to try the Unagidon! If you're looking for something a little closer, head to the Jidai matsuri in Asakusa. Samurai, lords, princesses, shrine maidens, and ninja all in one glorious parade!

Also, keep the climate and weather patterns in mind while you're packing. Spring semester has the rainy season, and fall semester has typhoon season. Typhoon season will break your umbrella, so bring a raincoat instead. You should also keep in mind that most places in Japan don't take cards, so bring cash.

IES Abroad - Tokyo Language intensive program is a fantastic program all around. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful host family who was very loving and experienced in hosting foreign students. I know that not everyone may end up with such a scenario but the staff a the Tokyo center really work hard to ensure that every student is given a considerate host family to live with, and I did not hear any major complaints from other students regarding their host families during my time there. Students living in the dorms also claimed to have pleasant experiences in the dorms. My only difficulty in staying with a host family is that I had to ride the train for an hour to and from school. Which is rather long, and the morning Tokyo trains are packed, so it can be bothersome, but you learn to get use to it. My host mother's wonderful cooking more than made up for the long train ride. The academics are challenging and definitely live up the name "intensive". I guarantee your Japanese speaking abilities will improve substantially after taking this program. And the internships is what makes this program unique. I worked for an anime art gallery and loved it. My coworkers knew no English, so I really had to rely on my Japanese skills to get by - a challenge, but rewarding.
I could write a mini novel on this program, but I'll leave it at this: this is a great program for people who seriously want to improve their Japanese language skills and learn to navigate life through one of the world's largest cities, all while having a blast doing it.

IES's Tokyo program was a great first experience in Japan for me. It had just the right amount of the familiar (for example, living in dorms with other college students) with the new and unexpected (staying with a host family for one weekend, venturing out into the city alone).

In terms of academics, we covered the equivalent of one semester's work in six weeks. Although class could sometimes feel long, we generally had limited homework and therefore plenty to time to explore Tokyo.

For the majority of the program, we stayed in the National Youth Olympic Center, which is located next to Yoyogi Kouen. It was convenient to be able to stay in dorms a mere five minute walk from where language classes were held, and there were cafes and a conbini in the Center as well.