Teen Japanese Language Camp in Japan

As it was my first time ever going to Japan, or to any country all by myself I was definitely excited but also a bit nervous. However, as soon as I landed in Japan I found myself surrounded by amazing and kind people including my host family who helped guide me the first few days and who I am truly grateful for. I loved spending time with my host family and their three children, trying all kinds of new foods they would make for dinner, and playing card games with them. I also enjoyed going to school every day to better my Japanese. All the teacher and staff I was surrounded with were so kind and really tried their best to make sure I got all the support I needed. However, aside from the school I loved all the activities the program brought us to. I was able to go to many places in Fukuoka with the school as well as my friends. Some of these included Dazaifu, Canal City Mall, and the school even took us to a Taiko drumming session. With friends, we would go every day to a different restaurant and eat so much delicious and new foods I had never even heard of before. Something I thought was cool about all my classmates was that even though we were all from different parts of the world, we were all in Japan because we all truly wanted to be there and learn the language and culture. Overall, I don't think I could have had a better experience anywhere else and I am thankful I chose this program for my first time in Japan.

It was a really great trip, I cherish the opportunities it gave me and the memories I made. I am going to put much more effort into studying Japanese because I want to go back and be able to talk to people. I loved learning Japanese from native speakers and living with my host family the Yoshidas. They were the best part of the trip by far. Going to Osaka palace and bike riding at dusk were unforgettable experiences, and training Japanese kickboxing was so incredibly fun. Don't be afraid to get out of your comfort zone!

I'm grateful to have gone to Japan through Greenheart Travel. Here is my honest opinion on my experience. Overall, it was great. My flights to and from went smoothly, aside from my broken laptop :( , and my host family's home was, honestly, bigger and more comofortable than mine in the US. My schoolteachers were very understanding of me and the other students, and pushed us to practice Japanese in a variety of ways. They occasionally scolded us for speaking in English while in between classes! My experience was faithfly immersive, and I got to learn a lot about the Japanese way of life along with their historical culture. This was done through organized field trips, or outinfs with my host family. I enjoyed my time there, and received reasonable communications from the language school of events and schedule changes. However, Greenheart Travel's communication itself disappointed me. While I was preparing for my trip to Japan, the program manager seemingly changed between 2 or 3 different people at different times. There were times when I didn't know who my main point of contact was because of the confusion, and it was very scary for me because I had never been abroad, and had no idea what kind of information I needed to provide along the way, or who I would ask my questions too. I was grateful that Greenheart had the ability to provide scholarships for students like me, especially because I was paying for the program myself, but aside from that have limited good experiences with the agency. My program handbook mentioned that I was supposed to have at least one video call with my host family before I left to get to know them before departing, but this never happened. Instead, I wasn't even given any information about them until less than a week before my departure. I'm glad to have had this experience, but have now ascertained that I'm unlikely to travel with Greenheart again until they build a more reliable team. It was the people I met while abroad that truly made my experience so wonderful, and I hope that Greenheart can give future students a better experience!

I went to Fukuoka, Japan the summer after my sophomore year of high school when I was 16, and it was the best experience of my life! I met so many incredible people from all over the world at Genki JACS and my host family was the best anyone could ask for. I was originally only supposed to go for 4 weeks but I was having such an amazing time that I extended it a 5th week.

Host family: I was nervous when I first met my host family, but they turned out to be some of the kindest, sweetest people I'd ever met! They spoke some English, but I used Japanese with them as much as possible. I ate dinner with them every night for about the first 3 weeks (I later started to go out with friends as I got closer to people) and my host mom would always make wonderful meals. My favorite dinner was when my host mom prepared okonomiyaki for us. It was SO GOOD! I would also have lots of interesting conversations with them during and after dinner comparing different cultural things. Staying with them helped my Japanese improve significantly, as I always had my Japanese-English dictionary app with me so I could look up words I didn't know. This improved my vocabulary significantly. My host family also took me a few places such as to a baseball game, a music festival, and a shinto shrine (Dazaifu). Overall, they were the best host family I could've asked for!

Daily life: Usually I would wake up, go to school, get lunch out, and then explore around Fukuoka for a little bit. Fukuoka is extremely safe and I never felt even slightly in danger. I could walk around with my phone in my back pocket and my wallet with my bus pass in my hand and didn't have to worry about a thing. The train station Hakata Eki is also a huge shopping center, so sometimes I would go up to one of the higher levels where there was a stationary store and I would buy postcards to send to family and friends. There is also a Japan Post Bank very close to the station so I could easily send them there and the staff were very friendly and helpful. You can also take out money from your account at any Japan Post Bank, so look for those! I also enjoyed either walking or taking the bus to Tenjin where there is an underground shopping center around the train station and food hall where I would often try different foods. Then I would take the bus home, shower, eat dinner with my host family, and do homework in the living room while my host dad watched TV. Sometimes I would also call my family or friends from home from inside my room. As I made more friends, though, I would sometimes go out to dinner with them or explore around the city and hang out at Kego Kouen (Kego Park), which is where lots of young people hang out on Friday nights and weekends.

School: Genki JACS was a fantastic school with very kind, friendly, and patient teachers. I learned a lot there and always felt comfortable. I also became friends with many of the people in my classes, and I still keep in touch with some of them! People there are a range of ages and many are in their 20s (the youngest I met was 14), but it never felt uncomfortable. Everyone was friends regardless of age and was supportive of each other. We usually got about one worksheet a night and would go over it the next day in class.

Friends: Most of my friends actually ended up being other foreigners attending Genki JACS, but they were all incredible people. I would hang out with them a lot after or in between class and explore parts of the city with them. I even ended up going on a hike with some of them at a nearby mountain!

Fun experiences: By far my favorite experience was actually something I coordinated outside of the program with some friends, so I encourage people going on this trip to not be afraid to seek out some of their own adventures! I went on an incredible hike with a bunch of people from my program through the rain. It was super challenging, but well worth the breathtaking view at the top. We could see the city, the mountains, and the land for miles. Another fun experience was when I went with Genki JACS to Shikanoshima, a nearby island. The water was so clear and blue and we went to a hotel for part of the day where we had the option of onsen as well as a huge meal. My host family also took me to onsen about a week before the trip to Shikanoshima on the same day we went to the shrine. It was a very positive experience and I felt a lot less awkward than I thought I would've. I got a few curious glances being a foreigner, but everyone was pretty unconcerned and was just enjoying the relaxing experience. I'm glad I went with my host family because my host mom and sister were able to show me the whole cleansing process before getting into the water. I would highly recommend onsen to anyone going to Japan, as it was very body positive and helped me realize how unique all bodies are. Another interesting experience I had was doing some modeling! I'm biracial (African American and Caucasian) and so my tightly coiled hair was a marvel to many people in the country. I was walking in Tenjin station one day when a man asked to do my hair! So we coordinated and I brought some friends with me to his salon as a precaution and he styled my hair and we did a photo shoot! It was a lot of fun and made me feel a lot more confident in a country where I very clearly looked like no one else.

Take aways: I feel like I definitely matured a lot during my trip. I learned to be independent, to not shy away from new experiences and adventures, and to make decisions on my own. I would highly recommend this trip to high school and college students especially because the city is so safe and is a wonderful environment for growing and maturing without many risks. The people I met from around the world at Genki JACS really expanded my horizons and increased my desire to travel even more (my trip actually lead me to visiting a friend in their native country a few months later!). My Japanese language skills improved a lot and my vocabulary in particular expanded. Between classes and my host family, I started to be able to just shoot out phrases without thinking, which was an amazing feeling.

If you have any questions or want more info, I posted about it on my Instagram @graceinnihon. Feel free to message me about it!!

My 17 year old daughter participated in the Teen Language Program in Fukuoka, Japan this last summer. This was without a doubt the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Putting my kid on a plane to Amazingland alone was emotional and frightening, but I just kept reminding myself that this was for her, and I didn’t want my fear to be her roadblock. So, in front of her I was all brave in my SuperMom cape. Behind the scenes, I was a disaster, but the difference in my daughter from that moment when she left for Japan and when I picked her up was simply astounding. She was uncertain and nervous when she left, but returned all smiles and confidence. Her speaking skills improved tremendously with full immersion. Greenheart took excellent care of us, and Connor was a joy to work with! So if you’re on the fence, count this as encouragement to take the step. This experience entirely reshaped my daughter. Now, when she talks of college, she shows interest in much more significant degrees than she did before. She thinks bigger now and has set her bar much higher than it was before. She has learned that just because something seems scary doesn’t mean it’s beyond her reach. She is already trying to figure out how to get back to Japan and has begun saving her money again. So, yes, as a mother I was sure I’d lost my mind when I agreed to this, but I definitely got cool mom points for supporting her when it was time for her to level up.

This program was an amazing experience and it is something I will never forget. I never expected to have this chance and I’m so glad that I did. The staff at greenheart travel were amazing and answered all 101 of my questions. I felt very safe while I was there and walked all over. My favorite part about the whole trip was my host family. I could not have been placed in a better family. They matched my personality and took amazing care of me. I hope to visit them again someday. The placements were very good as everybody I talked to loved their families as well.
The classes were fun and fast paced and I really enjoyed them. There was a lot of homework and my host family had to help me with it but overall I really loved this program and would gladly go back

I learned so much more not just about the language but I got to really dive deeper into the culture of japan. I made friends from all of the world and would not trade this experience for anything. If you ever get the chance to go abroad take it. You will be amazed at how it changes your views. This program really exceeded my expectations. My host family was truly wonderful and I really felt a part of their family. If I have learned Japanese a few years earlier I wish I would have been able to study abroad there. I plan on going back next year for six weeks. There are so many fun and exciting things to do in japan. A tip is to get out as much as possible if you stay inside all the time you're going to miss all the amazing things that are included in the program.