I chose the summer program for Tokyo, and by the time it was over, I found myself wishing I'd stayed longer.

Initially, I was extremely nervous about the social scene since I went into the program not knowing anyone, but I made close friends that made me less afraid to try new things (like singing karaoke in front of people I didn't know well) and to practice Japanese. Being in crowded spaces usually scares me as well, but I got used to the trains faster than anticipated since we commuted to class every week. I fell into a routine fairly quickly. We'd often start our mornings with a convenience store run and eat and study some more before class. I also spent a lot of time in the cafe of the hotel we were housed at and even made friends with one of the people who worked there.

The IES staff was a great help as well. When I wanted to plan a trip to Yokohama with my friends, we asked the best places to visit and good ways to get there. They gave us a lot of helpful advice. I'm also glad I brought some good sneakers because we walked a ton every day!

I believe that despite the intense academic rigor and the overall stress caused by so many new aspects of living in Japan, that IES made it so much easier than it could have been. Their initial overview of customs and helpful services was invaluable; just having a consistent place to study or chat with like-minded students was a very nice offering to have. With all of that being said I feel that IES is a wonderful way to get acquainted with living in Japan, but be aware that there may be costs or attributes to your living experience that are surprising.

I spent a semester in Tokyo, Japan in Fall 2019. I was the only one from my college and state going on this IES Abroad program. I wasn't sure if my Japanese was sufficient to navigate around in the city or to ask for specific help whenever I needed it. It was the first time I would be away from home for so long. So I was excited to see how it would turn out, and I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to adjust to life in Japan because Japan and Georgia, USA are entirely different. However, IES Abroad allowed me to make a Japanese friend through email (e-pal) and meet my future classmates through Facebook so I would have someone I know meet me at the airport. There were 40 international students and 20 E-pals that would grow to be some lifelong friends. All of us were so unique and came from different backgrounds, majors, and language levels. The staff that worked at the IES Center were like family to a lot of us. They really looked out for us and helped us learn how to adjust and cope with occasional homesickness. The program had trips to Nikko and Hokkaido that allowed us to explore the differences that exist in various prefectures of Japan.
I lived with a host family, and they helped me adjust to the lifestyle and practice my Japanese. Every morning my host mom would say, "what is today? What is the date? What will you do today?" in Japanese, and I would have to respond in Japanese. In the evening times, my host parents would ask me: "how was my day? What did I eat for lunch? What did I learn?" and so on. It was great and not at all as overwhelming as one may think. They were patient with me and waited for me to think out my response and would gently correct me when my grammar was wrong. I am vegan, which means that I do not eat meat, dairy, fish, eggs, or any animal byproducts. So my options were a little bit restricted, but my host mom had vegan cookbooks and researched my dietary needs. So she would make new dishes or modify well-known dishes so that I could eat with the family. So this is something I am extremely grateful for because not many people are willing to do this or occasionally adjust their meals to accommodate someone for four months. I truly felt like I had a new family and hope to keep in contact with them now that I have returned to America. I made many lifelong friends while I was in Japan, and this experience helped me grow as a person. I hope in the future I can come back to work and live in Japan.

I had such an amazing time studying with IES Abroad in Tokyo! The administrators were so encouraging when I expressed interest in getting involved with the local community. The traveling opportunities were so much fun, and I enjoyed our excursions a lot. The coursework was a little light, but it allowed me time to really get out and explore Japan, and most of the Japanese learning I did occurred when I interacted with other students at Kanda University of International Studies. The KUIS campus is absolutely gorgeous - a wonderful place to spend a semester.

I'd been to Japan before, so I more or less knew what to expect from being in Japan, but I got to explore Japan a lot through this program! Each IES class had field trips in Tokyo to expand on what we learned. We had two cultural activities through IES: learning about Noh in Nakano and making Chicken Ramen in Yokohama. We also went on IES field trips to Hokkaido and Nikko! This program does well with helping you learn about Japan by being IN Japan, not just being in a classroom! The KUIS campus also has lots of clubs, including taiko and kendo, and an entire building dedicated to encouraging students to speak English, so you'll definitely feel comfortable on campus too!

As the clouds above soaked a dampened atmosphere, I hurried under an awning to take shelter from the first shower of the rainy season. As if being conducted by maestros along the tops of adjacent skyscrapers, flurries of hotfooted salarymen began to weave between their fellow commuters in a rush hour ballad, only to crescendo in the simultaneous opening of their clear plastic umbrellas as they left the stage of Shinjuku station. Once notorious for employing “pushers” to push commuters onto overloaded trains, Shinjuku station remains one of the busiest train stations in the world with over 3.5 million commuters passing through its gates every day. Although maybe not something that everyone would find amusing, it is a sight that made me truly appreciate the scope of the world.

I grew up surrounded by the sugar plantations sowed along the hills of Hanapepe, Hawaii. Though I would leave the island for university, I would again find myself in a bucolic bog in the wheatlands of Pullman, Washington at Washington State University. Studying computational neuroscience and Japanese, I decided that I should study abroad in Japan to gain an immersion into the language and culture to understand more of what Japan was about. That is when I discovered IES’s summer Tokyo program.

If chosen to participate in the program, you will meet up with your fellow students for a few days of orientation and placement examinations. At the time of my writing this review, there are six total classes spanning from the 1000 to 3000 level with two classes in each division. They are all held on the same campus that you will dorm at in the National Olympic Memorial Youth Centre in the outskirts of Shinjuku. You will dorm in an on campus dormitory, living in an approximate 15’X 5’single room with a desk, communal restrooms/wet rooms, and communal laundromat. I had tested into the higher division of the 3000 level classes. I believe the level of instruction in class is more than satisfactory. Classes are quite personal (~8-20 people). Each class does various extracurricular activities throughout the semester based on level. These range from cooking classes with native Japanese students to traveling to national museums to learn more about the country and culture of Japan. But I believe the true value of the program is found beyond the boundaries of the campus.

Shinjuku station lies a twenty-minute walk or five-minute train ride to the North of campus. From there, the entirety of Tokyo’s 23 wards, an area spanning 239 sq mi, is accessible via subways. metros, buses, and a multitude of other modes of transportation. A new perspective of Japanese culture to the commuters that get off at every station. From the hub of anime and everything Japanese pop related in Akihabara, to the 3-starred Michelin restaurants and ultra-luxury malls of Ginza, every destination that comes to mind when thinking of Japan is within a stone’s throw from the youth centre. You could even take a weekend trip to Kyoto or Sapporo if you wanted (something that I frequently did via the bullet train coming out of Tokyo station).

I have made many friends in the program, fellow exchange student and native Japanese alike. I will never forget the memories that we made in class, the nights in the karaoke booths in Shibuya, or the subsequent trips to the adjacent streets lined with “izakaya”s. You can only learn so much about Japan from inside of the classroom. But, if you are truly interested in learning more about the country, what its people and culture are really like, then why not take a summer to learn abroad in the most populous city in all of Japan?

This program is great for anyone who wants to improve their Japanese language skills and learn more about Japan. There are lots of chances for students to go out into Japan, as well as communicate with Japanese students. The program places students at Kanda University of International Studies, which is a language school. Many of the students at the school speak very good English, so even students who have no prior Japanese knowledge will be able to make great friends. The staff at IES Tokyo are really fun to spend time with and always there for whatever you need. I had a great time staying with my host family, and really enjoyed all of the friends I made while I was in Japan. It is important to keep in mind that this program is actually located in Chiba, which is about a 45 minute train ride from central Tokyo. I really loved this location because it shows you a different side of Japan, away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo proper.

Going to Japan and specifically Tokyo has always been a dream of mine. I am so grateful that IES was able to help me make this dream come true. I did a lot of research before leaving for my trip. I knew that the public transportation would be good. However, I didn't realize how easy it would be until I got there. I was worried about my lack of Japanese reading abilities. It proved to be fairly easy to find my way around and go in trips. I once went to Odaiba three times in one week! Now that I am back I find it odd that the transportation where I go to school isn't as efficient.