World Campus - Japan Program

Attending the World Campus International program was one of the best decisions I’ve made- my only complaint was that I didn’t stay longer! I attended the third session of the program and enjoyed all three cities I got to experience in Japan. Staying with a host family is truly and experience like no other and learned more than I ever would if I just came to Japan as a tourist. You not only leave the program with lasting bonds with your host families, but also all program participants. Every day was unique and you have the opportunity to share your own unique culture and backgrounds. This is a trip I will never forget and will continue to recommend to students of all ages.

I was lucky enough to get the experience to join world campus the summer of 2017, and I had one of the best summers of my life. Getting to experience Japan together with amazing fellow participants, leaders and host-families was truly an unforgettable experience.

I joined the program with very limited japanese skills, and this proved to be a non-issue, as even the host families that spoke limited english proved extremely friendly and helpfull, and we found that communication still worked.

As of writing this review, my stay with world campus helped change the trajectory of my studies into Japanese and Japan studies, and because of the unique window you get into japanese culture and living, joining a program like this is truly special, and something I can recommend wholeheartedly to everyone with an interest in going abroad to Japan.

The World Campus Japan program offers a unique experience and is naturally more academically challenging than booking your own trip to Japan! Being out of my comfort zone and connecting with citizens in a way I would never have been able to do as a regular tourist are the things I reflect most positively about. During the day it would always be in English and therefore not as interesting to me, but at the end of the day we'd all come home to very friendly hostfamilies, all excited to hear about our days and ready start sharing delicious meals. The staff was always prepared to help and answer questions, both before and during the program.

I went on the third and last session to Abiko, Mito and Tama, all right outside of Tokyo, and I had a great experience. First of all, the host families were so open, and loving and made me feel like a part of their family, despite my poor Japanese language skills. The program was packed with cultural activities such as karate with Japan's female national champion, traditional dances and calligraphy. Being a part of a group with many different nationalities, I also learned a lot from the other participants. The program was well-planned and organised, and everything felt very authentic, which was important for me. I am sure that I will go back to visit my host families again when I have the opportunity to do so.

All things considered, I really recommend this program. For me, one session was enough as the program is quite packed, but I do wish I could experience the other sessions too looking at the activities and locations!

My experience from my trip to Japan 2023 was beyond unique:) I highly believe and think that living and sharing a living space with locals in the different cities played a huge part for me personally. Even if there were a language barrier, which often is the biggest issue for most people I feel like, my host families were still very intrested and put the effort into actually try and keep the conversations going with me, and really trying to get to know me whilst also teaching me about their culture.

This year, I had the opportunity to rejoin the WCI program for the second time. Previously, I joined back in 2018 fresh out of high school and went on my own. Despite the setbacks of COVID for many, this program gave me such great experiences just like before! I went in this session only knowing a basic conversational level of Japanese. While we had a mix of members who knew little to no Japanese and some who could almost speak it fluently, we all had a great time. It may seem intimidating to live with a host family if you don't speak Japanese well, but in my case, it made the experience all that much more enjoyable! I was able to stay with the same host family I previously had in 2018 and got to see them after five years. For the other two cities, I had made new lifelong connections to them and hope to visit them again sometime.

If you've ever wanted to go to Japan but are unsure about this program, I cannot recommend it enough! The staff are very kind and supportive, the families are just as nervous as you may be, but everyone has one idea in common: To get to know each other and share our culture. Sure, you can definitely go on your own as a tourist. Thing is, all you will ever visit and find are things designed for tourists to visit and find. If you want to see the real culture of Japan where you get to truly experience everyday life and the hidden gems only the locals know about, then this is without a doubt the best program to join.

Now as a university student, while this trip isn't related to my field, I've gained so many valuable skills and experiences from this trip that any employer would love to have. Before this trip, I couldn't have ever seen myself not only navigating a country with a language I don't speak. Reflecting now, I've been able to create lifelong friend and family connections across language barriers on top of significantly raising my own self confidence and leadership skills.

It's been my life-long dream to go to Japan and get to experience its culture along with meeting the people, and so when I finally got an opportunity to actually visit Japan, I was strongly debating between going on going on a solo trip as a tourist, and joining the 2023 WCI Program. But eventually I decided on participating in the program, as you could've guessed by reading this review, and I couldn't have been happier with my decision.

Instead of only going around and seeing the touristy stuff in Tokyo, this program allowed me to full on experience all the wonders of everyday life in Japan and make life-long friends.
Going in to this, I have already reached a certain level of Japanese, where I was somewhat able to communicate and have a basic conversation, since I had already been learning Japanese for 3 years at the time, and yet it was shocking to realize by just how much more comfortable I've gotten with Japanese over the 3 weeks in Japan! On an unexpected note, my speaking in English has also gotten considerably better (I'm not a native English speaker), as I got to use English every day as well. It is also worth noting, that a lot of the Japanese participants and volunteers are there with the intent to also practice their English skills.
All the Japanese people, as well as fellow WCI participants that I've met were incredibly kind and genuine people, and I was able to make very good friends with them. There is simply something special about an atmosphere filled with kindness, all the while you get to see your friends every day, and possibly even make new friends every day.

Speaking of the people, the memories you make with the three different host families you get to stay with during a session are also unforgettable. It truly felt like I was a part of the family with each of the host families in the cities of Abiko (Chiba), Mito (Ibaraki) and Tama (Tokyo). They were very welcoming, accomodating, curious to learn about my culture and also really fun. And so next to all the cultural experiences organized by the WCI, I also got to spend time with my host family every day, really letting me see what the actual everyday looks like in Japan. Whether my host sister was unbeatable at Taiko no Tatsujin (A drumming game at the game centers in Japan. Definitely give this one a try), or my host mother made the best rice I have ever eaten in my life, or my host father introduced me to the godsend of a snack called karee pan (curry bread), it is all an unforgettable experience. One of my host families even made giant letters that they hung up on the wall, welcoming me, by which I was touched. And yes, I do still keep contact with all of them.

All in all, I strongly recommend this program, regardless whether you speak Japanese at all or not, as I can guarantee you, that you will have the time of your life.

During this program, you will gain many new friends and even groups of people you will call your family. These are people who will be dear to you and who you will desire significantly to see again. These are not only the Japanese families you lived with or even the locals/students you met along the way. These people are also people among the participants. Because of this, I strongly recommend that you plan to stay for 1 - 2 weeks after the program has ended so that you can spend time after the program with the people that you have met. I did not do this myself, but I greatly regret not doing so after seeing all the fun the others who remained in Japan were having. Besides this, I often communicate with many participants, Japanese locals, and the Japanese families I lived with. Even two (2) months after the program ended.

Other than the people you meet, you will experience many different dishes. The food in Japan is fantastic. Even better is the fact that you get to experience home-cooked food.

The activities that were planned out for the program were great as well. I enjoyed everything that we did. We got to experience different musical instruments, arts, weapons, and dances. We even got to try them ourselves. Other activities were visiting middle school and university students, which were great experiences. In both cases, the students had planned different activities for us to do together.

You do not need to know Japanese to attend this program, though it would enhance the experience, of course. I knew some Japanese when I attended this program, but not nearly enough to have a decent conversation. Some other participants knew close to nothing. Still, all of us had a great time. With some families, English works out fine. When English or Japanese is not an option, translation apps work wonders. You can have some really enjoyable and engaging conversations through translation apps. It is by far the best option to use translation apps as opposed to not talking, at least. You can really tell how much the Japanese people value your attempt at communicating with them, no matter the method.

Whenever I tell people about this program, they say they would much rather travel to Japan by themselves the first time, and attend the program at a later time. They believe that they will get the best experience by planning their trip themselves and going at it alone. I had seven (7) weeks as a tourist in Japan before attending the program. Of course, it was great, but I can say for sure that World Campus Japan definitely would be a great first experience. I would recommend anyone who has not been in Japan yet to seek out this program.

This program is perfect for people who want to develop as a person as well. Firstly you have all the activities, for example, dancing. Something I personally am not too fond of. But I chose to try. I was there to experience new things, so of course, I had to try. And it went fine, and I had a great time; it was fun. Was my dancing perfect? No, it was not. Did the other participants dance perfectly? No, they did not. What about the dance instructors? I saw some of them make mistakes, so no. Still, it was a fantastic experience, and everyone had fun. Secondly, the food in Japan might be pretty different from what you are used to. But it really does not hurt to try it. Just make sure to communicate. If you are afraid of offending the people who made the food in case you did not like it, tell them beforehand that you might not like the food. There was only one dish in my case that I had trouble with, and that was Natto. Even so, I kept trying to eat it. My host families knew that I was not too fond of Natto, and they were completely fine with it. Lastly, you will meet a lot of people. Maybe you are not too social or forward, or maybe it is difficult for you to initiate conversations. Maybe you are shy or do not know what to talk about. I strongly urge you to try even if this is the case. People want to get to know you, but they might struggle with the same things as you. What I am getting at is that I really hope that if you attend this program, you push yourself and you try new things. It will only add positively to your and everyone else's experience.

After attending this program, there is no doubt that I will return to Japan. I will attend this program again.