The Best Way to Experience Japan

I was one of the 30-ish exchange students at Konan University in fall 2017. It was a very fun and unique experience overall.

I believe we all have some sort of stereotype views about Japan. Most of them are pretty much accurate, but you really can't understand the reasons behind these labels unless you actually live here. If you are like me, who wants to discover what Japan and Japanese people really are, I think you will enjoy this program as much as I did.

To the program itself, it is very well organized. We were taken great care the second we landed at Kansai International Airport. We had a bus that brought us to a hotel where we spent three days getting to know more about the program and Japan. They didn't expect us to know anything about Japan or the language. They even gave us 5000 yen ($50) lunch money assuming we didn't carry any cash with us. The Japanese service is real. Everything was taken care of to make sure we had a smooth transition in every detail into our new lives in Japan. At the end of the hotel orientation, host families and dorm manager came and brought us back home.

I highly recommend the host family. Most of them are old couples who live in big houses that are too big for them. They take care of you from all aspects and also make sure to give you comfortable personal space and privacies in the house. I rarely heard complaints or conflicts with the host families from my year. For the most part it's like "My host Dad is a retired cook so he makes the best food in Japan but he always make too much than I can eat so I feel bad and always eat too much" kind of complaint. Most host families are very experienced. They won't be on the list any more if they are not good.

Academically, Konan University is probably not the most hard working school given the American standard. There was very little homework so you may need to ask for more or find something yourself if you really want to push yourself. But at the same time, it gives you a lot of freedom after school and during the weekends. You can find a part-time job, which basically every Japanese college student does, if you have certain level of Japanese. You can travel, buy anime stuff, go to the concert, hot spring, mountain climbing, etc.. If you are used to the workload at UIUC, I can't imagine homework will be a problem for you.

Japan is fun. YIJ program in Kobe was a fun experience that definitely has huge impact in my life.
I hope you find my review helpful.

Finally, yes, Japanese people do cross the street when it's red light, but only when no kids are around watching.