Hello My name is Alex!

         I will be studying abroad for the first time for 1 month in Tokyo Japan during the month of August. This is the first time I'm leaving the comfort of my home town. I'm curious on what types of experiences other people have had studying abroad long and short term!, as well if anyone has any useful information that might make a first timer in Japan's life a little easier!
         I also decided to start my own blog, so that I am able to chronicle my time in Japan! I have loads of events planned out every week for the time I'm not studying. I would appreciate anyone who is interested in following me and learning about Japanese Culture with me! My blog is : http://summerjapanadventure.blogspot.ca/ Many thanks 

Since you said you are only going for a month, you should definitely look into the JR Rail Pass for easy travels around the country:
http://www.jrpass.com/

I know someone who would go to places like Nagasaki and back over the weekend (we studied in Nagoya). One time he decided to just run up to Tokyo for a Wednesday afternoon (easy trip, but expensive if you have to keep buying tickets).
If I had been smarter about it/less stingy with my budget I probably would have done the same thing. Travel was probably one of my favorite things to do in Japan, and it's so easy to do.

*Buses are another cheap-ish option, but they take a lot longer than a shinkansen

Do you speak Japanese?
That's kinda an important thing to know if anyone is gonna give you any advice to "make a first timer in Japan's life a little easier"

(2016-06-03, 7:17 pm)mc962 Wrote: Since you said you are only going for a month, you should definitely look into the JR Rail Pass for easy travels around the country:
http://www.jrpass.com/

I know someone who would go to places like Nagasaki and back over the weekend (we studied in Nagoya). One time he decided to just run up to Tokyo for a Wednesday afternoon (easy trip, but expensive if you have to keep buying tickets).
If I had been smarter about it/less stingy with my budget I probably would have done the same thing. Travel was probably one of my favorite things to do in Japan, and it's so easy to do.

*Buses are another cheap-ish option, but they take a lot longer than a shinkansen

Hey thanks, sorry for the late reply. The rail pass might actually save me a lot of money for how much I'm travelling thanks!

(2016-06-03, 7:22 pm)Ash_S Wrote: Do you speak Japanese?
That's kinda an important thing to know if anyone is gonna give you any advice to "make a first timer in Japan's life a little easier"

True, I'm am currently learning before, and when I'm down there. I know how to read hiragana and katakana and learning basic conversation

I always suggest extremely targeted study towards what you expect to do while you are in Japan.  I would skip the textbooks and memorize the kanji for the place names you plan on visiting.  Go through a few phrase books and memorize anything that seems like you need to use while you are there.  Learn some useful phrases for ordering food and learn to spot your favorite dishes on a menu printed in a weird kanji font or hand-drawn(search japanese menus and practice reading them).  There is some good practical stuff on this website.  Most stores (convenience, grocery, etc) will not have english labels on products, so prepare in advance by knowing how to read labels of some products you think you might need.  Knowing the names of condiments and ingredients is helpful.  A funny example from the first time I went to japan was when I bought a doughnut expecting jelly inside, it is quite a shock when it's curry instead!  Know how the trains work and the difference between super-express and local and know how to tell which train stops at which station.  If you will have a smartphone with international data, learn to use one of the train schedule apps.

But also be realistic about how much you can learn before you get there.  3 Months isn't very much time unless you are studying full-time and even then it's not enough time to learn anything beyond basic conversation.