I'll start graduate school in Autumn, looking forward to it a lot but admittedly nervous about starting a new life abroad (getting bank account, mobile phone contract, national health insurance, foreigner registration etc. sorted out), trying to understand lectures in Japanese, making friends and especially about having to worry about job seeking a few months in (I gather one starts applying around 15 months before graduating). D:

Anyone else starting soon? Any advice from people who've already done it on how to make the most of it/things to do/not to do?

Its been told to me a few times that Graduate students in Japan tend to use non-traditional means for employment since really the 15-month prior 就職 thing is mainly for undergrad students. EDIT: To expand on this a bit, many grad students use the connections of their advisors and professors to find employment in the industry; is what I've been told.

I think you'll find with a bit of googling that most of the other things you talked about are already answered else where on the web, that they don't really require repeating here (ie: bank account, phones, etc).

Someone going to school has a different life vs someone thats working in the system. But really it depends what you your goals are and what you are hoping to get out of the experience. If you are there for the schooling then the typical stuff applies probably just as much in Japan as it would in the UK or in the US for grad school. If you are referring to your Japanese though. Avoid foreigners and force yourself to talk to Japanese people. There will probably be clubs and you can probably join one as a grad student as well. These are really good for finding people of similar interest, though some may be very intense and may conflict with your grad. school work if you are doing something research intensive.

Just use your Japanese. If you are using English then you aren't benefiting yourself. The rest of the stuff will fall into place.

I'm going to Osaka on the MEXT undergrad scholarship in a couple of weeks and frankly, I'm not very worried. The first year is just learning Japanese, and I'm already fluent; most of the other undergrads know next to nothing.

I already have a number of friends in and around Osaka (and a few romantic interests too ) from previous visits/ people I met in my hometown and online, and I plan to make a lot more when I get there, which I think is pretty darn easy tbh. As for the bank account, MEXT should set that up for me, and I've aleady decided to get the iPhone on au: the student + U-25 + start campaign discount and the overall better coverage is superior to SoftBank for me.

The biggest problem I'm having is working out how to get everything over there with the 27kg baggage limit my airline imposes...

thecite Wrote:The biggest problem I'm having is working out how to get everything over there with the 27kg baggage limit my airline imposes...

Take the bare necessities. Send the other stuff to someone you trust and have them mail it to you once you are settled somewhere. You can get away with the current season's clothes and get any other season mailed over later. I don't know what airline you are on but a lot of airlines let you take 2 bags on int'l flights I believe, plus a carry on. If you need more than that, then you are bringing more than you need. If you aren't getting picked up by car at the airport (ie: train), the last thing you also want to be doing is carrying around bags with more than 30 kilos...trust me.

[Zgarbas]

Don't forget that many airlines(check beforehand) have special exceptions for the 1-bag limit. Cameras, laptops and a few other things can be brought onboard for no additional tax. Along with associated bags sometimes .

vix86 Wrote:Its been told to me a few times that Graduate students in Japan tend to use non-traditional means for employment since really the 15-month prior 就職 thing is mainly for undergrad students. EDIT: To expand on this a bit, many grad students use the connections of their advisors and professors to find employment in the industry; is what I've been told.

If so this is great news. ミ´ー｀彡　I'll ask around with the other grad students when I get there.

Quote:Avoid foreigners and force yourself to talk to Japanese people. There will probably be clubs and you can probably join one as a grad student as well. [...]
Just use your Japanese. If you are using English then you aren't benefiting yourself. The rest of the stuff will fall into place.

Yeah, I know. I passed JLPT1 a year ago so my Japanese is fine mostly I think and have a couple friends + gf in the area already, though I might find a tutor to help me practice speaking business Japanese/keigo. I have to relearn all of the vocabulary of my field in the language too.

I'm thinking of buying a new laptop before I go... I was thinking of just taking components from my current computer with me there and buying a case+monitor there but I decided that was way too much of a hassle. Will wait to see what the new 600m GPUs are like.

Just hoping I get the student accomodation I want + get accepted by MEXT now. At some point I'll have to get private accomodation probably anyway. Rooms with a bath/shower start at 45000円 in Kyoto according to my guide, is this accurate?

dizmox Wrote:Just hoping I get the student accomodation I want + get accepted by MEXT now. At some point I'll have to get private accomodation probably anyway. Rooms with a bath/shower start at 45000円 in Kyoto according to my guide, is this accurate?

You can probably find guesthouses for that much. You can probably find cheaper in the suburbs of Osaka and even more if you look in the rural zone between Osaka and Kyoto (though they may only have apartments in this area). Just depends how far you want to be from the school and commute everyday. Prices in the city area, espc in Kyoto, are likely to be high so expect more.

If you meant hotel though, thats expensive, don't stay in a hotel in Kyoto they're absurdly expensive. If you have to stay in a hotel/hostel, find one in Osaka and commute the hour each day to Kyoto till you find an apartment.

Hyperborea Wrote:宅急便 (takkyuubin)

Kanku has 2 of these services (all of the airports even the regional ones have at least one) that will deliver your bags anywhere in Japan for a pretty reasonable fee. A lot of Japanese people use this when they fly so that they don't have to take heavy luggage on public transport to or from the airport.

http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/en/servi...index.html

I had completely forgotten about this since the airlines had to send a bag and I later learned this is a general service. But you still have to know your final destination.

vix86 Wrote:

dizmox Wrote:Just hoping I get the student accomodation I want + get accepted by MEXT now. At some point I'll have to get private accomodation probably anyway. Rooms with a bath/shower start at 45000円 in Kyoto according to my guide, is this accurate?

You can probably find guesthouses for that much. You can probably find cheaper in the suburbs of Osaka and even more if you look in the rural zone between Osaka and Kyoto (though they may only have apartments in this area). Just depends how far you want to be from the school and commute everyday. Prices in the city area, espc in Kyoto, are likely to be high so expect more.

Sorry I was unclear. I meant studio flats, not hotels or guest houses. I'll hopefully be staying in student accommodation for the first year but after that I gotta find my own place.

I was expecting around 60000円/mo for a pretty small place with kitchen+bathroom, though I'm not sure what foreigners usually do about finding a guarantor.

vix86 Wrote:Take the bare necessities. Send the other stuff to someone you trust and have them mail it to you once you are settled somewhere. You can get away with the current season's clothes and get any other season mailed over later. I don't know what airline you are on but a lot of airlines let you take 2 bags on int'l flights I believe, plus a carry on. If you need more than that, then you are bringing more than you need. If you aren't getting picked up by car at the airport (ie: train), the last thing you also want to be doing is carrying around bags with more than 30 kilos...trust me.

I'm taking as much as I possibly can, sending stuff over from Australia is really expensive. The main reason I'm having trouble is because I'm taking my computer and guitar. Yep, I'm getting picked up at the airport by a chartered bus the uni has arranged.

thecite Wrote:I'm taking as much as I possibly can, sending stuff over from Australia is really expensive. The main reason I'm having trouble is because I'm taking my computer and guitar. Yep, I'm getting picked up at the airport by a chartered bus the uni has arranged.

Guitar I can understand, but laptops don't weigh a ton and they can be counted as a carry on. Unless you are trying to tell me you are bringing a desktop computer...

vix86 Wrote:

thecite Wrote:I'm taking as much as I possibly can, sending stuff over from Australia is really expensive. The main reason I'm having trouble is because I'm taking my computer and guitar. Yep, I'm getting picked up at the airport by a chartered bus the uni has arranged.

Guitar I can understand, but laptops don't weigh a ton and they can be counted as a carry on. Unless you are trying to tell me you are bringing a desktop computer...

Laptop *and* desktop. It's too expensive to ship, and if I don't take it with me it'll go unused for five years. Anyway, it's only 10kg, and I've already worked out how to pack everything I want, I'm just gonna go a bit over the weight limit for hand luggage (which doesn't matter).

Are you planning on putting your desktop in your luggage? I fear it'd no longer be functional by the time it reached the other end... perhaps you'd be best to just take the components wrapped up in your luggage? I was thinking of doing that and buying a case and a monitor/tv combo when I get there.

I guess if I buy a ~£700-800 gaming laptop it'd end up outdated pretty fast...

thecite Wrote:Laptop *and* desktop. It's too expensive to ship, and if I don't take it with me it'll go unused for five years. Anyway, it's only 10kg, and I've already worked out how to pack everything I want, I'm just gonna go a bit over the weight limit for hand luggage (which doesn't matter).

Trying to carry your desktop with you on the plane seems absurd to me. Were it me I'd mearly figure out what parts I thought were still the most newest, say the video card and the hard drive. And just build a new system here in Japan, thats basically what I ended up doing. There are sites like http://www.kakaku.com and http://shop.tsukumo.co.jp/ to build a PC for pretty cheap. I'd really question if you really need all this stuff right now.

[Zgarbas]

Errrr, watch out with guitars...

Airport luggage gets manhandled and the guitar has a great chance of breaking in the process. But you can't bring it with you on a plane unless you get another seat, in which case it would be cheaper to just buy a new guitar when you get there...

My dad told me to take my desktop on the plane with me but it seems absurd to me too. If it fell out of the overhead it could kill someone!

I still don't know if I'm going, but I applied for a portuguese scholarship, and I'm willing to pay a japanese language and culture course in a japanese university for an academic year. (in kyoto)

I moved to Tokyo with my carry on bag only and I packed both my desktop (broken down without the case of course) and my laptop with me. I also had nothing else sent over and I've been her for 1 1/2 years now. Trust me when I say the less you pack the better. Contrary to popular belief the more people pack the MORE they fret about thinking that they need said things. The truth is you could come to Japan with just your wallet, passport and the clothes on your back and you'd probably have a less stressful time moving in than people who try to bring as much stuff from home as possible.

It's an iMac, so I'm just putting it back in its original box, packing some clothes in too to save on space, and putting it in checked luggage. Same with the guitar, packed in hard case in checked luggage. I'm allowed as many separate pieces as I want weighing up to 20kg for checked luggage.
I really don't see the harm in taking heaps of stuff. I'm going to be living on AUD 1, 100 a month or so, I don't want to waste money on buying clothes I already own.

activeaero Wrote:Contrary to popular belief the more people pack the MORE they fret about thinking that they need said things.

This.

I packed a shit ton the first time I came to Japan for a year and regretted it later. This time coming over I left stuff out and knew what I should bring and just had stuff shipped over as I realized I needed it and it has worked out all the much better for me. I eventually built a desk and had my vid card and HDD shipped to me since it was still very new.

Okay; well all I'm bringing is my guitar, computers, clothes and books. I don't think that's too bad at all considering it's my life for five years. As I said, it's logical for me to take as much as possible because shipping is ridiculously expensive.

I started throwing and giving things away day by day before my departure as much as I could.
Lots of stuff I even didnt have a chance to give away because of lack of time.

Sorry for sort of hijacking this thread, but I'm also heading to Japan this Autumn. I'll be doing a one semester exchange at Sophia University, in Tokyo. It will be my first time in Japan and this will be the fullfilment of something I have been working hard to accomplish for years. As this will be my first time in Japan, I'm really excited, but at the same time, quite nervous.

I want to thank everyone for the tips posted here. I have also checked around the forum and the web about specific info regarding Sophia and Tokyo, both good and bad aspects. Posts on this thread were also particularly helpful.

But now I would like to ask for some more specific advice, especially regarding how to prepare myself, in terms of Japanese language study, before I go. My Japanese level is quite low. I didn't pass N4 last year (albeit by just 9 points). Nowadays, if I took it again, I would definitely pass, but even though I've been studying for N3 for the last two months, I'm still quite far from reaching the next level anyway. I am also halfway through RTK (had extremely productive months from December to February, but have since then trailed off).

My biggest concern, however, is listening and speaking. I have NEVER had conversations in Japanese outside of a classroom environemnt. And while my reading skills aren't that great, they are definitely much better than my listening ones. My problem is not at sound level. I can phonetically decipher what people say just fine. The issue is that, apart from obviously lacking a lot of vocabulary (and grammar), even when I do know the words, I have a very hard time piecing what people are saying and making sense out of it. With reading, this is not as hard, since it isn't as instant, but with listening, it is a real struggle.

I know that when in Japan I will get better at these things, but I also wouldn't like to arrive there and be completely lost. What can I do to try to at least improve a little bit before departing? And then to maximize my learning when there? I would like to prepare an intensive study plan and would be extremely thankful for any suggestions you can give me.

[Zgarbas]

Find language partners and start chatting with them? Having someone to talk to greatly improves your speaking&listening skills. If the Uni has a website they might have a forum, so you could start meeting the people there and maybe even adding them on skype for chats.

Most conversations tend to revolve around basic words and topics, so try to practice those as much as you can, and when you get to Japan you can worry about situations where you're having deeper conversations. Just think of a situation (talking to someone about the weather, asking for directions from Tokyo station to Shinjuku, telling someone that you're tired and explaining why, stuff like that) and start talking to yourself out loud. See if you want to use a word you don't know and learn it. Maybe go to lang8 and see if you're expressing yourself correctly (some people post audio recordings on lang8 to check their speaking).

Also, Japanese podcast101 for listening? Just download all the dialogues, listen to them, and if you don't understand something download the rest of the lesson parts depending on what part you don't get (they have neat little study sheets for each dialogue as well). You could go straight to native podcasts, but I like having a neat explanation ready for whenever I get stumped .

Thank you very much, Zgarbas!

Yes, I'm practicing basic conversations as much as I can. To be honest, I'm not so worried about that type of stuff. What really concerns me is my ability to understand and keep up with conversations past that level, a little bit deeper, which is quite important when trying to make friends... But as you mentioned, I guess I can worry about that when I'm there.

I've also gotten a hold of Japanesepodcats101! I'll try to immerse myself as much as I can before I leave, also with native material like other types of podcasts, dramas and music.

Once again, thanks!