Study Abroad and Domestic Study Away

Going to Japan was one of my biggest dreams since I was in middle school. I used to watch YouTube videos on things to do in Japan, getting excited about a trip that I thought I would never have. Last semester, I did not only visit it, but lived there for four months. I studied Spring at Tokyo International University, which is in the Ikebukuro area, which I could say in downtown, but Tokyo is so HUGE and developed that almost everywhere could be considered downtown. This is also the reason I was not bored for a second during my semester abroad. If I got bored of Ikebukuro? Shibuya is 15 minutes away by train. If I got bored of that too? Shinjuku is another 15 minutes away. Or I could go to Yokohama, or Asakusa, and on and on! Each of these districts in Tokyo were as big as an actual city on their own right.

But Tokyo is obviously everything in Japan. Actually, my most memorable time in Japan was a trip that I took with some friends in the university. We went to Kyoto, and it was unbelievably beautiful. I could feel culture in every inch of the city, and this is not an exaggeration. One time, went into an alley in the city by mistake, and we found a shrine. Next to the biggest shopping area of the city, there is also one of the biggest temples in the city. There was a mountain hike, that in every stair up the way had a Torii gate you went through. Places like these were everywhere.

But my biggest cultural shock was the big considerations that people had with each other. Like, no talking in the train, or eating next to a random person. Japanese people are super friendly, but they set very specific boundaries, and everyone follows them. This was something that I had to get used to, and helped me to understand some things that I am used to doing that might be unpleasant to people around me. Making me more self-aware. I would definitely recommend Japan as study abroad destination!

The Osaka Castle: