1. I studied Japanese for two years before I went to Japan. I think that the more Japanese one knows the more they can get out of the experience. Of course, one also has to make sure it fits in to their overall academic plan. It seems that two or three years is a good time period. I also know a number of people who studied in Japan with one semester of Japanese or even no Japanese at all, and they seemed to enjoy it but it can limit your experiences. My best experiences in Japan happened because I could speak some Japanese so I would recommend becoming at least functional in the language.

2. I studied in Japan for four and a half months.

3. I decided on the IES Tokyo program because of its field placement program. In that program a student gets to observe and participate in a workplace in Japan.

4. I went with a lot of money so I didn't really budget from month to month, but I did budget $8000 in spending money for the whole trip. With this I was able to do whatever I wanted and not have to worry about money; I even took a trip to Hong Kong with it! Tokyo is expensive, but there are plenty of cheap places to eat and drink too. If a person is on the look out for good deals they can probably get by on much, much less than that.

5. I lived with a host family in Chiba City. It didn't really meet my needs because it was too far away from everything. If I wanted to go out to Shinjuku or Shibuya it took an hour and a half by train. Think about what you want to get out of the experience before you choose. An apartment, if someone arranges it for you, would be an excellent option for someone who wants a lot of freedom although I imagine it would be very expensive if it's in the city and you have no roommates. Also, if you try to arrange it yourself you'll need even more money for a deposit and key money, etc. Dorms are fairly nice as I understand. They typically have a midnight curfew but that is sort of irrelevant because trains don't run much after midnight anyways. A host family will give a person more insight in to Japanese family life but also comes with obligations (not saying that is a bad thing).

6. I took 3 sociology courses and one Japanese course. The credits transferred effortlessly to the U of M because the U handles all of the credits granted from IES anyways.

7. Japanese was a great class. The downside was that often people weren't placed in a level appropriate to them. The other classes were terrible. The lectures were a total bore, the level of discussion was very low, and the work was time consuming. I really disliked the classes because they took away time I could spend seeing Japan and learning the language.

8. I think the ease of making friends will vary according to the type of school one chooses. Personally, I went to a foreign language school so it would have been a challenge to not make friends. Outside of that sort of environment it is more difficult. People will typically not approach you and have a conversation with you (especially since everyone will assume you don't know Japanese). The best tactic is probably to go to a place where people are supposed to socialize. Once you meet one person you can meet their friends and so on. So while you might not seem to have any friends at first, after a couple months you will probably have plenty.

9. At Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba (Tokyo) a lot of English is spoken. It's a good and bad thing. Outside of school Japanese is spoken 95% of the time. The only real exceptions are the rare person who wants to practice English or if you are someplace where they get a lot of foreigners, like restaurants in Roppongi.

10. If I knew someone thinking about taking the IES-Tokyo program I would tell them to reconsider. The program does get a person thinking about cultural issues, and they do take care of you, but it is simply too time consuming and expensive. If you want to be in Tokyo, check out the Sophia program, I was planning on going with that one, but the IES field placement sounded too good.

1. I studied for approximately 1 year before going. My advice to anyone is to just take advantage of the time you spend there. If you're serious about studying Japanese it'll come easily.

2. 11.5 months.

3. Location. Though I think any possible location can yeild a good experience, I personally wanted to study in Tokyo.

4. A lot. Try to pinch pennies where possible, but if you can spare money for cultural experiences do it.

5. Dorm. I wanted personal freedom, without feeling obligated to a host family. However, I rather wish I had stayed with a family for the first semester, as I understand that it is an unrivalled experience.

6. I took mostly sociology courses. The transfer was fine because IES and the U of M have a pretty close relationship.

7. The classes were generally pretty easy, and to be honest they were one of the least important things for me while I was there. I found that actually walking out the door into Japan was much more effective than listening to some American tell me what Japan is like.

8. Talk to Japanese people. Don't section yourself off with the other exchange students because you're afraid to talk. And if you think you won't get along with Japanese people, you either aren't giving them enough time or you're just being closed minded.

9. Kanda is a gaigodai, a foreign language school, and presuming you're not Japanese in appearance you'll likely be spoken to almost exclusively in English. My advice is to use Japanese whenever possible, and if you make Japanese freinds in Japanese they'll think of you more as a native and act more naturally towards you. Real immersion WILL NOT come if you don't forget about cultural differences and appeal to Japanese students as a human being. Using Japanese will make that process easier.

10. The program itself is not geared towards those serious about learning Japanese or real Japanese culture. It's more of an extended vacation unless you work at immersing yourself properly. However, the staff at IES Tokyo is wonderful, and they'll be supportive of those who wish to leave the trappings of the program and experience Japan themselves. The feild trips were also quite good, but aside from that I don't reccomend participating in most of what the program sets up. Enjoy Japan, don't merely navigate a virtual reality guide book.

1. I studied 5 semesters worth so I put in around 2 and a half years of rigorous Japanese study in the language before finally going to Japan. The first semester I studied was when I was still a senior in highschool so not a lot of that sunk in. I did however take that semester at a local university so it was at the college level. However I've long considered my true Japanese study to begin when I came to the U of M and started studying with the Genki textbooks and the staff in the ALL department. Thanks again to all the teachers ^_^

My thoughts after arriving and observing other exchange students who had no Japanese whatsoever is this: no matter what, as long as you try your best it does not matter how much Japanese you know. Most Japanese college students (who you will be around most of the time while studying in Japan) have had English as a required component of compulsory education since they were in middle school (around 7th grade for most of my Japanese friends I met in Japan) so most Japanese people can read and write English incredibly well (especially if they are in college). Not only that, you are likely to bump into many Japanese majoring in English so they will be eager to practice speaking their language of study with you. That said, if you are afraid of going due to not having enough Japanese skill, my belief is knowing absolutely no Japanese doesn't hurt you, but if you want to have deep philosophical conversations right off the plane, start studying!

2. I was in Japan for 6 weeks from June 5th to July 19th, 2003.

3. I chose the 6 week summer program through the Global Campus at the U of M because it was the only Japanese study abroad program I could find that took place during the summer. I had no idea at the time that there were other options but just the same the program I chose was excellent. Not only that, to go for a full year (let alone a full semester) was not possible for me. So the best choice for me was the summer 6 week IES program. There are other summer programs that I've heard of such as ICU but I know very little about them. You can also go for short month long stays through religious groups as I've heard, but there again I only know about the IES summer program.

4. Holding no punches, the IES summer program is going to cost you at least $4,000. But you will spend more. Trains in Japan are very expensive. A lot at least $100 for a monthly pass called a TEIKI which lets you travel from one set station to another set station and all the stations in between for a month. Even though you buy a TEIKI you will still buy tickets that lay outside your TEIKI range. So allot $100 for the TEIKI and probably another $100 for tickets that come up on outside of your TEIKI range (this is for the 6 week summer program in Tokyo by the way, all of this advice will be different if you study elsewhere in Japan). On a side note, to get across the Tokyo metro area (the circle within the YAMANOTE train line for example <think about how 694 circles around Minneapolis, the YAMANOTE line is the 694 of Tokyo essentially> will cost you big time. And if you want to go out and actually do stuff (like karaoke, going out to eat or drink, going to the arcade and so on you will want to have at least $100 U.S. on you at all times. Japan is a very cash based society. ATM's are available but they might not take your card (especially if you bank with TCF and have a 6 digit password for your ATM card - I spent many hours on several occasions trying to find an ATM that allowed more than a 4 digit passcode to be entered, so learn from my mistake). And if all else fails, FIND THE NEAREST POST OFFICE (or ask where one is). Every post office I found in Tokyo had a bilingual ATM that allowed 6 digit passcodes!!! I was saved once I found this out! In conclusion, always have cash on you! It's hard to get used to from living in America which is all about plastic for money exchange, but in Japan cash is key to getting around. Just remember that the ATM's are not available 24 hours 7 days a week (even the ones in the Post Offices. So never let your cash supply get low. Keep it at at least $100 like I said before) As far as food expenses, if you live with a host family 9 times out of 10 they will provide all of your meals for you. The families that go through the summer IES program do not receive any monetary compensation for you staying with them though. So help out as much as you can. And respect curfews that your family sets for you. It is hard to go back to feeling like you are a little kid again, but these families take responsibility for you and the least you can do is show up on time for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

As far as more monthly money advice goes, again be sure to have cash on you at all times. Keep in mind that ATM's are open very sporadically and almost never open on the weekends. Expect to have $100 U.S. on you at all times to be able to just do the normal kind of go out to eat, go bowling, go to karaoke kind of stuff. Oh yeah, go out in groups and order food together! This really can save you money sharing food.

5. I studied near Tokyo in a city called Kaihin Makuhari (or 'Kaihim' Makuhari depending on how the Japanese is Romanized). However, I lived in a town in the Chiba prefecture called Hamano. This was about 30 minutes and a couple train switches from Kaihin Makuhari so it wasn't too bad. The nice thing about IES if you choose to do a homestay is they will get you as close to the campus as they can. And a lot of the families they have on their records for homestays have done homestays in the past so they are used to having foreign exchange students. I touched on this question a bit above but basically respect is key with a host family situation. Most host families will have at least one young child, a father who works all day, a mother who stays home and keeps the house in order and very likely a grandma or grandpa as well. When you stay with the host family you become a family member too so as I said above keep in mind that you have to return to the way things were before you moved out for college. The students who had the worst time while I was in Japan were the ones who didn't get along with their host families. And it was because they stayed out past the last trains and didn't get home until 5AM the next morning, they spent all their freetime with their friends and they didn't try to use Japanese ever.

6. The IES summer program requires a language course to be taken as well as a 1 credit culturally related course. The Japanese language course I took was a rigorous 4 day a week class at the intermediate level. Because it was at the intermediate level however my transferring the credit would nullify my having taken the intermediate Japanese level at the U of M. So unfortunately my 5 Japanese language credits from the summer will not transfer. But the things I learned in that course will stay with me forever despite the credit not transferring. And the teacher I had specifically remains a great friend who I've retained contact with after getting back to America. The other class I took (because IES required it) was a 1 credit cultural course on Japanese film and animation. This course was incredibly easy for me. The workload was not too intense and it was only worth 1 credit so it was a breeze overall. The other 1 credit course IES offered this summer was a pop culture course. As opposed to my 1 credit film course which was taught by an American teacher, the 1 credit pop culture course was taught by a Japanese professor (albeit he spoke English) and had a much heavier courseload. The students in that class actually had to write a 15 page research paper!!! I do not know what 1 credit culturally related courses IES plans to offer summer 2004 but rest assured, if you go to Japan you will be taking a language course that will more than likely be very rigorous compared to what you are accustomed to at an American university.

7. I touched on this question a bit in my last response, but to repeat more clearly, the Japanese language class was TOUGH. The nice thing about IES summer is the class sizes are small (my Japanese class had 5 students in it) and the intro and level 2 classes although larger still weren't crowded by any degree.

8. Go to http://www.japan-guide.com/penfriend/index_e.php and post a short ad saying that you will be coming to Japan to study abroad someday and you would like to have some Japanese penpals before you go. I did this very thing almost 1 year ago and have made many great friends. The ad I posted was in romaaji and within 3 days of posting it I had 19 penpals. This is an incredible way to improve your Japanese before you go and maybe meet some people who you can meet when you are in Japan. Don't look at this as a dating service though. The penpals you will meet are interesting in learning English so keep it as a language exchange. As for my advice on making friends in Japan, TALK TO PEOPLE. Don't be afraid to sound stupid. The worst thing you can do is go to a country as incredible as Japan and not go up to talk to people. For myself I had it easy. IES has a program called the E-PAL program where much like the penpal suggestion I made above, IES connects you with actual Japanese students majoring in English who attend the college you yourself will attend when you are in Japan. They have an E-PAL program for the semester of full-year students. too. My suggestion is to sign up to be a part of this as IES hooks you up with a Japanese student who you email 2 to 3 weeks before you leave for Japan, and then that same E-PAL will meet you with all the other E-PALS when you arrive at the airport. From that point on you can hang out with your E-PAL and through them meet all their friends. It is a great way to make friends in Japan. So when choosing your study abroad program, if you don't go with IES, see if the program you choose has a program similar to the E-PAL one. It is well worth the time and effort in my opinion. And it makes your task of getting used to homestay life, classes, commuting and adjusting to a new country all the easier to have a native speaking friend.

9. Whatever you speak in. If you speak in mostly English, that is what you will get answers in. The first thing I told myself I would do no matter where I studied in Japan is I would fall back on English only if I absolutely had to. This was a challenge for me because my host family ran an private English conversation cram school in their house and spoke perfect English!!! But I didn't give up, I kept on trying and before I knew it I was watching Japanese TV, anime and movies without subtitles and understanding them, I was listening to Japanese music and singing Japanese songs in karaoke and although I wasn't fluent by any means I was gaining that ever important skill, which is: not being afraid to make a complete fool out of yourself so as to learn from your many mistakes and never make those same mistakes again. In closing, I would say it shouldn't matter where you are in Japan. And on that note just because you are in say for example Tokyo, that doesn't mean you will be using English 100% of the time. Like I said before, most Japanese people as compulsory required education since middle school can read and write English, but if they can SPEAK it is another issue all together. So don't expect to get a red carpet rolled out for you 100% of the time. You may be surprised to find that Japanese people will be very accommodating to you if you speak no Japanese. And you may also be surprised how distant some Japanese people may be to you if you speak the language incredibly well. So pick a University in a city where you want to study. But don't worry about speaking too much English. You make your study abroad experience what it is no matter where you are. And like I said before, if you are willing to give up some pride and speak only Japanese, even if you know only a few phrases or words, DO IT. You will be rewarded in the long run.

10. Most definitely. IES rules.

11. To summarize:
#1: Do a homestay, it is the best immersion possible and you will likelymake a lifelong connection with a family who you can visit whenever you arein Japan.
#2: Be prepared to study.
#3: Don't worry about your Japanese level before going as long as you areprepared to try your best to speak Japanese as much as possible. Do not beafraid to make mistakes.
#4: Be ready to spend money. Trains, food, going out with your friendswill cost you quite a bit in a month. I spent $6,000.
#5: Don't bring too much luggage. Host mothers depending of course on theweather usually do laundry EVERYDAY and air dry it, so bring clothes that air dry and don't require dry cleaning. And since they do laundry everyday, PLEASE don't bring too much clothes! You won't even wear them all and you won't have to worry about all your clothes being dirty because your host mother will likely do your laundry for you.
#6: BUY GIFTS FOR YOUR HOST FAMILY. Buy a few little things that can be given to a wide range of people. Little trinkets if you might have a younger host brother or sister. Something nice that a grandma would like. Something that a middle aged Japanese mother and father would like. The best fall back plan for a gift is something related to your own country. Get a picture book on Minnesota. Get some candy specific to Minnesota. Heck, get a little snow shaker at the Mall of America. Just make sure you have a gift to give for when you arrive and for when you leave. And be sure to wrap it!! It doesn't even need to be professionally wrapped. Just take the time to make it look nice. Preparation in advance goes a long way and saves you embarrassment when you arrive and are already nervous and embarrassed as it is.
#7: Bring a pair of shoes or sandals that come off and on easily. Just trust me on this.
#8: BRING AN UMBRELLA. Especially in the summer. Japan has a rainy season in the middle of the summer called TSUYU and it rains a lot. And you don't want to spend your precious money on a cheap umbrella at a train station. So bring one from home. You won't regret it.
#9: If you can afford it, get an electronic Japanese to English dictionary.

I feel I touched on everything I'd want to say for the purposes of this survey. I hope my input helps. And if anyone has any more focused questions for me feel free to email my student account: birk0065@umn.edu I am more than happy to help anyone who is interested in studying abroad in Japan.