English language in Japan
Plainly put, Japanese people generally speak very little English - if any at all. People who’ve studied English language for four or five years have no problem with writing or reading, but find it extremely difficult to listen or talk in English [thanks to the largely inefficient method in which foreign languages are taught in Japan - but that’s another story]. This also
applies to the university staff and students, so don’t be surprised if you’ll have to resort to sign language to state a point if you don’t speak Japanese at all 
Grammatical mistakes are also very common, even in public places [in case of public signs etc.], as you can see from the photos below…
This is a photo of a trash can from the Expo 70 amusement park in Bampaku Kinen Koen, Oosaka. The words pretty much speak for themselves, don’t they?
Barnables…? Yeah, I think that sign should be burned [and maybe replaced with a correct one], too.
…I have no idea what this notice is supposed to mean, either
More to come 
First week in Japan
There are three types of situations that you must go through
in the first week after you arrive in Japan: paperwork, placement tests, and
last but not least, getting to meet new - and usually cool - people.
PAPERWORK
There are a number of formalities which you have to go through once you
arrive in Japan: applying for an Alien Registration Card, entering the National
Health Insurance System, confirming your major and so on. On a more informal
note, this means that you’ll have lots of papers to fill in and lots of places
to go to. Also, you will have to take a compulsory medical examination* [X-ray
chest examination, urine analysis, visual and hearing accuracy tests, height,
weight - that kind of stuff].
The university staff will handle all the organizational and
administrative issues, so all you have to do is fill in the papers and do as
you’re told. It’s an easy - and very boring task.
* for Oosaka Gaidai students, this examination takes place
at Garcia Hospital, which is at around twenty minutes of walking from the campus
PLACEMENT TESTS
Placement tests are used to determine your level in various subjects and
place you into a class accordingly. The most important test is the Japanese
Language test, which consists of three separate examinations [kanji, grammar,
and essay writing]. As I said before, even though they state it’s not necessary
to have any Japanese language knowledge at the time of applying for the
scholarship, it’s highly recommended that you know at least the basics or you’re
going to have a hard time later on. Following the Japanese language test, you
will be assigned to an advanced, intermediate or beginner class.
Other placement tests vary according to your area
of studying. Generally, the subjects are as follows: history, politics and
economics** for students majoring in human sciences, and mathematics, physics
and chemistry for students majoring in mathematics, engineering and the like.
All students must also take a compulsory English
language test; students who fail this test are required to take an extra
one-year English course.
! Side note: don’t expect to be given the
results to these placement tests; they serve as a reference for teachers and
will not affect your grades in any way.
** students majoring in economics [business administration etc.]
must also take a one-year mathematics course and the according placement test.
HANGING OUT
Japanese students at Oosaka Gaidai [or Tokyo Gaidai] won’t give you a hard
time for being a foreigner - but don’t expect an overly-enthusiastic welcome,
either. The best time to socialize with them is during the parties held at the
dorm [there’s usually plenty of those], or at the cafeteria during lunch break.
Still, most of them hardly speak any English, so it’s best if you know some
Japanese - or you can at least speak very, very simple English [don’t make it
too complicated or they won’t understand you at all :))].
Guide in and around the campus
Here are some of the most notable places in and around the campus:
~ Eating:
- Cafeteria / Restaurant [Rainbow]: here, you can eat a variety of
dishes [both Japanese and international] for a relatively low price. Open:
9.10 ~ 20.30 [weekdays]; 11.30 ~ 13.30 [vacations]
- Cafeteria [Satia]: Open: 11.00 ~ 19.00 [weekdays]
- Convenience store [Cherie]: here, you can find bread [which is quite
rare in Japan], sweets, yogurt, hamburgers etc. Open: 8.30 ~ 20.30 [weekdays]
- Other sellers: during weekdays, there are a number of vendors who sell
‘obento’s [lunch boxes]; these obentos generally contain rice, sauce, tofu [soy
cheese], eggs etc.
~ Shopping:
- Travel bureau, Bookshop, Stationery shop [Shanty]:
here, you can find a variety of goods and services, including booking airplane
tickets, shinkansen tickets, bus tickets etc., postal stamps, telephone cards,
books [course books, dictionaries, novels etc.], CDs, USB memory sticks, memory
cards, plug adapters, computer mice, notebooks, writing instruments etc.
Open: 10.30 ~ 20.00 [weekdays]
- Garden Mall: this complex is located at about ten minutes of
walking from the campus and has just about everything you could need [except
clothes and electronics]: food stores, convenience stores, a hair saloon,
several restaurants, a bookshop etc. Most students do their shopping here.
- Seven-Eleven: a good place to buy magazines, drinks [also alcoholic
drinks] and food. Open non-stop.
- Family Mart: same as the Seven-Eleven, but a bit farther from the
campus; here, you can find Brastel phone cards, which are really cheap if you
want to make international phone calls. Open non-stop.
~ University facilities
- Computer room: here, you can access the Internet, work on
projects, make xerox copies and prints. Open ・9.40 ~ 20.40 [ weekdays];
12-40 ~ 18.20 [school vacations]
Note: You need a student ID card to use this facility. Student ID cards are
usually ready within one week from arrival.
- Wireless network rooms: here, you can use the campus wireless
service for free. Make sure your laptop computer has a wireless modem installed.
Within a few days from arrival, you will be assigned a user name and a password
and you will be given a guidebook on how to set up your wireless connection.
- Video and DVD library: Open ・9.00 ~ 21.00 [weekdays]; 10.00 ~ 16.00
[Saturdays and holidays]
Note: You need a student ID card to use this facility. Videos and
DVDs cannot be taken outside the library.
- Library: You can borrow five books at once for mostly three weeks.
You can borrow magazines mostly one week. You cannot borrow some books, but you
are allowed to make photocopies. Open ・9.00 ~ 21.00 [weekdays]; 10.00 ~
16.00 [Saturdays and holidays]
Note: You need a student ID card to use this facility.
- University medical center: Open: 10.00 ~ 16.00 [weekdays]
~ Transportation
1. Bus stop: Oosaka Gaidai Mae
Available destinations: Onohara, Kita-Senri, Senri-Chuo. Does not operate
when classes are closed, on Saturdays and on holidays.
2. Bus stop: Madani Jutaku 4
Available destinations: Onohara, Kita-Senri, Senri-Chuo, Minoo City Hall
3. Monorail station: Saito Nishi
Available destinations: Bampaku Kinen-Koen [amusement park], Kita-Senri [you
can take the subway from here], Senri-Chuo [you can also take the subway from
here to downtown Oosaka, where most of the fun stuff is].
After arrival
AFTER ARRIVAL: ACCOMMODATIONS AND PROCEDURES
After arriving in Japan, there are a number of
formalities to go through at the airport before you will be met by university
officials and guided forward. Here痴 a tip: just go along with the flow of
passengers from the airplane and do what they do; there’s no way to get lost if
you do that. After you’ve gone through the registration procedure and claimed
your luggage, you will be met by an official from the university in the waiting
area and guided from there. Also, you will receive an ‘arriving allowance’ - a
sum of money to serve your immediate needs.*
If you are in the Undergraduate course, your university will insure
transportation between the airport and the campus. On arriving to the campus,
you will have to read / fill in / sign several documents before you are able to
claim your room.
* The sum was 25.000 yen for U course students in 2007 - enough
to buy food, drinks [and maybe cigarettes, too] for several weeks.
! From this point on, the information given regards Oosaka Gaidai only
The trip from Kansai International Airport to the Oosaka Gaidai
campus takes around an hour or an hour and a half, depending on how busy the
traffic is. The university will provide a means of transportation [a bus,
minibus or taxi], so all you have to do is kick back, relax and maybe catch some
sleep, because once you arrive at the campus, there will be a number of papers
to deal with before you’re allowed to go to your room and rest.
Generally, undergraduate students are hosted in one of the two
International Student Dormitories on the campus. Dormitory #1 is mixed, with
single rooms for girls [fifth floor] and boys [third and forth floor], as well
as couple rooms [second floor], whereas Dormitory #2 is girls-only. Rooms are
fully furnished and equipped with nearly everything you need: furniture [a bed,
a desk, a book case, a closet etc.], heater / air conditioner, desk lamp etc.
Bed sheets, pillows etc. are also provided. The bed laundry is changed twice a
month. There is a common kitchen, a bathroom, a laundry room and a shower room
on each floor. Additionally, the first floor of Dormitory #1 has a relaxation
room where you can play ping-pong, play the piano, read the latest newspapers
[in both Japanese and English], watch TV, or just kick back and enjoy your time.
There is no Internet access [wireless, optic fiber etc.] available
on the dormitories. However, you can sign up for a paid wireless service at an
adequate provider, although the signal in and around the campus is not that
good.
Flight and luggage information
Depending on your country, you’re most likely to go to Japan by plane. Each travel company has a weight limit for luggage and hand luggage [for Lufthansa Airlines, for instance, the limit is 20 kilos for the main luggage and 8 kilos for the hand luggage; check the website of the company you’re traveling with for more detailed and up-to-date information]. Therefore, it is very important for you to know precisely what you should or shouldn’t take. Some stuff can be bought cheaply and from almost anywhere; other stuff is quite hard to find.
THINGS YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY TAKE WITH YOU ~
Plug adapters
Japanese plugs are different from European and American ones, both in shape and in voltage input. Be sure to bring a variety of adapters for your laptop computer, camera charging cord etc. It’s advisable to go to an electronics shop and ask for an adapter for Japanese plugs; they’ll be sure to help you. You can also buy adapters from here [usually from the convenience store near the cafeteria], but if they’re out of stock or they don’t have the type you need, things could get troublesome.
Hint: Laptop cords usually need an SE type adapter, while camera charging cords, hairdryer cords use either an A or C type adapter. Be sure to test the adapter you buy before coming to Japan and change it at the shop or buy a different one if it doesn’t match. Alternatively, you could buy such an adapter on the Internet.
Medicine
Needless to say, the medicines in Japan are radically different from those in Europe or in any other part of the world. When you come here, it’s advisable to bring painkillers, cold medicine, stress-relievers [you may suffer from time lags, homesickness or whatever ~ don’t buy really strong ones though, you’ll turn into a vegetable], as well as medicine for any kind of particular affection that you suffer of [heart diseases, asthma etc.] Later on, you can consult with a doctor who can prescribe you the appropriate equivalent medicine in Japan.
Thick clothes
A thick jacket, some sweaters, a scarf etc. are mandatory if you will be studying at Oosaka Gaidai. The weather can change three or four times a day, and in the first month of your stay [April] it can get very cold. Don’t take too many clothes with you though, as you can purchase more once you get here.
Money
The first scholarship is given around the end of April, so it’s advisable to have at least $1000 with you when you arrive. It’s advisable to exchange the money into Japanese yen in your own country, as there aren’t too many places around the university where you can do so. Alternatively, you can apply for a Visa Classic or Visa Electron debit card – and it’s good to know that the only ATMs from where you can withdraw money [in Japanese yen, regardless of the currency that your bank account is in] are the postal service ones [the Japanese postal service also fulfills basic banking roles].
“But why the heck do I need that much money for?” you may ask. Well, these $1000 are enough to cover the basic expenses of your first month here: food, drinks, necessary books, cigarettes [if you’re a smoker], as well as an electronic Japanese language dictionary [which is a must for Japanese language students – you can find plenty of them even at the university convenience store], a laptop [everyone here gets one sooner or later] and other such items. It’s also advisable to buy a bicycle, as most students [and even some of the teachers] use bicycles a lot and it’s a cheap, fast and healthy way to get anywhere.
THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T NECESSARILY BRING ~
Books, notebooks etc.
You’ll find plenty of Japanese language books at the Oosaka Gaidai bookshop [and I’m sure other universities have this kind of books as well], and you can also copy or borrow such books [dictionaries, grammar, kanji etc.] from the library. A simple conversation guide will do; you can always buy the rest later on. As for notebooks, ball pens, pencils and so on, you can find them really cheap at the campus convenience store.
Too many clothes
Japanese fashion is quite different from the rest of the world, and so you’re bound to stand out even if you wear the most sophisticated or expensive clothes from your home country. It’s best to wait and buy the clothes you need here; some shops [like UNI-QLO] offer really good deals, and you can also refer to second-hand shops.
Notification and procedures
The Embassy will notify you of any procedures you must follow. Needless to say, be sure to do as you’re told.
The Embassy will also usually set up a briefing with all successful candidates. At that time, you will be given all the necessary information, and you will have an opportunity to ask any questions you have.
! Hint: Make sure your passport has at least two years of remaining validity, as the first visa you receive is granted for two years (and can be prolonged later on). It may be necessary to renew your passport for that.
! Hint for Romanian students: If the guys at the passport department don’t want to change your passport or ask for a ridiculously high fee (or bribe, whatever you may call it), simply pretend that you lost it or spill some juice (or coffee or whatever) or tear out a few pages and declare it ‘deteriorated’. They shouldn’t have anything to object after that.
! Hint for Romanian students (and probably everyone else, too): Sometimes, the Embassy can move really slow. Be patient and call them from time to time; if you bug them long enough, they’ll be sure to spill out all the information they have
