After arrival

April 25, 2007

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.

Procedures