1. Name: Carl Flygare

2. E-mail: cafl4351@student.uu.se

3. Exchange university: Keio university

4. City: Tokyo

5. Country: Japan

6. First semester of your exchange: Fall

7. Academic year: 2017/2018

8. What subject area(s) did you study during your exchange

Japanese language and culture/history/religion

9. Level of studies at the exchange university

Undergraduate

10. What are you studying at Uppsala university?

Master in Energy Systems Engineering (ES)

11. How many years of study had you completed before going on exchange

Eight years of studies.

Studies

12. Tell us about your studies on your exchange. If you are stuck for ideas you can for

exemple write about: The differences between Uppsala University and the

exchange. What were the teachers like? What courses would you recommend (or

not) for future exchange students? The relationship between teachers and

students. The academic level and quality of your courses. Access to computers.

Examinations...

To study in Japan is, compared to Sweden, a little like being back at high school. Of course, it

depends on what you study – e.g. I guess that studying medicine, engineering or math etc. might

be more like as in Sweden since there is a certain degree of knowledge you need to acquire – but

in general it’s not as strict as one might think. Traditionally this has to do with what the Japanese

companies want (they want more generalists than can cooperate than individualists, but that’s

another long story). In comparison I understood it that the Japanese elementary school and high

school is tougher than Sweden, but once you manage to get into a university you’re “safe” in one

sense. But to get into the top universities requires passing very tough entrance tests with tough

competition. When you go as an exchange student to Japan you don’t have to do any of these tests,

you can almost point and click where you want to go.

During my exchange I didn’t take any engineering, math or nature scientific courses since I didn’t

need to transfer any credits back home to Sweden. What I wanted was a break from my regular

studies, try something new and learn as much about the culture I was in as possible.

At Keio university there is two main path you must choose between as a start: JLP (Japanese

Language Program) and KIP (Keio International Program). JLP is only focused on learning

Japanese while KIP offers many different courses taught in English. Let’s go a little deeper. JLP

has two levels – the “main course” and the “predesigned course”. The difference is the speed your

anticipated to learn Japanese at, and my estimate is that the predesigned course is 100-150 %

faster/tougher than the main course.

It’s also possible to learn Japanese through KIP by choosing what’s called KJC (Keio Japanese

Courses), and once again there is a speed difference. My estimate is that JLP’s main course is about

150 % tougher than KJC. This is just my own subjective comparison, but as another perspective

while KJC do one chapter a week, the main course does two and the predesigned three (as a rough

comparison). The JLP courses also go deeper within the chapters when it comes to learning

vocabulary and grammar, and during the lecture they pressures you harder to show results than in

KJC. But it also depends much on your teacher I think. All Japanese language courses cover a

certain level between 1-10, where level 1-2 uses Minna no Nihongo 1 and level 3-4 Minna no

Nihongo 2. The levels above that I’m not sure, but if you’re interested in studying Japanese as a

beginner, I can recommend looking through these books a little before going to Japan (you will get

them for free if you get accepted to a course though). Compared to the most important official

Japanese language tests I understood it as if you’re level 4-5 somewhere it corresponds to N2 and

level 7-8 somewhere is N1 level. I guess that means that level 9-10 is high academic Japanese that

even many Japanese themselves won’t know without studying it (this is just my guess).

With that in mind, what did I do?

Well, my story is a little different than most people. I started in JLP but transferred to KIP after

about 5-6 weeks. Officially it’s not really permitted, at least not during a semester. But they allowed

me through a solution where I was still registered in JLP but were allowed to take KJC courses

instead of JLP. If you for some reason would like more info about this, just write to me since this

exchange report is long enough already.

Why did I switch?

Well, my main idea when I came to Japan was to learn both the Japanese language, but also take

English courses about Japanese culture and history – in addition to have time to go travel Tokyo

and the rest of Japan. Before coming to Japan, I didn’t know any Japanese. Nothing at all. As other

exchange reports have explained in more detail, you must take a placement test if you want to take

JLP-courses etc. Since I had no previous experience I was assigned to level 1 automatically. They

told me to learn hiragana and katakana before the courses, and I manage to memorize them during

the week before the courses began which I then had to show in a short test. I manage to do this,

and thus I entered the first class where they immediately began to start speaking Japanese. Only

Japanese. If you haven’t taken any Japanese before it means you won’t be able to understand a

single word. I’ve had some difficult courses previously in quantum chemistry and dynamic

nonlinear systems... but those times I at least understood some things. My first real day at Keio

university I sat for 4.5 hours and basically didn’t understand anything. But as the weeks went on

my ears slowly starting to adjust, and most of the time at the beginner levels they say the same

word and expressions over and over again in a slow manner (e.g. “Please read”, “Please write”,

“Next page” etc.) while slowly stepping up the pace. And yes, sometimes they give you a short

hint/help in English if they deem it necessary. After a rough start I reached a kind of more or less

stable equilibrium, I felt I could stay afloat although my weekly scores were far from the best in

class (most had taken a little Japanese before).

But now to the reason why I switched, it was because I didn’t really enjoy it. Yes, I wanted to learn

Japanese… but the classes were kind of stressful for me as a total beginner. Learning such a

different language as a beginner, you will have to fight rather hard. You also need to be very humble

and accept that you will make tons of mistake every day in front of others. This took some time to

adjust to. Another reason I switched was that I also wanted to take English courses as I wrote

above. But it was tough to make it work, but I did it and I think that I was the only one in my JLP

class who took English courses. But I didn’t feel completely satisfied with this schedule, I was

among the bigger newbies in my JLP class and while being this I also took some English courses

while everyone else focused on JLP.

The result was I felt I had to much split vision between JLP and English courses while not having

so much time to go around Tokyo, do events and relax (I had to study quite a bit to keep up with

my courses, especially JLP). I also wanted to take it a little easier than my engineering studies in

Sweden, so all things considered I realized that KIP would fit me better. Exchange “studies” isn’t

only about studying, but also about learning about the country you’re in (otherwise you can just sit

inside a library in your home country all the time, right?). To do this you need time to spend outside

the university. In the end I’m happy I switched to KIP. In KIP I still took Japanese language

courses, but the speed was slower and more relaxed. I also had some really good courses in English.

All courses with a (*) I can recommend if you want to learn about Japan and also the courses

marked with (**) and (***), but they are very similar to each other so one might be enough. The

Buddhism class teacher will also offer after class meditation in a nearby temple usually.

Below are all courses I took:

Fall semester

• Essential Japanese 1-1 (Japanese)

• Essential Japanese 1-2(Japanese)

• Spoken conversation 1a (Japanese)

• Spoken conversation 1b (Japanese)

• Written communication 1 (Japanese)

• Writing and reading 1 (Japanese)

• Orthography 1 (Japanese kanji class)

• Japan’s postwar resurgence (*)

• Deep culture understanding: Understanding Japan through Cross-Cultural Comparison

(**)

• GPP Workshop course with focus on negotiation and persuasion

Spring semester

• Essential Japanese 2 (Japanese)

• Written communication 2 (Japanese)

• Spoken conversation 2 (Japanese)

• Japanese Buddhism and Social Suffering (***)

• Buddhism in Contemporary Japan (***)

• Religions in Japan

• Journalism in Japan (*)

• Crossing Borders: Adapting to Japan and Adapting to the World (**)

• Japanese Capitalism and Entrepreneurship (*)

• Japanese Company Introduction and Factory Visit (*)

Orientation and reception

13. Tell us about how it was to arrive and settle in.

The first day when I arrived I was on my own (or more precisely I landed with another person

from Sweden who had a little knowledge about Japan). After some trial and error, we managed to

get to our dorms – just let it take its time and don’t get stressed. And when you get your sim card

you can use Google Maps all the time which works wonders. It’s generally very good at giving

directions and trains (there are also some more apps, but Google Maps in general is enough), and

even if you want a challenge to find your way yourself it’s a nice backup. I think that all Keio dorms

has some kind of information sheet how to find you way there, and I had printed mine which

worked nicely once I made it into Tokyo. At this point I did not know about the different types of

trains (local, express, rapid, commuter express) and I went past my station two times before I

managed to find one that stayed there – just hang in there.

Keio university had housing information the second week I think, where you get all kind of practical

information. The only thing you really need to do first weeks before classes begin is to register your

place of stay at the nearest city ward office. Other things highly recommended is to get a Japanese

sim card (with or without number, I had a data sim card only and managed fine. But there were a

few times a cell phone number would have been nice. But such a sim card cost more – your choice).

Some people opened bank account, but I didn’t (maybe you’ll save some money over a longer

period of time since you don’t need to pay fee for every withdrawal).

We also got a buddy groups from the university where we were 2 Japanese students and 4-5

international students. Some groups worked better than others, and what happens entirely depend

on you group. I met with my group a few times the first months, but we slowly lost contact with

each other during the first semester. Other than that, it’s very common with student circles and

clubs at Japanese universities (circles are a bit casual than clubs) which focuses on a specific interest

or theme. Almost every Japanese student are a member of at least one, and many international

students joined one as well. You got a catalogue from the university with the circles and clubs

which welcomed international students, and there were also some drop-in occasions at the

university where Japanese students would help you to find one that could fit you. I highly

recommend joining at least one to get a perspective into Japanese culture except from classes within

the university.

Accomodation

14. Describe your accommodation. What type of accommodation did you have, were

you satisfied? Do you have any tips for future students?

I stayed at one of Keio university’s dorms called Shimoda Student Village in located in northern

Yokohama. Shimoda is a big student dorm which consists of three different floors with around 40-

50 people on each floor. Every floor has two kitchens, and there are also some other shared rooms

like a study room and a washing room (and a few more). Compared to other dorms (at least when

I was in Japan) this dorm is mixed, meaning both men and women live in the place without any

physical barriers between them. Japanese students also live here, but they have another entrance

and there is no common room which means you will never really hang out, sadly. The rules were

on paper the same as all other dorms, but they were not enforced so hard (once again, compared

to some other dorms. Compared to Sweden all dorms have rather strict rules). The rent was 63.500

yen per month, which is not cheap but not expensive either. It took about 10-15 min to walk to

the station (where Hiyoshi campus also is), but since you mostly will go to Mita campus you have

to take a train for around 30 min, and then walk another 10 minutes to Mita campus. All in all, I

think that Shimoda was ok, it is not that central, but it’s a good place to get to know people and it

doesn’t take that long to commute. But I know some people who found share houses etc. more

central who were very happy with that. But you’ll need to put in more work yourself to find a place

that is not from Keio housing of course. The only big minus with Shimoda Student Village was

that it was a little noisy somtimes during late evenings and nights. Since there is so many people in

the dorm, and the sound proofing from your room to the corridor is not that good, noises spread

easily. It was not a big problem though, and it depends a lot of who you live with. My first semester

was fine but the second one it was some Brits (oh, big surprise) and Spanish making noises during

a few occasions. Also during the morning, you can hear noise from the sports fields around the

dorm where Keio sport teams practice. But it depends a lot on where you room is.

Your finances

15. Describe the cost of living. Did you find CSN adequate? How was the rent in

comparison to your rent in Uppsala? Did you undertake and part-time job in

addition to your studies?

I maximized my CSN in all ways possible. I was also lucky enough to get a few scholarships which

gave me some extra money (all from Uppsala, I can especially recommend trying to apply for

Thun’s resestipendium). I applied for the JASSO scholarship, but didn’t get it.

I haven’t kept exact records, but I think I used around 12 000 SEK per month in total average. So

yes, you can survive on CSN alone. I did not live a life of luxury, but I ate at university everyday I

went there. I also ate out maybe 2-3 evenings a week in average and travelled outside Tokyo for a

total of 5-6 weeks. I also went to Seoul in South Korea, Manila in Philippines and Taipei in Taiwan.

As long as you don’t buy too much expensive things or dinners, you’ll have enough money to try

many different things. But many students I met also took some part-time jobs, mostly in a

restaurant as a waitress, as English teacher or in a convenience store.

Free time

16. What did you do in your free time? Did the university arrange any special

activities? Were there any activities specifically for exchange students? Were you

happy with what was on offer?

In my free time I (except the time I made a dedicated journey) met with friends, went to day hikes

outside Tokyo, exercised at the very small gym at Hiyoshi campus (there is also a bigger one near

Mita Campus called Minato-ku Sports Center), went around Tokyo big city area and met with my

student club.

From Keio university’s side there are at two big student circles that arrange events with

international students called KOSMIC and PLURIO. I went to some of these events which all

were nice. The reason I didn’t go to more of them is that I joined another joint student club called

“BizJapan” which consisted of students from many different universities in Tokyo. In BizJapan it’s

mainly Japanese students, and it’s also a more serious student club compared to many other where

people are trying to do real projects. As a comparison KOSMIC and PLURIO only does bigger

events focused at having fun and relax. I can recommend joining this club, write to me if you want

more info!

There is also a group called “Keio Welcome Net” which consists of Keio alumni (I think everyone

was that at least) which sent me a mail about once a month in average with different events, e.g.

Japanese tea ceremony, cook Japanese food, walking tour somewhere, visit Japanese festival etc. I

really liked this, and the alumni (around 50-70 years old maybe) were very kind and cute. But since

the spots for the events usually were limited you had to reply fast.

My exchange as a whole

17. Please sum up your exchange experience. If you have any other tips for future

exchange students, or any other comments, feel free to include them here.

As a whole it was a fantastic experience to live in Japan for 11 months and I’m grateful for the

opportunity and happy I took it. I didn’t know much about Japan before I went there, but I went

in with an open mind and I what I saw was in some cases very similar to Sweden and sometimes

very difference. But all in all I’m surprised about how similar Japanese and Swedish people can be.

But of course, there are many differences when it comes to social codex and how the culture of

the culture looks like – not speaking of the climate and the topology of the country. But when it

comes to values we are pretty similar in some cases. The Japanese culture has so many different

faces, be prepared to spend many hours trying to make sense of what you see and to take many

pictures.

Since I was 29 years old when I went away I knew that I’d probably be older than most people,

and yes in my dorm most people were around 20-22. Most Japanese I met was even younger

(usually 18-20) since they go to university a little earlier in average. I could feel the age gap often,

but I usually didn’t mind and since I’m pretty flexible I often tried to adapt. One thing I thought a

lot about was which strategy to use when it came to spending time with other people: spend a lot

of time with few and get to know them more deeply or try to meet more people through events,

classes, friends of friends, Tinder (!) etc. but spend less time with each of them? Although not a

completely conscious choice I ended up spending a little less time with many people. I don’t know

if I should I have picked differently looking back, since I only got to know 3-4 separate people

“deep” compared to some at my dorm who had groups of 5-8 people doing a lot of things together.

But I don’t think I’d have picked differently. Mostly because that I was, as written above, some

years older than everyone else and didn’t feel that my interests always aligned with them. I mean

of course we had some things in common and I joined some groups several times, but I think I

was a little more interested in Japanese cultural, history and society in a deeper way. Hence, I many

times went to cultural “things”, meeting some new people or went to a new place / the Japanese

countryside walking around rather than going to hip youth places in central Tokyo during the

evenings (Shibuya, Harajuku, Roppongi). Another reason is that I wanted to mostly meet people

from Asia rather than European countries. Although not getting to know so many people deeply,

I met a lot of people I would still call a “friend” which I’m going to try keep in touch with in the

future. I don’t think I’ve changed or developed that much as a person before going (I had a pretty

stable identity, values and view on myself before going), but a little of course. For instance I’ve

gotten more confident in travelling alone and making my way through a unfamiliar culture simply

by experiencing it more. As long as you manage to stay relaxed, have some patience and don’t give

up too early you can do and go almost anywhere (as long as you’re not openly naive).

Some pictures

Japanese lesson

Music performance at a Japanese ryokan (traditional inn)

Cultural discussion during my student clubs spring camp

Sunset at the countryside

Tokyo’s biggest park from a 45:th floor (ish)

The middle of the cherry blossom period

At the peak on the other side of the Tokyo bay

Peak of mount Fuji (3776 meter)

End of semester party with my student club

At Odaiba (Tokyo’s biggest onsen = traditional bath)

One and a half hour outside Tokyo

First time I almost could handle chopsticks

Kyoto during sunrise (first day of the year)

Old (and small) onsen at the countryside

One of seven bridges connecting Shikoku with Honshu

The famous Itsukushima shrine torii (=gate)

Bedrooms at a traditional Japanese ryokan