Experience report
Name: Willemijn Cauberg
E-mail: wcauberg@gmail.com
Exchange semester: Spring 2014
Academic year: 2013-2014
Host University: Kyushu University, Fukuoka
Country: Japan
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
How was your arrival organized? Did someone pick you up from the airport/station? Was an
orientation or introduction activity organized? How was accommodation organized? Does the
university provide you with accommodation? What kind of accommodation does the university provide?
Did you have to book your accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a place to live
after you arrived?
Before my arrival I had contact with Kyushu University about how to get to the
accommodation. They gave me the address in Japanese language, which I had to show to a
taxi driver when I was at the airport. The accommodation was relatively close to the airport and
the costs were approximately €20,-. After my arrival they showed me my room, which was in
the international dormitory of the university. The first day I could relax from my flight and get
to know the area, the second day two buddies picked me up in the morning to go to the ward
office since some documents and information had to be arranged. After this we had some
Japanese lunch together and they showed me the legal part of the university afterwards.
The accommodation itself disappointed me since it was very dated, dirty and badly maintained.
However, after a big cleaning session and making the room more personal it felt already better.
Nevertheless, in my opinion welcoming your exchange students in such places gives a very
bad impression. Luckily, the costs were about €110,- per month for a single room, so in that
light the bad condition can be explained.
One other note to the accommodation: the dormitory office was in my opinion too strict
against exchange students since they really discouraged having fun, throwing (dinner) parties
or other activities with the other dormitory students. However, because of their attitude people
cared even less about the rules and became more rebellious. So they really should loosen up!
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Please describe the city you lived in. Where is the university located in the city? What is the best
place to go to eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.? What are interesting things to see and do in your host
city? What was different than in Tilburg?
Fukuoka is in my opinion one of the best cities to live in! Not only is the weather flourishing
(despite some heavy humidity in the summer), the city one of the cleanest spots in the world,
the people sincere and loving, but the food is simply WOW. If you want to try a-ma-zing food,
go to Fukuoka! (For a more extensive explanation check this article:
http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2014-10-13/junot-diaz-on-fukuoka-japan-s-next-great-foodcity) Also, the urban planning in Fukuoka is in my opinion one of the most sophisticated ones
in the world and a lot of cities (especially in the Netherlands) could learn big time from it. It
should be noted though, that the location is a big plus for the city. It is located at the
oceanside, but not far from the first mountains, which gives amazing natural areas in the city
and of course great views! Moreover, it is a shopping Walhalla! Did you think you saw many
shops already? Go to Fukuoka. It is not only a labyrinth of great shops above ground, if you
go underground there are so many passages filled with shops you think there will never come
and end to it.
Kyushu University has multiple campuses, but the one I had to go to every day is Hakozaki
campus, which is located a bit north from the city center (approximately 15 minutes biking
from either the dormitory or the city center). Around the university are several malls,
restaurants and other public spaces where you can go for either studying or relaxing. However,
my favorite part of the city was of course the city center which consists of three main areas:
Tenjin, Nakasu and Hakata. Most shops, restaurants, bars and clubs are located in Tenjin, but
Nakasu offers also a lot! Hakata is mostly known for the ‘business men’ and the central station.
Pretty much all restaurants have great food in Fukuoka, but my favorites are Ippudo (ramen
noodles, you can find one in Hakata station) and Sathi (Indian restaurant, pretty much across
Hakozaki station). If you’re looking to have an unforgettable party night I can recommend
Fubar and Club Cats, for some casual drinks downtown look for Two Dogs and Black Sheep.
During the day time, go for some shopping or city stroll. It is not the most exciting city for
cultural interested people, however a visit to the Fukuoka Tower & Momochi Beach, Dazaifu
and other shrines around town are definitely worthwhile.
TOPIC: Academics
Which courses did you take and why? Which courses would you recommend? What did the courses
add to your program at Tilburg University? How does the university compare to Tilburg University
concerning the level of the courses, use of extra material, level of English, workload, etc.? Overall,
were you happy with your academic achievements during your exchange? Please describe the
campus of your host university.
The 6 courses I took were: (1) Bioethics and the Law (2) Comparative Corporate Law (3)
Contemporary Issues in Competition Law (4) Japanese Intellectual Property Practice (5) Law,
Innovation and Economic Growth and (6) World Trade Law. I chose for these courses since
there were not much other ones to choose, plus the fact that this gave me the most ideal
schedule. Most of the courses didn’t add a lot to my program in Tilburg, since the level of
courses was low. First of all, the courses given by Japanese professors (number 2, 4 and 6)
were in my opinion the worst ones. Number 2 was simply the worst class I have EVER taken!
Not only was the professor useless: she didn’t taught us anything but made students give
presentations about chapters of the book each week, her level of English and social skills
were beneath sea level. Number 4 was a very nice and (apparently) highly respected professor,
however his English level was horrible and barely understandable. Also there were no
materials or specified curriculum. Number 6 was just an intensive course given by a very
likable and passionate professor from a different university, however I don’t have the feeling I
learned anything from the course since he was only telling stories.
The other 3 courses were most of the times good or even great. Number 1 and 5 were in my
opinion the best ones. An English teacher gave number 1 and he was passionate about his
class, he had very good social skills and gave a clear curriculum. Number 5 was professor
Vermeulen from Tilburg University whom gave an intensive course for a week. In my opinion
he was just like number 1: immensely passionate about his class and he really taught us new
theories. Moreover he gave a lot of clear information and cases from practice. Number 3 was a
Belgian man who was very dull and old school in his way of teaching, however the curriculum
was fine.
Overall, the level of the courses was very low. I didn’t have the motivation to pay attention
during class most of the time (excluding number 1 and 5) and even after class there was not
much to read / prepare. This made my exchange semester at the university on one hand pretty
boring since I wanted to learn more, on the other hand it gave me a lot of spare time to have
fun and travel.
Last but not least, Kyushu University and more specific Hakozaki campus is very old and
dated, which made it not an attractive place to hang out before / after the classes. Therefore,
my experiences at the university are very minimal.
TOPIC: Social life
Which social activities organized by the university or students? Did you have contact with local
students? Did you have contact with other exchange students? How did you get along with the local
students and other exchange students? Did you travel to other places/countries during your exchange?
The university organized a welcome party at the beginning, however there were only a handful
students which made it a pathetic matter. Luckily I met the other students (who were all there
for a year and already started in September) in class, so that’s where my social life started.
Except for that, the university organized some activities like a tea ceremony or kimono fitting,
unfortunately I couldn’t attend them because of other plans I already made. Moreover, the
students who were there since September already attended those activities in the first
semester (when we were still in The Netherlands) so it was unattractive to attend for me.
Luckily as students we organized a lot of dinner / drinking parties, shopping sessions with the
girls, chill days at the beach etc. There were also a lot of activities organized by Fukuoka Now,
so that’s where I met English speaking Japanese people or other ones who were not in my
classes. It is actually really nice that Fukuoka is a relatively ‘small world’ so in a short period
of time you pretty much know all the foreigners and expats. However, during my stay I would
have loved to get to know a lot of Japanese people. This was most of the time impossible
because of their lack of English skills and my lack of Japanese skills. Therefore I would
definitely recommend attending some Japanese language course focused on speaking (not
reading & writing).
During my exchange I traveled incredibly much because of my overload of spare time and the
lack of activities I could attend with my classmates since they all had to write their master
thesis in the second semester. I would definitely recommend everyone to travel as much as
they can if they go to Fukuoka in the second semester, otherwise you will be bored to death
since you don’t see much except for your room and your laptop screen. The places &
countries I’ve been to are the following:
 April  daytrips
o Japan
 Fukuoka
 Dazaifu
 May  15 days with an English friend who was studying in Bangkok
o Malaysia
o Cambodia
 daytrips
o Japan
 Kitakyushu
 June  17 days with my boyfriend
o Japan
 Tokyo
 Kyoto
 Osaka
 Okinawa
 July  daytrips
o Japan
 Shikanoshima
 Nokonishima
 Beppu
 August  19 days with my parents and brother
o Japan
 Dazaifu
 Tokyo
 Kyoto
 Kobe
 Nara
 Nagasaki
o Korea
 September  15 days with a Russian friend from Kyushu University
o Philippines
o Vietnam
o Laos
o Thailand
TOPIC: Living costs
How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from Tilburg University?
What were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg? What did you spend most of your
money on? What would you advice future students to spend their money on? Please outline your
approximate monthly budget whilst on exchange: housing, food, textbooks, etc.
My exchange period was mostly financed by DUO and my savings account. The living
expenses are comparable to The Netherlands: some things are more expensive and other
things are cheaper. The rent for the room is very low like I mentioned above, food is affordable
and varies between €3,50 and €8,- (take out prices, since they are most of the times cheaper
than cooking dinner) and the high public transport costs can be reduced by buying a bike
(new ones are around €70,-). Traveling inside Japan is nevertheless VERY expensive because
of the high train / airplane costs and the crazy ho(s)tel room prices. Therefore, not everyone
wanted to make them voluntary. Because of the high prices inside Japan I decided to go
abroad to the cheaper countries in Southeast Asia: airplane tickets are a bit more expensive,
however the costs on location are much lower which made the total traveling cheaper than
living inside Japan.
My approximately monthly costs (excluding traveling & shopping, note: I didn’t live a shabby
and cheap student life) are as follows:
Room rent
€110
Food (incl. dinner parties and going to restaurants)
€210
Public transport & taxis
€30
Clubbing / going to bars
€50 - €100
Daytrips
€100
Others
€50
€600
TOPIC: Culture
Did you experience culture shock while on exchange? How would you compare your host culture to
your own culture? What did you learn about your own culture while on exchange? What was different
about your host culture than you expected? What did you like and not like about your host culture? Do
you feel you learned a lot about your host culture, and if not, what would you like to learn more? How
would you describe your host countries culture? If you travelled to other cities/countries during your
exchange, were they different than your host city/country, and how?
Since I already have experience with traveling and being in unfamiliar situations I didn’t really
experience a culture shock. Nevertheless, I couldn’t get used to everything in Japan. The
people over there are very sophisticated, friendly, loving and helpful, however sometimes in
very nervous ways, which made me nervous. Also, they are not allowed / not able to make
decisions on their own (without contacting their supervisors) and this meant that everything
went 10 times slower than expected. Because of the fact that we are very liberal and free of
mind in The Netherlands, these situations got me sometimes very irritated. These two things
are luckily the only negative things I can think of about Japan. Most of the time I loved the
country and its people very much. Not only do they have the positive characteristics as above,
they are also very serene, calm, civilized, modern and personally developed. Therefore, in my
opinion most Dutch and other Western people could learn a lot from them.
TOPIC: Personal development
What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange? Would you do things differently if
you had the chance, and what would you do differently? What was your best experience, and what
was your worst experience? What will you remember forever about your exchange period? What was
the most important lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange period?
The thing I experienced as most special during my exchange is the fact that I was able to get
to know people from every continent in the world. In comparison with friends of mine who also
went on an exchange, they always hung out with the (Western) European people since there
were so many, while I was lucky enough to have the most beautiful moments and interesting
conversations with people from all around the world. Therefore, it is not only Japan that I got
to know but also other cultures.
Another thing I have learnt from my exchange is that I definitely want to work in an
international environment in the future. I like change and renewal, therefore being around
people from different countries, cultures or religions force me to create situations where I have
to adapt that causes change and renewal.
Also, in many business situations ‘human capital’ is the solution to the problem since this is
the most variable and influential asset. Being on an exchange and getting the once in a lifetime
experience with all sorts of people made me realize that this kind of experience is not
something you can read about in books. Therefore, the impact of the exchange and all the
social experiences have even more value than expected.
Next to these experiences I think I also made some personal developments. What the
Japanese culture taught me most is becoming more patient and getting rid in some way of the
‘Dutch rudeness’. Also, some situations forced me to open up to strange traditions, foods or
other situations that in the end made me more comfortable and brave. Moreover, being away
from home for 6 months and traveling a lot made me stronger, even more independent and
even more self-confident. Nevertheless, I don’t feel like I changed too much and became a
different person since my roots will always be in me.
TOPIC: Tips for future students
Would you recommend an exchange period? Would you recommend your host university? What
should prospective students bring with them/leave behind? What preparation is required for going on
exchange to this destination? Was there anything you should have done in preparation that you didn’t
do?
Looking back on my exchange period I can definitely say that it is so far one of the most
extraordinary things I did in my life. It is worth every second, penny and effort! Yes, sometimes
you have to adapt to situations or cultures, but in the end you gain so much knowledge about
those things that you cannot conclude otherwise than saying: it was worth it 100%!
However, I do have some notes regarding my exchange. I am aware that Japan is not the most
popular destination for students from Tilburg University but the International Student Office
should advise students better. First of all, Kyushu University only had a few (in our case 3)
exchange students and there are no other words than: this is scandalous. Comparing my
exchange with my boyfriend and friends showed me that they had massive groups of people
around them: why is it impossible for us to arrive in such social environment? Second of all,
99% of the students in your classes are there for 1 year and studying the complete LL.M. / LL.D.
program which means if you arrive in the spring semester, they all know each other and they
are very aloof from the new students. But what bothered me most was the fact that after 2
months they had to submit loads of stuff for their thesis deadlines, which meant that they
didn’t have any time left. Pretty much the three of us were designated to each other, and I
definitely expected more from it, even though these students were friends of mine. Third of all,
Kyushu University is moving to a new location in Itoshima (outside Fukuoka) which means
that future students are forced to live in the middle of nowhere, with no stimulation from a big
city like Fukuoka and no activities to do. Living in Fukuoka was already a bit boring because of
the fact that everyone had fulfill their thesis deadline or other obligations, luckily the city
center was 40 minutes by bike so I could entertain myself. For future students being in
Itoshima will simply bore them to death, not only because of the location but probably also
because students will think twice before going to Kyushu University since there are few other
international (exchange) students. Finally, the office managers from the international
dormitory should really loosen up. Threatening students when they are not violating any rules
is simply unacceptable. Both sides create a nice, comfortable and safe environment, so acting
like Nazis doesn’t help.
My advise to future students is regarding everything I’ve written so far the following. Fukuoka
is an amazing city and of course you will find just as amazing people around you! But if you
want to go on an exchange to Kyushu University, especially in the spring semester: think
twice. You will have so much spare time you seriously don’t know what to do with it anymore,
therefore going with a to do list or traveling plan to Japan is definitely a good idea. In this way
you can fill in all your spare moments. Realize that in every city you create the life you work for,
however in Fukuoka you definitely have to work harder to get the same result. Therefore,
looking back, I would prefer living in Fukuoka as an expat and not as an exchange student.
Also, because of the fact that most Japanese people basically don't speak English, especially
outside Tokyo or Kyoto, try to attend a Japanese language course or try to learn some words
and expressions on your own.