Experience report
ANR: 189050
Name: Weimin Shen
E-mail: shenweimin222@gmail.com
Exchange semester: Fall semester
Academic year: 3rd
Host University: Waseda University (早稲田大学)
Country: Japan
Admission, arrival, housing
It is quite lucky for me to have chosen Waseda as my exchange destination, since they have
prepared almost everything for me. Before departing to Japan, the exchange coordinator
informed me that he had helped me reserve a dormitory in Building 3, Waseda Hoshien (早稲
田奉仕園) that is 5-minute walking from campus. The dormitory provides airport picking up
service in two specific days. I cannot find any word other than excellent to describe my
dormitory including the staff in this dormitory. The room is around 12 square meters with all
kinds of furniture and a private toilet. There are two bathrooms, one big kitchen, and one laundry
room in each floor, and eight students share them. In the first floor of the dormitory, there is a
lounge where people always get together for chatting, watching movie, playing instruments, etc.
Even if you don't speak Japanese at all, you can also have fun there, because all the residents
living in Building 3 are foreign exchange students. The staff in the dormitory are so friendly, and
don't worry about the security of the dorm since even at 2 a.m., I can always see guard go on
patrol in the floor. Besides, the dorm often holds party for international students including the
orientation and welcome party in the first arriving week. In the party, they usually prepare some
Japanese food for us and invite some Japanese students to communicate with us. Anyway, my
experience in this dorm was really excellent!
Location of university/city
Waseda University is located in Shinjuku-ku (新宿区), which is the center of Tokyo. Around the
campus and dormitory, there are lots of restaurants, bars, coffee shops and 24-hour convenient
stores so that daily life is very convenient. Tokyo is a metropolis where you really have so many
places to go. Shinjuku (新宿), Shibuya (渋谷), Ginza (銀座), Harajuku (原宿), Akihabara (秋葉
原) and Roppongi
(六本木) are the places where I visit very often, and I believe you can find
everything you like there including shopping malls, very best restaurants, night clubs, etc.
Academics
Waseda University has a University campus, but it is not very big. I think that by 15 minutes
walking, you should be able to go around the campus. During my study in Waseda, most
courses I have taken are economics related courses, as the department I went for exchange is
School of Political Science and Economics. Frankly speaking, many Japanese lecturers have
very poor English level. They speak English slowly and one word by one word, and their
pronunciation is somehow difficult to understand. Japanese education is quite different from
Dutch education. For most courses, attendance is mandatory otherwise you will fail that course.
Yet, the good thing is that the workload in Japan is not as much as that in Tilburg. There is
almost no group assignment, and some courses with an individual assignment do not have
exam, while some courses consisting of a final exam do not require any assignment. Also, the
courses in Waseda are easier than those in Tilburg such that I don't feel a lot of pressures even
if I have taken 8 courses in order to have 30 ETCS to be transferred into Tilburg. Regarding the
academic achievement, I am convinced that I have obtained enough knowledge in the field of
Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.
Social life
Within Waseda University, there are many departments and student organizations that will
organize activities for students including traveling to the other cities in Japan. Since I do not
speak Japanese, I have not made many Japanese friends, which is the most regretful thing
during my exchange. Also, as all the courses that I have taken are conducted by English, there
are only few Japanese students in my classes due to the fact that most Japanese do not speak
English at all. Most friends I have made in Japan are also foreign students who were in the
same classes with me, or the other exchange students who lived in the same dorm with me.
Living costs
The financing of my exchange comes from my parents. I spent around 2000 EUR per month
including the rental payment that is approximate 600 EUR per month, and I think most of my
expenditure in Japan is contributed to food, as I am a person who likes trying all kinds of
delicious food. Moreover, I ate every meal outside since I do not know how to cook. In addition,
I also spent some money on clothes, bars and cigarettes. Thus, I think this spending is
reasonable.
Approximate monthly budget:
Housing: 600 EUR
Food: 800 EUR
Cigarettes: 100 EUR
Other activity: 500 EUR
Textbooks: Actually textbooks are not required for most courses
Culture
Since I am from China, a country having similar culture with Japan, I had not experienced any
cultural shock during my exchange. The first day when I arrived in Tokyo, I just felt that I was in
my hometown, Shanghai. Moreover, before going to Japan, I had already known a lot about
Japanese culture because Japan has always been my favorite places since I was young. As
Japan is my dreamland, I like and accept everything in Japan including the great Japanese
culture. I think that Japanese cultures are mainly politeness, hardworking, perseverance and
the very high commitment to the social rules. These good characters are of course worthy of
learning.
Personal development
To adapt to Japanese society, I tried to be very polite when contacting with people, and I obeyed
every rule in the society such as always walking on the left side of the pavement. Whereas, if I
had a chance to stay in Japan again, I would definitely contribute 120 percent of my efforts to
study Japanese language as hard as possible, by which my exchange could become more
meaningful. Still, I think that living in my favorite city, Tokyo, every fresh thing could be the best
experience for me, while there is really nothing that I could use the worst experience to describe.
Every episode in Tokyo is precious for me, and I do wish I could remember all of them forever!
Tips for future students
I will of course recommend all of you to go to Waseda University for exchange to experience
the very best Japanese culture. If you will go there, I don't think that you have to bring a lot of
luggage to Japan because the dormitory will prepare everything for you including the linen, and
almost all kinds of shops are available around the dorm. The only thing you need to prepare is
the entry visa, while the exchange coordinator will help you to apply for it, so don't worry. Finally,
I strongly recommend you to study Japanese before going to Japan, which would help you
blend into Japanese society more quickly and easily.
A picture is worth a thousand words
Well, this picture is Shibuya (渋谷), my favorite place in Tokyo.