Profile Page – Okayama University

“The biggest help was being able to contact our exchange advisors. Any questions I had, they were able to either answer themselves or put me in contact with the right university department for my inquiries. In terms of getting involved on campus, I played in a tennis club that met on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. I actually was introduced through the group by another one of the exchange students I was taking Japanese classes with. I’d highly recommend reaching out to interesting clubs once you get settled, it was a great way to practice my spoken Japanese and network with domestic students.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“There was a place called L-café on campus, where anyone can go and meet new people, make Japanese/international friends, learn and teach languages, study or do homework, etc. I made lots of new friends there so I am grateful for having access to this place.” – Full Year 2022/2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“A lot of our classes were structured in a way conducive to cross-cultural connections, so we took classes with a mix of domestic and international students. As a result, the teaching styles, expectations and grades were all very similar to Carleton classes.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“The school gave me a course catalog that shows all the courses that exchange students can take, so it was a simple and easy process.” – Full Year 2022/2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“We stayed in the Share House, where each dormitory had four bedrooms, a bathroom area, a washing machine and an open concept kitchen. Your dorm had a four-digit keycode and each bedroom had a separate four-digit code, so you could have privacy from your roommates. The Share House was structured so each dorm would have three international students and a domestic Japanese student. Bedding had to be bought or rented from the university. Out back there was designated bike parking. You can rent a bike from a shop near the university and the school will give you a tag to ID it with for the duration of your stay. I paid about $280 Canadian monthly rent while I was there. If you go to Japan, be advised that society is still fairly cash-based, but all Japanese Seven-Elevens have ATMs that accept international cards where you can withdraw Yen. Overall, I was very happy with the Share House and would recommend it.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“Since my grandparents live in Okayama, I stayed with them and went to school from there. All my friends that I met through this exchange lived in an international share house. ” – Full Year 2022/2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“I was able to withdraw local currency using my debit card from ATMs at Seven-Eleven and most places that took cards accepted our Canadian debit and credit cards. I would not say that setting up a Japanese bank account is necessary at all, but I would recommend that you always keep at least 5000 yen (~$50 CDN) on you in case of emergencies. Japanese cell plans are very cheap, so if you’re in the market for a phone plan, I would highly recommend one within your budget that has lots of data so you can check map apps and open QR code links when you’re out and about.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“Since I have a Canadian phone and didn’t want to lose my phone number, I decided to pause the phone plan but kept my number and I also got a pocket Wi-Fi that I could carry anywhere and kept airplane mode on the whole time. I couldn’t make phone calls unless it’s Facetime or through an app, but that’s the only inconvenience.” – Full Year 2022/2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“We regularly went to Tandoori Bar, a Nepali curry restaurant down the street from the campus, which had a student dinner set for about $8 Canadian. Atomic Café, another nearby restaurant we frequented, offers many delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Okayama has the biggest mall in Western Japan (Aeon Mall), which is right by the central train station. There are many fun stores and restaurants to go to there. The biggest garden in the city had free admissions for students as well, so I recommend bringing your student ID and taking a stroll through there. Kurashiki is about 30 minutes away and has beautiful festivals and beaches. Bizen is a historic pottery district in the prefecture and Bingo in neighbouring Hiroshima prefecture is home to the denim industry. We spent many weekends in Onomichi, Hiroshima, an hour west of Okayama. The small fishing city has a beautiful historic market downtown, the famous cat alleyway, which is part of the trail leading up the major mountain. If you head south to Kagawa Prefecture, you can visit the historic castle in Takamatsu, which has beautiful watchtowers, gardens and a small museum section as well.” – Winter 2022, Bachelor of Global and International Studies

“In the spring we get to see cherry blossoms (end of March to early April). In the summer, we have famous fireworks festivals and bon odori.” – Full Year 2022/2023, Bachelor of Global and International Studies