Details

• Japan
• BBE-18
• Undergraduate
• SoSe 2025
• Time spent at the partner university: 4 months

1. Preparation

I did a japanese language course organized by the WU language center which helped me to gain firsthand japanes knowledge aswell as builiung a base for my future japanes learning process, this helped me in the application process as the professor who was responsible for the application could see my longterm desire to study abroad in Japan. I think what also helped is that I had a clear vision on what courses I wanted to take at Waseda (In my application also for Keio) and how they fit perfectly in my study path. For my semester abroad i started early with duolingo but i dont think this is particulary helpful as the Japanese you will learn will be way to formal then the real Japanese language culture. As i had envisioned my stay abroad way earlier i immersed myself with different cultural trains and norms in Japan which i think is really helpful to understand Japan and I recommend doing that by yourself as the Japanese culture is different than the other south-east Asian cultures. The cross-cultural competence course only helped broadly and was not very specific on Japan.

2. Accommodation

I applied over the official accommodation recommendation of Waseda and got a place allocated for WID-Waseda which is a campus dorm, what surprised me was that the fees additionally to the rent were very high which would have left me with a rent slightly higher then 800 €, so I declined that offer as i wanted to spend my money on travel and not my accommodation. But if you have big pockets then its worth it because you have almost like a full pension and they had a great culture within the dorm. I was declined by many share-house options until i found Borderless-House which was a very great option, i paid around 520€ with fees and got a clean room in a house with good utilities and a modern kitchen, i only got into Borderless-House Komagome which was a 35 minute commute to Waseda, what really stood out was that 50% of the residents were Japanese and 50% were internationals which immersed myself into the culture as me and my mates cooked different Japanese traditional foods. But i think that is very much dependent on the situation in your specific house. Nevertheless would i recommend this company as it was relativ cheap but also with good utilities.

3. Academic life at host university

Waseda is one of Japan's leading private universities, so the campus was really great with good possibilities for all kinds of different sport clubs and other options for clubs. I joined a skiing, fashion and football circle and got welcomed very well in all of them, they are privately organized and you can sign up in the week of registration (first week on campus). The courses were a bit easier then the average WU-Course i would say and as I only had free electives left my possibilities were endless. Teachers were always very helpful and easy to contact

5. Every day life in the host country

Public Transport where perfect and the safety is so much better than in Vienna, as I already stated I really recommend checking out the circles (Student clubs) in the beginning of your academic term at Waseda. As i made good friends there and the possibilities were endless

6. Testimonial

My experience was fantastic and above. I loved every second in Japan and I miss Tokyo and the other parts where I traveled so much. The Japanese people were wholehearted and helpful in every situation. I made friends which i still call good friends now. I connected with interesting people from all over the world and i miss the endless possibilities this city had. Ich kann leider kein Bild hochladen dann kommt eine Error Meldung aber ich hab sehr viele schöne Bilder die ich euch zukommen lassen kann. Schreibt mir eine E-Mail: mitjarapp@web.de oder auf Instagram: mitjarapp .