Details

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

1. Preparation

Regarding the application process: Grades are probably the most decisive factor, but once the application period for the exchange semester comes around it will be too late to meaningfully change them. Thus, when applying, the most important thing will be for you to make clear why you want to go where it is that you applied and what you do outside of university to make yourself a more well-rounded, educated, and altruistic person. Regarding preparing for your semester abroad: To be honest, aside from book my flights and apply for my dormitory, I didn't do much else to prepare for my semester abroad. There was a lot of organizational stuff to complete in the first few weeks post arrival, but everything was very manageable and didn't require any special from of preparation.

2. Accommodation

Regarding housing at Kobe University there are really only two options: apply for dormitory housing with the university, or find housing yourself. Everyone that I knew — myself included — opted for the former. Once you apply for dormitory housing, there is really nothing else that you can do; you simply wait until you are allocated one of the several dormitories available. As far as I know there is also no way to change anything about the allocation after the fact. As I said there are numerous dormitories, but I can only speak intelligently about the Sumiyoshi residence (the dormitory that I stayed at). The rooms are small — ca. 10m2 — and are equipped with a bed (but no real mattress), desk, small kitchen, private bathroom (with a shower), and plentiful storage considering the room size. All in all the dormitory served its purpose and, considering the price (ca. 130€ all in), there isn't really much to complain about. The dormitory is located roughly 35 minutes away from the university by foot. It is in a rural area of the city and it takes roughly 40 minutes via public transportation to reach the city center. I don't have any real tips regarding accommodation because, again, all you can really do is apply for a dormitory allocation and then the rest is out of your hands.

3. Academic life at host university

The campus is very large and the university has roughly 20,000 students — similar to WU. But this includes all disciplines. The Graduate School of Business is much, much smaller. There is one building in which all business administration courses are taught and from my impression there are only a few hundred students max studying business. All courses I took, with the exception of one, were taught in person with mandatory attendance. Roughly 1/3 of my courses were taught by external professors. Participation was usually graded also. All in all, I'd say that the academic level is quite a bit lower compared to WU. However, this also may be due to the fact that most students at KU do not speak English fluently; maybe the Japanese courses have a higher academic level. Unfortunately, I can't recommend any courses, as they always change the courses they offer. But what I did like very much about the courses is that you have a lot of freedom in planning your semester. For example if you wish to complete the majority of your courses in the first half or two thirds of the semester, leaving more time to travel later on, this should very doable.

5. Every day life in the host country

Public transportation is very good, but significantly more expensive than in Vienna. There are a plethora of activites nearby, considering Osaka and Kyoto are also so near (e.g., Universal Studios Osaka). There aren't many events organized by the university tailored to include exchange students (assuming you don't speak Japanese). Most of the activities/events you attend will likely be organized together with the other exchange students. There are however very many different sports offered by the university, but they do seem to be fairly competitive. Lastly, I want to stress the that the level of English proficiency — both at the University and especially among the general public — is fairly low. Expect to need to rely on Google Translate a lot in your everyday life.

6. Testimonial

All in all, I very much enjoyed my exchange in Japan. I was able to travel all across the country (from Okinawa to Hokkaido), and visit China and Korea also. While I did make a few Japanese friends, due to the language barrier and personal interests the majority of my time was spent with other exchange students. Kobe is also very centrally located, so its an amazing place to stay if you are looking to see a lot of Japan. And if you're looking for a night out or a bigger city, Osaka is always just less than an hour away. While everyday life is somewhat cheaper in Japan, you will likely still spend a significant amount of money traveling.