Kansai Gaidai University

The 2 main choices are host family or the dorms (a few people had apartments on their own). If you want to hang out with the other foreigners and party a lot and have a fun time the dorm is probably better cause there's always something going on and people to do stuff with. If you want a more intimate Japanese experience and don't want to go back to dorm life then the host family is better. The vast majority of people I know were happy with their host families.

Get to know some Japanese students, it really goes a long way to have someone to practice speaking with. There are so many international students that there is a tendency to only hang out with them and speak English or your native language. You came so far away, might as well try to practice the language a bit :) There is a speaking partner program, but depending if you click with them and if you have time, it may benefit you. The Japanese students usually have their classes in a separate building, so you need to make some effort to get to know them. (Othertimes, THEY (usually the 1st year students) will come flocking over to the international student lounge looking for foreigners to practice English with).

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