Kansai Gaidai University

So basically Hirakata is boring as hell.. it is considered like country side in Japan and for a reason. There is not much to do in the town except eating out a bit and going to karaoke to get wasted. It is scary silent and dead after sunset... a bit depressing to be honest. So, the solution is to go to Osaka or Kyoto by train (at least 30 minutes each), and there you can have lot of fun, especially Osaka for the nightlife, although there are a few clubs in Kyoto too but way quieter. Kyoto is better for day trips, Osaka for the nightlife. In Osaka you can get drunk really cheap at Pure which always has an all you can drink on weekends for pretty cheap. But the place itself is small and not really good. After you can head out to some better clubs, like Onzieme, Grand Cafe, Giraffe, etc. Onzieme used to be amazing (before the law that closed all clubs so early), among the top clubs in the world, few foreigners, amazing music and set up, expensive as all good japanese clubs, like 4000 Yen just to enter no drink included or 1 drink included. Japan can be really really fun, but you need money basically. Hopefully you have a good scholarship.. ;)

I'm not into the traditional bar/club scene, but if you like Japanese rock, be sure to check out Holiday Osaka in Yodoyabashi! The Japanese students and the foreign students are kept pretty segregated, so it takes a very outgoing individual to break into a group of Japanese friends. There is little to no assistance with this from the CIE. There are two programs they do offer, though- Speaking Partner and Home Visit. Speaking Partners are Japanese students the office matches you up with... unfortunately, most are first years, giving an upperclassman not much in common with them. I cannot comment on home visit because my home visit family simply never contacted me.

The way Japan is, there are so many places in very small spaces, so even after a year there are still unexplored corners, but not always the most open to illiterate foriegners. Don't miss the fall school festival. They say every university in Japan has one just like it, but I bet no where else in the world has anything that quite resembles it. Keep your ears open about festivals. Just go because it isn't like you can go "next time". Make friends, infiltrate, find the new clubs in the deep creveces of Shinsaibashi and Umeda until Lonely Planet just becomes some sappy substitute for your new urban orientation.

Having spent a lot of time around my university campus area, I went to Bar Jam Jam and Spiral now and again. They were ok. Down town Osaka is pretty cool. I used to hang out at Hep 5 Navi and there were some funky bars near Umeda where I used to work. American Mura was also alright too. I also really used to like going to some of the bars and restaurants in Kyoto. There were a couple of classy venues there. The vibe around Kyoto was always good. You end up going to so many places, you lose track of things.

The nightlife in Hirakata sucks. Aside from a few gaijin bars which are overrun by fratboy-type party-kids looking to give girls "English lessons", there's not really a lot to offer as far as bars go. It ranges from shameless gaijin bars (Fujiyama) to shameless gaijin bars trying to convince people they're not gaijin bars (Jam-Jam) to shameless gaijin bars posing as underground hip-hop clubs (Spyral). There's plenty of karaoke and bowling, and a lot of nice little restaurants if you look around, though.

Osaka's underlounge nightclub. Good music (trance/techno/house) and great atmosphere at the club. We did a lot of day-trips to Osaka and Kyoto for eating, shopping, and sightseeing. Kyoto is a marvellous place for visiting Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Osaka's Shinsaibashi and Umeda areas have fantastic shopping and eating places. Don't miss Hep5 mall at Umeda with the red ferris wheel on the top of the building. Amazing!