Study Abroad in Tokyo

[Yoite]

Originally Posted by MMM

Also bring all the deodorant and toothpaste you are going to use. I am going to guess that there are other things women might need to bring that might not be as available in Japan.

No toothpaste? Don't they brush their teeth? =/

I read somewhere it's can come in handy to take a electronic dictionary with you. It's practical when you don't understand a kanji or word (Akihabara is a good place to buy this, see link below =)) .

I advise you to read this: Untitled Document
Maybe it comes in handy.

[Aether]

Originally Posted by trunker

Hakone is up in the hills and is very nice for onsen, its an hour out of tokyo, and you can see mt fuji on your way. you can do a bit of hiking there too, nice an naturey and stuff.

tokyo has just about anything you want so it might be more helpful to list what you are looking for as opposed to what youre not.

Hakone sounds like a nice place to visit. One of my worries about living in Tokyo is that I may become overwhelmed by city life, so I would like to have some places in mind that move at a slower pace. Hiking and going to an onsen sound like great options.

And yeah, I realize that I may not have been very descriptive of places I would like to go to in Tokyo, but I guess that is because I am not fully sure. I realize Tokyo truly has a lot of things to offer, so I guess what I am asking the members here is if there is anything in particular that stands out among the rest. It could be a place that you really enjoyed during your own time in Tokyo, or ever a place you heard about from a friend and it sounded interesting.

Originally Posted by Yoite

I read somewhere it's can come in handy to take a electronic dictionary with you. It's practical when you don't understand a kanji or word (Akihabara is a good place to buy this, see link below =)) .

I advise you to read this: Untitled Document
Maybe it comes in handy.

That article was a good read. It was nice to be able to read about another person's study abroad experiences in Tokyo, and it gave me a few useful tips to keep in mind.

As for an electronic dictionary, I got 漢字そのまま楽引辞典 for my DS. I think I won't need more than that while I am in Japan. It has the ability to write in Kanji I don't know, and that would be my main concern.

[Aether]

Wow! I just heard some great news from the learning abroad center at my university. I've been awarded the Monbukagakusho scholarship for Japanese studies! Wow, I think this upcoming year in Japan may be cheaper than this past year I spent at my university in the states. I'm even more psyched to go to Japan now. So happy

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Yoite

No toothpaste? Don't they brush their teeth? =/

Not all Japanese toothpaste has fluoride. I spent about 9 months in Japan and used only Japanese toothpaste. When I came back to America I had a dozen new cavities. After that I never used Japanese toothpaste again.

[Quailboy]

Originally Posted by MMM

Not all Japanese toothpaste has fluoride. I spent about 9 months in Japan and used only Japanese toothpaste. When I came back to America I had a dozen new cavities. After that I never used Japanese toothpaste again.

Holy crap..that actually shocked me..
If I ever do go for an extended period of time..bring toothpaste from home..check.

[Nyororin]

It`s not the problem with Japanese toothpaste - it`s that there is no fluoride in the tap water. Most toothpastes DO have it these days, or at the very least there is no trouble finding ones that do.

My teeth are also absolutely awful because of the lack of fluoride in the water - using fluoride toothpaste didn`t change things a bit. If I`d known about this back before problems arose, I`d have probably gone for fluoride treatments (dentists offer them for quite cheap - around here it`s 1300yen for a treatment once every 6 months to a year)
You can find deodorant these days, but they are tiny and very pricey.

I can`t say I advise bringing a pillow as was suggested, as that is a LOT of space in your luggage for something that you can buy here for less than 1000yen.

Bring a large significant gift for your host family, and a ton of small gifts for everyone else of importance you will meet - teachers, counselors, etc. Not giving a good enough gift is a huge taboo, really. I am STILL complained to by family about the time I had my mother visit and she didn`t bring anything to give to the in-laws. It will reflect badly not only on you, but your entire program and everyone involved.

[Aether]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Bring a large significant gift for your host family, and a ton of small gifts for everyone else of importance you will meet - teachers, counselors, etc. Not giving a good enough gift is a huge taboo, really. I am STILL complained to by family about the time I had my mother visit and she didn`t bring anything to give to the in-laws. It will reflect badly not only on you, but your entire program and everyone involved.

My dad will be taking a trip for work over to Germany, and I was thinking of asking him to pick up some wine for my host family. Would that be a good gift along with some food and such found in America?

Also, what would be some good small gift ideas for my teachers and such?

[Aether]

Been a little while since I posted here, but just wanted to say that I made it to Japan. I would like to say thanks to everyone who posted here for every little bit of advice helps when going to a new country.

Things have been going more smoothly than I expected since I arrived. When I first got to the airport, my university sent a student to help me take the trains to my homestay family, and since then, my homestay family has been very helpful with aiding me to get used to the country and do such things as setingt up a bank account and getting a cell phone. As for gifts for my family, I brought chocolate made in Minnesota as well as books with pictures showing animals and different areas of the state. My host mother seems to really like the pictures.

One thing I would recommend for those who are planning to study abroad is to get Skype. I tried using it today, and I was able to call my parents at home, and it only cost about 20 cents for 5 minutes.

[Nagoyankee]

Glad to hear things are going smoothly. I can't help but feel the vicarious excitement!

Wishing you success in all your endeavors!

ご活躍をお祈りします。

[Mortry]

How are things going there in Japan?
Did you bring enough toothpaste?
Oh, and if your parents get skype 2, you can call them 4 free!