Hey there! Just here to help. It seems like they are those out there who are interested in studying in Japan but have no idea where to start, where to get information about studying and living in Japan.

So I, currently still a student living in Japan is here to help you with all your questions. I`m not God so I may not know everything but I`ll fill you in with whatever I know. Having been living in Japan for 4 years (another 1 and 1/2 years to go!) I can atleast help guide you with where to start!

Ok, so unlike other english speaking countries such as America or UK, finding information about Japan (even for travellers sometimes) can be challenging. Where else trying to find out about the application to a university, or trying to call the housing agent to find a place to rent etc etc all of these will need you to know Japanese. So no matter how independent you are, unless you are fluent in the language, you may need to have an agent to help you communicate with the people there.

I, too received help! I went to LUJEC (Lupeichun Japanese Education Center) located in Pasar Seni near Petaling Street.

There are also other centres that offers help for those interested in studying in Japan and you can get the information from this JEIC website!
http://www.studyinjapan.org.my/04_study/04_study00.html

Btw, for those who are thinking of travelling to Japan but have questions on certain matters, for example, for malays who worries about accidently consuming non-halal food, ask away!! To malays especially, you`ll be surprised to learn that even the bottled milk tea over there is not halal. Anything you want to know before you travel here, I`ll try my best to englighten you and I`ll try to find out for you in case I don`t know something (you are actually helping me learn something too by this)

Hope to hear from you! ～（＾－＾）～

～ィファナ～

Got halal maggi there?

Yup got! But the price for one packet of maggi there is equivalent to the six packet maggi they sell here hihi(

Maybe you can put a little bit of your academic info? Like what course you take, undergrad or postgrad degree, what scholarship (if any) that you get, which uni you're in.

How do you cope with the studies over there when they are using a language that you are not familiar with?

Omg! Thanks! i totally forgot to jot this down...So here goes Went to Japan 4 years ago in October 2007 and got admitted to a Japanese language school in Sugamo, Tokyo known as Asia Bunka Kaikan (ABK). Studied there for 1 and 1/2 years and later got admitted to my current university, Chuo University in April 2009. I`m an undergrad student studying International Economics and is currently in my 3rd year. Still have another 1 and 1/2 years to go till I grad (hopefully!!!) And I`m not under scholarship at the moment but applying for loan （＾－＾メ　）

care to share what kind of loan did you get? What is the maximum educational loan that you can apply?

Hope it's easy .. *crossing finger

Well, for one thing, i was a Japan freak even before I went there so obviously I was already in love with the language, food, IDOLS omg don`t get me started hehe...so because of this, I didn`t find it as hard as those who went there with no interest in Japan whatsoever. But I think as long as you don`t hate the language, it should be fine...some of my friends even came to love the language eventhough they were not interested at all at first! Keeping an open mind is important I guess )

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Added on September 15, 2011, 1:20 amWell, for one thing, i was a Japan freak even before I went there so obviously I was already in love with the language, food, IDOLS omg don`t get me started hehe...so because of this, I didn`t find it as hard as those who went there with no interest in Japan whatsoever. But I think as long as you don`t hate the language, it should be fine...some of my friends even came to love the language eventhough they were not interested at all at first! Keeping an open mind is important I guess )

This post has been edited by ifana: Sep 15 2011, 01:20 AM

That's cool.

So undergrad courses in Japan is more than 3 years? My thesis examiner studied PhD in Hosei University and he said for PhD, it can take up to 7 years to complete compared to other countries that only need 3-5 years to complete.

Does the info in this website: http://www.studyinjapan.org.my/04_study/04...cholarship.html also applicable for postgraduate degree?

Mind to share how much you have spent so far for your study?

I just applied and still waiting for the result for whether I get the loan or not...but I`m applying for JPA loan...it said that the maximum loan is rm250000 but in my case coz I only have a year plus left...it maybe less than 100k..however, this only covers the school fees they don`t pay for the cost of living, which is the one that can really suck money out of your bank!!

BUT here`s the thing, most universities in Japan offers scholarships from the school itself and other foundations as well. And the best part is you don`t compete with the japanese...you only compete with other foreign students so less competition there...I wont say its easy coz u need a good gpa to normally pass( u should be able to guess by now that my results is insufficient for it huhu) but most of my friends, chinese mostly got it! So should be fine ;p What i love about japanese scholarship is that you are not bonded to their government or anything that requires you to work there or anything! Not like its a bad idea to be bonded with japanese companies or anything tho hihi )



This post has been edited by ifana: Sep 15 2011, 01:57 AM

Yup the undergrad courses here is a standard 4-year course ofcourse not including medical studies. Owh Hosei University! I passed that university for law course but I chose Chuo U instead hehe...your thesis examiner seems really dedicated to me...spending 7 years there but no, actually my seniors who did their masters and phd there all of them completed their grad school in max 3 years. never heard of anyone spending more than 3 years so far

Yup the scholarships stated on that website covers both for undergrads and postgrads students!! U gotta read one by one tho to find the one that offers the best!!

O.m.G how much I`ve spent so far? WOw I`m scared to even count! Urm but all I can say is that the school fees is not really a problem! My school fees is around 26k per year. which is i guess pretty normal. The cost of living is the one`S that`s expensive. I spend around 100000yen per month for everything, rent, utilities, food and other spendings...so you do the math @o@ aidhbiauoghfaugiuh Fuh! But part time jobs are quite easy to get over there and depending on the salary and how often you work per week you can gain up to 100000yen per month!

I used to work in a Malaysian restaurant there in Japan and earned about 110000yen per month last time...all I did was cleaning the kitchen and washing the dishes, thats all!

It kinda tough and one must be lucky to grad phd in 3 years time. It seems like the scholarship only can cover the school fees and not enough to cover daily expenses right? But it's a good thing we can get a part time job easily there and the pay is pretty good, considering it as a part time job.

So, you enter Japan with own money first, take a part time job and later applied for the scholarship?

been applying for scholarships since i landed my feet there but I`m not smart la so got rejected huhu

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Added on September 15, 2011, 3:30 amPay is pretty good yeah!

This post has been edited by ifana: Sep 15 2011, 03:30 AM

Can you form an education pathway for Malaysian from SPM with arrows all the way to Japan?
And, best, list them with the periods in years before actually reaching Japan's education from SPM.

if i want to cntinue master in japan..any ways of scholarship or support i can get?

JPA and MARA offers a lot of scholarships to do masters in Japan. They will send you for masters degree in english instead of japanese and they`ll cover your expenses there (school fees and cost of living). My senior was in JApan (now graduated and is back in Malaysia) under the young leaders program for furthering to grad schools. Another senior of mine was doing his PHd under UITM and now he is a lecturer in UITM teaching computer programming.

SPM---->find an agent in Malaysia (Lupeichun or JEIC, they are also always around at the education fair)---->choose between the April or October intake and apply for the Japanese language school through your agents---->study japanese for a few months for survival skills(optional but recommended)---->get accepted to a language school--->rent a hostel or apartment depending(normally hostel for first timers)---->self-preparation to go to Japan(food stuffs, packing)---->meet up at the airport with the agent----> Japan.

Most of the things were done by my agent in my case last time. They applied for the language school for me. They helped me find a hostel to rent, they bought the ticket (ANA) for me and guide me all the way there. Even help me get myself from Narita airport to my hostel and then helped me register with the school and everything. Life was easier for me but obviously I had to pay for the service la. I had to pay around 1.6k for the service charge but knowing that I can`t speak japanese and didn`t have any friends or seniors who can help me at the time...it was wise I guess.

Ok that is for self sponsored students like me. For SPM leavers who are thinking of applying for scholarships this is basically how it goes :~

SPM--->apply for PETRONAS/MARA/JPA--->got accepted to study in Japan--->enter a language school in Malaysia for a few months or 2 years depending---->some proceed to Japanese language schools to complete japanese education some proceed to university(JAPAN)

Sorry i couldn`t make it look more organized for you. A lil bit messy huh? I`ll try asking my friends who are under scholarships more about the rhythm they went through last time! Hope this helped even a bit [/B]

This post has been edited by ifana: Sep 15 2011, 11:54 AM

is japan a good place for backpackers?=)

Planning to exchange to kyoto university. =)
Wondering do they accept student without japanese language background?

Should be no right? =(
Btw, good thread here.