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～

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

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　）

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

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!

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

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

Hmmm if you can consider homestay programs yes, but if you were thinking of just simply going there only then you find accommodation/lodgings you need to atleast have a friend to invite you from there. Because in case you don`t know, to travel to Japan you need an invitation letter to go there if you have a friend or relatives there. Or else, you have to book a hotel in advance from Malaysia. And you have a to have atleast rm7k in your bank account to apply for visa. They wanna make sure you have accommodation and enough money to survive while you`re there. So far, have not heard of hostels for backpackers...hmm I`ll try find out for you ok? Gimme some time yah :p

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Added on September 15, 2011, 1:22 pmKyoto University! Wow! Good choice here! Ok, I have a friend who will be studying in Kyoto University as an exchange student this October. But she is currently studying in UM. So UM is sending her to Kyoto U for a year. This friend of mine also has no background of Japanese but its an exchange program so I`m not sure how it works really,

Ok to really answer your question, for undergrad courses, as far as i know, No. But for mastersdegree or phd YES! Coz I read about it last time! Plus, I had a senior doing his PHD in Kyoto U in English last time!

So it depends really, undergrad or grad school :p But universities like Waseda, Sophia, Asia, Hosei offers a few of undergrad degree courses in English! BUT very limited la...hmmm but japan is now training their youngsters to master english...so i`m not surprise if in the future there are more courses in English! keep praying yeah!

This post has been edited by ifana: Sep 15 2011, 01:23 PM

Ok I just checked! There is only ONE undergrad degree course offered in fully english in Kyoto U! Its a course called Global Engineering. Hope this helped

Owh commerce degree ic...I`m pretty sure Sophia offers that course fully in english but I`m guessing that you`re looking for National Universities instead of private ones maybe?

Well, anyway, If I find out anything, will let you know! Good luck!

From what I heard my seniors saying, JPA scholarship yes, requires you to work with the government after you grad...bonded la. But MARA scholars are not bonded

Owh UITM! U r like my senior hehe he was frm Uitm too! So I`m gonna say this based on my own experience last time:~

Things u need to prepare :~

1) Money! (Duh!) Speaking of money reminded me of the bank transfer fee! Ok I must teach you this! Apply for a debit card from international banks such as Citibank, HSBC or Standard Chartered. But I recommend Citibank and HSBC. I currently have a citibank VISA DEBIT card linked to my parents citibank visa debit card account. Ok let me tell why you might need this. If you transfer money from our commercial banks like CIMB, Maybank, Ambank etc etc to a Japanese bank over there like Mizuho, Tokyo UFJ, Sumitomo bank, you need to pay the japanese banks 4000yen per every transaction as the service charge. While if you use citibank, you can just withdraw money from the citibank atm without any service charge fee, only the conversion rate! So its saves you 4000yen and is easier for you too! Citibank atm and office branches is located at most hot spots in Tokyo, Shinjuku, Tachikawa etc etc

2) Medicine of all sorts (for fever, flu, cough blablabla)
- medicines in Japan is expensive and not strong enough trust me...the consultant fee to see a doctor is still expensive even with the health insurance. health insurance is a must have item in japan..it also works as ur second id....clinics and hospital fees in japan is really expensive. your health insurance helps reduce the amount you have to pay at the end of the day...even so, it is still costly compared to if you just bring from malaysia!

3) Food! Especially for Muslims! I think Chinese would enjoy experimenting with japanese food and all kinds of dishes over there that muslims can`t consume. I suggest muslims to try not to experiment with food over there if you can`t read the ingredients...so better bring food from here until you can read the ingredients properly!! You have no idea how many times I had mistakenly ate non-halal food while I was there! Bring your fav food as much as you can from here, this is because its fine if you love japanese food but for those who`s tongue can`t take japanese food, atleast you have something spare in your bag! Plus, after months of eating japanese food TRUST ME, you`ll get bored at it! You don`t even wanna look at it anymore hehehe

4) prepare not to bring so many things just because you think its gonna be expensive there. Ok, I`ll come clean. I did this! I brought 2-3 big travelling bags when I first went there...thinking that owh must bring colgate might be expensive there...owh owh! must bring this that this that! Ugh i was crazy but when I got there I discovered a place called 100yen shop!!! And I wanted to KILL MYSELF! Everything was there and I just had to bring everything like an idiot! Plus, think about the transportation! Taxis in Japan is a BIG NO NO! To get from Narita airport to Tokyo cost about 20000 over yen by taxi! So you gotta travel by trains so better keep that in mind! UNLESS, like me last time, my agent provided me with a bus that took me straight to my dorm so I was lucky!

5) Ok i come back at least once every year and I pack the same thing everytime I go back to Japan. My bag is always empty from Japan---> KL then from KL--->Japan its always TOO PACKED hehehe...ok so I always bring ofcourse, FOOD and TOILETRIES!!!!!!! Basically I will bring back things that I use daily that I need to replenish. Things in Japan is always three four times more expensive than malaysia, the same thing but more expensive...like LUX shower cream or Toothpaste etc etc etc...and these things you need to replenish every month so it cost money to buy it there.
So i always pack up toitletries for 3-4 months` use! it really saves me lots! But its all up to u really coz I@m really trying to save up here

6) no need to bring any electronics and make ur bag heavier! Electronics there is way cheaper if you know where to find it (AKIHABARA!!!! HUWAAAAAAAA let`s go! Ok stop meh!) plus the plug is diff. What i did was bring only one international adapter for my laptop last time. that`s all! If you want to buy laptop over there, the system will be in Japanese so the display menu all in japanese, they do have international laptops too buy the price for that is same with malaysia but Japanese OS laptops are cheaper there!

7) Winter clothing. OK, in my opinion, U DONT need winter clothing from Malaysia! U know that shop called Winter Time? He he he way too expensive and is really really old fashioned! Trust me u`ll regret it if u have bought it from there and then go to Harajuku and found more CUTER and more Fashionable stuffs for prices way cheaper! But if u come in late december to february, yes u need to have one! it`ll be damn cold by then! What my friend did was...she asked her friend to buy for her in Japan and when her friend picked her up from the airport she straight away wore it! Pretty smart huh?

There`s more but this is all I can think of and I think the main things you need to consider! U can contact me before u come! If I`m available at that time, I`ll be able to help guide u around with things :p When will u be send to Japan for the program anyway?

Another important thing is to not expect too much or better not to have any expectations at all! Just be positive and happy and accept whatever comes! Don`t be surprised if the Tokyo people are not so friendly...they are just like that because they lead busy lives so they are a bit cold but people in Osaka, kyoto are way nicer! i hope u`ll have a good experience while u`re there :p I hope this will help u atleast a bit! Just ask me if there are other things that u`re curious about...i`ll try to answer u!


This post has been edited by ifana: Sep 15 2011, 10:23 PM

If money is your biggest worry and you want a more relax campus life rather than rushing to your part time job from school eventhough you`re tired and sacrificing your weekly saturday and sunday holidays for part time jobs then maybe you should go to countries with a lower cost of your living yeah....but if you`Re willing to work hard I`d say why not...my friends and I, we survive paying for our living expenses just by our part time jobs...my parents only sent me school fees. the only thing is I seldom have time to enjoy that much la coz its either i@m working or in school or resting at home. But if you know the way, even Tokyo should not be that expensive in the end. Have to work a bit hard think a bit more compromise a bit more

But since you`re thinking of phd then should be better la coz phd compared to my course(5 and 1/2 year course) is only 2-3 year course at most (ofcourse you`re thinking of doing it in fully english right?) so i guess it still can be done. Its all up to u though :p Ganbare!

LOLz!! haha shitty supervisors!! Well I don`t know about that so far my lecturers are all really kind! But the not-graduating-on-time thing, I totally agreeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! won`t be able to handle that if it really happens!! TANAK!!!!!

Student91! Not only that it is possible, but it is the best option for u I dare say! (Was in the same shoes as u huhu ) Actually, they don`T look at your results at all! All u need to have is a 11-year education history! Which u obviously do have (primary school-6, high school-5, STPM samore-1 n1/2years) . Because to go to Japan, you have to enter a japanese language school first NO MATTER WHAT so you`ll be studying everything from scratch coz u`ll be learning business studies terms in japanese for you to use in university later on.

So yups! No Problem...study away! All the best!!

P/s : I too didn`t do well for my A levels last time and when I was confused abt what I can do, I came to learn about this information of Japan and YAY! 4 years babeh! Woohoo!

All the best yah...if anything, u know where to find me hihi

Hmm....true, but we are talking about japan here, that is the first thing u must solve la...but like I`ve been saying, its not impossible la BUT u must be willing to work hard that`s all...if u work part time, it can help support ur expenses in japan wan....so if u really like japan and is seriously thinking of studying there this is something u have to live with la.

But think abt it la :~

1) U gain an extra language
2) Carrying a japanese university name will help u when u apply for jobs
3) Chances of working in Japan is higher ofcourse, especially when u graduate from a university there.
4) Get to take your own sweet time exploring Japan. Not to mention, to all manga, anime, japanese idols(johnny`s entertainment) and electronics freakz out there...this is ur place!

And lots of other good points la. To me, its a good investment la. Spending money for studying what.

Hey student91! Sorry for the late reply ya...I just arrived at Tokyo this morning so yea,jetlag a bit so been sleeping hehe. ok here goes :~

1) All universities in Japan starts in April, october intake oso got but mostly starts in April. I suggest u enter the october intake for the Japanese language schools...i can help recommend u to my japanese language school in Tokyo if u want. The next intake is this coming October. Very soon tho :p

2) Ok first u have to enter the language school for 1 year or 1 and 1/2 years its up to u. If u enter the language school in October, you`ll be entering for 1 and 1/2 years, if next year April, 1 year. that`s how it works. The language school cost about rm35K (around 1,200,000yen) for 1 and 1/2 years in my case last time. Shouldn`t have any changes but i`ll try to check for u if u want. As for monthly cost of living I`d say u need around rm4k(about 100,000yen) per month is more than enough for everything, rent, food and other expenses but when u just arrived nanti u might need a bit more la coz u baru nak start buy stuff for ur dorm etc etc...

3) I`m glad u`Re willing to work part time coz the part time jobs here pay A LOT! So when u dah keje nanti, ur parents may not need to send u money pon The cheapest salary for part time jobs in japan is 850yen/hour. won`t get less than that so let`s say u work 4 hours a day 5 times a week a month u`ll get around 68,000yen (around rm2.7k) for example la...most people gain more! I teach u something good....u work part time here kutip sampah...my friend got around 200000yen (around rm8k) in 1 month just doing that!

Should be fine la I think...janji kene rajin sikit la :p ) I hope this answers ur question ) Let me know what u think!

This post has been edited by ifana: Sep 19 2011, 07:54 PM