I'm currently 17 years old turning 18 in January. I've wanted to experience life in Japan ever since I was very young, and for that reason I have been studying the language since I was 13. I currently practice weekly with one-on-one conversations with Japanese people along with self-studying. I've never taken the JLPT so I can't say for sure what my level is, but I'd guess I'm at around N3.
I'm graduating high school in June 2025, and due to being in international student in Canada, tuition prices are stupid expensive for me (over 35k CAD a year for my program), and as much as I understand the appeal of attending university in North America (internationally recognized degrees, campus life…) but Japanese culture, city life and language have always appealed to me tremendously. Tuition fees are also much lower than any Canadian university for international students, and the lower cost of living (even in cities) go without mention (damn toronto)
I've never been to Japan ever, so I understand that my views might be idealized. However, my experiences with Japanese people here in Canada, research to further study the language and pursue a career in Japan, as well as the things I hear from friends who have lived in Japan while enrolled in language school.
For those reasons, I plan on moving to Japan in July on a six-month study visa at a language school, then taking the EJU in November. I believe that this 4 month gap between my arrival and the day of the test will give me an understanding of how life in Japan is, as well as give me time to improve my pre-existing language skills (and hopefully, find a part-time job). My goal is to enter a geography/urban planning based program in a Japanese university, as I want to pursue a career in urban planning or geomatics. – accepting recommendations of universities with similar programs, although I already have one in mind.
To international students who are currently in an undergrad program in Japan: How would you describe and rate the university life in Japan? Was the time spent studying for the EJU worth it? Would you say going to Japan for an undergrad is a dumb idea or not? Is my plan concise?
To people who are not in an undergrad degree but are living in Japan: Does this seem like a risky, foolish plan? I'm leaving behind my life in Canada, a country where I don't have permanent residency, thus if everything in Japan goes wrong I would likely have to go back to my home country (Brazil) instead. Would it be wiser to attend an undergrad program here, and then later pursue a post-grad path in Japan, regardless if my goal is to pursue a career in Japan?
by akinosd
4 comments
Wow! You’re mapping it out and weighing the options, and you’ve already started the groundwork for it. Impressive! I can’t speak much on your situation because I went to school in the US, got a degree and ended up landing a job here, which wasn’t my ultimate plan but somehow the stars aligned as some people would say, but the truth is, luck favors the well prepared. Case in point, look at someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger, he basically did what you want to do but in a different endeavor. It’s difficult, but not impossible. You’re putting a lot of thought into this so I’d say, swing for the fences my young friend, shoot for the moon, and if you miss, there’s always the stars. All you need is a plan, a blueprint, and then you have to accept that things never work as planned, but if you know the destination, you’ll find a way there. Go for it! And if it doesn’t work out, you’re still very young, you’ll find something on your way. Go for it!
I’m twice your age, I graduated high school in 2005 but life had twists and turns so I didn’t finish college til 2016, a few months later I moved to Japan having only visited once and only having a year of language courses under my belt. You’ve done more than that at a younger age, so I say go for it!!
I am in my last year undergrad in japan uni. I want to ask is it really possible to do EJU in just 4 month, especially if you take japan and the world I assume? that seems a bit unrealistic for me unless you are east asian. I self study until n2 by myself so I have no idea the language school experience is like, but I feel like it is a bit isolating so that you dont know what life in Japan really is. I also dont think you should self-evaluate yourself like that, it is well established phenomenon that people that take less test think they are smarter that what they really are.
This is a pretty well-thought plan, and Canadian universities for non-Americans are overrated.
The main determinator of your undergrad success will be the prestige of your university. Check conventional rankings of Japanese universities as compiled by Japanese themselves, and don’t look at international rankings (they are mostly ignored, and for a good reason). I don’t know about the industry you want to go to, but for many industries you don’t have to have the exact major to enter (though in many fields, you will have to study for qualifications on the top of your degree).
For geography – it seems curricullum and organisational setting differ from university to university, and have different foci. It’s not a 法学部 where whatever you go to, you will go through the 民法入門 lectures. I found this compilation of[ geography programmes](https://sites.google.com/view/geo-plaza/information/university) and non-geography departments that have geographists, which might be useful (however, keep in mind admission quotas for foreign students).
I think urban planning in many universities is organisationally part of the 理工学部 or 工学部, and you should look into them.
Edit: Though you might want to give yourself more time to study Japanese, since you need to understand academic-level Japanese.
It sounds like the biggest challenge for you is to use Japanese to study university there. But if you really wanna live there for good, why wait? It’ll only get harder.