My favorite part of this program was the fact that Sophia University is located in the heart of Tokyo. By virtue of this, there was literally something new that one could do every day.

My collective experience in Japan has inspired me to really strive for another level of excellence in myself, and in my passions/areas of study.

Getting involved in student clubs gave me an amazing amount of insight into Japanese college student lifestyle and aided my language acquisition greatly. Not to mention the friends I will never forget.

It's so hard to pick my favorite part of this program! I loved living in the international dorm and meeting so many new friends from all over the world, and participating in international clubs at my university to meet even more students at my university, and just living in Tokyo overall. Tokyo is an amazing place that words cannot even describe, and I was so lucky to be thrown in with so many cool people to share in the experience.

I love Tokyo. I absolutely love Tokyo. My favorite part of the program was being able to explore the city freely: everything from taking near-weekly walks from Shibuya Station to Shinjuku Station to spending an afternoon in Akihabara looking for a hard-to-find book or game to picking somewhere I'd never been and walking around the area. Tokyo is an amazing city, and with about every fifteen minutes of walking the look and feel of the streets changes drastically. There's so much to see and do--it's a wonderful place.

Every facet of everyday life had some sort of value to it, whether it was engaging in academic talks or trying to explain how you want your hair cut in Japanese. The biggest theme I encountered was that when it comes to learning, and I mean learning a language/culture especially, it is a multi-faceted process. While class is important, it is certainly not everything.

The location was the best part of the program, both from a language study standpoint and from an experiential standpoint. I also joined a club of people with similar interests at my university, which ended up also being a highlight of the experience. I was the only English-speaker in the group, too, so it became a daily chance to use Japanese conversationally. That pressure was stressful at times, but I feel I gained a lot from it, both in terms of my language skills and the relationships I formed.

Being able to apply what I learned in my Japanese courses by speaking with natives in Japanese felt rewarding. It somewhat validated my progression with my language skill.

Being able to travel around central Tokyo, going to festivals, museums, and other events that occur in Tokyo. There are all kinds of once in a life time opportunities.

I would highly recommend joining a club that interests you--preferably something outside of the generic clubs for international students. On top of being good for language learning, it's a great way to find a friend group and also to really get a sense for how the locals interact.