RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY

The Buddy system was very good! They accompanied all of our activities and helped us learn Japanese language and culture even outside the school. They always took us to interesting young-culture places in Japan. I also learned many spoken Japanese language from them.

The casual and conversational nature of the class was much more effective at allowing me to retain the new information than the drilling and book work that I am used to.

The buddy system was great! All the buddies were helpful and supportive. They took their personal time to take us places. I really appreciate it, and all the buddies were amazing. I have made some life-long friends.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to speak Japanese with the buddies. From staying in Kyoto and going to class for a month, I definitely feel that my Japanese competency have improved, especially listening skill.

The places we went to definitely represent the Japanese culture. I wouldn’t have been able to go to these places on my own so it was helpful.

I enjoyed Japan Studies a lot! Every activity I felt increased my understanding of Japanese culture. I really enjoyed the taiko!

日本の歴史と文化を深く勉強しました。日本はなぜ日本であるかを研究し、日本語を学ぶ醍醐味を味わいました。

I absolutely love the buddy system! Throughout the program, we got to meet a lot of buddies and got to know them quite well. The buddies were very easy-going and taught us lots of interesting things. During my stay here, I always felt that I am very welcomed by the buddies. バディさんありがとう！

I loved the chance to experience the Japanese way of life. The combination of Japanese class and activities was perfect and gave me a real sense of both the everyday occurrences and the special occasions.

Because of the teachers being so excellent concerning their teaching, sometimes Japanese Language Classes felt more interesting then the Japan Activities to me. I actually looked forward to going to school everyday.

All the students would go together to the activities so I never felt alone. The accommodation and transport were also well prepared so I felt very warm since the day I arrived in Japan.

All the Japanese language classes and activities were very interesting. It not only helped us to make friends with the buddies but we were able to speak and practice Japanese in real situations. They also showed us beautiful Japanese culture and places.

I like how the program was well structured. There was enough time to rest and do our own stuff (shopping, travelling, etc.) as well as interacting with buddies. The course was really fun overall and I hadn’t spent a single day not enjoying it!　

The buddies were so nice and funny. They helped me in many ways!

The teachers in the Japanese language class would explain everything in details. We would speak in Japanese all the time so my conversation skills increased.

I liked how we were able to actually experience the activities in first hand. Being able to make our own tofu was one of the activities that I liked most.

The best thing about this program was interacting with the buddies. I was able to understand more about how a Japanese university student thinks about their own cultural assets. Discussing with classmates and teachers during Japanese language class developed my ability to think in Japanese too.