High School Homestays Programs in Japan

I can honestly say that coming to Local Life Japan was one of the greatest decisions of my life! As a 19 year old on my gap year after high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life when my mum showed me this place. A week later I was on a plane, in foreign country whose language I didn’t speak. The next month was a wonderfully chaotic whirlwind of experience and rapid learning. In a month I went from knowing only Hiragana and Katakana to being able to have full conversations in Japanese and make friends in a whole new part of the world. I couldn’t recommend Local Life Japan more! From the caring and attentive teachers, to the fast paced and engaging lessons to the wonderful local and cultural experience, this place has it all!

I had an absolutely fantastic experience with Local Life Japan's teen summer program! I found this program as a rising senior in high school looking to continue my study of the Japanese language, and it completely exceeded my greatest expectations. The staff is very warm, caring and flexible, and the teachers are engaging and helpful; they would even research the answers to difficult/obscure questions and share their findings the following morning. They were able to accommodate every students' level of Japanese proficiency while providing additional challenge to those who wanted it. The cultural activities were also amazing! There were loads of fun adventures, from Zen meditation to tea ceremonies to bowling. My personal favorite was probably our visit to Himeji Castle, which was both scenic and loaded with fascinating historical and architectural knowledge. I seriously cannot recommend this program enough to people who want a healthy mix of language learning and cultural immersion. I am incredibly lucky to have found this gem. The sense of community is incredibly powerful, and I can't help but want to find an excuse to visit again. Thank you Local Life Japan!

Going on trips with my school, Ritsumeikan Uji High School, was one of the best parts of the program. Traveling together, exploring new places, and spending time with classmates made the experience more fun and helped us bond.

My most memorable experience was going to Universal Studios with my new friends from school. Even with the language barrier, it was the first time I truly felt connected with them, and it made the day even more special.

This program was a truly unforgettable experience. From going on excursions with people from all over America to living with a Japanese host family and attending a local high school, I got a real look into daily life in Japan. Spending time with school clubs and classmates made the experience even more meaningful, and I can say with full confidence it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’d be more than happy to share that experience with peers.

I would likely recommend CIEE Global Navigator High School Summer Abroad to a friend because it is a great opportunity to engage personally with a new culture in any target country of your choosing. The host family experience is unique and helps you immerse with the daily lives of a native resident. You end up building very strong connections with people from not just within your program but also with people in your host family. The activities are overall very good at highlighting various aspects of Japanese culture and felt extremely fruitful.

I have had such a great experience during my month abroad. I have learned so much more in this short amount of time that I could have even imagined, and yet I still had so much fun on the trip as well. All the activities were so well organized and unique and really fun. Finally, all of the staff that I have interacted with on the program have been so approachable, friendly, knowledgeable, and seem like they genuinely care about the program and the kids on the program.

My study trip in Japan all felt like a wonderful dream. I learned so much about their culture, food, hobbies, and the people. They have amazing food and the people are so polite. My host family was amazing and we both loved to play volleyball and we played volleyball once a week at the gym! Overall I had a great time!

I would be likely to recommend CIEE Global Navigator High School Summer Abroad to a friend or peer for a lot of reasons. One reason I would recommend the program is the various opportunities it provides for individuals to explore a foreign world different from their own. Whether it's a Robotics and Engineering program or a Language and Culture session, each program allows individuals to learn or expand on a skill they might want to expand on in the future while exploring the culture and lifestyle behind a place like Japan or Spain. It allows students to become a part of their host country's day to day life and differentiate qualities of the country from their own while expanding on their own knowledge of their desired subjects in new forms. Another reason I'd recommend the Language and Culture programs on the CIEE platform is their ability to help individuals understand the way of life of a culture and become a member of the country as well. Promoting homestays and allowing people to feel as if they're truly living in their host country for a month allows for a greater recognition and attention towards the way of life in a new country and the difference it holds towards their own home country. It allows for such a great expansion and learning opportunity that it grants the "culture" aspect of the program through one's day to day life, providing the "language" experience through the 3 hour class times and community conversations with others.

I loved everything about the program and we did lots of fun things. However, I didn't learn as much history as I thought I would. I learned a lot of Japanese but only about 40% came from my Japanese class. It was hard because our teacher didn't speak much English so there was a lot of unclear information that I never fully understood. I would recommend the trip if they weren't super serious about becoming fluent or learning history.

The classes are good for beginners. The teachers were very friendly and helpful, and the family at my homestay was very welcoming and kind. The students at the school were primarily adults, at least during my program, so it was a little bit harder to make friends and find stuff to do after classes. It was coordinated well and communications were usually responded to quickly. Overall I enjoyed my program and the opportunity to experience life in Japan.

I'm grateful to have gone to Japan through Greenheart Travel. Here is my honest opinion on my experience. Overall, it was great. My flights to and from went smoothly, aside from my broken laptop :( , and my host family's home was, honestly, bigger and more comofortable than mine in the US. My schoolteachers were very understanding of me and the other students, and pushed us to practice Japanese in a variety of ways. They occasionally scolded us for speaking in English while in between classes! My experience was faithfly immersive, and I got to learn a lot about the Japanese way of life along with their historical culture. This was done through organized field trips, or outinfs with my host family. I enjoyed my time there, and received reasonable communications from the language school of events and schedule changes. However, Greenheart Travel's communication itself disappointed me. While I was preparing for my trip to Japan, the program manager seemingly changed between 2 or 3 different people at different times. There were times when I didn't know who my main point of contact was because of the confusion, and it was very scary for me because I had never been abroad, and had no idea what kind of information I needed to provide along the way, or who I would ask my questions too. I was grateful that Greenheart had the ability to provide scholarships for students like me, especially because I was paying for the program myself, but aside from that have limited good experiences with the agency. My program handbook mentioned that I was supposed to have at least one video call with my host family before I left to get to know them before departing, but this never happened. Instead, I wasn't even given any information about them until less than a week before my departure. I'm glad to have had this experience, but have now ascertained that I'm unlikely to travel with Greenheart again until they build a more reliable team. It was the people I met while abroad that truly made my experience so wonderful, and I hope that Greenheart can give future students a better experience!

Greenheart Travel responded to this reviewAugust 16, 2022

I’m glad to hear that your overall experience in Japan was great and apologies for the fact that you did not feel supported by Greenheart. We did have a staff change and having your main point of contact change a couple of times is understandably not ideal. This was the first summer for teen language camp programs after the pandemic and finding host families that were good matches with students took much longer than usual. We appreciate your honest feedback as it is always a priority for Greenheart Travel to evaluate and review all student concerns in order to further improve our programs. Thanks again, and we are happy to hear you had an enjoyable program!

Besides being affordable compared to other programs, Greenheart Travel strives to not only make a difference to travelers, but also to their community and world around them. They provide many opportunities to help you in making a change in your community. They provided a lot of information before leaving to a program and program managers are always there to help! I had an amazing experience and would do it again if given the chance. Don't be scared to try new things! Talking to others in their language, trying new foods, making new friends, etc.. Before the program, I was reserved, (a little) picky with food, and worried about my language abilities. However, after the program I have growned to love foods I did not before, made a lot of new friends and talked with lots of people that changed my life, and improved my language skills a lot! I hope you enjoy your trip because I certainly did.

I got so much more out of this experience than I could have ever expected and left the experience a completely different person. ASSE takes care in making sure that not only your host family, but your school itself is perfectly suited for you. When I first got my placement, I was skeptical because the selected high school wasn’t what I had expected, but it was the perfect match for me. I made dozens of friends and did things that were so random, they weren’t even on my ‘exchange student bucket list’, like going on a stargazing camp deep in the mountains of Nagoya, or meeting my best friend whom integrated me into the underground Tokyo rock and roll scene. I even performed in a band at my schools festival. Most importantly though, the host family I was placed in became a second home for me, we love each other dearly even now (I have since returned to and am living in Tokyo). Do not pass up on this opportunity. If you are lost in your adolescence and feel directionless, this is exactly what you need. The staff and associated members in this program guide you to everything you want in a study abroad program. If I hadn’t have gone with this program, I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing with my life right now and I certainly wouldn’t have a second language under my belt.

This program was an amazing and experience. It will stay with me for my whole life. I never thought that I would have this chance and I’m so happy that I did. The staff at greenheart travel were very helpful and friendly and answered all of my crazy questions. I felt very safe while I was there and walked all around during my free time. My favorite part about the entire trip was my host family. I could not have been placed in a better family. They matched my personality and took amazing care of me. They were understanding of the difference in our culture. I plan to visit them again someday. The placements were very good as everybody I talked to loved their families as well. The classes were fun and taught me a lot. There was a lot of homework but my host family helped me which was fun. I really loved this program and would gladly go back

The staff at Greenheart are very helpful and that Greenheart can be well trusted. I would like to thank all of the staff at Greenheart for helping me through the process, enabling me to study abroad, and most importantly for making my dream possible. The program was very open to a variety of exchange students. Although I never dreamed that I would have been able to study abroad, thanks to Greenheart, I was able to. My advice is to never give up. From the application process to living abroad, everything is a challenge. I’ve learned so much and I have become a better person through my experience abroad. Although one may want to give up, the experience is worth it.

Greenheart has great support and they have many area representatives which ensure a fast response if a problem arises. Don't be shy, talk to everyone, they'll be happy to talk to a new person. My only advice for improvement is: allowing the students to get in contact with the school before departure so they know what to get for uniforms or instructions on how to get a prepaid SIM

I would like to start by saying that studying abroad is not for the faint of heart. While on your exchange you will meet a multitude of struggles, with friends, language barriers, and host families. The most important thing is openness and flexibility. Although I had some difficulties, I would never take it back because in the end I gained such wonderful friends and family. I really do feel that I grew from my experience with Afs. Going there is hard, and coming home can be even harder. However, out of all the exchange programs I felt that Afs had ample resources and support. I really comes down to your host family and your chapter leaders. Regardless, do not let the potential hardships deter you from having a beautiful time in a beautiful country. I love my host family and the people I met, and it was well worth the trip.

I did the Summer language and culture immersion program in Japan. I was placed in a Kuwana, which is around an 1 1/2 away from Nagoya, where I went to language school everyday. AFS Japan and USA both did an amazing job preparing me at the orientation, both in America and in japan. My host family was amazing and truly made my exchange. At language school I learned so much (which I frankly did not expect) and made many close friends that is till keep in touch with. To anyone wanting to go abroad, do it! If anyone had any questions, feel free to email them to me at [email protected]

You should join this program because it is cheaper then most programs regarding all the things you get. The best part was how helpful everyone was. Don't be scared to ask for help. I just wish I knew a little more of what to do in the airport.