High School Outdoor Education Programs in Tokyo

I love MEI. I could go on for hours about how truly amazing my time with them has been. I will always be a fan of theirs and will always recommend who I can to go on one of their adventures. I was lucky enough to go on two separate summer trips. I did adventure down under in 2016 And international Business in 2017 or 2018. I have always struggled with some aspects of school and was nervous about attempting university-level courses while being abroad as I did not usually take university-level classes but I found it easy not because it was easy but because of how it was taught. I’ve never liked English as I’m a creative person and I’ve never seen English as anything but essay writing. On my first trip on Mei, I loved English. for the first time in my life, I understood so much of a subject I never felt I knew before. The teaching approach was amazing and engaging. I wish all schools taught how they did. Besides great teaching, the programs are set up amazingly where you truly get to experience being on your own (in groups of three) and build your independence abroad. I feel if I went back to the places I’ve travelled that I would be confident in knowing my way around because of the independence I gained with Mei. The teachers down to the people in the office are amazing. A helpful group of friendly people. I had a few teachers between both trips who were so great but one teacher who stuck with me through it all was Simon. Simon is awesome and is someone I grew a connection too. He can be your teacher and friend all at once. He is someone I will always remember. Also if you do require any extra help or accommodations they are very helpful! I have ADHD and a learning disability and I always felt I had help when I needed it. If you are thinking of sending your child away on Mei do it!! It will impact them in the best way possible & give them so many memories and Friendships. I still talk to a good handful of people from my trips to this day who I make sure I see at least once a year. If I could of paused time and stayed in high school just so I could go on more adventures with MEI I would

This experience was incredible for our son. It really was life changing for him and I highly recommend this experience for anyone with a high school aged child. MEI is an incredible school and we appreciate everything they have done for our family immensely.

Our family would highly recommend MEI International Academy. Several of our family members have joined with MEI over the years since 1999, and the MEI family of educators are second to none. Most recently, we aimed to send our Gr.12 daughter but travel was hindered by COVID-19. Without missing a beat, MEI staff arranged for engaged online learning, which allowed for the children to receive their credits without compromising the integrity of the education they received. While learning from home was not the plan, MEI sought to engage the children and took care to support them through a difficult time. Student safety and wellbeing never wavered from the primary objective of the staff. Knowing this, gives me the confidence as a parent to trust them with my child. When it's safe to travel, we look forward to our daughter heading out to complete the second leg of her MEI journey to see the world. Thank you to Joe & Rita Mei for all your hard work and dedication, and to your staff for working so hard to support the kids through their learning experience.

During the winter of 2018, I looked up Japanese Language Programs for High School Students and found this Program. I wasn't sure whether to sign up for this Program or the many others you can find across the web but I am so glad I chose this one. What interested me most in this program was the Home Stay aspect, staying with a family and acquiring language knowledge through a more natural setting. Through this program I was able to meet friends I still talk to and a family I hope to never lose contact with. I noticed through the very few other reviews that hardly any negatives are mentioned in them, I thought this was odd so I'll try and talk about both the good and the bad. I went on LanguBridge's Japan E Summer program. The staff: The staff in the program are very supportive, there will likely be at least two English native speakers that will be there to help you every step of the way. Throughout the Program, there were some misunderstandings between me and the Teachers as they were not native speakers but the trip leaders helped me out each time to avoid any problems. I was very grateful to most of the staff, they helped the trip become less stressful and so much more enjoyable. Other students in the Program: I arrived at the airport the first day worried that meeting 20 strangers would be super awkward and that I would leave having made no friends but I was so wrong. I am extremely shy, talking to complete strangers was something completely out of my comfort zone but luckily the program leader connected everyone to a Facebook group chat so we could talk to each other beforehand. It made everything less stressful. I made some friends I hope to never lose. You have multiple opportunities to talk to people from the other class. Multiple times after class and even once during the weekend I hung out with my friends in Harajuku, Akihabara and Ueno Park. Hanging out with everyone were some of my fondest memories. Host Family: I loved my Host Family, They have become like a second family. If I had known how great they were I wouldn’t have had any doubts to go to Japan with this Program. They helped me so much over the three weeks. In my family, I had two younger brothers (13,15), an older sister (16), the Parents and grandmother, aunt and cousin also stayed over for a couple of nights. They brought me to a summer festival, I got to see my younger brother’s baseball games and we even got to eat out a couple of times. My favorite moments were playing card games with my host siblings, even though there was often a language barrier, they were encouraging, loving and everything I could have asked for in a family. We’re still in contact. Morning and Evening Transport: The transport is long unless you’re lucky but the shortest my year was 45 minutes, mine was close to over 2 hours and that was one-way. It is likely that after a week the excitement of traveling alone will have worn off. I found myself later having memorized the scenery which ultimately aided in not getting lost later. Though since the commute was so long I got lost It was part of the experience. It was in those moments that I felt I grew the most and became more independent. Some of the things you could do on the commute are: Brining a book, Studying the previous day’s lesson or just looking out the window. I would go on my phone and listen to music offline to avoid wasting my data. Many days I found myself unable to do anything because of rush hour. Rush hour was an experience, to say the least. Locals will push you to get in, there is hardly any space to move so I would recommend that you stand in front of the seats as it is always less crowded there. Classes: The classes were my least favorite part of the trip. Though I didn’t dislike them and they allowed me to meet amazing friends, I quickly fell into a routine and I found myself becoming distracted. I wish the program had had a higher level class as I was not a beginner. I was put in the intermediate class but the level was still quite low. Overall though the lessons were interesting and we often had field trips which added an element of change to the routine. We went to Akihabara, A local shrine and an animation museum. Tips: Some tips I have for future participants are: First, BRING SUNSCREEN!! I left it at the bottom of my suitcase and ended up with a really bad sunburn which didn’t leave until after the end of the trip. Second, don’t be scared to talk Japanese with your family and practice. They don’t expect you to be fluent or even know much more than a greeting. They chose to be hosts because they want to help you! Finally, don’t worry so much. It’s truly an amazing experience and whether or not everything ends up the way you wanted/expected, you’ll certainly leave having learned something. You’ll leave with unforgettable memories and new bonds which will make the whole trip worth it.

I had so much fun on the japan trip. Not only did I enjoyed the food and beautiful views, I also learned about Japanese culture. It was an amazing experience, and I’m so glad I chose to travel with TFT. I loved the local food and my favorite the part was taking pictures in yukata!

I had been wanting to go to japan for years prior and getting the chance to go and be fully immersed was amazing! We got to walk through a national forest and see a beautiful waterfall that I wouldn't have even thought to do. We also went to the Studio Ghibli Museum and got to experience city life but also get out of the crowds and go to towns farther out. I got pushed so far out of my comfort zone that I wouldn't have allowed myself to do if I decided to go to Japan by myself on my own terms. I would go back on this trip in a heartbeat. It was so much fun and I got to meet such amazing people. Truly is something that you should do if given the chance.