Japanese Study Abroad Programs in Nagoya, Japan

여기 사람들 다 좋은 사람들이었습니다. 제가 운이 좋아서 좋은 학생을 만난 것도 있지만, 스탭들도 다 친절하고 좋아서 너무 즐겁게 보냈어요. 저는 일주일만 신청했는데 그 시간들이 너무 짧아서 아쉽습니다. 나중에 기회가 있다면 다시 오고 싶어요. 그때는 좀 더 길게요. 제가 있었던 장소는 5월부터 다른 장소로 옮긴다고 하는데 추억의 장소가 옮겨져서 아쉽습니다. 다음에는 다른 장소에서 추억을 남기고 싶어요.

Muy recomendable!! La gente del staff es super maja, las actividades que proponen son super entretenidas y te permiten conocer Japón de verdad. Además, en las clases aprendes mucho no solo el japonés “escrito” sino especialmente el hablado. La gente es increible, si tienes dudas, ven aqui!!! 10/10 y si tengo oportunidad volveré

한국인 여러분~ 다들 아시죠? 곽튜브님 영상에서 유명해진 JALS! 이제부터 나고야 잘즈의 장점을 쭉 읊어볼게요~! 일단 가장 중요한 거, 선생님들이 다들 엄청 열정적으로 수업을 해주십니다!! 시험에 필요한 것부터 실제로 쓰이는 회화까지 다 알려주세요. 수업 끝나고 저희 숙제하는 동안 샘들은 옆에서 다음 수업 준비하느라 바쁘십니다ㅠ 열정 넘치심..! 또 다양한 국가의 사람이 많이 모여있어서 일본어 공부 뿐만 아니라 여러 문화를 교류할 수 있습니당(개인적으로 한국인들이 많이 없어서 너무 좋았어용, 강제로 한 달 동안 일본어랑 영어만 썼네여) 또 선생님뿐만 아니라 여러 친절하신 스탭분들이 일본에서 잘 적응할 수 있도록 24시간 모든 걸 다 도와주셔서 아무런 어려움 없이 잘 적응할 수 있구요, 여러 문화체험이 준비되어있어서 일본 문화를 쉽게 접할 수 있어요! 또 저녁시간에 영어공부하러 오는 일본인들이랑 쉽게 친구도 될 수 있고,, 엄청 이쁘게 꾸며진 라운지가 매일 열려있어서 수업 끝난 후에 공부, 일 등을 할 수 있다는 장점!! 무엇보다,, 사카에 중앙에 있어서 수업 끝나고 매일 친해진 반 친구들이랑 놀러다니다가 탕진잼 ^^ 이런저런 장점이 많은 나고야 잘즈로 놀러오세여!! 평생 잊지 못할 추억, 많은 친구들 만들고 갑니다아- 곧 엄청 좋은 건물로 이사갈 수도 있다는 소식을 끝으로 이만 줄일게용 ~~

I had a great time at JaLs! The teachers were super nice and always answered any questions I had. I especially liked how the class was centered around speaking because it translated to real life experiences in Japan. I felt that the pacing of the class was just right.

Coming out of the worst time of my life last year, I had little to look forward to until I found IES’s Nagoya Summer: Language and Culture program. The application process was incredibly smooth and quick, and once I was accepted, so were the travel forms and health information. Arriving with the other IES students for orientation and some field trips, we were able to form connections early while acclimating to Japan and its wonders. And as we got settled into Nanzan at our respective dorms and with host families, making more friends was even easier. Classes at Nanzan didn’t even feel like work. I found myself looking forward to going every day despite the 20 minute trek to school. It is inspiring being able to learn a language in its country of origin, while also getting to take electives and art classes to round out your experience. Apart from that, we had a lot of free time (depending how many electives you took). Nagoya has so much to offer. My friends and I would go out for lunch or dinner around various subway stations after class, frequent the izakayas and karaoke places on the weekends, and sometimes take day trips to places like Tokyo and Osaka. IES went above and beyond with this- we had a built-in weekend trip to Kyoto including our own tour guide, an art activity, and an itinerary of all the best sites to visit. My professors were wonderful, and along with the other staff at Nanzan, worked with IES to make sure we were all safe and comfortable. When I had a spot of trouble with organizing my housing, the IES program coordinators, the CJS (Center for Japanese Studies) staff, and the international director at Nanzan were all there to support me. Throughout the summer I participated in IES’s Correspondent Program as a photographer. It was amazing to record pictures of us having the time of our lives and think about how these could help future students who are looking at this program. After returning to the US, I also applied to the Ambassadors program and had a lot of fun helping the IES table at Penn State’s Education Abroad fair. I’ve been inspired to change my major to Japanese language, and I plan to participate in the JET (Japan English Teaching) program. So not only did the program give me an awesome summer, it keeps impacting me, my career path, and my hopes for the future!

It was amazing, the teachers are great And you immerse yourself in Japanese so you can learn so much in such a long time the stuff are so kind and they’re always thinking how they can help you the class level is accurate and you get all the help you need

Desde que llegue todos fueron super amables y alegres, todos los dias te reciben con una sonrisa. Las clases fueron super buenas, eran divertidas y entretanidas, todos los dias se aprendia algo nuevo. Los maestros super amables, convivir con ellos es genial, nadie te hace mala cara ni te falta al respeto. Enserio que recomendaria esta escuela siempre. Las actividades del curso culturan siempre fueron asombrosas y divertidas, nos llevaron a conocer cosas de Japón que no conocia. Enserio cada día y cada hora ahí la disfrutaba como no tienen idea, fuí la más feliz mientras estuve estudiando ahí. Por todo esto y más, gracias JaLS.

I had so much fun with the students, teachers, and staff!!! I learned so much and got to experience so many wonderful things!!! 1000% recommend this school!!!!!!! The language learning and cultural experience is top notch!

JALS was a great experience the teachings were great , the teachers were great the staff was great. JALS makes you feel like family . I learned so much from them, Thank you so much 😊 . ありがとございました🇯🇵

All students, staff and teachers were so friendly! I enjoyed seeing everyone in the mornings before class. The classes were well planned and provided materials were always of a high quality. I highly recommend Nagoya jals!

The teachers and staff are amazing people, the activities are the best and I could improve my speaking and listening skills to another level. I also have met people from all over the world, and I’m very grateful for having this opportunity to study at JaLS

I had the time of my life while abroad, and it’s all because of IES Abroad. Going into college, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to study abroad and achieve my goals of traveling while abroad, but through my IES Program I was able to participate in an abroad program that changed my life. Not only did I make lifelong friends in my program and school, but I got to go on field trips provided by the program to explore the culture and experiences of locals and learn about the rich history of Japan. I got to live with a host family who has become real family, and every day I woke up so excited to be in Japan. I only wish I had more time to spend here. I got to explore different cities, try so many new foods, and even met some really cool animals like capybaras and deer!

Before I provide my review, I would like to highlight that I speak Japanese well, which made my life in Japan easier than for others. My study abroad with the IES Nagoya program was enjoyable. Since it involved direct enrollment at the Japanese school (Nanzan University), I really needed help filling out tons of applications. However, IES guided me through filling out all of the applications, and there weren't even many things to do at my level. Even though I could speak Japanese, I was definitely worried about adjusting myself to the new places. However, IES provided field trips to its students, which was actually an awesome experience for me. I took thousands of pictures on those field trips and even experienced many authentic Japanese places that I couldn't visit just in Nagoya. Adding more here, Nagoya is just the perfect place if you are first visiting Japan. Nagoya is a city with good authentic Japanese food, historical sites, and even a well-managed downtown area where you can enjoy East Asian culture with your local friends. In terms of learning, Nanzan offers great language classes where you can actually improve your Japanese skills. They also have a program where you can meet other Japanese students and exchange your own culture with them. Since you cannot meet local Japanese students in class, that program was really helpful for me to make some Japanese friends with whom I could practice the Japanese that I learned in class. I chose the homestay program while I was studying abroad, and I would say that was the highlight of my stay in Japan. You can engage with your host family who are willing to exchange their culture and help you practice your Japanese while you are at home. That helped me to understand Japanese society and people more deeply. I learned lots of etiquette that I need to know to live in Japan.

I spent a semester in Tokyo, Japan in Fall 2019. I was the only one from my college and state going on this IES Abroad program. I wasn't sure if my Japanese was sufficient to navigate around in the city or to ask for specific help whenever I needed it. It was the first time I would be away from home for so long. So I was excited to see how it would turn out, and I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to adjust to life in Japan because Japan and Georgia, USA are entirely different. However, IES Abroad allowed me to make a Japanese friend through email (e-pal) and meet my future classmates through Facebook so I would have someone I know meet me at the airport. There were 40 international students and 20 E-pals that would grow to be some lifelong friends. All of us were so unique and came from different backgrounds, majors, and language levels. The staff that worked at the IES Center were like family to a lot of us. They really looked out for us and helped us learn how to adjust and cope with occasional homesickness. The Tokyo staff make sure we knew how to use the train system, how fun places to go, and so on. Most of the classes were fantastic. These classes opened my eyes to a view of Japanese culture and history I had never known before. The program had trips to Nikko and Hokkaido that allowed us to explore the differences that exist in various prefectures of Japan. By the end of the program, many of my classmates and E-pals were sad to be leaving. It was like I had to leave my second home. I wasn't sure how I was going to be able to adjust back to life in America, and I knew I was going to miss my American and Japanese family and friends so much. I hope in the future I can come back to work and live in Japan.

I went abroad for the purpose of furthering my Japanese ability, and I was not disappointed. Nanzan's Japanese program is intense and rewarding; it took a lot of work, but I learned so much! Not to mention, I loved being able to learn alongside other students who cared as much as I did about Japanese. The professor's also cared about our progress and health, which made it easier during difficult classes. One of the really helpful aspects of having IES support me through the experience was the practical advice about the area, and the time spent with other international students. I especially liked having the orientation before the classes started so I had time to get used to things. The only thing I found a bit frustrating was it was nearly impossible to enter clubs at the university. But overall, the program was great.

I studied abroad through IES Abroad Nagoya for the Spring of 2019 through my school. The IES Abroad Nagoya program was really amazing, The program staff seem to truly care about the participants and bring you on some amazing trips. The Nanzan University program can be a bit intense due to the speed of the program (The entire Genki 2 book in 4-5 months) hence the 3.0 GPA requirement. It can be a bit stressful at times but I really forces to practice your Japanese more and improves your Japanese at a very fast rate. The staff there are amazing. They are super kind and super helpful if you have any trouble. Because the program runs from January to May, it allows you time to take a Summer internship/co-op as well. In my case, I did an internship in Tokyo afterwards. I spent my first 4 month with a host family and the last month at a dorm due to host family circumstances. If I'm to be honest, my host family situation wasn't ideal but I learned a lot and it was a very big learning experience. The dorm I moved to was also very close to campus (4 stations away) and was a very convenient location. the dorms are also not huge dorms you might find in other places and are typically pretty small allowing you to easily make friends with everyone in the dorm. Nagoya is a great city as well. While it doesn't have as much, Its much cheaper than Tokyo. Nanzan is also in an area that doesn't typically get many foreigners so you typically won't have problems with people treating you like you don't know any or very little Japanese. You can also very easily get to Shizuoka, Gifu, Mie, Kyoto, and much more. If you like to avoid heavy tourist locations, Nagoya is a great location to be to travel from. Overhaul, after the program I changed and grew a lot. Having to Be independent in a foreign country allows you to grow a lot more than in your home country. I also became a lot more proactive at getting out. Having such a convenient and cheap public transport system really encourages you to go out and do things. I highly recommend going on this program if you get the chance.

From March to July of 2018, I had the opportunity to live abroad in Tokyo, Japan. I studied Anthropology and Sociology through IES Abroad's Tokyo Language and Culture program. IES Abroad's program was not only academically stimulating, culturally relevant and engaging. From the beginning of the application process, to my last day in Japan, the IES staff were extremely helpful in providing information and resources to prepare for an amazing semester. The Tokyo study abroad center itself felt almost like a second home. All of the staff were extremely kind, welcoming and even went out of their way to help me explore my interests in Japan. For example, I knew I wanted to go hiking while in Japan and the staff was able to help me find information about local hiking opportunities. The staff also organized a number of opportunities to travel which were both interesting and financially feasible. I had the opportunity to travel to Okinawa and Kamakura, two places I wouldn't have considered visiting on my own. In regards to academics, the class offerings were diverse and interesting, and I had equal opportunity to enroll in classes through the local university as well. The Japanese course I took was challenging but I can very much say that my Japanese skills improved immensely over the course of 3 months. Overall, if you're looking for a supportive, engaging, and challenging experience I definitely recommend IES Abroad. There was a clear balance of academic rigor but also extracurricular offerings.

If you had told me a few years ago that I’d be studying abroad in Japan, I wouldn’t believe you. My application process was surreal: I’d looked up a countless number of photos, blogs, and reviews of study abroad in Japan, and I couldn’t believe that I was applying to go to a country so different from my own. When I applied and found out that I was accepted into IES Abroad’s Nagoya Summer Program, I was ecstatic: I was going to Japan! I had a new perspective about the photos, blogs, and reviews that I’d seen and read. I would gather my own memories and photos just like those in the past who’ve studied abroad have done. What I loved the most about studying abroad through IES is the support system that I had from the minute I was accepted and even now as an alumna. I remember feeling butterflies (a bit from excitement, a bit from nervousness) when I thought about my upcoming study abroad trip, but my advisor sent me a weekly newsletter and answered all of my questions (no matter how small or unimportant they seemed to me!). The minute my plane touched down in Nagoya, two IES staff members greeted me in the airport. This was such a relief for me, as I had never been in a foreign country before--let alone one where the native language isn't English! The staff members were so polite and helped me and two of my fellow participants to the hotel that we'd be staying in for the weekend. On the train ride there, we introduced ourselves and talked about various aspects of American and Japanese culture (in a mix of Japanese and English) and just our initial reactions at being in Japan. It was comforting to have them there with me, and they assuaged any lingering fears or worries that I had about being in a country so far from home. My first weekend in Japan was an orientation guided by two IES staff members. They gave us emergency resources, talked about some cultural differences and difficulties that we might face, and organized a traditional Japanese meal for us. It was a perfect transitioning weekend that helped me and the other participants become comfortable with our new home for the next 6 weeks. I won't lie and say transitioning to life in Japan was easy; being in a foreign country for the first time, especially when you don't speak the official language fluently, is tough. Tasks that I wouldn’t give a second thought to in America like doing laundry and buying groceries were challenging. My advice to overcoming these challenges is this: observe how your Japanese classmates carry out their day-to-day lives and never be afraid to ask for help. My time in Japan was short, but I felt like I had seen a lot and learned a lot about the places that I visited. Because of IES, I was able to see my host city in a new way, through several different cultural events like the community Tanabata celebration and the TAO drum performance. I also explored more of Kyoto than I ever thought I would; Kyoto is such a historically and culturally rich city with an abundance of shrines, temples, and historical landmarks, and our weekend field trip to Kyoto allowed us to visit a handful of the most famous landmarks in a short span of time. Although I was extremely tired after the trip, I'm glad that I had the chance to see so much of such a beautiful city. IES Abroad field trips supplemented an already incredible study abroad experience by helping me to see more of Japan, both geographically and culturally, than I ever thought possible. One aspect that I loved about IES is that they organized these field trips and events, but the time commitment was never overwhelming. I still had free time so I could hang out with my new friends and go to karaoke or a local ramen shop, or plan small field trips of our own to museums and castles. As far as academics go, Nanzan University provided a rigorous and highly beneficial language learning environment. We had classes 5 days a week, around 3 hours a day with a 15-minute break in between, and then homework on a daily basis. What I loved about Nanzan was that they provide so many opportunities for international students to interact with Japanese students, both inside and outside of the classroom. Every Friday, our sensei would invite Japanese students to our class and we would start off the class by having conversations with them for 20-minutes. There were also daily events such as the Japan Plaza where you could go and get homework help or just informally converse in Japanese, and other frequent events such as Coffee Hour where you could converse and play games with Japanese students. They also organized several field trips (some just for international students, some for international and Japanese students) to various places such as Shirakawa-go, a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site nestled in the mountains, and even a sumo championship held in Nagoya! The environment that Nanzan University provided was so inviting and fun. If you attend, I highly recommend staying in the International Student Dormitories. For the girls dorm, you’re guaranteed one Japanese roommate, plus up to 2 other roommates from anywhere in the world! The dorms are more like 4-bedroom apartments with a shared bathroom area, kitchen area, and common area. The guys dorms are single rooms, but there is still at least one Japanese student on each floor, so you won’t lose the opportunity to converse with native Japanese speakers, even when you’re settled in for the night. Despite only being in Japan for 6 weeks, it felt like a lifetime because of all of the incredible people that I met and places that I saw. Overall, I highly recommend studying through IES Abroad if you’re looking to get the most out of your time abroad and explore every nook and cranny of your host country, with the support of a genuine and caring staff.

Participating in the Nagoya Summer--Language and Culture program at Nanzan University for seven weeks this past summer truly transformed my Japanese language ability and increased my confidence. Initially terrified to travel alone for the first time in my life, I was incredibly nervous, but the IES facilitators provided so much support that I was ability to immediately make friends and quickly come to call Nanzan University home. By both intensively studying Japanese and being fully immersed in Japanese culture every day I was able to improve more in my language ability then I ever could at my home university in the US. I left the program conversationally fluent and able to navigate the city by myself. I made lifelong friends with both other international students and the Japanese students at Nanzan. We still keep in touch to this day. This program made me realize just how much I love studying Japanese and has motivated me to continue to further pursue these studies.

Honestly, I can't really put my experience into words. Everyday I wake up in the States and wish I was back in Japan. It was such a great time! I always wanted to go to Japan since I was in middle school and to have had this incredible opportunity to do so meant the world to me. The staff was always helpful, friendly, and treated me not only with respect but as a friend as well. The school faculty was amazing and I met some of the nicest people there. My transition from the States to Japan was smooth and whenever I had questions, I got answers. I never felt alone or felt as though I couldn't reach out for help. If I could go back to IES tomorrow, I would.