Festivals Volunteering in Japan

Had a great trip to Italy. I met a ton of people from all over the world and we worked together educating about issues around refugees. We worked during the day and had fun at night and on the weekends. I am still in touch with many of the people I volunteered with. Thanks

I love helping the old people , and I love those who do this because it gives them a spirit of life and enhances their psychology for the better. I also love animals and playing with them gently and I hope that I will enjoy this volunteering because it will have a great impact on my psychological state

My experience with VFP way back in 2009 was remarkable. Living in Germany and building a labyrinth at a World Heritage Site as the only native English speaker in my group was a truly immersive experience. I didn't feel like I was coming into a place from the outside so much as I felt part of a community. Our group really bonded and while we had a primary task, many of the day to day decisions were made by the group, one of my first experiences with really being responsible for myself.

This was absolutely the best internship I could have dreamt of! Robert made this journey unforgettable and offered me the best internship in a local IT company. I had a very intense two months that exposed me to so much learning and coding with Phyton, C++ and Java. THANK YOU for the great work you did!!!

Just finished my 6-Month internship in Tokyo and it was simply amazing. Great people, great food and the lifestyle is a rollercoaster of fun, excitement and adrenaline all the time. They say Tokyo never sleeps and I can approve that 100%! Meiji did a great job in placing me at a great IT startup that helped me developing their European business branch from zero. At the beginning I was like, "Hold on, you want what?" and then I ended up bringing in the first clients after 4 months which sounds like a long time but considering the whole marketing campaign I made together with their designer team it was actually quick. The highlight of my internship was the trading convention the boss took me together to Okinawa, which I will never forget. Now looking back after this great time it is time to get back to my business degree as these people decided to hire me after my studies are done! I can't thank everybody more than enough and I recommend anybody to consider the Meiji experience as it changed my life! Literally!!! I should mention with a grain of salt that we had in the same host company at least 4 other Meiji interns at my time and two of them didn't work well with the working culture and stress in Japan... so before you choose to come to Japan I do recommend to know what you want as Tokyo can become sometimes quite extreme. For me I loved every second and would do it anytime again! Arigatou to Yanagida-shacho for your kind and strict guidance throughout my journey. Can't wait to be back!

I don't know where to start but this IT internship for the past three months was a game-changer for me! I have made so many contacts, developed my Java Script and C++ coding skills to the next level while networking with the local entrepreneurial crowd filled with international IT geeks, locals business man and even a few angel investors, Fukuoka just blew my mind! The best thing about Meiji was how much of a grip and connection they have in Kyushu and really know the whole local companies pretty much. I have hung out with the staff and fellow interns for a couple of dinners and food gatherings and I cannot intensify how much it is important to get out of your comfort zone.

Ever been to a place so amazing you don’t want people to know about it? That’s Fukuoka for me! Before doing this internship I had no idea the place even existed. To be honest I had my eyes set on Tokyo and I was a little worried Fukuoka wouldn't match the hype, but boy was I in for a shock. The place is just… amazing. The people are great, the food is amazing, the city has everything you need, like to the extent I was seriously considering leaving Canada behind forever. I know I sound like one of those corny travel bloggers, but Fukuoka is a real hidden gem. Shout out to Meiji for introducing this place to me because I definitely would’ve never came here otherwise. In addition to being a place of dreams, the internship I did was pretty good too. I will admit sometimes it felt like I had a little too much work, but I guess that’s down to my laziness because an internship should be about work. I definitely still had a lot of time to explore Japan though so I really shouldn't complain. The accommodation was perfect too, something about it felt so wholesome, it was so “natsukashii”. If you’re considering Fukuoka for an internship, all I can say is do it, and just be aware I’m jealous of you because I’d love to do it all again.

I am studying Japanese at uni and learning the Japanese sign language. I have always wanted to live in Japan because I love their culture and how respectful people are. As I am interested in the Japanese sign language as well, I asked Meiji Internships if it would be possible to find my internship in this field, and they found it! I am really thankful for this opportunity. It was an NGO helping children with different types of deafness. I helped organise a fundraising event, went to hospitals to entertain children and many other activities. The children were really cute and they seemed so happy to meet me! It was the best social experience I had in my life, thank you so much for this opportunity.

Tokyo was amazing! My brother did an internship in China, but I wanted to have a different experience, and I had a better feeling with Japan. Even though I don't speak Japanese (or only some basic words), it was not a problem in Tokyo and the company I interned with. My mother was a bit worried because it was my first time going abroad alone, but I really wanted to intern in Asia because the culture is so different and fascinating. It was a good idea to trust Meiji Internship because they helped me with the accommodation, the sim card and so on. They also sent me a newsletter with a list of events, it was really nice. I gained experience and also independence thanks to this internship... amazing!

What a challenge for me to live in such a huge city like Tokyo, but what a memorable experience! I wanted to visit Tokyo anyway, so why not gaining work experience while visiting? I had a great time there, doing my internship in Design. At some point, they needed my help with SNS tasks and a bit of copywriting. I applied in priority for Design, but I said that I was also interested in Marketing, so I was happy to be polyvalent sometimes. As it might help some people: I am a vegetarian, and I thought it would be complicated to eat vege food in Japan, but actually it was not! I cooked my bento for lunch at the sharehouse sometimes, and there are plenty of vege restaurants in Tokyo, even vegan if needed! Or I would eat kitsune udon, yasai tempura... lots of options! Anyway, don't worry if you are a vegetarian, you can do your internship in Tokyo!! Thank you Meiji Internships for this amazing experience! I will remember it my whole life!

Please let me go back in time and do this program again! I have made so many friends in the two months I've been in Sapporo. Hokkaido is such a great place to explore all the natural spots during the weekends and also learn about the mystical culture of the Nordic native people called "Ainu". I met so many super awesome people on my journey and went with them also to the cozy city port of Hakodate on the Southern tip. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I already miss all the people and my fellow colleagues from my company I was working at. Advise: Make sure to check out the sea food market in Sapporo. Mouth watering and fresh sea food wherever you look.

This past summer, I spent about 6 weeks with World Campus, traveling from Omura all the way to Mito. It’s been over a month since I left Japan, but I still think about it almost every day. I was skeptical at first mainly because of the language barrier but also because of the people I would meet. But as soon as I got there, I was welcomed with open arms and smiles. Throughout the program, I met not only Japanese people but people from all across Europe and Asia as well as fellow Americans, some of which I still talk to today. The people in each session felt like a family only a few days after meeting. The staff was wonderful and although some were about 10 years older than me, they were so easy to talk to. They were always there to listen and help. I remember not having anything to do in our free day in Tokyo so I went with Nena, one of the staff members, to Koreatown and then we walked to Shibuya and Harajuku, finding cute restaurants and coffee shops along the way. The host families were absolutely wonderful, making me feel right at home. I still keep in contact with some of my host families, like the one from Mito for example. We send each other photos and updates about what we are doing in our everyday lives and whenever I get a text from them, I huge smile comes on my face. The activities that the staff had planned for us were unforgettable. From climbing over 800 stairs to visit a temple to training like ninjas for a day and participating in school classes, each experience was one like no other. At times, the school visits were overwhelming. I remember the first large school visit I went to. Barely speaking Japanese, I was swarmed by first graders asking if I’d play a game with them outside. Having already promised the 5th graders the same thing, but not knowing what they were saying, especially when 10 voices were talking at the same time, I said yes. We got to the field and both groups went up to me. I didn’t know what to say (literally), so I just joined whatever game of tag the other WC members were playing. But looking back at it now, it was a lot of fun and definitely worth it. Lastly, there’s the arigato event: a night of dancing and thanking host families and LOC. I never realized how much I liked dancing. Well, I like dancing but I didn’t think I’d like dancing in public. And I don’t want to brag, but I got pretty good at the dances after a while. Along with that, all of the Americans agreed to do the Chicken Dance and we even got the families to join in. I even stepped out of my comfort zone and performed a solo in the Paprika song. I could go on and on, but my review is already really long. Basically, join the program! You will not regret it!

I was honestly so scared to go, world campus Japan would be my first trip for so long so far from home. But now that I did it I'm so glad. You learn so much, for example how to be independant and how people from around the world see some things differently. I have met many nice people and still talk to my host family frequently. And that was one of the best things from this trip, the host families. I can't believe how close you can get with people in just one week. The families do everything to make your stay comfortable, and this without fail. make sure to help to so you don't get a hotel-feeling because that's really not what it's about. The program is about living with and like the families. Experience it like a local not like a tourist, this is what makes it so special. Ow one more thing concerning the host families, prepare for tears because saying goodbye is really really hard. Don't be scared and just experience it with an open mind, everything will be alright!

The overall prgramm was a really good experience, at first it's a bit intimidating to meet so many new people at once but there was no reason to be worried at all. The staff and the other participants were nice and all the host-families were welcoming. The fear of maybe doing or saying something wrong didn't last for long either, because of the help I got from everyone. I experienced the Japanese lifestyle from inside an that in three different households, it seems so different at the beginning and normal at the end because of the great hospitality, I really felt as if I was part of their families. I got friends with everyone during those 3 weeks and am still in contact with some of them to this day. It was 3 weeks of great people, interesting and fun experiences and a great first time in Japan.

Hey, i am a student who spent a few months in Japan during the summer 2018, and was invited by a friend to join World Campus during my trip. It turned out to be one of the greatest experiences i had in Japan. Of course, i was a bit nervous when i arrived. During my last two months, i had been traveling alone, or with random people i meet, and didn't really know how it would be to be living with a Japanese family, or traveling with a group of people i had never meet before. Turns out, it is actually very nice. Being introduced to your first host family is always a scary moment. I worried a lot about my very limited Japanese, how i would fit in, and so on. Turns out, worrying was a complete waste of time. I was welcomed into their home, and quickly felt like part of the family. While the language barrier was there, it could largely be ignored. I got to say a lot of what i wanted to say, partly through a mix of Japanese and English, and also through the use of pictures and body language. With the second family, i was already a lot more confident, and ended up making some really good friends, who i still talk to. The world campus group is filled with very different people, with all kinds of cultures, interests and jobs. But they all have a few things in common, like their interest in the World Campus and Japan, and you quickly end up bonding around it. I made a lot of friends, who i hope to meet again the next time i have the opportunity to travel with World Campus International. I have also never experienced so much about another culture as during my trip in Japan with World Campus. While you will get the opportunity to see a few of the common tourist sights, you will also see a lot more of the real culture. You will get to meet mayors of the towns, visit local schools, talk to survivors of the atomic bombs, and so much more. If you are interested in travelling to Japan to experience the Japanese lifestyle, and to understand the culture, or to make friends, both with the members of World Campus International, and with the members of your host families, then world campus is for you. Hope to see you soon!

Hi! Last July I joined the WCJ session 2 as a participant and I had the best time! I'm a second year student Japanese but it was my first time going to Japan. Let me tell you that it felt like going home. Not only because I love the country and the language, but because everybody treats you like family. I felt that I was part of a group with so much love and support that I received from the very beginning. I've learned a lot of things at my three weeks stay. Japanese people are so so generous and they will do everything to make you feel comfortable during your stay at their homes. Because yes! you get to experience homestay in Japan! How cool is that!! It was my first time doing that and I would do it again over and over. It's the best way to really experience the Japanese way of living and you are able to get to know a lot of lovely people whom I still have contact with! As part of the cultural experience: you get to do a lot! There are so much activities planned (ninja experience, visiting universities, visiting Asahi beer factory...)and you get to see so much places that you probably wouldn't get into if you were traveling on your own. (City hall, Mayor's office...) You also get a personal day (in session two it was the first and third week) so you can go explore Japan in your own time, alone or with some friends you made during your stay.(ex. Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto...) Personal days were awesome, but to be fair I missed the group atmosphere really quickly and also thinking about what else was planned, got me all hyped up again! I could ramble a lot about my stay, but still the best way is to experience it yourself. I was happy every single day and I had never felt the way I was feeling during my stay. It's something you can't really describe properly, but if you love Japan and love to meet new people then WCJ is the perfect program for you. Just like they say, it's the perfect opportunity to get unique access to Japan. It really is. Next year I'll be part of it again, but this time for a little longer :) Hope to see you there! Nena

I participated in the program in 2017 and 2018. I managed to visit every city in all the sessions. In the second year, I got to be the counselor, which I will be forever proud of and grateful for. I learned: - how to step out of my comfort zone and grab new opportunities, - about the Japanese culture first hand, - about many other cultures from my friends that also participated, - how to be more sociable and - how to be a bigger person. The most precious things for me about this program: - having the opportunity to stay with host families. They do it for free, so that means they really host you for you. They want to know about your culture and about you as a person. They make the most delicious food for you. They love you and you love them and you don't ever want to leave them. - community contribution. Not only do you get to know the area, but you communicate with the other locals. You go to elementary and middle schools. You have some fun activities in universities. You can visit the city mayor. Lot of the thing that we did in the WCJ are things that you can't experience anywhere else. You get friends all around the world and loving families around Japan. This program is something that will help you in your future. It is something you won't ever forget.

World Campus Japan is an amazing program! I have never thought to experience Japan in such a unique way. All my expectations were topped, day by day. I got so close with my host families and felt so at home, although I stayed only one week with each. They are really kind and interested in you and your culture and it is great to show them your country and the way you live. Moreover, you experience the japanese lifestyle in the best way. I felt like being part of them, as I saw everything in a non-touristic way. You have the possibility to discover every domain of Japan, like their delicious food, pop culture, nature. I got the chance to go to Akihabara in Tokyo, to see shinto shrines and to talk to the Governor of Ibaraki! And japanese food is the best food I‘ ve ever eaten (I swear!) I missed it so much back home. And you meet so many great and interesting people. I made good friends and it makes me happy that they‘re from all over the world! We got all very close and I felt like being part of one big family. The progam helped me to get more openminded and I developed a lot, especially in interaction with other people and in overcoming the fear of talking in front of a lot of people. You really expand your comfort zone. I can only recommend it as you gain so much from this amazing program. I will definitely do it again and I‘m looking forward to discovering Japan one more time!

I've been always active with many local associations . And i would love to experience something new abroad . France can be 1 grear chance for me to deal with the local community and to help in any kind of project

Going into this, I didn't expect it to change my life to this extent in such a positive way! I met many kind people of different nationalities, from different backgrounds and learned how to be more open and make new friends. The hostfamilies were always so kind and open. They really felt like a real family to me. I still stay in contact with all the people I met while in Japan with world campus. I learned so much about Japan and Japanese culture aswel as how to respect others and always be open minded and kind, then good things will come your way easily. Everything was always very well planned out and dealt with properly. We could turn to the staff at any time for anything we might want to ask or need. We became a big family over the course of session 2, which I attended. I definitely recommend the experience and will myself hopefully be returning somehow!