Japanese + Pop Culture

Going to a foreign country far away from home can be daunting and even scary, but Meiji made it an experience worth to take this big step. This was my first trip abroad and I felt really excited taking this journey. I did a lot of research and together with my mother and after contacting several schools we decided to go with Meiji, because of their very friendly and attentive staff that made sure to answer all the queries me and my mother had. They even scheduled two video calls with us to address all questions we had and checked my Japanese level before arrival. Actually they do the testing through an Japanese online test they make you take and then based on the results they scheduled the video call with me to test my speaking ability. I found the process a bit time-consuming but it turned out to be good for placing me according to my level.

I studied Japanese for quite some time but found the studies a bit frustrating as I did not have native Japanese speakers around me and my Japanese tutor was good but did not provide me with the needed Japanese speaking environment. Before I departed for Hokkaido I just passed the JLPT N5 and my goal was to take the N4 last Winter, which I did. Due to the intense studies at Meiji I had I made it through N4! I found the classes to be very interactive with a lot of grammar practices and group studies. We had separate class sessions solely focusing on applicable speaking and communicative approach when interacting with Japanese on different subjects. At the beginning it felt a bit too much but I think you need to get used to the environment and study style. For me it was the first time so I made sure to tell the teachers my struggle and they regularly followed up with me. I decided to take a few private lessons and also chose the Conversational Japanese course which helped a lot!

The biggest advice I can give to anybody is really to go out of your comfort zone and make the most of your time in Japan. Make sure to attend as much events and activities that Meiji or other local student circles offer and try to engage with Japanese people as much as you can.

For me it was a great and unforgettable memory visiting this beautiful city up in the north of Japan and I hope to see all of my lovely teachers and friends again. Thanks to all the amazing staff and friends I met during this trip that made it an unforgettable journey for me.

Studying in Hokkaido felt so surreal because you are in Japan but still has this European flair with large roads, Western style architecture and snow like back home in France.
I studied at Meiji for 4 weeks and felt it was too short ! The teachers were very experienced and the friendly staff was always willing to help me with any questions I had. We students even went with teachers and staff for lunch one day and for graduation we had a traditional nomikai and karaoke party. Thinking back how good fun all this is I think Hokkaido best place to study Japanese. I did the conversational module for all 4 weeks and also two weeks traditional culture activity which was so much fun. From kimono wearing and tea ceremony I made a lot of new memories. We also made origami and ikebana at one cultural center.

The classes are very small and I had only 3 other students in my class. So the teacher had a lot of time to focus on us and with only 4 students it was the perfect size to learn so much in that class. Main focus was on speaking and conversation practices with sometimes grammar sessions and regularly studying vocabulary and Kanji. I am still at N5 so I felt like I improved more than I ever studied Japanese in one year in France back. I recommend staying here for at least for two months as I was not able to see everything. Just too much interesting things to explore and Hokkaido is so big to travel around. I will definitely come back again. Merci Meiji!

During Summer of 2023, I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a 12-week Standard course with Conversational Japanese and Traditional Culture modules at Meiji Academy. This was my first trip to Asia and I was very much looking forward to it as I planned it for almost two years as it got delayed due to Covid.

TEACHERS AND STAFF
Meiji is all about the people you meet and greet there. Although it was a bit of a tricky start as I just got sick in the first week and missed almost four days of classes, I quickly felt’s much at ease. One thing was the follow up emails from Meiji’s staff asking me if I’m alright and also my host family that was very caring. The atmosphere at school is like being at home in a very cozy environment with many friendly students from all around the world. From all 8 teachers I had, I cannot think of one single teacher that was not fun to learn with. Some teachers were able to speak in English but some won’t which was at the beginning a bit struggling as I was a complete beginner. But I quickly grasped the concept of only using Japanese to learn the language…*phew*

JAPANESE CLASSES
The classroom was very comfortable as we were in small groups of around 2-5 students and the focus was on grammar classes in the first two lessons and then grammar and speaking practices afterwards with vocabulary and sentence building group exercises. As I have missed almost the whole first week, I dragged behind a bit in the second week but my teacher took the extra time even after classes giving me some advice and practices to do so I was at the end of the 2nd week on the same level as everybody else or even a bit further. hehe
The teachers were very patient with me giving advice on how to use the specific grammar we learned in the grammar practice we did. They were so mindful that they even followed up the next day with it, which almost made me blush because reminding everybody of the silly grammar sentences I made in the class the day before.
The Conversational Japanese module was a complete game changer as we heavily focused on casual Japanese meaning really the informal Japanese that is spoken between the locals. The setting was in small groups with a different topic, simple grammar, example sentences and Japanese students that helped out as volunteers together with Japanese teachers. This was really the fun part to take the Japanese out of the classroom and into the real world.

ACTIVITIES
I really recommend anybody to take at least 2 weeks in traditional culture as it was so much fun to have the cultural activities as a balance to the classes. We went out for Kimono Wearing, strolling around Sapporo and also did the tea ceremony which felt so mesmerizing and peaceful that you can’t really experience anywhere else in the world. The second week we went for Taiko Drum playing and also visited the Hokkaido Jingu Shrine learning about its history and strolling around Maruyama Park which is my favourite spot!
As much as I loved the extracurricular activities that Meiji organized directly or with partner student circles that they work with it sometimes felt to really differ of having almost every day an activity to some weeks where there were only 2 or 3 free activities in another week. Just make sure that the extra graduation dinners and other Karaoke events are not for free and you have to pay for your food and drinks! The best was the Summer Fireworks that take place every Summer season in Japan with massive shining colour rockets being shot into the sky and lightening up the beautiful night view. It makes me cry thinking back about how wonderful last Summer was. The biggest advice I can give to ALWAYS attend as much events you can and make effort connecting with the local Japanese as they are indeed very shy at the beginning but really open up once you get closer to them.

ACCOMMODATION
I did 4 weeks homestay and 8 weeks sharehouse as Meiji Academy does not allow longer homestays than four weeks (unfortunately). Apparently it is due to the popularity of host families, the small number and also the very young students don’t have any other option than staying with a host family. I can just say that my host family was wonderful and very caring. They could not speak any English at all but this was never a barrier of communication between us as their smile and endless curiosity for my background and culture really made me feel at ease all the time. The share house was for me the first time living in a student dormitory and a very interesting experience. Even though it was a mixed student house all male and female were strictly separated on floors except of one mixed floor. However you have your own private bedroom with all facilities and furniture. I think this was really the time where I made so many friends from all around the world at this place including many Japanese! Just make sure not to overeat at their yummy food parties they hold every weekend:)

All in all an unforgettable time and I really felt in love with Hokkaido and its people. Meiji Academy arrigatou gozaimashita:)

Initially I attended the 6 week standard course with additional modules of traditional culture and conversational Japanese back in July 2023, but I ended up extending my course for another 3 weeks because I simply loved it. I was able to take the placement test online before arriving in Japan, which was very convenient and also helped me to understand how much I knew.

The school is located right in the downtown area of Sapporo called Susukino. It is very convenient to go anywhere from shopping places, restaurants, cafes and a lot of Japanese entertainment facilities like game centers and anime shops (which was heaven for me!):P On my first day the staff were very helpful at placing me in my correct class and I did not have any problems to catch up with the teaching pace. One of the best things about Meiji Academy was the small number of students in classes. During my 9 weeks I had anywhere between 2-6 classmates but I heard that some Japanese levels can become a bit overcrowded during the Summer and have up to 9 students. So I would recommend to be careful and check with the school beforehand. The advantage of small classes was the one-to-one time and small group works we did. Class learning speed moved at a good pace and I never felt overwhelmed by all the grammar and vocabularies we had to memorize.

I stayed in their share house that they organize and it was super conveniently located just around 10 minutes by walk. Sapporo is easily accessible by foot so I recommend to stay in the sharehouse as there are a lot of food parties and gatherings done. The most memorable thing was the wide range of wonderful cultural events and the Hanabi Summer fireworks I was lucky to join. I also did kimono wearing, tea ceremony and a taiko drum lesson which was so much fun. And not to forget, the chocolate museum was amazing! So many beautiful and worthwhile activities to enroll for.

I hope I can go back soon and I highly recommend studying with Meiji Academy in Hokkaido. Arigato gozaimashita:)