Studying abroad together with friends in Kyoto, Japan!

Peony: I’m in the beginner’s level 1 class at KICL. 

Katherine: I’m in the intermediate level 1 class 

Who we Are

We originally met in high school and knew of each other through mutual friends but we didn’t really become friends until college. Even after we transferred to different universities, we still kept in touch and hung out whenever we were in town at the same time. One day, while we were hanging out, we were talking about plans after graduating. As half a joke, I asked Katherine how she felt about studying in Japan for a year. A few inquiry emails were made and an application was filled out, then we were on our way to Kyoto. 

Peony (left) and Katherine (right)

Moving to Japan

Although student dorms are available through KICL, they’re typically limited to one semester only and as Peony and I are both attending for more than one semester, we decided ahead of time to find an apartment ourselves before coming to Japan. Apartment hunting in Japan was something I was really curious about before coming, so I wanted to shed some light on what the process was like for us. The school put us in touch with an apartment agency and we were given 3 choices in apartments to select from. I had heard previously that many landlords in Japan will not rent to foreigners, a sentiment that was quickly confirmed when I asked if there were any other apartments available, and was told that no other apartments will rent to foreigners. Luckily we found an apartment we were satisfied with out of the options provided and I asked for a breakdown of the initial costs of moving into the apartment. It was at this point in the process that I have to say I was a bit shocked. In my experience of renting in the States, typically the initial cost just consists of a deposit usually equivalent in cost to one month’s rent. However in Japan, you can expect to pay roughly the equivalent of 3-4 months of rent in initial fees, the most egregious of which in my opinion is called reikin (礼金). Reikin quite literally means “gratitude money”, and it is a gift to the landlord usually worth about one month’s rent. I was able to negotiate the reikin off of our initial fees, and though I can’t attest to how common negotiating is, in our case it was definitely worth the try. After much email back and forth with the apartment agency, we were physically mailed the rental contract to be signed and paid the initial fees. We officially had an apartment in Japan! 

After landing in Japan we were excited to move into our new apartment, but unfortunately we were in for mishaps. As I was trying to confirm how we should pick up the keys to the apartment, our point of contact at the apartment agency stopped replying to my messages. Anxious and in a new country, I was starting to get paranoid that we’d been scammed. When I was finally able to get a response from the company, they informed me that our point of contact had quit the company altogether. This meant that none of the utilities for our apartment, including water, electricity, and gas, had been set up, as that had been the responsibility of the person who had quit. Fortunately everything was situated by the following day, but we did have to spend that first night in a dark, cold apartment with no electricity. Our first couple days here were a bit chaotic, but looking back on it all now is pretty funny.

Daily Life in Japan

Our apartment is split into a kitchen and dining area, two bedrooms, one toilet and one shower. The bedrooms are split with a single sliding door panel. The doors don’t lock for our bedrooms, but we respect each other’s privacy. To conserve space, we both got futons to sleep on and they’re more comfortable than you would think. We had to furnish the entire apartment ourselves, including buying a stove and some other appliances. 

Peony: My room has tatami mats so it’s a little difficult to place heavy furniture without ruining the flooring. I had to buy some mats to put down so that I have a desk in my room. We mostly use Katherine’s room as a living room because it’s easier to place furniture in there. She also has an A/C and heater unit that came with the apartment so I go over to use it a lot. I spend more time in her room than my own. I also go over there a lot in general to bother her whenever I get bored. I’m an only child and mostly used to living on my own, but I can’t imagine moving to another country by myself. 

We hang out a lot and do most activities together. It’s easy to think of as a “set” but we’re not always together. Katherine loves going out a lot and doesn’t like being at home for too long. She goes out on walks every single day and sometimes I don’t see her for a few hours. Sometimes I’ll go out without her too. We get along pretty well, but sometimes I admit that sometimes I need alone time. 

We don’t fight. Usually if there’s a problem or disagreement, we talk about it right away and figure it out. We split chores and bills pretty evenly as well. I can’t even think about any problems we might’ve had because we don’t let them get to us. 

In terms of studying, we usually study separately. We both have different study methods and times that we study. We’re also both in different classes and levels, but sometimes I’ll ask Katherine to check something for me. At home, we mostly speak English with each other, but we’ll also mix in some Japanese here and there. Katherine likes watching a lot of Japanese dramas and making flashcards. I prefer reading manga and looking up kanji and vocabulary. We have movie nights sometimes — varying between movies and whatever anime series I want her to watch with me. Whenever we watch something in Japanese together, we like picking up new words and slang or questioning the English translated subtitles. 

Katherine: Personally I really enjoy my daily life here. During university I had a roommate for a couple years that I had a lot of issues with and it was really difficult to at times not be able to fully relax at home due to those issues. Because of that experience, the fact that we get along is definitely not something I take for granted. I can also admit that I wouldn’t have come here by myself. It had been my dream to study in Japan for many years, but the idea of moving to another country where I have no family and little language ability completely by myself seems pretty terrifying. In general, I’m not interested in ever living by myself. I feel like I would get lonely pretty quickly living alone. It’s nice to have someone I can annoy whenever I want.

Like Peony said, we don’t ever fight. If we have a problem it gets sorted out before it gets to that point. When it comes to our shared expenses I also feel like it’s split pretty fairly. We don’t really eat the same things, so when it comes to our groceries we usually get our own, but we also don’t have problems getting things for each other. 

Outside of being at school or the apartment, I really like going on long walks around Kyoto. The city is really scenic and walkable, so I love just putting in some earbuds and getting lost for a bit. I also love going to Kyoto International Community House. It’s a community center in Kyoto for Japanese and foreigners to gather together. I’ve made a couple friends here and we get together and take turns speaking in English and Japanese. It’s a pretty fun way for me to practice Japanese outside of class.