japan educationrich in history and cultural significance,
Japan is trying to open its doors even wider, by offering a variety of benefits to promote international exchange and make studying in Japan even more attractive. Through scholarships, the opportunity to work part-time, and with comprehensive medical coverage, Japan shows that international students are more than welcome.
Scholarships
A doctoral student from Brazil recently confided that while trying to decide which country to study in America, France or Japan - he decided on Japan because it offered scholarships that were not available in the other two countries. Economic assistance is available to international students in the form of both scholarship and tuition fee reductions. While some of these scholarships must be applied for outside of Japan, there are also a number of scholarships available after you arrive. These include Japanese national and local government scholarships, honors scholarships, Japanese private foundation scholarships, and educational institution scholarships. A survey conducted by the Association of International Education, Japan (AIEJ) in 1999 indicated 63.4% of privately-financed international students are on scholarships. In addition, the Ministry of Education offers up to 30% reduction in tuition fees at both national and private universities, junior colleges and graduate schools. AIEJ has more details, as well as a list of scholarship-paying institutions on their website: www.aiej.or.jp.
Medical lnsurance
Medical care in japan can be quite expensive. However, international students are able to keep costs to a minimum, due to the programs that exist with them specifically in mind. By law, all students staying in Japan for one year or more must enroll in the National Health Insurance system. Premiums vary depending on the area in which the students live. Also, those without a source of income while in Japan usually pay a reduced premium. The National Health Insurance covers 70-80% of expenses and for international students, AIEJ picks up an additional percentage of the cost, leaving the students to pay only 4-6%..of the total. In order for international students to be fully covered, one institution in Japan, Asia University, has a further insurance plan that will cover the remaining fee, making it virtually 100% coverage on all medical costs.
Part-time Work
It is recognized that not all learning takes place in the classroom. Whether you've entered Japan with the status of 'pre-college student' or 'college student', you will be allowed to work part-time to supplement your living expenses and broad- en your learning environment. Those with a 'pre-college' status (students of Japanese language institutes) are able to work up to four hours per day. International students studying at universities on a 'college student' status of residence may work up to 28 hours per week, and up to eight hours per day during vacation periods. This not only provides helpful financial assistance, but also the perfect opportunity to meet more people within the community to gain better language skills and understanding of the culture you're living in.
Extensive Academic Resources
Whether you're a research student, undergraduate or Japanese language student, anyone can take advantage of the national library resource sharing system in place nationwide. Within a day or two you can receive the information or book you need from any of the many higher education institutions across Japan. This literally allows you access to millions of publications available throughout the country. Certainly deciding on the country you want to study in is a challenge, but don't let your (mis)perception about studying in Japan disregard it as a choice. By researching more about a place, you begin to find that more merits exist than you initially recognized. Japan is one of those places where you are rewarded on a continual basis with wonderful opportunities that make your experience studying abroad unique.
With thanks to:
Mary Fidler
Office of International Affairs
Asia University
japan maps
japan tour place
japan tour maps
Reality check, a rainy spring day in Kyoto city centre; don't expect an ancient and rural Japanese paradise! Nor blue skies!
Kyoto climate guide:
Summer months are best avoided due to the unbearably hot and sticky climate, unless visiting for the vibrant Gion Matsuri festival.
Although winter months are cold, Kyoto is less touristy and pricey then, while the snow-covered scenery is wonderfully atmospheric.
Kyoto is almost always packed with tourists, ridiculously so at the best times of spring, autumn and festival periods, so visiting sights early or late in the day is suggested.
Kyoto sightseeing guide:
It would be a madness to attempt to see Kyoto in just a few days since the city contains more than 2,000 temples and shrines, let alone 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites. With attractions dispersed around the city and multi-route bus and metro systems, planning an itinerary carefully is a wise move.
One day? If you are short of time then an official sightseeing package is the practical choice, typically a tour including Nijo Castle, Ryoanji temple, Golden Pavilion, Kyoto Gosho [Imperial Palace Park], Kyoto Handicraft Center, Heian Shrine, Sanjusangendo Hall and Kiyomizu Temple.
Alternatively hike the Higashiyama Kiyomizu-dera walking route, a great way to sample some of Kyoto's major sights and classic neighbourhoods. See Kyoto Walks.
The unusually high terrace of Kiyomizu-dera temple is good for a Kyoto panorama.
Kyoto's primary attractions:
- Kiyomizu-dera [picture above. Dera and ji both mean temple]; this magnificent temple is one of Kyoto's most famous landmarks and one of Japan's most celebrated temples, mainly for its spacious main hall with large cliff terrace, supported by 18m high wooden pillars. [Japanese people describe a challenge as Kiyomizu no butai kara tobiorita tsumori de... meaning 'like jumping off the kiyomizu platform'. There's a panoramic city view from the terrace and one of the foremost walks starts from Kiyomizu-dera too. See See Kyoto Walks
Kinkaku-ji [temple] or 'the Golden Pavilion', built in 1397 and besieged by tourists
- Kinkaku-ji [Golden pavilion, photo above]; a lakeside villa converted into a temple covered in gold leaf, this is the most visited sight in the city and the best known temple in Japan. Tourists will never be alone there. Built in 1397 as a retirement villa for a shogun it was burnt down by a young monk, and rebuilt, of course.
japan beach tour
- Nijo-jo [jo=castle], its brooding exterior and glorious garden was the Tokugawa Shogun's Kyoto residence. The interior is highly acclaimed, especially sliding paper doors decorated by Kano School artists.
japan picture
The zen garden of Ryoan-ji.
- Ryoan-ji, famed for its zen garden of 15 irregularly places rocks on raked white gravel, representing islands in an ocean or, some say [after a few too many cups of warm saké perhaps], 'a tiger carrying her cubs across the water', is a supreme art work and the best zen temple in Kyoto if not in Japan; if only you were alone there!
Visitor's favourite sights:
- Kinkaku-ji [Golden pavilion, see above information and picture]
japan tour pic
Ginkaku-ji and its reflective white sand; Moon Mound to the left and the Sea of Sand in front.
- Ginkaku-ji [Silver pavilion, image above]; never actually covered with silver, Ginkaku-ji is preferred to Kinkaku-ji by some aesthetes due to its more subdued style.
It is known for the garden's white sand waves and two sandy piles designed to reflect moonlight, the Kogetsudai [Moon Mound] and the Ginsaden [Sea of Silver Sand].
There is a pleasant half-hour walking trail between the Ginkaku-ji and Nyakuo-ji Shrine, north of Eikan-do, called the Tetsugaku-no-Michi [Path of philosophy]. See Kyoto Walks guide and pictures.
japan picJSAC
The purpose of the Japan Studies Association of Canada (JSAC) is to promote Japan Studies in Canada and to contribute towards increase in knowledge about Japan and Canada-Japan relations by:- Encouraging Canadian scholars and other interested persons to conduct research on Japan in all academic fields;
- Sponsoring conferences and publishing proceedings of the conferences and other papers;
- Encouraging Japanese scholars and any person interested in Japan studies to share their knowledge with the members of the Association.
japan tourist map
Impressions of Japan
Impressions of Japan
A very personal selection of wonderful places in Japan
Click on the red dots or the links to have a look at some of my photos of the corresponding siteBest viewed with a Netscape browser and a resolution of 1024x768.
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There are not many words, but many pictures!
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amazing japan
tour japan Fearing Crime, Japanese Wear the Hiding Place
Torin Boyd/Polaris, for The New York Times
Though street crime is relatively low in Japan, quirky camouflage designs like this vending-machine dress are being offered to an increasingly anxious public to hide from would-be assailants.
Multimedia
Deftly, Ms. Tsukioka, a 29-year-old experimental fashion designer, lifted a flap on her skirt to reveal a large sheet of cloth printed in bright red with a soft drink logo partly visible. By holding the sheet open and stepping to the side of the road, she showed how a woman walking alone could elude pursuers — by disguising herself as a vending machine.
The wearer hides behind the sheet, printed with an actual-size photo of a vending machine. Ms. Tsukioka’s clothing is still in development, but she already has several versions, including one that unfolds from a kimono and a deluxe model with four sides for more complete camouflaging.
These elaborate defenses are coming at a time when crime rates are actually declining in Japan. But the Japanese, sensitive to the slightest signs of social fraying, say they feel growing anxiety about safety, fanned by sensationalist news media. Instead of pepper spray, though, they are devising a variety of novel solutions, some high-tech, others quirky, but all reflecting a peculiarly Japanese sensibility.
Take the “manhole bag,” a purse that can hide valuables by unfolding to look like a sewer cover. Lay it on the street with your wallet inside, and unwitting thieves are supposed to walk right by. There is also a line of knife-proof high school uniforms made with the same material as Kevlar, and a book with tips on how to dress even the nerdiest children like “pseudohoodlums” to fend off schoolyard bullies.
There are pastel-colored cellphones for children that parents can track, and a chip for backpacks that signals when children enter and leave school.
The devices’ creators admit that some of their ideas may seem far-fetched, especially to crime-hardened Americans. And even some Japanese find some of them a tad naïve, possibly reflecting the nation’s relative lack of experience with actual street crime. Despite media attention on a few sensational cases, the rate of violent crime remains just one-seventh of America’s.
But the devices’ creators also argue that Japan’s ideas about crime prevention are a product of deeper cultural differences. While Americans want to protect themselves from criminals, or even strike back, the creators say many Japanese favor camouflage and deception, reflecting a culture that abhors self-assertion, even in self-defense.
“It is just easier for Japanese to hide,” Ms. Tsukioka said. “Making a scene would be too embarrassing.” She said her vending machine disguise was inspired by a trick used by the ancient ninja, who cloaked themselves in black blankets at night.
To be sure, some of these ideas have yet to become commercially viable. However, the fact that they were greeted here with straight faces, or even appeared at all, underscores another, less appreciated facet of Japanese society: its fondness for oddball ideas and inventions.
Japan’s corporate labs have showered the world with technology, from transistor radios to hybrid cars. But the nation is also home to a prolific subculture of individual inventors, whose ideas range from practical to bizarre. Inventors say a tradition of tinkering and building has made Japan welcoming to experimental ideas, no matter how eccentric.
“Japanese society won’t just laugh, so inventors are not afraid to try new things,” said Takumi Hirai, chairman of Japan’s largest association of individual inventors, the 10,000-member Hatsumeigakkai.
In fact, Japan produces so many unusual inventions that it even has a word for them: chindogu, or “queer tools.” The term was popularized by Kenji Kawakami, whose hundreds of intentionally impractical and humorous inventions have won him international attention as Japan’s answer to Rube Goldberg. His creations, which he calls “unuseless,” include a roll of toilet paper attached to the head for easy reach in hay fever season, and tiny mops for a cat’s feet that polish the floor as the cat prowls.
Mr. Kawakami said that while some of Japan’s anticrime devices might not seem practical, they were valuable because they might lead to even better ideas.
“Even useless things can be useful,” he said. “The weird logic of these inventions helps us see the world in fresh ways.”
Even some of the less unusual anticrime devices here reflect a singular logic. A pair of women’s sunglasses has wraparound lenses so dark no one can see where the wearer is looking. These are intended to scare off sexual harassers on Tokyo’s crowded trains, where the groping of women is a constant problem.
The same is true of some of the solutions for schoolyard bullying, a big problem in Japan. Kaori Nakano, a fashion historian, wrote a book with a chapter on how to ward off bullies with the “pseudohoodlum” attire. Her advice includes substituting a white belt for the standard black one in Japanese school uniforms, preferably with metallic studs or tiny mirrors, and buying short socks with flashy patterns.
“Japan is so fashion conscious that just changing the way you dress can make you safer,” Ms. Nakano said. “Culture plays a big role in risk prevention.”
Ms. Tsukioka said she chose the vending-machine motif because the machines are so common on Japan’s streets. For children, she has a backpack that transforms into a Japanese-style fire hydrant, hiding the child. The “manhole bag” was also her idea.
Ms. Tsukioka said her disguises could be a bit impractical, “especially when your hands are shaking.” Still, she said she hoped the designs or some variation of them could be marketed widely. So far, she said, she has sold about 20 vending-machine skirts for about $800 each, printing and sewing each by hand.
She said she had never heard of a skirt’s actually preventing a crime. But on a recent afternoon in Tokyo, bystanders stared as she unfolded the sheet. But once she stood behind it next to a row of actual vending machines, the image proved persuasive enough camouflage that passers-by did not seem to notice her.
She said that while her ideas might be fanciful, Japan’s willingness to indulge the imagination was one of its cultural strengths.
“These ideas might strike foreigners as far-fetched,” she added, “but in Japan, they can become reality.”
