Jose Andres Moya from Argentina -2013 Admission
I feel very lucky to be able to study in a city such as Kyoto in that, it carries the title of a school city, where there are many different universities and schools. This makes it much more interesting for me as a student to live in Kyoto, since in my free time there are numerous activities and events for students to enjoy themselves. At the Kizuna for instance, we have the International Afternoon Tea Party, which brings a mix of foreign and Japanese students, so it’s very easy to meet new people and make friends. Also Kyoto University has hundreds of clubs and activities, which caters to all kinds of tastes. I have found clubs ranging from the study of butterflies to Pokémon and mountaineering. Personally I’ve decided to limit my goings to club activities to only a few times a month due to the study load and my need to improve my Japanese ability. But, the times I went there I found people to be very friendly and eager to accept all kinds of new students to their clubs or circles, even if they lack good Japanese speaking abilities. One of the circle activities I went to was Saikyo Zensen I strongly recommend new students to Kyodai try this circle as the people and atmosphere are really nice, in this group about traditional Japanese dancing. Also something that is unique to the clubs and circles at Kyodai is that they provide a chance to do joint activities and meet students from other universities. This is interesting because people from, other universities can give unique ideas and recommendations about cool places in Kyoto that only a Japanese person who has lived here would know of. All in all I definitely recommend coming to Kyoto it may not have the nightlife or the sheer unending things to do and the wackiness that other Japanese big cities are known for, but it has its own charm and its only an hour away from Osaka.