アルフィー in Japan

Late November: 

Finalise your choices and apply through your home university exchange programme. I applied to seven Japanese universities, with Keio being my first choice. Your choice will largely depend on the links your home university has with other international universities. 

The University of Birmingham has partnerships with seven Japanese universities as of 2018 - Keio University; Kyoto University; Waseda University; Hitotsubashi University; Sophia University; Kobe University and Kansai University. I applied more or less in this order, based on academic reputation (I’m a snob ok), what the exchange programme entailed (e.g. what it could offer in relation to your future career - for me the research aspect at Keio was key), and location. 

January: 

Home university confirms which host university they will sponsor your application to. Yeah, you read that right. Acceptance onto the programme at your home university doesn’t automatically mean acceptance from the host university. This seems plain obvious when said now, but at the time, my application through Birmingham seemed so gruelling and never ending that it was a huge, “OH... okay then...”, to only receive their permission. Anyway, tis’ just the way it works!

January - March: 

Gruelling wait for home university to nominate you to host university. Can (and will) take forever. 

Research necessary application documents to your host university. I bold this because more likely than not your home university will nominate you just two weeks before the application deadline, and then expect you to throw together study proposals, GP health checks, optician appointments, blood tests (I’m not joking, more on this below) and proof of bank balances etc. in two weeks, all whilst you’re still in the middle of second term with coursework and deadlines looming... Not that this was the most stressful two weeks ever... *cries*

Mid March - March 31st: 

Mad rush to apply to host university, gather all submission documents. For Keio University, you will need:

Passport Photo

Study Proposal (supplied by host)

Recommendation Letter (I submitted two, doesn’t hurt)

Official University Transcript (supplied by home)

Copy of Passport

Certificate of Health to be completed by GP (supplied by host, do before nomination as will take at least 2 weeks)

Certificate of Financial Support (supplied by host, do before nomination as will take at least 2 weeks)

Certificate of Eligibility Application (supplied by host)

You can find all forms supplied by host, and more information here: http://www.ic.keio.ac.jp/en/study/exchange/apply/application_documents.html

April - May: 

Apply to change course at home university (to ... with Year Abroad).

Properly research proposed course choices on study proposal (see if they clash timetable wise, nothing worse than arriving in Japan and not being able to do the courses you want), and any modules that require preparation before you leave for Japan (e.g. Independent Study / Research Project). 

June: 

Receive acceptance letter from Keio!! 

Register to receive visa application documents, apply for accommodation (more information in separate blog post), apply for any sort of international student buddy programme.

July: 

Receive accommodation confirmation!! 

Book flights to Japan and register arrival details with your accommodation and the university, research how to get to accommodation from airport etc.

Late July: 

Receive Certificate of Eligibility, apply for visa at Japanese Embassy in London or Edinburgh. You will need:

A valid passport

Completed visa application form (on Embassy website)

Passport-sized photo (could use the same you applied to Keio with)

Original Certificate of Eligibility

Photocopy of Certificate of Eligibility

The embassy states it takes 4 working days to issue a visa to applicants with a Certificate of Eligibility - I’ll update you when I try!

More information here: http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/index_000076.html

August: 

Receive visa!! Start to pack and realise you’ve agreed to work far too many days at work... Try to remember how much you love money.

Contact local GP and see if you need any injections or jabs before you go.

September 3rd: 

Leave for Japan!! The adventure begins.

And that’s all! Easy... right? I will of course update and add more detail on the steps I haven’t been through yet (receiving visa application documents, leaving for Japan!! etc.) so have a look around if this is months, or even years down the line. Hope you find something useful! I’ll just leave a cute gif of Killua here. You’re welcome.

Music Recommendation: “見せかけのラブソング” by Indigo la End - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwaS55VG6NA Extends to basically any song they put out. Big fan. 

Anime Recommendation: The Garden of Words - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMabhvDoolc Such a beautiful film, may have cried... Definitely cried. Dubbed version is just as good as original.