Being accepted to study at Waseda was a real thrill for me it had been a dream of mine to study at a university with such a rich history like Waseda is renowned for. This history and tradition is something which is evident in every day Waseda life, whether you are wandering around the beautiful campus amongst some amazing buildings, or going to the Sou-Kei Sen (a sporting event between traditional rivals Keio University and Waseda University), the long history of Waseda is something that all students enjoy being a part of, and which I likewise in my short 10 months at Waseda was excited to join in.
While searching through the many universities open to accepting foreign students and trying to find the one most suited to my goals in studying in Japan, Waseda always stood out for me. Both its amazing reputation within Japan and even overseas is quite obviously appealing. However my decision in the end was based on something quite trivial, and related to my love of Waseda's long and fascinating history. Murakami Haruki - a famous modern Japanese author, and a favourite of mine had graduated from Waseda. It may seem a surprising reason to choose Waseda, but for me the opportunity to attend a university which has such a rich variety of graduates who have impacted on modern Japan was irresistible.
The student city・surrounding the Waseda main campus is a place which embraces the student life in Japan, and for the foreign student is a fantastic place to gain an insight into and join in on student life in Japan. Waseda has literally hundreds of clubs and circles which are open to both Japanese and foreign students, and also help introduce you to student life in Takadanobaba (the area around Waseda). From sporting to movie clubs, joining a club ・while it may be a little intimidating at first ・is a fantastic opportunity to get to know some Waseda students and have a lot of fun.
I was part of the Intensive Japanese Program at Waseda, which allowed me to study Japanese everyday in Japanese ・a really rare opportunity. All classes were taught in Japanese, as students are a mix of nationalities. There are quite a few class hours per week, which are comprised of a mixture of compulsory comprehensive Japanese and elective classes. The electives include classes like written expression, reading comprehension, pronunciation and many others.
My memories of my time at Waseda now consists of so many differing moments, from classes, to club times, to fond memories of the area around Waseda which is full of distractions (karaoke, delicious ramen shops, izakaya). The many people I had an opportunity to meet at Waseda and the kindness that they showed me while I was getting accustomed to Japanese student life and after ・helping me enjoy student life together with them- is still something which I remember fondly.
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