Marco Polo – Study abroad report Loes Esveldt Tohoku University – Sendai, Japan

Table of Contents General report ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Host institution and exact dates of semester abroad ......................................................................... 4 Contact with home faculty, preparation and journey ......................................................................... 4 Residence abroad ................................................................................................................................ 4 Arrangements visa/ residence permit / vaccinations ..................................................................... 4 Arrival and departure dates ............................................................................................................ 4 Accommodation .............................................................................................................................. 4 Reception and introduction............................................................................................................. 4 Student life, culture and leisure ...................................................................................................... 4 Language ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Grant.................................................................................................................................................... 5 Amount ............................................................................................................................................ 5 Information on the adequacy of the grant ...................................................................................... 5 Overall information about expenses abroad .................................................................................. 5 Study(general) ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction/general advice ............................................................................................................ 6 Dates of beginning and end of lecture series and examination ...................................................... 6 Remarks on the organization of the study program ....................................................................... 6 Study facilities/International office abroad .................................................................................... 6 Summary of subjects taken ............................................................................................................. 6 Other relevant information ................................................................................................................. 6 Summary impression ........................................................................................................................... 7 Specific Report......................................................................................................................................... 8 Japanese Language .............................................................................................................................. 8 Host institution and study period.................................................................................................... 8 Lectures and literature .................................................................................................................... 8 Overview of lecture program .......................................................................................................... 8 Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Lecture-related activities ................................................................................................................. 8 Study load ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Assessment in Groningen ................................................................................................................ 8 Japanese Corporate Culture , Employment Practices ......................................................................... 9 Host Institution and study period ................................................................................................... 9

Lectures and literature .................................................................................................................... 9 Overview of lecture program .......................................................................................................... 9 Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 9 Lecture-related activities ................................................................................................................. 9 Study load ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Assessment in Groningen ................................................................................................................ 9 Understanding Japan through Traditional Culture 1......................................................................... 10 Host Institution and study period ................................................................................................. 10 Lectures and literature .................................................................................................................. 10 Overview of lecture program ........................................................................................................ 10 Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Lecture-related activities ............................................................................................................... 10 Study load ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Assessment in Groningen .............................................................................................................. 10 Food Economics................................................................................................................................. 11 Host Insitution and study period ................................................................................................... 11 Lectures and literature .................................................................................................................. 11 Overview of lecture program ........................................................................................................ 11 Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 11 Lecture-related activities ............................................................................................................... 11 Study load ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Assessment in Groningen .............................................................................................................. 11 Business Communication A ............................................................................................................... 12 Host Institution and study period ................................................................................................. 12 Lectures and literature .................................................................................................................. 12 Overview of lecture program ........................................................................................................ 12 Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Lecture-related activities ............................................................................................................... 12 Study load ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Assessment in Groningen .............................................................................................................. 12 Global Company Research................................................................................................................. 13 Host Institution and study period ................................................................................................. 13 Lectures and literature .................................................................................................................. 13 Overview of lecture program ........................................................................................................ 13

Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 13 Lecture-related activities ............................................................................................................... 13 Study load ...................................................................................................................................... 13 Assessment in Groningen .............................................................................................................. 13 Global Leadership .............................................................................................................................. 14 Host Institution and study period ................................................................................................. 14 Lectures and literature .................................................................................................................. 14 Overview of lecture program ........................................................................................................ 14 Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Lecture-related activities ............................................................................................................... 14 Study load ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Assessment in Groningen .............................................................................................................. 14

General report Host institution and exact dates of semester abroad I studied at the Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. I went to Japan at the 25 th of September 2015, classes started at the first of October. The semester ended on February 4th 2016 with a closing ceremony.

Contact with home faculty, preparation and journey Once you have been selected for your study abroad you should immediately start with the preparations. Japan is a country with a lot of rules and they love paper work so be prepared and make sure you hand in all the required documents in time. The exchange office is very helpful with everything but they just need a lot of information. E.g. you will need to visit a doctor in order to fill in the health check papers.

Residence abroad Arrangements visa/ residence permit / vaccinations Once you’ve handed in all the required documents Tohoku university will send you a certificate of eligibility. It takes a while to receive this certificate and it will be send via express post to your home address. If you have this certificate of eligibility you can go to the embassy in the Hague. If you go there in the morning you should have your visa in the afternoon. This went all very smoothly and no payment was required. For Japan there are no vaccinations required. Arrival and departure dates The university gives you three dates on which you can arrive. In my case this was from September 24th till 26th. I was able to stay in my dorm till February 15th, but I left at the 6th since I was done with my exams and wanted to travel before heading back to the Netherlands. Accommodation The university will arrange your accommodation in one of their university houses. You can state your preference for which house and I ended up in International House Sanjo 2. This is the more luxury house where you have your own room, bathroom and balcony. You share a huge kitchen with your floor. The rent is on average 30.500 yen per month. I was really glad with this house in comparison to international house 1 cause that one is quite old, and you don’t have your own bathroom. Reception and introduction Before you arrive they will tell you in which house you are going to live. The day after you arrive a Japanese student will give you a tour through Sendai and help you set up a bank account and help you with the further registrations required by the government. There will also be a day where they show you around campus and where you can meet your fellow IPLA students. Student life, culture and leisure Sendai is a great city to live in. With around 1 million inhabitants it’s not as chaotic as Tokyo but there is still plenty to do. Above that you can do everything by bike which is very convenient. The student life is really nice here cause there are so many international students so plenty of parties to go to! Going out is very different from partying in Groningen, there are clubs which you can go to but they are quite expensive. However, karaoke is so much fun! For around 3000 yen you can do karaoke

all night with drinks included(this is called nomihodai). The culture is extremely different from the Dutch culture but it is really nice to live in. People will always greet you friendly and be respectful. They will also always help you even if they do not speak any English. Because the credits for courses are different here you will need to take a lot of courses(I had seven in total). So you’ll spent most of your time during the week at campus. However, they are less intensive than courses in Groningen so you will still have a lot of free time. Language The language barrier is quite big in Japan, most of the people barely speak English. Above that all the signs are in Japanese so at first you will not be able to read anything. But don’t let this stop you from going here! You will be assigned a buddy who can always help you if you struggle with something. From the first week of classes you will have to take the Japanese course(which is mandatory). This is very helpful in your daily life. I did not take a Japanese language course before I came here but I would recommend to do so. Most of the people I know did that and for them the Japanese class was easier to keep up with. The class is at a very fast pace here so it is useful to have some knowledge beforehand otherwise you will have to work quite hard to keep up with everything(like I had).

Grant Amount I am not entirely sure what amount the Marco Polo grant was but I belief it was around 960€. This is 70% of the grant, I will receive the rest after finishing this report. Information on the adequacy of the grant The grant is enough to cover your flight and some of the first expenses you will have to make in Japan. In comparison to other countries the grant is quite high, but this is necessary since Japan is not a cheap country to live in. So make sure you know that the grant will not cover all your fixed expenses during your stay. Overall information about expenses abroad As I mentioned before, Japan is quite an expensive country to live in. The rent is much cheaper than in the Netherlands, but groceries are about the same price. However, fresh fruits/vegetables can be much more expensive. Restaurants can be very cheap but also expensive so you just have to search before you go out. Sushi restaurants were my favorite since you pay per plate. At conveyer belt sushi places you can eat a lot(and of much better quality than in the Netherlands) for around 10€. Expenses for travelling are also cheap or expensive. The Shinkansen( bullet train) is extremely expensive but super convenient since it will take you to Tokyo in less than 2 hours. Flying can be very cheap. Another option for travelling is the overnight bus(which also travels during the day), which is significantly less expensive than the shinkansen but will take a lot longer. So in conclusion, Japan can be very expensive but if you search well it can be cheaper and around the same price as in Holland.

Study(general) Introduction/general advice Before the semester started we were given a list of courses which you could take. However, once we got there they made some changes to the list and to the schedule so you have to take into account that you might end up with others courses than expected. The first two weeks of the semester you can visit all the courses which you are interested in and after those two weeks you have to choose which classes you want to follow. In my opinion all the courses I took(except for Japanese) were very easy compared to Groningen. This is because you have to pick courses from the IPLA program(international program of liberal arts) which matches people from all different study backgrounds in the same classes. So if you take business courses there can also be people in your class who major in Japanese, English, or history. Dates of beginning and end of lecture series and examination All courses begin right after the two weeks in which you can choose your courses so that would be the beginning of October. The lectures and examination end at the end of January and the beginning of February. So take into account that you will not be able to make it back in time for the beginning of the second semester in Groningen. Remarks on the organization of the study program The study program is very well organized. The teachers are all really friendly and the international staff will always help you when you have questions. But Japan being Japan, you need to sign/read a lot of paperwork. I only had to buy one book, all the other study material was provided by the teachers. Japan may seem like a modern country but in terms of online services they are quite far behind. They do not have a similar sort of website such as Nestor or Progress, so you will get all the information in class or via email. Study facilities/International office abroad At Kawauchi campus(place where you will have most of your courses) are a lot of student facilities. There are a number of cafeteria where you can eat lunch and dinner, the quality of the food is quite good as well. There are a number of computer rooms which also offer free printing, and a big library which is a nice place to study. I spent most of my time at Seatle’s Best(coffee house), next to the library, since this was one of the few places in Japan where you can actually get a good cup of coffee. The international office is also located at Kawauchi campus, and there is always someone who speaks English and will help you if needed. Summary of subjects taken Most of the subjects I took were of a much lower level that those at the RUG. They are all very introductory and do not require a lot of studying. The only course which I found was really difficult was Japanese level 1. Tohoku University says that you have to take Japanese classes which count for 6 hours a week. This was quite difficult for me(I had zero Japanese knowledge) because they go at a really fast pace. So I can recommend to take some Japanese language classes before you go. You are also required to take two culture classes.

Other relevant information I really enjoyed my stay at Tohoku University so I can highly recommend going there. Sendai has completely recovered from the earthquake in 2011 so do not let that frighten you. I can almost

guarantee that you will experience some earthquakes because this is very normal in Japan. They will teach you what to do when there is a big earthquake and put a warning system on your phone. Please do not be scared about that because Japan is very well prepared in case it happens.

Summary impression I absolutely loved my stay in Japan and I can highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in visiting this amazing country. The landscape is incredibly beautiful, people are friendly, the culture is totally crazy but super interesting and the country itself is the most clean and safe place I have ever been to. You can learn so much about their fascinating culture, something which you can only understand once you have lived there for a longer period of time. The main reason why I chose Japan is because I wanted to go far away from the Netherlands to a completely different culture but with a modern society. And that is exactly what Japan is, it is completely different in everything compared to Holland but also big player in international economics/business.

Specific Report Japanese Language Host institution and study period Tohoku University, end of September 2015 - beginning of February 2016 Lectures and literature 3 hours twice a week, so 6 hours per week in total. The book depends on your level of Japanese, for beginners the book is called Genki. Overview of lecture program One chapter per week, a chapter of Kanji every two weeks. Contents You will learn how to speak/write/listen/read the basics of Japanese. I followed the beginners course(level 1) and I am now able to read/write/pronounce two types of characters(Hiragana/Katakana) out of the total three types of characters. This course is mandatory for all new international students, but is very helpful cause you learn Japanese very fast. Lecture-related activities You will have a midterm exam, and a presentation and final exam at the end of the semester. Above that you will get a small test almost every week about vocabulary or characters. Study load Six hours of lecture a week. Approximately three hours of studying at home. Assessment in Groningen For the beginners level there are four different teachers. The course accounts for 4 Japanese credits which transfers to 8 ects(please note this is only if you study International Business, I belief for E&BE you will only get 5 ects).

Japanese Corporate Culture , Employment Practices Host Institution and study period Tohoku University, end of September 2015 - beginning of February 2016 Lectures and literature 1,5 hours, once a week. Literature is provided by the teacher Overview of lecture program One chapter of literature a week. Contents You will learn to understand Japanese employment practices and get familiar with subjects such as life-time employment and seniority ranking. These aspects are extremely popular and well respected in the Japanese business culture and in this course you will learn how those aspects work and why they were implemented in Japan. Lecture-related activities You will get homework assignments and you have to do a final group presentation. Study load 1,5 hours of lecture a week. Homework assignments approximately 30 minutes. Assessment in Groningen Professor is Suematsu(really nice professor), you will get 4 ects for this course.

Understanding Japan through Traditional Culture 1 Host Institution and study period Tohoku University, end of September 2015 - beginning of February 2016 Lectures and literature 1,5 hours, once a week. Literature is provided by the teacher. Overview of lecture program Every week the teacher or guest speaker will explain a subject of Japanese traditional culture. Contents The aim of this course is to make foreign students familiar with certain aspects of Japanese traditional culture. E.g. they will explain the rituals of a tea ceremony and show how to make a traditional Japanese flower bouquet. The class is very interactive with two fieldtrips(I went to a tea ceremony, traditional theatre and a paper factory) and a lot of interaction in class as well. We made our own flower arrangement and kanji painting. Lecture-related activities You will get homework assignments and you have to do a final group presentation. Study load 1,5 hours of lecture a week. Homework assignments approximately 15 minutes. Assessment in Groningen 4 ects.

Food Economics Host Insitution and study period Tohoku University, end of September 2015 - beginning of February 2016 Lectures and literature 1,5 hours, once a week. Literature is provided by the teacher. Overview of lecture program Every week the teacher explains an aspects of food economics or agricultural issues in Japan. Contents Students are taught about agricultural issues/struggles in Japan and a number of aspects of food economics. Issues such as self-sufficiency ratio, import/exports and how the agriculture in Sendai recovered from the earthquake in 2011 are explained. Lecture-related activities You have to do a final presentation and hand in a final report about food economics/agriculture in your home country. Study load 1,5 hours of lecture a week. You do not have to do any homework during the semester apart from preparing the final presentation/paper. Assessment in Groningen 4 ects.

Business Communication A Host Institution and study period Tohoku University, end of September 2015 - beginning of February 2016 Lectures and literature 1,5 hours, once a week. Literature is provided by the teacher. Overview of lecture program Every week a different subject on business communication is explained and practiced in class Contents Aspects of business communication such as writing professional emails, how to give an appropriate speech and how a business leader should communicate are explained in class. Participation in class is highly valued and is also part of your grade. Each week you have to prepare homework assignments which are being discussed in class. The teacher is an American professor who is really nice. Lecture-related activities There will be a midterm exam(open questions) and you have to give a final presentation on a subject of your choosing. Study load 1,5 hours of lecture a week. Homework takes about 0,5 to 1 hour every week. Assessment in Groningen 4 ects. Professor Ray Roman.

Global Company Research Host Institution and study period Tohoku University, end of September 2015 - beginning of February 2016 Lectures and literature 1,5 hours, once a week. No literature is needed for this class. Overview of lecture program Every week a different guest speaker gives a lecture about how to become a global leader or what global companies should focus on. Contents I liked this class since there are a lot of people from famous companies coming to give a lecture. E.g. in my semester we had guest lectures from Michellin, Fuji Film, Nikon etc. The nice aspect about this class is that companies from all different industries are represented and that you hear where Japanese firms who want to become more internationally oriented struggle with. Lecture-related activities 50% of your grade is attendance, the other 50% is a report(maximum 2 pages) that you have to hand in at the end of the semester. Study load 1,5 hours of lecture a week. No homework required except for the final report. Assessment in Groningen 4 ects.

Global Leadership Host Institution and study period Tohoku University, end of September 2015 - beginning of February 2016 Lectures and literature 1,5 hours, once a week. No literature is needed for this class. Overview of lecture program This course is about developing your business I and thinking about your future career. Contents In class you will be taught what a Japanese interview looks like and you will practice going to an interview and how you should present yourself. You have to brush up your resume and think about what you would like to do in your future career and how you are going to accomplish that. In the end you will create your own “business I” in which you core competencies, your strengths/weaknesses, your plan for your future career and your resume are stated. Lecture-related activities At the end of the semester you will have to present your business I and you will be graded on that, your attendance and participation in class. Study load 3 hours of lecture every two weeks. Sometimes you have homework and this takes about an hour of preparation. Assessment in Groningen 4 ects.