I found the overnight trip at Yamanashi Prefecture to be the most satisfying.
Which events or activities did you find the most satisfying and why?
I found the overnight trip at Yamanashi Prefecture to be the most satisfying. We stayed the night at a traditional ryokan, went to an ancient village with a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji where were were able to dress up as a samurai or in yukata, see several beautiful, clear springs that come from Mt. Fuji, make our own noodle hot pot, explore a gorgeous temple, and experience Zen meditation there. The trip was extremely fun and I learned a lot from it.
Why did you select this program?
I selected this program because it is Japanese language intensive. I did not want to have to take other filler classes while taking Japanese, allowing me to solely focus on studying the language.
What activities or materials did you find most helpful (e.g., pair work, drill practice, tests, small group sessions, textbooks, games)?
I found the textbooks to be most helpful. There were plenty of examples of how to use the grammar points in them.
Where did you reside over the course of this program?
Dormitory
Where did you live?
I lived in the Azeria Kasai II dorm
Were you pleased with the general living arrangements? Anything you especially liked? Any problems you experienced?
Besides the distance from the school, I have no qualms with the dorm. It was clean, furnished, and decent sized. I like the fact that they weren't like some school dorms, where there would be a common bathroom for everyone to use. I like having my own bathroom and shower. The internet worked very well. There have been no problems that I have experienced.
Any further thoughts or tips for those considering the program or new KCP students?
I would suggest that future KCP students have at least some background of Japanese knowledge before coming to KCP, as it would make it a little bit easier in class for them. It's highly recommended to know hiragana and katakana before entering KCP. Also, they should know that this school IS intensive and fast paced, so be prepared to learn a lot of information in a short amount of time. Another tip is to make friends with other foreign students at the school. That would (most likely) force you into using Japanese, as they might not know English. And if you do hang out with other English speakers, I encourage you to at least try to use as much Japanese as you can. If you find you are not practicing speaking enough, ask your teachers for conversation practice before or after class.
