How to get to Japan Method 1: Study Abroad II

Steps (Continued from previous blog post)

10. Persuade more people. Persuade scholarship funds you are the best-- believe yourself, write a ton, get the guts to ask your professors for recommendations, make friendships with past alumni to get dirt, persuade people to travel with you, etc.. (you will do this a lot all  throughout the program, before, and after.. I swear, no one warns you this.. Perhaps I'm just a fighter and it was all unnecessary, but it did come in handy often.)

After 8pm / 9pm in Japanese Super markets, fresh / cooked foods go half off!
Starve and wait for this if you are seriously broke or want a midnight snack.
The fried fish was 2 bucks and amazing. 

11. Plan your money. Become an adult. Seriously, do this ahead of time, Japan is a rip off. At the moment the Yen is killing the dollar, which is pretty terrible, not just for you but for their companies selling product in the US/ other countries, (insert rant on economics here). Unless you're a Japanese person traveling to America or happened to be a currency trader who traded at just the right time to make money swapping money.
**Planning tips: Do an accounting of food, schooling, stuff you like buying, etc, etc.. And estimate based on other students before you how much you think you'll spend. You'll want to know before you get there and wonder what to do.. (ie: Maxed the scholarships and need a loan? If so, see if you look poor enough to qualify for government-sponsored ones. Those tend to have less interest.) My estimate before leaving was ~$12,000 for 1 semester (this included *everything* textbooks, tuition, board, transportation, food for survival, and airfare.) I probably added more to the estimate just for conservative reasons. Seeing a "0" or "DENIED" on an atm while in Japan would not be fun. I just don't think I'd be too good at sketchy jobs.. Or, maybe I would.. (haha).

12. Passport. Good grief, get this done now. If you don't have one and you're reading this just go now. It's not too hard, just takes a bit of patience as the government processes it. You'll look at it and feel like you are no longer strapped to your country. I notice it's not a big deal for 2nd generation kids as their parents like to shuffle them out of the country so have had passports for their kids at birth but for you rednecks out there, hop to it!  Just go to a Walgreens get a passport photo taken get the paperwork from the nearest joint that handles passport applications. Here is a link to the US Passport site. No excuses! Apologies if you're reading this from another country. Actually, no, if you are reading this from another country, you probably already know another language and have had a passport forever now!

13.  Get cheap airfare. I am lying. It's hard to get "cheap" going to Asia from North America. Or, at least at the moment. It'll probably be 1,000, at least from Seattle at this very moment. When I went I got a steal at $890 or something like that. I mean, it could be worse, last time I checked Brazil it was $1,700. Ouch.

14.  I could go on and on about this topic, heck I could write several books, but if you have any specific questions ask people before you how they beat the system, tips, e-mail alumni. etc.. I might be able to answer a thing or two but the best resource is that stranger sitting next to you who once traveled to Japan in your Japanese class!