My Japan Trip Part I: Nagoya, Inuyama, Kyoto, Arashiyama, & Nara

After spending a year abroad in Nagoya, Japan some of my family came over to visit and travel.  I planned an itinerary for four major cities and three day trips to neighboring areas.  I'm going to give you an overview of where we went, where we staid, where we ate, and what we did. I will also include what was on my list of possible activities and such that we didn't get to.  My family is from the Midwest of the United States so they were tired in the middle of the day, so we made time for naps or recharging sometime after lunch or before dinner.  I'm 21 so it is normal for me to stay up late, but my parents go to bed around 10pm.  In other words, there was no night life included.  (The popular, foreigner-friendly club in Nagoya is ID-cafe in Sakae.)

General Tips:
If you are traveling from city to city on the shinkansen then you should order a JR pass.  If you plan on running around then you should consider purchasing a day pass for the subway or bus (based on what city you are in).  Otherwise a train/bus re-chargeable card (that now work in all major cities) will speed up commuting. 

Nanzan University CJS Program Experience & Review

I, through an exchange program with UW - Madison, studied abroad at Nanzan University (南山大学) from September 2012 to May 2013.  UW - Madison offered year long exchange programs at Hokkaido University, Keio University, Nanzan University, and Sophia University.  They have since added Kyoto University.  The reason why Nanzan University was my first choice was because it was the only option out of the four which offered a home-stay as part of its program.  Due to this differentiation aspect, Nanzan University was highly recommended by the Japanese department.  I had studied Japanese for two years at the university level (24 credits total) prior to going abroad.  I will share an overview of my experience and my review of their program.  Please feel free to contact me with questions.