What's missing? There are no clubs.

While in most German cities it would be the most likely thing for young people to go to the clubs if they want a good time you will get disappointed if you expect the same form Japan.
In Fukushima and most other cities "club-life" if basically non-existent. Tokyo might be the exception when it comes to having clubs, but even there I didn't experience a lot of dancing going on.
The reason for this being a law called the "Footloose-esque law" that forbid dancing up until its refinement 2016. It was active since the end of World War 2.

While the clubbing life has not yet recovered from its breakdown beginning of the 21^st century, Japan offerors some great alternatives when it comes to spending your free time.

While some activities seemed obvious and fun, others needed some overcoming but are highly recommended to be tried.

What alternatives does Fukushima offer?

The first option is a after school/University club. This option seems obvious of some of us, but for example in Germany these kinds of sports are either not available or the concept is a bit different.
Here it seems totally normal to join a club after University, maybe that's because there is a lot offered compared to the number of students. In Münster where I'm from for example there is a lot offered but there are a lot more students too. Getting into a sports club you want often seems like an impossible task. So, most people don't bother with the hustle. When I was at secondary school there was no offer at all. Fukushima university offers a unbelievable variety in this regard
However, I know that not every country in Europe is like that. In Britain after school sports where as much part of student's life as in Japan.

Japan has built up an impressive variety of bars. Although Germany has tons of them too, Japan's numbers are astonishing reaching around 30.000 in Tokyo alone (Dublin has 800).

Even though the bar varieties will never let you get bored, there is a bad surprise waiting for most of us here. It's called a cover charge and might make you look twice at the bill if you just went somewhere for one drink and end up paying 2000 Yen. You pay for sitting at a table basically. So, we usually end up sticking to a small selection of cheap bars where we don't have to pay this fee. Try the students bar JAM in Fukushima city for starters.

Can't leave out Karaoke when talking about free time activities in Japan. It's a very unique thing in Japan with a long history. In Germany I never sang karaoke, as I only know it from run-down old bars where you can go on stage and present your special voice to some drunk audience.

This also exists in Japan but isn't the usual case. Usually you and your friends can get a little private room with a tablet to create your own playlist and two microphones, so you can mutilate a song together. You also have the options of staying as long as you want and with all you can drink. And even though some people still find this weird and don't want to try it, I haven't met one person who went there and didn't like it.
You might also want to check out Round 1 at the west side of the train station, it is a place for all kinds of activities you can imagine. You can have a great time with you friends all day with skating, basketball, video games, baseball, tennis or simply karaoke.

You will find that Fukushima is surrounded by some of the most astonishing nature ever. I have the feeling that people living here don't even realise how beautiful their home place is. Just look out of the train on your way to University and blooming Mountains and misty valleys make you feel like in a fairy-tale. So, for those hikers and explorers under you this place will be heaven.

The International Office, together with local businesses and organisations also offer heaps of exciting events for you to take part at. They will inform you per e-mail when something takes place. For example, I went to a Samurai experience tour, where I learned everything about samurai history and their weapons. I went to Iizaka's Kenka Matsuri festival, where we carried a shrine through the city, saw their shrine fights and went to an onsen later to relax. And this all for free. With my seminar made roundtrip to Kobe took a ferry to Shodoshima, Takamatsu and then rod 70 km with a bicycle over bridges to Onomichi. It was difficult but beautiful indeed.