I studied at the Fukushima University for 5 months as an exchange student from Germany. There, I am a graduate student but at the Fukudai I was enrolled as a an undergraduate. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, my exchange was delayed 3 times and the notification that I can finally enter Japan and study the summer term there came with short notice, meaning I was not able to arrive in Japan until the end of April. Unfortunately, the deadlines for classes not offered by the IO were gone by then, meaning that I could not attend other classes except for those that were offered by the IO and started online. Therefore, as a graduate student, I was not able to attend a class that actually fit my studies. If you are going to the Fukudai as a graduate student, I advise you to keep that in mind and you're your classes in advance. Nevertheless, the classes taught by William were very informative especially because he took us exchange students to a lot of excursions. Because of him I was able to visit the Soma Noma Oi, a festival that is hard to get to if you do not have a car. It was one of the most rememberable and unique festivals I have been to in Japan.
Since I have already studied in Japan for one year during my undergraduate studies, I was used to most things that used to surprise me before like the food and living conditions, therefore I am not going to talk those topics. Other than that, I often went jogging along the river in front of the dormitory and visited some parks and sightseeing spots nearby. With a bike, which is a must have in Japan in my opinion, you can reach three of my favorite places in Fukushima in just a few minutes. The first one is the Mt. Shinobu, from which you have a wonderful view over the city of Fukushima. William will probably also take you there with one of his classes for Shugendō training.
The next place is also at Mt. Shinobu and called Iwaya Kannon, where you can see a lot of Buddha statues that are carved out into the stone. There are usually no people around and you could have trouble finding it, because the signs are difficult to spot and there are two cemeteries right next to it.
The last place I recommend visiting was my personal favorite if you like Koi fish: Chayanuma Park. Its basically just a pond with a nice pagoda in the center and a very nice view over the whole area. The pond is full of Koi and turtles, and you can watch them beautifully from the bridge that connects the little island with the pagoda and the riverbank. Note that all the trees around the pond are cherry trees, meaning it must be even more beautiful in spring.
The campus life was also not what I was used to during my other study in Japan, but this was because of the Covid-19 pandemic. I did Aikido for years and was looking forward to doing it at the Fukudai, but a lot of clubs had to be rebuilt, because they could not meet and train for a very long time. I had some trouble finding contact information about the Aikido club online and when I found current contact information, they told me that they do not know how and when they will meet again. Luckily, the club could meet soon after, but we were four or five people at most during training. One Senpai, who thought the techniques, me, and two beginners. Nevertheless, the training was fun as long as it lasted, but since the Covid-19 cases rose again, the club activities were banned again. Since I was planning on traveling Japan during my last month in Japan, I could only train about six times in total which is a pity looking back. I would definitely recommend joining a club at the Fukudai, it is the best way to get in contact with Japanese students.
福島大学への留学案内・年間スケジュール
