AINOHA – Study in Tokyo – from Spain

2024-04-24

Meet Ainoha, a passionate student from Spain at UNITAS Japanese Language School in Tokyo, embracing the city’s vibrant life and culture. Fascinated by East Asian studies, Ainoha thrives on learning Japanese, exploring quaint neighborhoods like Yanaka and Iidabashi, and cherishing connections made through part-time work. Ainoha dreams of deepening her understanding of Japan and seeing her family annually.

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Interview – Study in Japan

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Spain

WHY DO YOU STUDY JAPANESE?

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by Chinese and Japanese culture, which is why I decided to do a degree in East Asian Studies. Language is one of the most important parts of any culture. For me, language and culture are intimately linked, since language reflects the experiences and ways of seeing the world that its speakers have. That´s why I decided to study Japanese, to broaden my knowledge of Japanese culture.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL?

Study at「UNITAS Japanese Language School」in Tokyo.

The academy is a quiet place, easy to access. I feel that the teaching method is effective. Also, teachers are really friendly and always willing to help. There is a great variety of people from different places, which makes it a very interesting environment, allowing you not only to learn Japanese but also about other cultures.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STAY IN THIS CITY?

After living in Kōfu, the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, for a year, I decided to study in Tōkyo, one of the largest cities in the world, to compare the differences between “the countryside” and a big city, from a cultural point of view. Honestly, I´ve never been a city girl, I come from a small town, so I didn´t know if Tōkyo was a good option for me, or if I would feel overwhelmed. However Tōkyo has surprised me in a good way, it is so big that you can find everything, from big crowds of people and buildings to small rural areas. It all depends on the area in which you move, there are always new things to do.

WHERE IS YOUR LOCAL RECOMMENDATION IN THIS CITY?

It is difficult to recommend anything in particular, as I am too now discovering new places. However, lately two places that I have liked a lot are Yanaka (谷中) and Iidabashi (飯田橋), they have a lot of beautiful places.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST WHILE LIVING IN JAPAN?

I love traveling to small towns and villages, discovering new things every day. I am also really grateful to be able to do バイト (part-time job), I earned a lot thanks to the people I worked with in Kōfu. I was working in a Ryokan (旅館) (a type of traditional Japanese inn) and at that time I was the only foreigner working there, many of the ladies I worked with had never worked with foreigners before, but they were very patient, sweet, and kind to me. They not only made me feel part of society, they made me feel at home. To this day, even though I have moved to Tokyo, I still keep in touch with them.

WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE BEING IN JAPAN?

In my case, my biggest challenge is learning to be alone, to do things alone. By this I don´t mean that I don´t have anyone, I am very grateful for my friends and my partner. But obviously my family and closest friends are more than 12 hours away by plane, they can´t help me in case I have any problem.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JAPAN AND YOUR COUNTRY?

Because they are completely different cultures, there are a lot of differences. With what I am going to say I don´t want to generalise and say that everything is like that or that the whole of Japanese society is like that, I simply want to talk about something that has caught my attention in comparison with where I come from. In my case, one of the differences that struck me the most from the first moment was how clean everything is and how organised the country and its people are in general.

DID YOU EXPERIENCE ANY CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE AND FUTURE PROSPECTS?

I feel that my life in general, my way of thinking and dealing with situations has completely changed since I have been in Japan. Also my future prospects, because now I would like to work here in the future, something that was not clear to me until I came to Japan.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?

When I was little, my dream was to travel to Japan to see the culture firsthand, now that I am here, I would like to continue learning more about this culture. But to be honest, it would also be a dream for me to have the chance to see my parents every year.

MESSAGE TO OUR FRIENDS WHO WILL GO TO JAPAN.

For those of you who are interested in learning Japanese, don´t think twice, do it. I won´t say it´s easy, because it´s not, it takes time, but it´s a beautiful language, which will help you to understand a lot of cultural aspects of Japan. For me, it is important to enjoy the learning process, and to remember that each person has his or her own learning pace, none better than the other.