My internship was at the Tohoku Univeristy in Sendai. Sendai is a smaller city full of univeristy students, parks and forests. Since it is a smaller city, it is quite convenient to cycle or walk, there is often no need to take the subway. The northeastern part of Japan is very beautiful, not very touristy so authentic, the nature is incredible and well accessible. It is possible to go to coastal cities and villages but also hike in the nearby mountains. There are also a lot of temples and museums.

Sendai is a smaller city (compared to other japanese cities, compared to european cities it is quite big) full of univeristy students, parks and forests. It is well connected with the rest of Japan - easy to take a train, plane or highway bus to other big cities and islands. There is a direct train to the coastal cities of Matsushima and Ishinomaki which were affected by the great tsunami and earthquake and have memorials and museums.

I walked a lot around the city itself, discovering small temples and shrines. I took a trip to Matsushima and Ishinomaki to visit the smaller islands by the coast and the memorial of tsunami. One of the best trips of my time spent in Japan was visiting Nikko, which is a small city with increbidle UNESCO heritage temples around 2 hours away from Sendai. I was also fortunate enough to visit the area around Mount Zao, I saw the Okama lake and hiked in the surrounding hills.

I worked at the Tohoku Univeristy Aobayama campus, in Takahashi-Karikawa laboratory where research was amongst other things focused on driver safety. My direct supervisor was professor Takahashi and he was incredible. He made me feel very welcomed, allowed me to take a part of their teambuilding trip, took me on hiking trips and showed me the city. He was always there for me when I had any questions regarding the research.

I worked on a project that focused on drivers safety, more specifically we measured the change in pupil diameter using an eye tracking camera, analysed and visualized the data. On a daily basis, I carried out or planned experiments, I analysed data and wrote reports. I have not focused on this topic beforehand but I found it very interesting and learned a lot. I would like to work on something similar in the future.

I recieved 85000 jpy plus 6000 additional jpy for transport per month. The salary covered accomodation and partially food.

My supervisor did speak english very well and I had no problem communicating with him. However, the english level of the rest of my colleagues was below average which sometimes affected the work flow. I lived in a smaller city that is not really used to tourists so almost noone in shops or restaurants spoke english, they were however very eager to communicate and helpful, so I always managed to get what I wanted.

The accomodation cost 48000 jpy per month including wifi and bedding BUT the application fee (which was not returned) upon arrival was 30000 jpy!!! When I asked the managers I was told this covered the cleaning of the room and putting on bedsheets ...
The accomodation was called Urban Castle Kawauchi and I believe it was not part of the university itself. I was given no other options. The only positive thing about the accomodation was its location (30 min walk from campus and 30 min walk to city centre) and that I got to meet other foreign students there. Other than that, this was one of the worst accomodations I have been to in my life. The room was fine but all shared spaces were horrible. The stoves in ktichen, microwaves and other appliances were dirty and sticky, the showers were also not clean enough. We were not provided any cooking utensils such as pans, plates or cutlery. There were dirty stained carpets in the hallways where you could see clumps of hair. The washing machines did not wash clothes, they just soaked the clothes in cold water and spinned it for 30 minutes.
There were other interns and foriegn students living in the dorms which was realy nice. It was a good way to get to know people with whom I could then travel and spend time.

The local IAESTE did not organize anything, one memeber of the IAESTE picked me up at the train station upon my arrival, took me to the dorms and to work on my first day.
We have organized trips with other interns by ourselves.

There were 4 other IAESTE interns living with me when I started my internship so it was quite easy to connect with someone right away. We went to other cities and restaurants together. I have also befriended other foreign students living at the same place or via social gatherings. Since the city was smaller and there were a lot of students, it was really easy to get to know other foreign students and spend time with them.

I went hiking several times thanks to my professor and research group, it was also a great city for running and cycling. There were a lot of tennis courts and baseball fields around the campus but probably only for students that are a part of some univeristy club.
There were also a lot of shrines and temples that were worth visiting.

I have tried a lot of japanese food in general but also some local dishes from the northeastern region of Japan. Namely, I have tried the grilled eel (which was very good!) and zunda = green bean paste which was also delicious. I was surprised by the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables in their day to day life but it makes sense because they are really expensive.

I had the possibility to purchase an eSIM so I had access to celular data at any point. I used mainly Whatsapp to communicate but all standard social media were possible to use.

Check the weather before going, it will probably be a lot different than what you are used to! Try to learn some basics from japanese, a little goes a long way. It can also be useful to learn at least basic hiragana (alphabet) to read some signs. Be approachable and open minded towards activities and people.

Check with your accomodation if there are any cooking supplies (eg. pot, pan, cutlery). Set up a Revolut account and get their credit card, check if your phone allows for eSIM, it is a huge help.

You have the unique opportunity to get to know japanese culture and society from the inside, unlike the tourists. You also get to meet a lot of new people who can open your mind to new ideas, both other international students and your research team including your supervisor. You will live alone for a while, in a completely different country so it will also teach you how to be independant and to rely on yourself. And on top of that, you will learn a lot while working on a new, exciting project.

I was contacted by one of the members of the local centre and got an answer to all of my questions. The member picked me up at the Sendai tran station and took me to my dorms. He also acoompanied me on my first day of work. I had no issues when it came to cooperating with the local IAESTE.