So the other day, I found out I’m going to Sophia University (上智大学) for my study abroad year! Woohoo! So I thought I’d do a little research and post what I found out here. This probably won’t be that interesting if you’re not interested in learning Japanese or whatever, so feel free to skip reading this and use the time saved to write a poem or make some flapjack.
Sophia University's Logo
Sophia university is pretty central in Tokyo, I’ll be in Yotsuya. It’s had quite a lot of famous people study there, especially George Takei, aka Mr. Sulu from Star Trek. I’m not saying I’m guaranteed to land a spot in a US TV series, but the chances are higher! (not)
Anyway, I headed over to Sophia’s website (English/Japanese) to find some photos, a bit about what I’ll be doing there, and so forth. The site provides photos of the university in all four seasons, just to prove the buildings don’t blow away in Autumn, or something…
Sophia University in summer
That’s the campus as it is in summer, apparently. Looks pretty great! I had a go at translating the text under each image. Here are my guesses (order: top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right)
- The bustling main road
- The campus overflowing with green
- A quaint hallway on the first floor of building one
- When you get to university, make sure to check the bulletin board!
It’s all very green, white and shiny, kind of the like the future. Let’s just hope winter doesn’t see Sophia become a frozen wasteland…
Sophia University in Winter
Yep, it looks basically the same. I do not remember Tokyo looking that nice in winter… but anyway, translations;
- The entrance to Hoffman hall, where university clubs (circles) meet.
- A path off the side of main street
- “The next lesson is in building number 3″
So there we go. It all looks very nice. Next, I thought I’d have a look at the language course. As I mentioned, I have no idea exactly where I fit into the system yet, but what I found is that Sophia has partner universities all over the world, suggesting there’s going to be a great mix of people in my classes. Aside from the core Japanese, I can also take a few other modules, but due to Sheffield’s rules I don’t have to pass them! Only Japanese! So I might go wild and take something like advanced molecular science, history of the corkscrew and juggling classes, or something.
So there we go! I’m going to be going around September next year. I’ll keep posting blogs as I find out more and more about it. How exciting!
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‘my study year abroad’ – isn’t that your now, what, 64th year in Japan, or is it only the 63rd? :-/
People are beginning to suspect you like the place you know ¬_¬
Jamaipanese: Sorry :( Next one will have rabbits and rainbows.
Dan: Don’t tell anyone though, whatever you do! This will be my 2nd full year in Japan, although it will be the fourth year in a row I’ve been there at some point.
Oooh, yay, are you getting excited? I’m jealous, I wish I was going to Japan again!
Is anybody going to Chuo???
ganbatte ne!
Loco
Mmm, Sophia is a nice university, very very international in terms of the students there. I have a friend here that goes there. Real nice campus.
Did you get a choice in the matter, or was it just chosen for you?
ah, you’re so lucky. it wasn’t long since i graduated from university, but i already miss it….and you get to go to uni in japan, you lucky person! hope you have a great time, and make sure to post more pics! :)
Keep doing your best, thanks for the lovely pics!
[...] is being placed at Sophia university, which I’m really happy about. So post of the month is Studying Abroad at Sophia University / 上智大学 which makes me smile when I see it. I can’t [...]
Jenny: Very, very excited. I think Ben P is going to Chuo but I’ll have to check.
Locohama: Thanks :3
Greg: Thanks. It was chosen for me. I’m really, really happy with it though. It holds good repute, is in a good area and all the students who came back from it that I’ve met have only said good things! Woop!
tindra: Haha, will do! I’m hoping to ‘rediscover’ my naive-’wow, look at THIS’ blogging style so that means lots of photos next year.
French In Japan: Thanks :)
do you think at age of 25 is it too old to go back to college as a freshman?
Not at all! I met an exchange student in Japan who was studying at I think Keio who was 32!
Thanks for all the support everyone :)
Hi Mike,
Those Sophia pictures are sooo natsukashi. That is my Alma Mater!
Have a GREAT stay there. I bet you will love it.
And say “hi” to Professor Robouam for me :)
p.s. I miss it (; – ;)
Hey,
I caught a glimpse of your site while I was trawling for more info about Sophia and I was quite pleasantly surprised by your awesome info! Anyways, I thought I would leave a comment since I’m going to be studying at Sophia for a year starting in September and figured it wouldn’t hurt to say hello.
P.S. Are you on Facebook?
Jen: Thanks for getting in contact! I tried to send you an email, did you get it?
Hello,
I am a french student and guess what … I am also going to study at Sophia university next september.
I was doing a research on google image when it brought me to your blog.
Maybe we gonna meat next year.
Anne-Laure: Yeah I hope we can meet up :)