My first encounter with Japanese culture was through learning martial arts. I started quite early during middle school where I trained for a total of 4 years before going to Japan. I've always wanted to participate in a Karate Contest in Japan, since there were none in my home country. So immediately after arriving at Shizuoka University, I joined the karate club there and later on competed in two of local competitions.
Applying to an internship maybe intimidating especially when you are still on your first year. However, despite feeling unqualified, I decided to gain experience by actually doing the internship. The topics covered during the internship was manageable, but it did not go well on my final presentation.
I had the desire to pursue better education after studying abroad in Japan for a year. And that is when I found out about the tuition-exempted study exchange between Canada and Japan. Even though I faced quite a few challenges in the initial stages of the exchange program, it was also an opportunity for me to improve myself as a scholar.
Having studied in Japan for two years, I have tried a variety of part-tme jobs from a convenient store staff, prep chef at a restaurant, all the way to an interpreter at a technical trainee center, doing an internship at Yamaha and being a research assistant at my university. All the different type of jobs do vary in wages, but I can say that the best and the most effortless way to finance your study in Japan is with scholarships.