IES Abroad - Tokyo Language intensive program is a fantastic program all around. At least is was for me. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful host family who was very loving and experienced in hosting foreign students. I know that not everyone may

end up with such a scenario but the staff at the Tokyo center really works hard to ensure that every student is given a kind and considerate host family to live with, and I did not hear any major complaints from other students regarding their host families during my time there. Students living in the dorms also had a pleasant experience in them. The program lives up to its name with language. 3 hours in class of language study and practice every day, all in Japanese. The professors are well experienced and you will learn very quickly. If your hope is to greatly improve your kanji and writing skills, this class will definitely help, but I would say that its focus is in speaking skills and fluency. We practiced mostly in polite form and casual, not so much on keigo, though the professors will be happy to help you with keigo if you wish to improve in it. This program is meant for students who already have had several semesters of Japanese under their belt, at least a year of Japanese, though most students had two years of Japanese before starting this program. One thing I really liked about this program was the internship opportunity. I worked in an anime art gallery in the Aoyama district of Tokyo, and I loved working there. None of my coworkers knew English, so I really had to rely on my Japanese skills to get by, which could be challenging at times, but very rewarding. In addition to the language course and internship, the culture classes are fun and interesting, but are not slack off courses by any means. You do have to work hard, but I had no trouble going out every weekend to explore the city. There are lots to do in Tokyo, and the staff does a great job during orientation to teach you how to use the trains and get adjusted, but there are many things you simply have to learn on your own. One of the best parts about the IES programs are the group outings and big field trips. Every month we took several group outings to various cultural sites in the city, such as the Asakusa temple, where we made paper lanterns, or a trip to a sumo match. We also took two big field trips that last a week or so, staying in traditional rokan hotels with public baths. I could write a mini novel to describe everything wonderful about this program, but I'll leave it at this: this is a great program for people who seriously want to improve their Japanese language skills and learn to navigate life through one of the world's largest cities, all while having a blast doing it.