Housing Arrangement + Some of my Favourite Shops!

     When I arrived in Japan, the university allowed for us to schedule for a shuttle pick up, which was very kind of them. Upon arrival to the dorm I was going to be living in (Global Village), I had to get a few students to help me take all my luggage up to my dorm room. The dorm has two elevators and I was on the top floor, floor 8. Once that was done, I started unpacking so much to make my room nice and cozy. To be honest, I was very happy to be living in this dorm because it only just recently opened so it was fresh, clean, completely new. The group I studied alongside; we were all the first ones to live in this dorm! It was super neat! My first day after that night of pondering “Oh wow, I’m really in Japan this isn’t a dream” was to check out the area and everything nearby the school campus. 

     All of the dorm choices you have (I-House, Global Village, Residence) are all within about a 5 minutes’ walk from the university which I found to be super convenient! A few shops nearby that I shopped at a lot were Aoki Supermarket, Kanesue Supermarket, Daiso, Edion, Aeon Mall, Apita Mall, 2^nd Street and Off House. A few restaurants nearby that I’d recommend would have to be: Hamazushi, Gusto and Sanrokugo!

•  Aoki Super and Kanesue: These are the supermarkets that are closest by to the dormitory/university. When I first arrived in Japan, I shopped at Aoki first because it is a bit closer to the dorm. This supermarket I will say has lots to offer but be wary that fruits/veggies can be pricey in Japan. A small bag of grapes can cost you potentially 500 yen (~about $5). The meat selection here is tasty, especially the seasoned beef portions for around 500 yen! Now after a while, when I first went to Kanesue, I noticed they had a bit more of a selection when it came to snacks, drinks, and meat/dairy products. I decided it was worth the extra 10-minute walk doing big shopping here because I could buy all the meats, I’d need to last me the week for cheaper, especially chicken breasts! They’re super cheap, around 300 yen for two breasts! I bought a lot of drinks to keep in the refrigerator in my floor’s kitchen so that way I could grab one on the go in the morning to keep me awake during Japanese class. Especially in my second semester, I took Intensive Japanese 200 level, meaning I had Japanese class Monday-Thursday from 9 am till 12:20 pm. So…I really needed some energy drinks/tea in the mornings, it was a necessity!

•  Daiso: Daiso is the remarkable 100-yen shop! Now not everything is 100 yen however, but you will find things in 100-yen increments, most expensive being I want to say maybe around 700 yen. In Daiso, you can buy all of your stationary needs on the go, hair/cosmetic products, craft work if you enjoy making cards/letters (which I did a lot of in my free time), snacks, beverages, soaps/hygienic products, kitchen ware, and bathroom products such as laundry detergent and toiletry items. I shopped there way too frequently because it was such a good deal. Highly recommended, it is about a 5-minute walk from Global Village also!

• Edion: This is basically a giant electronic shop with a stationary department as well, which I will say…. was glorious! I would mostly go into Edion to look at the stationary but also at the Nintendo Switch games because most of the new games came out in Japan while I was there before they did in the States, so I could get a hand on them before my friends. :D For example, I bought Mario Party and Super Smash Brothers. The stationary department in Edion has everything you’d need binding from notebooks, pen/pencil selections in many aisles, painting craft work, letters, boxes to use for shipping, and even really neat Japanese themed paper/key-chains to buy as souvenirs!

• Aeon Mall: Aeon Mall is everywhere in Japan, but luckily there in one close to the dorm, I’d say within about a 20-minute walking distance. The school bus actually has one that goes to Aeon Mall as well in case you prefer to do that, or if you do big shopping and don’t want to lug it all back by foot, this is an option for you! Aeon has many shops, ranging from clothing to kitchen ware to cosmetic to even great bakery’s and restaurants. They also have their own cinema and if you purchase your ticket online, it says you the hassle if you’re afraid of the language barrier! It is super easy to do, and it will tell you if they support the film with English Subtitles, or if it is being shown in English itself with of course Japanese subtitles for the locals.

•  Apita Mall: This mall is close-by to Book-off and the Linimo station! Maybe about also a 20-minute walk from the dorm! I went here more frequently then to Aeon mostly because of this lovely Bakery on the bottom floor. Now, I can’t remember the name, but it was French for sure! They have really good deals on cakes and amazing bread buns. I went here so often! This mall has lots of clothing, stationery and kitchen departments to offer also and a supermarket!

• 2^nd Street: This is a high-end thrift shop within about a 12-minute walk of the dorm. I went here to buy lots of stockings mostly and dresses during the spring and winter seasons in Japan. Everything is pretty decently priced, with some items say name brand backpack pricing around $150. I would still check it out every so often for the deals on smaller clothing items. 😊

• Off-House: ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHOPS BY FAR! You can find so many clothes here during all seasons, especially winter coats for super cheap! I can count past both my hands probably more than 5 times how many items I bought from this thrift shop; I absolutely adore thrifting and think it is so much more appealing than going to stores like Forever 21 etc. You can also buy kitchenware, electronics, jewelry, handbags, and even bathroom accessories. Things range in price here heavily though considering they sell things such as Dyson Fans here which could cost you around $300 to mini refrigerators for around $80. You can also bring things to donate here also! The language barrier isn’t that difficult to manage around either, so if your Japanese isn’t too great don’t worry!

Restaurants around the Dormitory:

• Hamazushi: If you’re form the states, then you can consider this to be similar to Genki Sushi…but honestly, 100% better in my opinion! Most of the places are 100 yen and everything is so freshly made it is amazing! If you aren’t a raw fish lover like me, they also sell pasta/noodle dishes, meat sushi dishes, desserts, and even the all American knowing French fries! :D I went here AT LEAST once a week because it was just so cheap to eat here if I didn’t feel like cooking lunch/dinner for myself. It is also very comfy to eat with your friends here as well!

I went to Hamazushi frequently with Japanese friends I made at the university, here is my Friend Mako enjoying the fabulous mini-hamburger sushi’s I loved so much! 😊

•  Gusto: Gusto is similar to Denny's in the States (they have Denny’s in Japan as well) but tastes fresher and the service is very quick! The one that is near the dorm is about a 15 minute walk away, and I believe is open till 2 am, so if you want a late night snack that isn’t from the convenience store (Konbini’s as they call them), I’d recommend this restaurant for sure. I would always get the Tonkatsu set meal for about 1100 yen and it comes with a drink bar that you can use for as long as you’re in there! Lots of students use this place to study late at night as well, like how in America Starbucks is the designated study store.

• SanRokuGo: This is about 2 minutes away from the dorm, just recently opened up around May 2019. It is a coffee/tea based little French inspired store that also has delicious bakery goodies and fabulous cakes to offer. I would go here so often that the barista knew my order every single time. This would also be used as a good place to study with your friend’s upstairs (if you can land the big table, score for you!). I believe they are open until 8 pm but around 6 they probably start to run out of bakery goodies, so don’t push it too late if you really need that coffee and strawberry shortcake fix!

     There is so much to do in this area just around the dormitory and University, but obviously once you go into the main part of Nagoya (that being Nagoya Station or Sakae), you have so much more shops to adventure into, cafes to try (cat, bunny, owl, hedgehog, etc), you won’t ever be bored on the weekends because you can explore into the different cities nearby Takenoyama area. If you take the bus from Hongo bus stop, you can buy a day pass for about 600 yen, which is cheaper than taking the Takenoyama bus stop (being 550 yen per trip) or taking say the bus to Fujigaoka station (220 yen) + then taking the train to another station (if you want to go into Sakae or Nagoya for instance, I believe that train ticket will cost you about 300 yen). You can also buy a Manaka card to load money onto so you can easily pay on the bus’s and trains at ease versus taking a ticket and paying when you get off! The Manaka card for me cost 500 yen because I wanted my name on mine. :D I think that’s it for this blog post, I hope it was super helpful information and always feel free to contact me if you have any questions, I’m all ears!