1. The most important reason they came up with was the chance to experience a different culture and lifestyle. No matter where you are from you will find the Japanese culture and lifestyle different from your own. Of course you will find similarities, too, but a lot more differences, and your preconceptions about many things will be challenged.

2. Japan is, and has long been, the world's only non-Western developed country, although some of its neighbors may be joining it now.  Japan thus has a unique relevance to the field of development studies.  It is also the only chance you have to experience a non-Western culture without the infrastructural inconvenience of moving to an underdeveloped country.

3. Japan is a small island country with few natural resources other than water, yet it is one of the wealthiest countries in the world.  In the history of  the 20th century there are few stories as dramatic as Japan's rise to great power status in the Russo-Japanese War (1905,) its fall in World War II and its rebirth after the war.

4. Japanese efficiency and quality control are quite impressive. They are not just for export, but are part of the culture.  People expect the best service and materials here and they get them. It is something the rest of the world could learn from.

5. Japan is a land of contrasts:

    a. Here you find the new and the old, the modern and the traditional, side by side. The Japanese have been successful at preserving their traditions more than European and American countries have. [I'm not sure I agree, but the students felt this emphatically. At any event, in Japan you can see how non-Western traditions have interacted with modernization. It is a test case to determine to what extent Westernization is necessary for development.]

    b. The Japanese people take their traditions more seriously than people in other developed countries. [Again, I'm not sure that this holds as generalization, but the students insisted. At any rate, Japanese traditions are honored and preserved. They do take their archaeology and folklore very seriously here. Despite having modernized and industrialized they have not forgotten their traditional culture.]

6. Only in Japan can you have an opportunity to really get to know the people, their culture, their reactions, and how to get along with them. Japanese who live overseas are generally anxious to adjust to and imitate foreign cultures, and are generally a self-selected group to begin with. Only in Japan can you have the chance to learn how ordinary Japanese behave within their own culture.  Only here can you come to really understand why they are the way they are, and how they are likely to respond to various events in the outside world, much less explain why to others.  If you want to understand Japan there is just no substitute for being here.

7. Living in Japan you have a unique chance to make contacts that could be important for you in the future.  Japanese place great importance on personal relations and face to face contacts.  It is very difficult to get those relations without being here in Japan.

8. If you're short you'll love it.  This country was built of, by and for the "height-impaired."
 
 

1. Hirosaki is outside Tokyo. In fact it is FAR outside Tokyo:

Some of you reading this may think of this as a disadvantage. That shows how little you know about Japan. Trust us on this. There are several advantages to studying Japan AWAY from Tokyo:

    a. Hirosaki is away from the impersonality of the big city. You can hardly avoid interacting with Japanese people and learning their culture.

    b. Hirosaki is less expensive than Tokyo. On a student budget that is important.

    c. In Hirosaki there is less discrimination against foreigners and  people are friendlier.  [Unfortunately this is very true. Non-Japanese are still a novelty here and people are interested in meeting foreigners and finding out about foreign countries.  In Tokyo there are so many foreigners that "Japanees [sic] only!" signs are not uncommon, many people don't want to meet any more foreigners, and what to do about discrimination is a major issue in the foreign community.]

    d. In a small city like Hirosaki there is less commuting, and other hassles are fewer. Life is simpler. That leaves more time for studying and interacting with the culture instead of just dealing with life.

    e. Up here in the Tsugaru district of Aomori there is more traditional culture.  You have a better chance to understand what makes Japan different from other countries because there is less westernization. This is one of the areas that Japanese will visit and study if they want to know more about Japanese culture.  Coming here would be your shortcut to understanding that culture.

    f. There is a more relaxed pace of life out here. Farming is still a major industry and the agricultural pace of life is still to be found.  You can enjoy yourself much more than in Tokyo.

    g. There is more space. It is just not as impossibly crowded as Tokyo.

2. The climate has four seasons that are distinct and beautiful.  [Honestly, I can't say that I love the winter, but as long as you are in a warm room, car, or railway seat it is very beautiful.]

3. SNOW! [OK, I know, those of you who know what snow is like you might not be impressed, but to students from tropical countries it is an exciting experience not to be missed. Hirosaki has it, more than most places in Japan, but not as uncontrollably as in Hokkaido.]
 
4 . Hirosaki is a castle town. It is not the prefectural capital, but it does have the local castle from the feudal era. Thus it is a major tourist attraction in Japan, and the culture and history of the area are carefully preserved in order to attract tourists. Hirosaki castle is particularly beautiful, and the annual cherry blossom festival attracts people from all over Japan.
 
5 . Hirosaki presents far more opportunities to practice the Japanese language than Tokyo. Of course there are more language schools in Tokyo, but there are also more people who speak English in Tokyo. Up here you simply will not be able to get around without learning at least a functional minimum of Japanese. And without more than that you will be very lonely. The local Tsugaru dialect is also rather colorful, and worth learning in itself. [I'll take the students word on that. I don't speak Tsugaru-ben.]
    Hirosaki university has many native speaking Japanese teaching the language, as well as Japanese linguistics classes taught by specialists on language acquisition, the history of Japanese language and Japanese dialects. The number of language schools in Tokyo is no benefit, since here you can have better classes for free, as part of your college education.
 
6 . Hirosaki is a good sized city. It is neither too big and impersonal, nor too small to present a variety of experiences.
 
7 . Hirosaki University is also a perfect sized university. It is not too small, and there is a wide variety of courses available. It is not too big, and there not too many foreign students, so that one's interaction with Japanese is optimum.
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8 . Finally, if you are from Africa, Hirosaki University has a large number of African studies specialists. The Tohoku regional African studies conference is often held here and the annual conference of the Japanese African Studies Association was held in Hirosaki. You can get explanations of Japan and Japanese culture that take into account the African perspective, rather than just the usual explanations that have been prepared for either westerners or other Asians.