Day in the Life of a Japanese University Student in Tokyo

This is a day in the life of a Japanese university student. This is Ayuka, a 21 year old university student in Tokyo, and she's just waking up for school. She starts her typical college day with a short five-minute workout and then quickly continues on with the rest of her morning routine. Next she prepares her breakfast. Ayuka lives alone in a ryo, a dorm off-campus. Originally from Chizuoka Prefecture, she moved to Tokyo to attend university and the dorm was the perfect choice for her to minimize her living costs. In fact, in Japan, private university dorms typically charge around 20,000 yen to 30,000 yen, 130 to 200 dollars, while national university dorms are more affordable at under 10,000 yen, about $65 per month. When Ayuka moved to Tokyo three years ago, it was her first time living alone and one thing she didn't enjoy was eating by herself. But after a while, she says she grew accustomed to it. Your breakfast is so healthy! You lost 20 kilos? That's amazing! So her first job as a university student was working at a maid cafe, where she was in front of many customers while wearing a fitted costume. It ended up being a lot of pressure for her and after quitting, she ended up gaining 20 kilos, about 44 pounds. She was eventually able to work it off with a healthy lifestyle and diet, which she's now determined to continue on in the future. Probably a life lesson that she'll never forget. How long does it take you to get ready? Oh, not bad! Hey, you play guitar? Oh, do you perform? Cool, what are you gonna play? In Japan, many university students are actively involved in official club activities, which are known as SAKUTORU. They range from sports to cultural clubs, and it's widely known that some of these groups just party together, while some actually do the activity that they say they're gonna do. Either way, the clubs allow students to meet and make friends with many staying close even after graduation. Since she lives in a dormitory nearby her school, she's able to conveniently commute by foot every day. Ayuka is a third-year mathematics major, aspiring to become a math teacher. As a young child, she originally wanted to become a police officer, but then discovered her talent in elementary school when she realized how she could easily teach her three younger cousins. Then in junior high, she fortunately had an inspirational math teacher who helped develop her skills and also encouraged her to follow her dreams. Good morning, y'all! I am back with another day in life, and many of you know that I did a video similar to this before, but this time I wanted to do it from a completely different take. Luckily, Ayuka should be coming shortly, so all I just have to do is wait for her to arrive. Good morning! Did you sleep well? So what's your first class? This is Ayuka's school, Tokyo University of Science, commonly known as Rikadai. It's one of the most prestigious private institutions in Japan. With seven faculties and 32 departments, it stands as one of the largest private universities specializing in science and engineering in the country. They have three campuses, and she goes to the Kagurazaka campus. What are you doing now? Cool! Ayuka, what's in your bag? She also has a high school textbook for a mock class, a file folder, desk mat, charger, class files, a laptop, dried sweet potatoes for a snack, cough drops, wallet... So you pretty much have the whole world in there! How much did you study for this test? Wow, you're so smart! Everyone must study a lot here, right? In Japan, getting into university is considered tough, but graduating is relatively easy. Not to say that university students don't study, but rather, entrance exams are so difficult that many spend years in cram schools preparing. The students who fail but desperately want to get into the school, known as Ronin, have no other option but to study and wait for the next year's exams. Among those admitted, about 82% graduate within four years, compared to, say, the U.S. at around 46%. Good luck with your test! So while Ayuka is taking her test, let's explore this place a little bit. So just walking around this campus, it's actually quite small compared to some other larger universities, so there's not a lot that I can show you guys. I guess this is just like an open area right next to the school, and to be honest, I don't really know which is part of the school and which isn't because... So that's what the main building is where Ayuka's taking her test, just like over there. But then there's this like open park area, and then there's another Tokyo University of Science building right there. So I think it's kind of like the campus is spread into all these little buildings with houses and everything all around. Just at the bottom floor right here, it looks like they have kind of like an advertisement panel here for maybe some housing. So it's kind of interesting to have one-bedroom apartments here for like ¥50,000, which is about, I don't know, ¥300-¥400. And then over here, they have some that are like ¥30,000, which is like about $150-$200. Pretty good deal for these one-bedroom spots, and they also have women-only rooms that are about ¥23,000. And I've just walked across the street. The school is just behind me right there. We are just in Kagurazaka. This campus is located uniquely in Kagurazaka, a gourmet town which was once a lively geisha district. If you want to go eat here, then I did a video on this place a long, long time ago. So you have to look it up, Kagurazaka. Hey, quickly, I wanted to tell you that I officially have a spot in Tokyo to sell my Paolo from Tokyo premium Kaminari hot sauce. It's a dedicated vending machine in the middle of Shibuya right next to the Mandarake shop. You can get my original hot sauce as well as umami ocean here. Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The location address is on my website, paolofromtokyohotsauce.com. I'll leave a link in the description of the video. Check the find shop section of the website. Also, as many of you know, the online shop has been sold out for a while now, but we're back in stock with a limited supply. Get the hot sauce now before it sells out again. How was the test? Did you spend two hours on the test? Now she has a few hours before her next class, so she has lunch with her friends in the school cafeteria. Nice, her friends already got seats. This is the Gakushoku school cafeteria. Offering well-balanced meals at affordable prices, usually under 500 yen, about $3.25. It's typically a cost-effective place for the students to grab a complete meal. How's the food? How expensive was it? Not bad. So how much do you usually spend on food? In Japan, the average spend on food for students is 26,000 yen, about $168 a month. So she's doing a great job on saving money. Nice, her friends are back. I guess they went to a convenience store. So how do you know each other? Okay. So is it easy to make friends here? Hi, what do you study? Cool, and what do you want to do in the future? Nice, how's that coming along? Oh, how'd they go? Ah, well, I hope it works out. And what do you want to do? Oh, that's interesting. In Japan, university students generally start their job hunting during their third year of school, which includes research, sending out applications, and attending job fairs. And those who are fortunate are able to secure a job during this time. In Ayuka's case, she's required to complete a teaching practium in order for her to obtain her teaching license, which will allow her to get a job. And now that she's done eating, her and her friends spend the rest of the time studying as they're in the middle of the test season right now. The students share information and test-taking tips with each other as part of their test preparation. Are you ready for the test? No worries, you do you. Hey, good morning! Now it's time for her second class. So this is a standard lecture class, which happens to only have these two students. But in Japan, small group classes are generally called zemi. Typically, the first two years of university consist of large lecture-style classes. But as students progress, they are required to take smaller seminars where they can learn more closely under a professor. In a zemi, students engage in presentations, debates, and collaborative research, allowing for a deeper exploration in their field. And today, she has a presentation in front of the class. Since it's part of her class evaluation, it's something that she must take seriously. Since 2000, most Japanese universities have adopted the GPA evaluation system, though grading may vary between institutions. Interesting though, a student's GPA may not be the most crucial factor when it comes to job hunting, as it's mainly used as a reference point, while the prestige of the university itself and the major tend to carry more weight for employers. Hi, how long have you been teaching here? That's awesome, why'd you quit? Oh, I see. How'd you like being a principal? You seem like you'd be great at it, thanks! Ayuka says she's grateful to have such wonderful professors who love what they do, which inspires her to do the best she can in each of her classes. How do you think the presentation went? Nice, so what's next? Her school is just three stops from Akihabara, so she often goes there to pass the time and unwind. While she enjoys hanging out with friends, she also values being able to relax on her own time. Although she no longer works at a maid cafe, she's still completely in love with the world and enjoys visiting different cafes. So, why maid cafes? Hey, me too! Oh, they put a magic spell on the food to make it more delicious, a signature attraction here. So a maid cafe is a themed cafe where waitresses dress as maids and treat customers as if they are masters of a private residence. In Akihabara, the otaku holy land, there are over 200 maid cafes, initially a niche attraction for the otaku culture. It's grown into a well-known part of Japanese pop culture. After her brief escape to Akihabara, she returns to campus for her final class. Yay, finally done with class! But her day isn't finished yet as she still has her part-time job. And this is her workplace, Gyoza Akari, a casual izakaya restaurant with various gyoza menus. She works here part-time five days a week, mostly during lunchtime as it best suits her schedule. In Japan, it's very common for university students to work off-campus, with 68% having part-time jobs. The most popular types of jobs are at restaurants, followed by tutoring, and then the convenience store. Have you worked here for a long time? Got it, what do you study? Cool, and do you like working here? That's great! Wow, the food looks pretty good! Ayuko must be happy with the makanai here, the free staff meals provided by the restaurant. Apparently, the shop's gyoza uses its own signature recipe, while offering a variety of unique toppings. It's quite popular in the area during both lunch and dinner. I'll be sure to leave a link of this place in the description, if you want to check it out. All right, so it's a little bit tight in there, so I came out here instead. So pretty much, Ayuko should be working there until 11 o'clock tonight, and afterwards, she's gonna go home, probably exercise, and then go to sleep at 1.30. But that's pretty much a day in the life of a Japanese college student. If you guys like this video, like always, help me out and hit that like button. If you guys want to help support the channel, then definitely check out my merch, check out my hot sauce, and if you guys want to see more videos like this, or anything related to Japan, hit that subscribe button and the bell button, and I'll catch you guys in the next one.