Nihon University

Wow never heard of Nihon University before but it looks really nice.
2 exchange students from Japan I met during their stay here did tell me that when they got into University it became party life for them hehe. They said it was much more easier and laid back than high school.
Here in Quebec it all depends in which University and which program you go into. It also depends on the teacher... I took engineering electricity and programming courses and they were killer. Some courses the teacher expects at least 30-40% to fail O_o. That's nooot nice! Many students end up quitting and changing programs (like me lol)
I also took language course at university (Japanese and Chinese) and these courses were very easy. History courses were not too hard as long as you studied a few hours and did required readings. Politics course was harder, but the teacher was crazy and too demanding >_<.

That is really cheap food!

I'll be heading off to university next year once I finish high school. Would love to go overseas for uni, but i'll be going to one closeby. That university looks like it has great facilities .

Those induction ceremonies are huge o.o

A group of dannychoo.com readers going to Nihon University to mingle with Japanese and foreign students there?
Count me in!! Would love to participate in such an event!
Nihon University looks like a great place, they take care of the students and have different facilities and foods ^^ Might want to try applying there in the future if I get the chance.
Thanks for this post! More inspiration to work harder for my goal!

well... I'm never heard about Nihon Uni before... but i know it must be a brilliant Uni.
I hope i can get to that Uni after graduate from my school...
and danny, you look so calm even though this you first lecture in academic field...

gomen, baddo engrish...

Whoa?! Hot stuff Danny!! Congratz!! ^^

Keep on rolling in the world conquest... XD

Nice stuff; I'd love to come over to mingle with the students. But you should set it up fast if it is a student-only thing: I'm in my last year now....

The 2 uni's that I'm attending now (Engineering in one, and Japanese in the other) are both quite alright and well-organised. Altough they both aren't as neat, and don't have the huge ceremonies that I see in the pics. Dont really care about ceremonies anyway ^^;

Oh! it looks all so clean and neat in the university, that's nice^^
My creative and graphic arts school is a bit messy, but arty people are a bit messy themselfs in a good way I always think.
Sometimes my study is easy, sometimes it's not. Deadlines for posters, flyers or website designs are tough but satisfying when reaching your goal.
But I also get to do alot of creative work with my hands which I enjoy but is mostly quite easy for me so I tend to relax when having such an assignment.
Will be done with it febuary 2010 and then it's off to Japan~

Good food everywhere! It seems like you have many good connections with many good people, Danny!

Yes That would be really a great experience! Thanks for sharing Danny, as always.

Ah! Hainan Ji Fan!
I did a project on Singapore food in Japan for last semester.

I heard that Uni in Japan is easy life. The toughest thing is getting in, after that it's more of making friends and networking rather than real studying.

Uni in Singapore is rather stress-filled, non-stop, never-ending readings/tutorials/lectures/self study.
My friend's friend from Waseda was on exchange here for a year but he couldn't take it and went back before he completed the year.

I know Westerners find our Uni life very busy and stressful too.

It's non-stop "mugging" if you want to make it to the top in Singapore.

Looks at all the food O.O The University looks amazing D: It's neat, clean, sleek and the students actually study...The V-sign part reminded me of my cousin when she was an exchange student in Japan whenever she took a picture with someone they put up V-sign. XD

As danny probably knows it's hard to get in to a good uni in england.
And very expensive!!

WOW!
Great food service.
Here at UiTM, it's not very bad, but it's not that outstanding.

Universities are hard as heck to get into here... Currently studying to earn a place in one of them...

mus have been fun to share with uni students ^^
bringing a group of dannychoo.com readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students is definitely a good idea, would totally be interested, but might be too old by then ^^;

I know of too many people using IE6 or 7, I heard theres a new one? But I can't be bothered.

Usually those whom I know don't change because they see no reason to. They get too comfortable with what they use. But when I tell them to, they don't look back.

Danny you got typo there after image #26508 - "beleive". Your article today makes me wanna move forward and think what I'm gonna do for my future plus I can't help my laziness. need to change that kind of habit.

Man, every Uni i've visited for various reasons have such great food - College food SUCKS
All my campus has is that damn deep fryer which they literally do EVERYTHING in.
That quality lunch looks no different than the eco lunch!!! - Maybe it's just that i've been deprived of quality food during my hours at campus.

I've only ever ridden a motorcycle once. It was one of those tiny tiny clown bikes with only 2 gears - Made a hell of a noise but ridiculously fun to ride - Had to hunch over the entire bike like some oversized gorilla

Currently studying at University of Nottingham, Malaysia campus.
The campus is nice but not as great as Nihon University,
we dont have club rooms T^T

that is a lot of students... I recently went to Japan to attend my friends' graduations, it was in an opera hall. It's very surprising considering there are so many private and national universities around Japan. Not just within Japan, I think a lot of university/college students are taking care of their appearances, and it's starting to be the same for high school students outside Japan.

Congratulation on your talk Mr.DC

image ID 26500
This then lead to another idea of maybe bringing a group of dannychoo.com readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students. Would you be interested in something like that?

Yes.This sure be fun.

image ID 26506
You have shown some of the otaku rooms.
I'll bet that some student may have room like that.

Nihon University is not on a single compound but have their buildings dotted around the city? I didn't know about this.

Their canteen provide such a good meals there~~~

Will be very interested to have a cultural exchange with students in Nihon U.

The auditorium looks fantastic!

Any video or recorded speech???

Professor Barry have nice gears O_O He must be very into photography / videography~~~

Wow, the classroom look like meeting room, very neat! I guess it really prepare students in their future fields of work.

"Singapore Hainan Chicken Lice" LOL ^o^ I bet they serve flying lice too~~~

Vending machine that sells certificates O_O!!!

Their canteen look very neat, what a convenient having MOS Burger stall in their canteen~~~

Professor Barry ride a motorbike to work O_O! He indeed is very young inside ^_^

WOW! Their admission ceremony is so massive O_O scale of a stadium!!!

My university life was mixed, first year was fun and I did get to do good amount of work although hanging around the campus at night wouldn't be advised since its situated in a forest that used to be King Henry VI hunting grounds. Campus at the time is no where near as modern as the Nihon University campus, however what made up for it was the character the forest and dance and drama female students where a good majority looked good. If you timed it right, you could head to the mansion cafe where its near the dance studio and girls enter the cafe wearing little. My final year was ruined by my course switching the another campus which in terms of facilities is superior to my first and second year campus but really lacked character and the atmosphere was a massive let down. Good looking females were a rarity for example you see one who potentially looked attractive and with a blink of the eye, she disappears into a faint memory. International students were abundant especially ones from China and the middle east. Although I did OK during my time, I really wished my final year was at the campus I liked being in more and felt alot more settled in.

"While its tough to get into universities over here and easy to graduate once they are in, I found that London University was the opposite. I jumped into the second year of a 4 year degree through a Japanese language entrance examination - all my studying up until then was self study through manga, anime, games and music.
Once I was in however, the actual course with constant tests was difficult enough to eliminate most of the class by the end of the 4 years. Only 3 or 4-ish out of 30-ish students made it through to the end."

Crap! I'm in England now argh...!!! Danny you should post this 2 year earlier>.<

This post certainly brings back all the memories in uni! Even though my uni was a pretty average one (courses / lecturers / students), but it's still a wonderful experience - a whole lot of difference when you compare to the primary and secondary school life.

Totally love that certs vending machine! Remember last time we had to run to the admin office to get a copy then only to find out the officers are out to lunch.. ^^"

Student exchange?! Awesomeeeeeee! xD

Hmm I think its gonna happen to me as well. I'm now studying for my form 5 government exams, and I have this feeling I'm gonna be drained for university >.<

Also, certificate vending machine? @.@ So one will buy some and get them signed?

The admission ceremony is overwhelming.. Are those all of the students or just the new students?!
Admission ceremonies in here? what ceremony? o.o

Well at least secondary schools don't have it. ^^; I can't vote on the polls.. Maybe next year.

wow nice place to study and have cheap food too !!

God now i know it.... My uni is supposed to be the best in the country...yet it fails and crumbles into pieces in the might of Nihon University... :<

Thanks for sharing these photos about Japanese university life, also this article was inspiring too! And congrats on your presentation, I hope I'll be able to attend to one of your future presentations when I'll visit Japan.:)
Universities here in Hungary, well they are not as hard to finish as it used to be, specially since the introduction of the BSc system. Not that it was that hard before it, I studied history at the University of Szeged and only one or two subjects made me work harder than usual. Despite that, a lot of students studied hard, I remember the university library was packed most of the times. Though the nearby pubs were always more packed than the library.:)
That made me remember that once I attended to a Japanese language course, the nice Japanese lady who taught us didn't worked us hard (since she only spoke Japanese and a bit English), I passed the course without studying at all.
Unfortunately we don't have such fancy ceremonies over here, at least I wasn't invited to any at all.^^ About food, we always went to the nearby pub which offered cheap but good food.

I went to a good college (Johns Hopkins University). Worked very hard but also took it easy at times ^^ Graduation ceremony was held in a small sports stadium, it was a nice event.

My brother's graduating from Harvard University in 2 weeks. I'll be posting photos in a news article on DannyChoo.com soon afterwards so stay tuned ^^

You say those tables are small? We have much smaller in our school canteen and I am still fine with that.

I am not at university yet, but from what I have heard from many people, at universities in Czech Rep it's exactly the same as you said about London University. Not hard to get in, hard to reach the finish line.

What a great article. Danny, you have such a wonderful and exciting existence - very inspiring! Thank you for sharing this. Nichidai looks like a fantastic school. I went to Loyola Uni in Chicago and it's a very good school; not very easy, though. The students definitely don't look so nice - many of them came to class wearing their pajamas!!

My wife went to Waseda so that is the only university campus I've ever visited in Japan - it's also a very nice place with top facilities. I don't think they have Mos Burger though! There is really kool pub called Shinobu. My wife worked there when she was a student. I had SO MUCH fun there, although I drank way too much sake and could barely walk out! LOL

Currently studying in a university college as what they call it. The campus that I'm currently at is kinda old. And I have to climb up the stairs to the highest floor which is the fourth floor almost everyday orz

The cafeteria is crap though. Most of the foods and snacks sold there are overpriced ^^"

i have yet to attend universities. my highest qualification is a diploma which i got in polytechnic. Somehow, this post reminded me of me poly life. Good and bad. =/

btw: do professor barry give his lectures in Japanese or English?

Mosburger!!!!! LOL I did not attend university when I opted to get into a polytechnic for design course as I did not do well enough in my secondary school to get into the Junior college of my choice.

The Junior colleges which had art elective programs as they were called, were super hard to get in and I dare say my secondary school fudged up when they had their priorties wrong at the time by involving final year students(my year) in an expensive and time consuming fund raising anniversay event. I recalled as if it was yesterday my friends in neighbourhooding schools were revising their syllabus of the last four years and our teachers were still cramming the last chapters frantically before the exams ;_;

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise as then my parents allowed me to attend polytechnic, despite that I felt I had really had let them down ^^; one of my two younger sis went to Uni and is teaching now ^^ she is a sassy teacher ^^ and more dependable than me and kid sis ^^;

Did applied for the Monbukagakusho scholarship for the 09/10 intake, but I doubt it'll get through though. Planning to do my masters and further up hopefully in Japan, but for now still stuck in the "quality" of Malaysian public universities. ==

I go to the University of Nottingham here in the UK. I'm glad I came here, and it's so much better than where I live out of university, back in Cornwall. Also, if I had wanted to stay in Cornwall for university, I wouldn't have been able to anyway, the only university there is an arts university that doesn't even do Physics as a course!

When it comes to work, I generally amble along, then when coursework is set, I work and study more. When handed in I relax again, to which the most stressful time is the 2 exam periods, January and May/June. Going through an exam period at the moment, with a 3 hour exam, 2 days after that a 2 hour exam, then another 2 exam after that (let alone the 2 hour exam I had a couple days ago!). So it's hardly a dos....mind you, I'm a second year Physics student, I hear that the Art students have a much more relaxed time....buggers!

That looks like an awesome uni!
Much better than the ones around my location... ;>.>

The schools there are so clean. :O
I've yet to go actually wander about a college campus here, but I want to.

>This then lead to another idea of maybe bringing a group of dannychoo.com readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students. Would you be interested in something like that?
My, that would be an AMAZING experience. I would more than love to go. :D

Not quite at university yet, still a years to go. But for where i'm aiming for, somewhere that is easily accessible(able to commute on public transport) from my house.
Oh wow, do all universities look like this? All clean and bright, because I hope so!
Would have loved to hear one of Danny's presentations though, i'd find it very insightful and inspiring. As for getting into a university in Japan though, i'd imagine it would be easier for someone to get a transfer from outside of the country if your country of origin's test is easier, but that would also mean you'd have to learn Japanese aswell as study for regular subjects.
That graduation/introduction assembly is huge, you don't get that amount of people in a high school..
University life looks very interesting, I think this will be the stage of education that I will actually look forward too. Although i'm sure i'd have to work very hard too.

Focusing and placing energy into an area that you are passionate about attracts opportunities and good karma. Good things will naturally follow. It always does.
-great motivational message Danny =)

university huh... having completed my first year, i can attest to the difficulty and stress you are put through. Studying is fine and all with me, but i strongly believe that it is equally important to enjoy my time in university. unfortunately, the guys in my faculty (engineering) ain't exactly quite the sociable kind. Hence, we locals mostly keep to ourselves. A pity, but i intend to make the best of it and hang around with friends i have made through co-curricular activities.

Looks like a great university. It all looks so clean and modern compared to most of the buildings at my university.

I've been put in to possibly get a Monbukagakusho Scholarship for my study abroad year, but it all depends whether the university I'm going to decides to offer it to students from the UK, since a lot of them save their allocated scholarships for places in South East Asia now rather than the Western nations.

I love my Japanese course at Sheffield, although it's rather hard work, especially when you're crazy/stupid enough to take Classical Japanese as an elective module like I did this semester ^^; The teachers are all great, though.

Just finished the first year in HAMK University of Applied Sciences and Now I'm looking for a place to spend an exchange year (not next semester but after that).
Too bad my uni doesn't have any parter universities in Japan :|

The teaching here really depends on teacher, some just reads a pdf and other gives interactive assignments every lesson.
1,90 Eur for lunch here.
and LOL @ Certificate vending machine.

Eh? Bring a group of readers to Japan?! I would surely like that. A lot. Would love to learn the campus life in Japan before I learn it over here. Maybe it would motivate me to do my best in my future years of studying.
I'm graduating from high school this year and my college goals aren't as high as I want them to be. Comm. College to take basics first and then off to transfer to a Uni after a year or two. Seems like I'll be doing just the opposite of some students in Japan. Instead of studying hard in high school, I took it easy, so I can study hard in college. Ahh, I'll be studying hard, yes I will!

lol your own Mos Burger at University. That is pretty cool.

And thank you for sharing your experience at Nichidai.
You're doing more and more speeches. Ol' businessman danny :D
You are getting more and more popular. Can't wait for your first gravure photobook!

Nice pics, I would like to see you coming to Taiwan one day.

Fu Jen Catholic University at Taiwan also has a Mos Burger :P and in Tamkang University, also at Taiwan, we have Apple Campus Reseller >:D

Nice place indeed...although its not what i am looking forward to now...

Am not thinking of gaining an admission into one of the university in my Country which is Malaysia and have no intention to go oversea to study since money is a problem and it's hard to get a scholarship from the government or private entity.

My aim is going to college for 4 years to get my degree on e-commercial and marketing. I always fascinated with the idea of making money online and will do it in the future so I can earn big and have time with my family, friends, business, doing what I like, exploring the world and so on. It's like something you do.. Maybe we can team up to work together in the near future?

The life of a blogger is a good one and I don't mind what people said about blogging that can't earn you a good living but what I saw is people earning big (range in millions) $$$ every month through the net with ease.

looked like a nice uni... my uni is pretty average. definitely nowhere as good as that Nihon University.

wow....Nihon Uni...I wonder what Tokyo Uni looks like on the inside, maybe Danny should try give a lecture or 2 there, no?

btw, is that mini dell running leopard as in hackintosh?

Nihon University seems to be nice place. It would be a great idea for dannychoo.com readers to have a chance to go to Japan and mingle with the students there ^^

I've gotta agree that studying in Singapore is totally non-stop "mugging" and full of stress. Being in one of the top school, one may think that he had done exceptionally well, to only realise that his results were average in the class. That's what happened to me. Majority of my classmates are hardcore muggers and it's quite difficult to be top in the class. Well, for me, my way of learning is quite different from others and it seems to be somehow effective since I'm counted as above average.

To get a scholarship after A levels is really difficult as I have to compete with students from other top schools. However, I'm determined to go and study in Japan and I'd do it no matter what it takes.

Undergraduate university for me was a blur of getting absolutely trashed and destroyed at parties, gaming and watching anime and other shows, and then a few days of hunkering down and blitzing through projects and problem sets, as well as studying for exams. Now that I'm doing graduate school part time while working, things have settled down. The partying and getting drunk/high off substances was the first to go. Although its whenever I make it back up to my undergrad campus (most of my friends are still there doing grad school), I end up not remembering much because its usually a throwback to old habits.

海南雞飯~!! ^O^ I love it!

Danny, when you give a presentation like this to a medium to large group of people, do you find that the majority of them pay attention? If so, is it because of the content of your presentation or because of your presentation skills (interacting with audience, etc). I am trying to improve my public speaking skills (joined Toast Masters) so I hope you could give some advice!

Very interesting article Danny! i dont know if this is asking too much but... why not pleasing us youtubbing your presentations so we can see it too?

And the V sign is not a japanese trademark.. i have chinese, taiwanese and korean friends who do it all the time!

Very orderly uni - some rooms look a bit clinical, but really impressed with the students' neat dress - very good sign.
I bunked a lot of my college classes as I preferred spending my time programming, and my stle of learning is self-study anyway. Got through without a problem. One of my difficult last year subjects I attended 6 weeks of out of a whole and nailed the exam. :)
The projector may not work with your Dell because of it's graphics card, not sure what the spec is, but the Samsung netbooks are known to display on an external screen up to 1900x1200 res, I think it was. Quite a feat! NC20 looks really good.

Alas I didn't enjoy my university years that much. First campus was actually fine, even though there was a ton of students and we were basically just treated like numbers instead of people.
Second campus for higher years I disliked a lot, around that time I also started to dislike the prospect of working in the field of study I was in so alas I ended up not graduating.

It was a great learning experience but I also firmly believe the way they taught back then is not the correct way (for me)... just having teachers who care nothing about their students plainly read a poorly written, yet expensive course guide out loud. Forcing students to learn things by heart that will change yearly anyway instead of teaching them how to properly work with the material,...

I study Japanese in an adult course, though it's a fairly slow paced one I do like it since it's fun and entertaining and that's what I like, learning something and having a good time while doing so. ^^

Currently studying Criminal Justice and Criminology at San Diego State University. In fact, I'm doing my Master's thesis on a comparative study and analysis on Japan's CJ system and the USA's system. ^^;

Nihon University is probably the highest goal for almost any students in my region to go to when they want to study at Japan. However, I found that less and less people are interested to study at Japan. It probably being caused by the currency and language barrier that most of us have. My university is pretty far away from the hustle and bustle of the city since we are located at a very new city which is still being developed for the new government offices.

Mingle with japanese university students? Why not, it'll definitely be a different experience.
ON what people say on blogging relating to business ventures, sometimes what people say is up to us whether we take it as a grain of salt or as a meal.

The university is like one hellaluva big company firm given it's interiors and stuff.

I really love the University I'm at right now: Georgia Institute of Technology. The campus is beautiful! I always walk everywhere, it's great to get out and see the campus every day. Very modern, loads of grassy areas. Some class rooms are great (the newer buildings) while some aren't so great (old buildings ^^;). Most of my classes are pretty tough, but that's engineering for you.

Just like any other university, you get out what you put in. Thanks to some hard work I was able to get an internship for this summer and gain some real work experience in computer engineering. Nothing bad will come from working hard to reach your goal. The key is don't be lazy ^^;

ah I was offered student exchange to a private uni in Japan (in Sophia near Yostsuya station in Tokyo) but alas, I got sick and could not handle the paperwork for the deadline. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to another scholarship opportunity after I graduate next yer in uni~

I might chance Danny in the future in the academic circle haha~! Good work Danny and its great to know how much you've reached out to a lot of people :)

Looks like Barry has my future dream job ^^I

I'm hoping to move to Japan in 5 years after I get my Masters to finish my education there so I can become a college professor in Japan.

I can't find Barry's contact info on his blog, so if anyone has it, it would help me a lot in getting myself on the right path!

Don't know how universities are in my neck of the woods and I will never know it.. Dropped out of the Higher Technical Institute, so no student live for me.
The uni-rooms look really clean. Quite different how it looked at the Higher Technical Institute.

Dell Mini VGA port fail? Didn't find anyone reporting that problem @ the hackintosh boards. Strange indeed.

70% IE6 users? OMG Another funny thingh is that people are happy with an 8 year old OS. (I'm not starting an OS-war here! Just saying.)

Nice facilities. Compared to the local ones over here, SFU looks like a prison while UBC is inside a national park.

Looking at these photos really makes me realise how small my university is compared to some of the huge ones around the world! We have less than 7000 students overall & my particular department is one of the smallest at the university - just 25 of us 2nd years studying Computer Science, which will probably drop to less than 20 for 3rd year.

As I am still a High schooler , I'm planing to go to a University as long as it is overseas .

I just can't stand being stuck in this country XP As my dream is to see the world .Am Planing to go to the Golden Gate University in San Francisco just like my father .Who knows , maybe I could be accepted to Nihon University if I'm lucky ^^.

Any DC members here felt being stuck in your country since you were born ?

Interesting to see that most of the students at your talk were girls. How was your speech advertised? ^^

I live in the north east, so we have all the Ivies.
They're considered brilliant....but pretty hard to get into ;_;

I'm surprised you can just print a graduation certificate from a vending machine. I would assume you'd need some kind of Uni ID to get one, but you can buy proof of attending the University there as well. >.<

It doesn't look like there's much difference between the "Quality Lunch" and "Economy Lunch"... Also that vending machine for certificates is kind of interesting. Sounds really handy to say the least! A lot of the time you have to jump through like a million hoops over here just to get proof of enrollment or like official transcripts (do the grades from the machine count as official by the way?). Okay, it's not that hard but still not as simple as getting it from a vending machine.

Wahaha, Nihon Uni looks really cool! Mr. Natush gets instant points from me for riding a motorbike. I want one too *u*

xD I shall hope that my university years are awesome too (;_; next year)

Hainan Chicken Rice and Mos Burger EVERYDAY? That's it, I'm enrolling. lol

A university with buildings being scattered all over the city, surely I remember there's something like that in London while I was studying in a pre-Uni college there. Though my teachers derisively say it's "just like Marks & Spencer". I dunno about Japan, Danny, but it seems this sort of arrangement is probably looked down upon in your native UK, I think.

Wow, Professor Natusch rides a bike to work. He is indeed young inside. :)

Uni in UK can be tough, but it would depend on the course you're study, also, as long as you don't slack off too much, you should be fine. ^^

College was the toughest 4.5 years of my life. Cornell has a reputation as being the "easiest Ivy to get into, hardest to stay" and the Engineering program was not an exception. I got beaten up pretty badly by academics, but did learn to enjoy myself with friends, video games, and anime.

I guess it kind of prepared me for working in the real world, though I must say I'm glad to be finally done with academia... I don't think I'd be able to go back any time soon.

I studied in several universities: I did Geography in the University of Barcelona and Asian Studies in Autonomous University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University.
Right now I'm studying in the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies.

You could say that I'm a learning freak...

On uni fashion sense: I think it depends on what faculty you happen to be in at the time. Engineers - terrible fashion sense, Architects - also terrible fashion sense, but in a completely different way =P Industrial Design - Depends on who you're looking at.

I'm currently doing my final year of Industrial Design at QUT in Brisbane. Personally I'm loving it, the course has masses of work but it's enjoyable so that's cool. Uni's location couldn't be better either, the campus isn't called "Gardens Point" for nothing. We share the far end of the CBD loop of the river with the city botanic gardens and State Parliament (dumbest planning decision for the pollies ever). So all you have to do is walk across the main thoroughfare and you're in amoungst the trees. Walk out the other direction and you're right in the centre of town. There's also a bridge across the river that connects into the campus and goes to the Southbank Cultural Precinct and beyone it, West End (another cultural area). We also connect onto Riverstage (Brisbane's major outdoor concert area), so you can sit in the uni bar and listen to the concerts for free.

Our refect isn't as nice as that, but to be honest you only really go there if you have no other option. There's plenty of cafes on campus and if you have more time than say, half an hour the city (with all it's cafes, restraunts and the like) is only a 5 minute walk away.

Wow....the man in suit in image #26499 is doing the M.J. move ah....
I see a kamen rider bike next to Professor Barry's bike ^_^ (similiar)

Universities over here in Canada are generally easy to get into, but are harder to stay in for some disciplines (engineering especially). For me, I took it easy in the first few years, but had to work hard in the last two. I don't think I worked as hard as I could've though.

I was happy with mine (University of Waterloo). The facilities are good, although you generally don't get the good stuff until 4th year. My upper year courses for GIS were in really nicely equipped rooms. We don't have entrance ceremonies (I'd love that), but graduation was nice even though it's small scale.

I like your advice to live life the way you want not the way others want you to. I'm still having trouble doing that. Still haven't really found my way after graduating. Oh well.

Wow, that university is so shiny that I got blind *__*
Buildings like that sure make you want to study hard, I bet you aren't afraid of the ceiling falling down there :3

Also the ceremony photo is quite impressive. Here universities doesn't have any kind of 入学式　or 卒業式. Here, the students register to some courses, and that's all. When one passes the last course and graduates, it's a tradition that your friends and family greet you at the university's gate and throw eggs and flour. But I've never seen an university ceremony that gathers that amount of people.

In high school, I did have entrance and graduation ceremonies.

I'm studying on University of London too, External System though..
It's so easy to enter the programme, but once inside.. It's hard..

am studying to get into the fashion industry, hopefully I can enter an overseas study to japan.

Wow...I've never been inside that school before, but the facilities are actually pretty decent. The library looks a bit small, but I'm thinking that you only took photos of a small area.

Universities are pretty good around here. Unfortunately I qualify for them yet... and I don't think I ever will...

Amazing information as always Danny-san
I've been to 2 Unis here in this town, they are average, or were while I was studying there (anyways, they are not sooo special right now anyway). As this is a small town and there's not much appealing around (like closed in a crystal ball) no fight to be a better professional. Also the teachers don't improve much.
But things are changing a bit, and the teachers have to fulfill some requirements to be teachers, and modern equipment were installed. But that happened when I was in the final years. =/
I'll be doing an specialization but the course is in decline (even a pair of teachers told me that =() But if I want to get a scholarship and study abroad, one have to do some sacrifices.

To all the good people that reads the blog, look abroad, not because life abroad is cool and stuff, do it because it can be a life changing experience, because one have to break the toxic circle of always doing the same everyday. Appreciate life for what it is, not because one have to survive it. ;)

Thanks again Danny-san

Hmm... it would be nice if I could go to Uni overseas in Japan.. :)

In my high school, there are pretty much two types of people: those who do nothing in school, and those who take a million AP courses and have another million extra-curricular activities. :)

Here was only one public university, its average and cheap. The other ones are private and some exoensive. Universitys in the countr's capital are the best, but are pretty expensive(privates).

uni wasn't that bad, easy to get to.. i guess.. just had to prove my drawing skills (which sucked at the time... but they still let me in!) great teachers,(mostly, some didn't give a damn.. but that was a minority.. 1-2 during the whole run) finshied a 4 year degree in 3 years.. not at a burn out pace.. but stressed my marrage a whole lot since i wasn't home most of the time.. leason to all.. if you have a loved one when you go to uni.. make sure you give them plenty of time.. or that they understand what your doing is for the benifit of you both..!
I started like 10 years latter than most,so while is was 28 just starting, everybody else was 18.. wasn't a problem.. very good students there that helped alot. just wish it was a bigger school, with some sports, like fencing or volleyball... dang it... :D

Uni is a great thing and if you have the inclination you should go!

The professor of my Japanese Lit. class confirmed the lax atmosphere at Japanese universities. As you say, unlike in America where most of one's work is done at the university or graduate level, in Japan it seems most universities are places to party.

I wish my campus had chain restaurants on campus. Those classrooms are nice, I wouldn't mind having a class in a room like that.

I can definitely say my fellow computer engineer classmates don't study until the night before an exam, but we do spend full days in lab.But it does seem like it i pretty relaxed there... I wish it was like that for us.

I noticed your wrist watch has to clock faces?

truthfully I don't study until right before a midterm or finals. Bad habit, yes but I find reading the textbook kinda useless when my professors lectures about the exact same things, only use the textbook as reference at home.

I've tried Computer Science at university at first, but the maths were giving me troubles, and actually I was a bit worn out cause of all the studying the years before, so after 1.5 year, took a half year break and went to Applied Computer Science in Graduate School (well, don't how you call them in english, but it's higher education outside university), which is only 3 years and is less theoretical, which was 80% a breeze for me (I had a very good programming background so all computer related courses were relatively easy). So I could concentrate more on other subjects that needed a little more attention.
Got through it in 3 years and graduated cum laude at age 23. I had already known from age 8 that I wanted to get this job ;p. But I must say, I was glad I was away from school. Don't get me wrong, I like school and learning new stuff, but after a while you've had enough of it for a while.
I'm trying to learn japanese on my own in my free time now (which got me to JLPT level 4), but it's slowed down the past few months because it's getting very busy at work and with starting a new company with some other people. But I hope to get to JLPT level 3 someday (and maybe level N3).
I do hope Tokyo gets the Olympics in 2016, as it could be interesting for that new company we've set up ^^

I want to go to the Nihon Daigaku mingle too! Don't know if I can afford it without that air ticket giveaway, but I am interested.

Universities here are really a mixed bag. You have some really great ones, but usually the price tag reflects the awesomeness. -_- Public universities are usually a mix within the school itself--usually each school has a few programs they're awesome at, a bunch they're mediocre at, and a few that they outright suck at. The school I've been at for the past three years is awesome for education (as in becoming a teacher), and music, but their commercial art program is limited to graphic design somehow shoehorned into the school of communication by way of a tangle of red tape. That's the program I was in, and now I'm definitely leaving it. I want to learn animation, and to do so it looks like I have to go to one of those expensive schools. ^^; Hopefully some of the classes I've already taken will transfer, like English. Don't want to take that over again!

I also did computer science in university but also changed to chemistry because of "the maths". However changing to something to avoid the maths was not a good decision.
I will certainly try it again, but in a university for applied science (Fachhochschule) where you get some guidance/help to understand in difficult subjects. Moving overseas to study wouldn't bother me, as for the advantages getting to know a different culture/people/language would outweigh the additional stuff to do (flight, visa, exchange uni etc.).

Nice post, Danny. The difficulty in entering and graduating from college varies from colleges, but for the most part getting into a college in the US is easier than East Asia. Schools are getting harder to get into to now due to the economy forcing schools to take less students.

It is MUCH more difficult to graduate from a 4-year university in the states than in East Asia though. I remember never really having to worry about homework except for my Japanese language class because most of the Japanese professors well... didn't seem to really care as did the students. One thing that struck me was the little interaction between the students and professors. I was used to discussing or debating with the professors or them calling on us to elicit a response, but that never happened at Aogaku unless my professor was a foreigner.

The Monbugakusho is different from normal scholarships (to my knowledge) because I believe you apply separate from your own university. I was looking into using that to apply, but got accepted to study abroad at Aoyama Gakuin University (Aogaku) early so decided not to apply for the Mobugakusho. Anyways, you have a wide range of colleges to choose from that offer different types of scholarships (from a full-ride to just a few hundred USD...) and you pretty much take the entrance exam all university-bound students in Japan take... so it's more difficult to get (and you have to receive your home university's permission to maintain status as a matriculated student during your study abroad), but it can also be very rewarding because some programs take care of all your costs and let you stay for 4 years. I think if you stay for 4 years though your home university will not let you maintain your enrollment status. A guy I knew did that and decided to transfer all his credits to Osaka University and graduate from there in order to get a job in Japan. Not sure how he's doing...

Anyways, sorry for the long post. I wrote more about my experience in my blog post if anyone's interested (so busy with grad school that haven't been able to write/work on it nor anything else for that matter recently...) How's Barry's Japanese? I remember a foreign professor I had that had lived in Japan for over 30 years married to a Japanese lady, yet still couldn't speak Japanese (at ALL).

Danny, what can I say. You are my hero! You are definitely the guy I look up to! I mean it.

first off - LOL caption XD you're really good at making parody captions. and you clearly love you some eyes XD

"While looking up details for this article, I came across info in English about the Monbukagakusho Scholarship which I don't know much about that gave me the idea of interviewing some of the students to find out more.
This then lead to another idea of maybe bringing a group of dannychoo.com readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students. Would you be interested in something like that?"

At my uni we wound up calling that scholarship by its nickname, Monbusho. Several of my science-inclined friends have taken it, and they reported good things as an outcome generally. I was in arts and letters so never got a chance. *envy*

And I would love to join tours with you and with comrades, but I don't live in Japan, so *weeps*

"Tis my first step into the academic field and looks like I will be giving more lectures at different institutes throughout Japan."

I am so happy for you. :)

"Unlike many other universities around the world, the different buildings of Nihon University are not all in one ground but dotted all over the place."

Same as mine! At the main campus of the University of the Philippines the buildings are scattered over several hectares of land. Lots of green and trees. Our main avenue is famous for the old trees arching over it. We have our own public-transport system because there are so many buildings over a large area.

"What are your courses like? Is it playtime or work your nuts or eyes off?"

Depends on the degree. Mine was Creative Writing and it was busy. Some friends took Molecular Biology and Biotechnology and report that it was VERY HARD WORK.

If you have any plan to give a lecture in Los Angeles or So Cal, please let me know!

Now that's a University I'd like to attend.

I agree with the coment about brit universities. Easy to get in, damn hard to finish. I remember having to study a lot to get by.

I would definitely be interested in going over and meeting some of the university students. Got a few things winding down over here so I might take the opportunity to talk with my old school to see if there is an opportunity to teach at the school in Osaka I went to for a school exchange.
Time is kinda running out for me to be able to do stuff like this so, maybe now...

That looks like a really nice Uni. Would be nice to go there. I really want to go to a uni somewhere overseas. The unis here in Cali. are actually very good, but I really would love to study somewhere else (preferably Japan :P).

As for going to mingle with the Japanese students there, that would be beyond awesome. ^_^

I love the idea about bringing a few dannychoo.com readers to Nihon University to meet with people there! I only ever did a college course and did quite well in that; I was considering University but the costs of it put me off that idea so I took a Foundation Degree at my college which turned out to be absolutely crap so I ended up leaving 10 weeks in. It was one of those courses that promise you the world in terms of what you'll be learning but when you actually start the course it is nothing like the promised and you'll be no better off than when you started.

I wish I could go to University, only if it wasn't so expensive!

Hey Danny, it's worth upgrading to Keynote '09. I see you're running '08 on the Macbook Pro, and for one, the presenter display UI is much nicer. Recommended!

Thought I saw the Led Zeppelin lead guitarist in the 3rd photo, more college is always a good idea I guess. The motorcycles are much much much easier to park when you are always in a hurry. I used to use one when I went to High School and got out early for work, was a dirt bike though I didn't have to stay on the streets :D.

So how about it Danny? You've given a lecture to a captive and intuitive University class, will you now be in line to get a degree in Otaku-isms or become a Professor for Anime things at a University? Sounds like a plan to me, Professor Danny Choo!

I went to graduate school overseas and I'm still here after 13 years! I have since graduated...

I recommend going overseas to anybody considering university. Don't just go to you local school. In my case, the universities in Canada had much better facilities and funding that those back home. It's a great way to see the world.

While looking up details for this article, I came across info in English about the Monbukagakusho Scholarship which I don't know much about that gave me the idea of interviewing some of the students to find out more.
This then lead to another idea of maybe bringing a group of dannychoo.com readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students. Would you be interested in something like that?

Would be awesome to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students at Nihon University. Would definitely be interested in something like that.

The "Canteen" looks far different than the Cafeteria here. Classrooms look different here too. Nihon University looks like it has far more comfortable rooms!

I wish teachers here cared about if students are learning or not. Most just toss out info and expect everyone to perfectly learn it in the same way. Most have office hours one day a week for 2-3 hours and if you have any questions then you can only see them then. Too bad that's hard when you have a 250 people class -_-;

Some classes are easy and some classes are just insane work. Also the library here is always packed and it's 4 floors of books, computers, study rooms, etc. I think it's bigger than most city libraries actually. When you have millions from a sponsor you tend to build big ^^; I should get some pictures of the inside of it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Library

No Ceremony here at all for people who enter. There was an orientation to show you the campus.

I decided not to go to uni, only as I wasn't sure what to study anyhow ^^;;

It looks so clean and well-lit~ I like. A clutter-free environment is the best for studying or being productive :3

And the food~ yum~! :q

What nationality is your wife, Danny? You said she moved to Japan to go to University - I assumed she was Japanese.

Congratulations. Another really cool article.
Since I'm still in college, it's always cool to see what other universities look like. I must say mine doesn't look anything like that. Although there's one thing that Nihon University has in common with my university (Porto University, by the way) that is the fact that all its faculties (and buildings, obviously) are scattered all over town. Since I'm in software engineering I go to Engineering Faculty,there's a Medical Faculty for medical students and so on...
And that idea of taking readers to visit is really nice!

One more thing: I see from your posts that you give presentations all the time. Have you ever thought about making some of those available on dannychoo.com? Or creating some specifically for the readers? I ask this because, like I said, I keep reading lots of posts about your presentations and I got kinda curious to see some of them. Going to Japan and attend one of your presentations personally is...well, a "little difficult". Maybe if I'm lucky enough to get accepted into the Vulcanus Program next year, who knows?

Nice article Danny! Really like this kind of post!

I really enjoy going to university, but never finished... Thinking of going back when I return back to my country...

Get me out of HERE! I swear this is the only university on the planet that has an asbestos room! Not to mention it my 100 year old building with cracking foundation ....GOD! Look at all the hot guys 0_0

I feel too old for uni life again....I wish time can roll back... =(
Those were the happiest points in my life

Danny, first of all allow me to say that this was one of your best posts. ^_^

Now, answering your question ("This then lead to another idea of maybe bringing a group of dannychoo.com readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students. Would you be interested in something like that?"): definitely!

I've got really interested in this post since one of my main goals now is to take a Doctoral course in Japan and then get a job there.

Talking about my university, I consider myself a very lucky person since I'm at the so called best university of my country. Even so cannot help noticing some considerable problems. I mean, I did have some great professors, but some awful as well (although I guess this happens all around the world and not only here). There's also the problem that most of the incentives go to students with projects concerning Latin America, which is clearly not my case. Not to mention the employees strikes. It's practically a tradition: there's at least one in every two years. They happen mainly because of the influence of some left wing political parties at the syndicate...

As a whole, I'd say my university is average in comparison to another countries' universities. If I consider the universities in Brazil, then I just say that I am indeed in the best of them.

Finally, there was something about being an interchange student in the post. I plan to study abroad for a semester in Korea, the United States or Canada. I guess I will be able to do so next year or, in a worst case scenario, in 2011. Wish me good luck.

Monbukagakusho and their various scholarships are only available for overseas students.... i thought

but yea if you manage to find people in that scholarship at your talk you must've been in great luck =)

i've managed to meet a few of them recipients both post and undergrad at the dorm i was staying in Mitaka, Tokyo University International Hall of Residence. in various sense, the undergraduate population is much higher for Nihon dai compared to Tokyo dai, and so it will show in the quality of rooms etc

I have a video taken myself of the Heisei 20th Tokyo university Entrance ceremony and the Ouendan was great :P

anyway hope to see you introduce your ideas to more universities

I might even be able to give you a few contacts at Tokyo to see their interests in a talk from Danny Choo

I really enjoy my university. But I think I get the kicks out of the school due to my current electronics professor, very inspirational and tries to motivate the students in every class session we have. Knew nothing I was supposed to know when I got into the class due to the very very nice but not helpful professor prior to the one I have now. Learned everything I needed to know along with the new stuff within the first 4 weeks, only another 4 weeks left before I finish the class. He also points out in which subject the whole class sucks at and who sucks at what and why are we paying thousands for the class in order to play video games instead of studying(those who didn't listen failed his classes), students could do the same things back at him too since he welcomes it though most doesn't(think because all of us students really respect him in a way, though most won't admit it).

Situation with getting in and out of university is the complete opposite here as well. As far as I know most students around here take their opportunity to go to university for granted. For the majority of my school year I hear nothing but whining from folks about pretty much everything, during exam times it's more of complaints about how courses are hard or blaming profs for them failing. Doing what you want is one thing, but for most it's not studying, which results in complaints about everyone except him/herself.

I do have to say though that the students there are lucky to have a prof hanging out with them. As far as I know here, it's hard to not be a number, especially in first year. I've done my best and around 3 profs know me by name, which isn't an easy thing to do seeing as some of them go through hundreds of students a day.

as for the rest...cafeterias vary throughout the schools. My cafe in my residence this year is decent, that's about it.

My parents and I considered sending me to Europe for university since I can do 6 years straight for a MD degree as opposed to here where we have to practically kill eachother for spots for limited seats in medical schools. I am thinking of doing exchange to Singapore during my third year, well, that all depends on how well my second year goes.

I'm happy with my current university. I ignore all the people calling me a nerd with no life and...well...at the end I'm the one laughing.

Well university for me was well...more like lots of luck to be able to get in and working til pale in the face to graduate...

University professor who rides Honda motorbike is BADASS.

Riding a bike (motorcycle) is a blast every time. You'll never get tired of it like you do with driving. It's cheap speed, and it's FUN!! Most people don't respect bikers here though. :(

Wow, nice Uni ^^
Since it's a poplar guy like u Danny, it would be easy to take a look around at a Uni.
Wonder if Nagoya Daigaku will let me enter their complex, really wanna see Japan's Uni with my own 2 eyes XD

>One of the reasons is that they have been studying hard all their life to make it into a good university and are drained after getting in - thus many of them take it easy.

All the high schools seniors do that over here. But I hear the first midterm of college really kicks you back into gear. :P

I'm going to University next year, and I'm planning to go to the library to study so I won't have a computer to distract me. I have to watch myself so I don't fall behind in classes. >.< On top of that I'm going into engineering and I hear the classes are really hard. The average GPA for engineering student over there is a 2 point something. D:

I'm really excited to get far away from my city and learn to take care of myself; parents have helicoptered over me my entire life and I'm getting pretty tired of it.

Name like Nihon University just sounds smart ^^; I really messed up my university life and if I can turn back time, I really like to fix it right, like by taking Japanese as my major. If I did that, I probably living in Japan right now T_T

Many danny.... impressive

Wow, thats a cool canteen! Got mos burger in canteen XD how i wish i had that in my uni's canteen too previously. The food looks delicious too, especially those donburi ~

Didnt expect to see Singapore's Hainan Chicken Lice restaurant in Japan ^^; when I was going around Tokyo, i didnt notice any... is it common or only very few of Singapore's Hainan Chicken Rice restaurant in Japan? o_o

I'm currently in university doing a degree in Genetics, and i have to say i'm definitely slacking on the studying part. Well, I'm hoping i'll be able to scrape through on raw intelligence alone :P My university is spread around the city centre, so we're never far from shops, banks, etc. Your pics of the cafe make me jealous, although I think we have at least one cafe in every department, and students tend not to visit the other sites (Engineering, Medicine, Biosciences, Arts, Human Studies, etc)

A lot of people do tend to either drop out or change courses midway, but I suppose thats common everywhere. Jealous of the Mos burger, altho our student union does contain 3 separate bars/club (no alcohol on sale during the day tho).

I started off pretty bad after I graduated from High School. I wanted so much to excel in art so I chose a University well known for it's program. The two academics subjects that I care the world for are Art and Japanese. When I attended this college I got to do neither. My motivation dropped, my roommate scarred me by doing the nasty on the bottom bunk while I was trying to sleep, and all this pushed my grades down. If I wasn't blinded by my art ambition I would have choosen an average school with both art and Japanese. Because of my previous semester I have to bring up my grades to apply for that other university.
I've had it kinda hard, but nothing to do than keeping pushing through. I know what I want to do and a fixed mindset really helps.

I keep the possibility of studying in Japan an option but I would need a lot of scholarship money. First things first I guess.

coool! I would love to study in japan! ^^

I have some friends who applied for the scolarship ^^, And i my try it too...

i wish you could take a video of your lecture danny...

i wanna see it too

Nice artical, love the photo danny. remind me back in my uni day~~~ well my uni wasnt quite near to the city, dont a GOOD FOOD, --' ~~ ~~~ man miss those day|~~~ ^^'

I'VE BEEN THERE!!!! iF YOUR GOING TO JAPAN, I RECOMEND THIS AREA TO STAY. THE YMCA IS CLOSE TO THIS AREA. YMCA IS CHEEP IN THE WEEKENDS AND EXPENSIVE IN WEEKDAYS. I WONDER WHY? YOU HAVE TO VISIT JAPAN BEFORE YOU DIE. IT'S A LOVELY COUNTRY. FORGET ABOUT "OH IT'S EXPENSIVE TO GO TO JAPAN." WRONG. CAUSE YOU HAVE TO THINK ITS DOLLAR VS. YEN. (digits) Y600.00 IS $6.00. COMPARE IT TO MCDONALS YOU'LL SEE. A Y600.00 COMBO THERE YOU'LL GET A BURGER, FRIES AND DRINKS. A $6.00 COMBO HERE YOU'LL GET THE SAME BURGER, FRIES AND DRINKS. BUT THERE ARE NO REFILL IN JAPAN. AND THEY DON'T TIP THE WAITER WHEN YOU EAT AT THE RESTAURANT. WONDER WHY AGAIN? THAKS TO FROI'S JAPANESE STUDENTS CHI-EH SAN (HOPE I SPELL IT RIGHT) NANA SAN, YOICHIROSAN AND REI-REI SAN WHO SHOWED US AROUND!!!

Ah University life. I seemed to remember bits and pieces of it. In our engineering class of +500 students, I think only a quarter of them graduated. Now that I think back to it, there were a lot of students who dropped out after the 1st or 2nd year. A lot of people who I thought were better students than me academically, turned out to not do so well and dropped out while I continued on to get my degree.

On a side note, that last picture with Professor Barry Natusch and some of his students, the one second from the right is super cute!

Indeed a great article about university here in Japan. Well as for me I love Japan so much that I ended up landed here to study Japanese language first before advancing to university studies in Tokyo. As for me I would love to find a university which has the courses that I always wanted to study for and I do agree the part that it's hard to enter a good university here but after entering it's easy to graduate from which is also quite different from back in my country too. Looks like Nihon University canteen have tons of awesome foods to get. ^^;;

I'm gonna graduate from my language school next year so will be write up article about it. :)

I hate the university near me. It's so corrupt. The president and the head of the police force got kicked out for being naughty. I went there for one year and it was horrible. I switched over to a community college and I'm working on getting my associates. (I still work at the university though.)
I want to go to university in Hawaii, but I have a feeling it won't work because I don't know how many of my credits will transfer there or if what I want to study is available there. If I just transfer to the local college, I get a "guaranteed transfer" and can just take 2 more years of school to get a bachelor's.
I'll have to look into a bunch of stuff before I decide. -_-;

I was wondering how you met your wife. I got the answer without even having to ask. Hahha..

The college I went to is a sad story TT. It's on the verge of closing (x.x), when this happens you'll basically understand what sort of tactics they'll use to keep existing students and 'bait' new students, the condition of its facilities and maintenance & the number of lecturer working there. They have to hire 'part-time lecturer' to fill the gap, there is also risk of not having one.

I never liked its marketing gimmicks.

The reasons students (like me >.<) stayed was because its cheaper than other institution who offer 'overseas degree' locally.

Well, I graduated and left the place some times ago. Yay! ^o^

Course work and difficulty depend on the class and teacher really. Engineering majors have a much harder time though. Someone I know went to an event with people with a 3.9 GPA or better. For the humanities majors, they divided it into freshmen and sophmore, junior, and seniors. But for the engineering college, it was one group for everybody. Not a good sign for me.

>Are you pleased with the university that you went to?
I'm currently studying in the Tartu University. And yes, it turned out to be a very good choice:) (http://www.ut.ee/)

Nihon university sure looks interesting!

I would love to meet up with Japanese students of Nihon!

In the Philippines, I would like to believe we have good universities. The problem with us is that our curriculum focuses more on the general subjects than the actual course you are taking.

So, even if I'm already in college taking Computer Science, I still have to put up with basic subjects like History, Chemisty, Biology, Philosophy and the like. It's really annoying because even though they are supposedly minor subjects, they put enough bulk to make it feel like a major subject. >_<

From what I know, 60% of our education is general subjects (which should have been taken in HS) while the rest is the actual course.

There may even be plans to have an additional year in college, so unlucky freshmen might need to spend 5 years in college JUST for general subjects. Seriously, if they wanted to add more education to our lives they should just put a middle school in our education IMO since after grade school it's straight to High School.

Nice canteens! Reminds me of one of the canteens in my university. The other ones are rather old though x_x

Dotted around the area? Sounds like one of the universities here; University of the Philippines. Instead of buildings however, it's surrounded by trees! XD

Their auditorium kinda looks like ours! O_o

Here in the Philippines, students have an easy time in high school and have hard time in college. Now that I think about it, I could have learned most of the lessons during that time in the Internet! O_o

My university holds welcoming ceremonies for freshmen but it isn't in a way that they hold it with all the new students. For example: they welcome the engineering freshmen on this day while they welcome the business freshmen on another.

That's a pretty slick ride for a professor! XD

The insides of the University looks like some random streets out in Japan. Also, it's huge !

>It is a common fact that many (not all) students in Japan have an easy time and don't do an >incredible amount of study when they get into university - was able to confirm this with many >students and professors too. One of the reasons is that they have been studying hard all >their life to make it into a good university and are drained after getting in - thus many of >them take it easy.

Exact same issue here. And the problem's not really that they've been studying all their lives. After all, if you enjoy studying, wouldn't you want to study some more? The problem is that they've pushed themselves waay too hard, against their better judgement, because loads of people around them (who thought they knew better) told them to, and ignored every aspect of their existence except their studies. So when they get in, and are released from the overburdening pressure that was their home/school/pre-entrance exam time, they're in turmoil. The colleges, of course, demand that you work even harder because you're so smart and got in, and thus shatter your dreams of working just for the entrance exams and then relaxing all your life. And then the journey of self-enquiry, of self-discovery begins. Grades drop, people understand the meaning of '42' and rediscover themselves.

Btw, when I say 'they', I include myself :D. My college is incredibly hard to get into and all these effects are very visible.

Kya. That's a lot of people in the budokan... And I thought MY graduation was boring

wait, so does Professor Barry Natusch teach in English or in Japanese?
(hmmmm. maybe i could get myself a teaching gig at Nihon U...)

i am so jealous that they've got their own Mos Burger.
i LOVE Mos Burger!
thats like having an In-n-Out on campus.
so unfair.

looks nice, wanna study there too :)

[A group of dannychoo.com readers going to Nihon University to mingle with Japanese and foreign students there?]
Sure do! Count me in!

haha... In America its easy to get into a Uni because they want to eat your monies. But a huge amount of people drop out the first year because they realize college isn't a cake walk and they don't have the money to be skrewing around. I think the number of freshman vs. Seniors (and 2nd year seniors) on my campus was more than double xD

The University I go to is only $5000 a year~ but Is a very good university I think (exluding food)... we've won awards for being one of the best priced Universities in the country... But because of the economic issues and since they're in the middle of a $20 million project they can't afford... tuition is going up to $6,500 next year. Kind of irritating since its a dorm project and I don't live in the dorms.

I am planning on attending a uni in Japan. I want to get my BSc first though. Because i don't want to start all over again for a new course or throw away what i have already accomplished so far.

As for my education. Highschool was a breeze. I did most tests without opening the books. The only thing i did was go to the classes and just ask questions if i didn't understand something. The only subject i had trouble with was math, in some cases physics.

However, now i study Aerospace Engineering. And i'm being clobbered to death with math and physics. I actually suck ass at math but i wanted to become good at it so that's why i went to do aerospace. I occasionally think things like "why oh why did i choose this?" especially during exams about math subjects, but i remind myself that i wanted to get good at practical math and that it's just really cool to be able to actually design anything you want.
So it's definitely become harder since highschool. I had rather it was the other way around though, because now i have not learned how to study properly.

As for my uni itself. I attend Delft University of Technology. It's a very nice uni with a campus like feel as the buildings are all in one sort of area of the city (the uni area takes up roughly half the total area of Delft, and Delft is actually a rather big city for Dutch standards). I have a bike there to go around town and uni so it's not too bad, travel time between buildings wise.
All the buildings have their own canteen and the campus is right up against the city centre so if you feel like hanging out between old buildings that's completely possible, or if you rather like the high-rise buildings of the uni you can just stay there as well. They're now redesigning the campus and there's going to be a park right down the middle of the campus so in probably a year's time it will be nice to just lie on the grass between the campus buildings.

When I entered uni we also had a ceremony in our auditorium. Apart from the beginning of the ceremony where all the faculties would compete for loudest volume by singing faculty yells and slogans and trying to diss other faculties with other slogans and yells the ceremony was rather dull, with the Rector-Magnificus saying something, the Mayor saying something, and a few famous people saying something and also some person from the government ( a state secretary if i remember correctly) saying something.

Anyway, would like to go to Japan to study. Am learning Japanese to do it right. Am even reading Japanese history and stuff.

Damn, what a lens on Barry's Canon EOS. D:

Woah... I felt very nostalgic remembering my days at my university, of course, it didn't look like this nihon uni but the spirit is the same.
Nice article.

After I gain the necessary qualifications this year, I hope to be attending SOAS too. If i'm successful I'll be sure to update you on the way things are done there these days :)

surprised you didn't set the browsers on the computers in the library to DC.com. ^^

cool , interesting article and nice photos

i wonder what uni looks like near hopefully not crap and lame.

For what I want to study (film) i'm going to have to move elsewhere. Not sure if you're familiar with it but i'm probably goint to Thames Valley university in Ealing, London on the Film Production & Studies course. I checked out the campus a few weeks back and it was fairly nice, although it wasn't like a "traditional" university not like a huge campus with everything included. It's in the city (obviously) and different buildings are down the road from the main campus.

I don't mind studying hard if I can enroll in Nihon University, or any other universities in Japan for that matter.
I mean, everything looks great based on the pictures here alone.
The facilities, the food, the people, and of course, the stuff they study.
Not to mention, there are cute girls everywhere >_<

Nihon University >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> my local ones
That's all I can say ^_^

Wow, cool article. Im going to university next year, wonder if I should even try to get into a Japanese one. There are scholarships for foreign students, for both government and private universities, I will have to check what the conditions are. I know one of them you have to be younger than a certain age, stuff like that.

People in Japan generally dress well! And wow, the guy uses a bike to uni!

Is that a CBD based university? Meaning a uni which is located in the middle of the city?
Getting popular these days, these centrally situated unis compared to the earlier unis that tend to be located outside the CBD.
I too haven't heard of this uni, but I'm sure there are many other Japanese unis which I've not heard of. Actually I only heard of Tokyo and Osaka uni lol.
Very interesting tour of the Uni Danny, thanks for that.

Congratz on becoming more popular Danny, wish you can come speak at my school someday

Only thing good about going to a hard university is getting out.

University here is far more intensive than highschool. I'm going to be at Emily Carr Art and Design University here for animation and there is a lot of intensive project work. Also university populations here are much much smaller. Largest university here is like 10,000 ish people at UBC.

Danny if you come to Vancouver you should give a talk at UBC or maybe even ECUAD *hint hint*. It would be inspiring to see one of your talks in person.

Quite right about being drained after getting into Uni lol. Exams take it out of ya.

Such happy students. Then again... student photos in the university brochures are always made to look happy, even if they're not lol.

And why...oh why do they call american universities colleges? Is it cos they've forced into school untill 18? Unlike the UK(before, now all kiddies are stuck untill year 13 lol), who go to high school, the college, then uni.

Raaah sometime I feel like I would like to come back to this student's life
Even more when I see Japanese university
(did I mention girls?)

Ahh! I wish Universities were that here in the philippines...

barry's 70-200mm yummm

Great pictures as usual. Do you get nervous much with the talks especially in front of so many people?

"Regarding monetization from my online activities - I get bashed for making money but at the same time also get bashed by people who don't beleive that blogging makes money - do I care what these people think? I don't give a flying foobar."
Good on you, there's nothing wrong with making money out of blogging at all.

University of Waterloo would be one of the best if they did not have the professional development program course. This course is an English course while students attend co-op. As well, the recession has caused a number of students without jobs. T_T

This reminds me of the time I wanted to lecture in front of people for no specific reason at all.

OH! Great place to study ^_^ I would like to attend their University instead the one in my town XD

Gotta love the caption of the first photo. Appropriate hand gesture for discussing eyes. I like how the library looks very similar to libraries state-side.

Oh, and class grade printing machines/proof of attendance machines are totally why Japan is awesome!

To attend university in Japan is my current goal. Some people tell me "Japan is not as good as you think, go to America instead." That won't change my goal anyway.

I just got an M.A. in music/piano performance here...

The graduation ceremony was very large and was held in the stadium...

Of course, our department had its own little ceremony that had all of the graduates on stage while the relatives were in the audience (it was in the concert hall).

I went to four institutions of higher education here in the US...

One was a community college, it was excellent, but easy and some of the professors weren't impressive; the music department was awesome across the board.

The second was a private university. The GE professors were high quality, but the music professors ranged from very good to quite bad (most of them in the "fair" category).

The third was a conservatory. The class professors were between pretty good and excellent. The piano department sucked royally and I dumped my piano teacher because of her incompetence. Obviously, they immediately threw me out of the school (because an unwillingness to study with your teacher is bad enough to get your thrown out of school, unless you switch at the right time with the right approvals with the right following of protocol). Of course, that school put lessons above the other classes....

The fourth was a public university. The teachers ranged from fair to awesome. The piano department here and at the community college were the best of the four. The workload was heavier here than at the conservatory, but I learned alot.

Overall, I thought that the public, cheaper unis were alot better than the private, more expensive ones...

I hate the cost of going to the private ones here. I'm still like $30,000 in debt, just from the conservatory.

Danny, any inclination to write about the girls who are dressed just to give away tissue papers in Tokyo? You'd never see them exist in Singapore! ;-)

The layout of University of Auckland is kidn of like Nihon uni. Auck uni is right in the middle of the city so it`s very convinient. University is very much like the UK system (we even graduate in May because ages ago they used to ship papers off to England to get marked - why they havn`t changed that in the 21st century...). Easy to get in, hard to get out (kinda like jail actually lol)

I went to a private technical college with a small population. Unfortunately there wasn't any graduation ceremony during my years at college. I can't even remember how I got my diploma/certification papers. I think I picked them up from the office. The only actual ceremony I've experienced was from high school. I would have loved to experience a post secondary graduation.

I went to university in Cardiff, (part of the University of Wales), studying Astrophysics and like the one pictured it was a city university instead of a campus university with buildings scattered around ... which was ok until exam time when you could have an exam in a building you've never been to and don't know where it even is!

I'd have loved to have the chance to study in Japan but it's far to late for that now.

Universities here vary in admittance difficulty, but just getting into a university is ridiculously easy. It's also half-subsidized by the government, so it's relatively inexpensive when compared to, say, the U.S.

As for staying in a program - also varies, of course, but generally it's very hard to flunk out. To excel, though - that takes effort. So it's either do nothing and pass, or work like heck to do really well.

And man, Danny - if you asked me before where I think you'd be *least* likely to give a talk, I might've guessed academia. In retrospect it's not farfetched at all, but, well - making inroads everywhere, huh?

Finally: we actually get some details about your wife! XD So far all we've known is that she manages account or Mirai, Inc., that she supports/tolerates your hobbies, and that she's Chinese IIRC.

I'm at the University of California San Diego - having no problem with my classes.

But then again, I'm a double major in two useless areas: psychology and philosophy. Being an engineer here is HELL.

Looks like a great environment to study in! I have no idea what the facilities are like at the college I plan to attend.

It's actually pretty hard to get into the University of Zurich (ETH, but don't ask me where that comes from...) but I would never study here. I don't know why but I just don't like it. Only one more year for me! Go USA!

getting to college was easy (outside of financial aid) but once I got there, that's when the real work began. Some classes were easy but, I had a few that just flat out kick my behind. When it's all said and done, I got my degree and outside of my first semester I wouldn't change much about my experience.

Hmmmm, brings back memories of my days in college....both good and bad. It was preety much a life turning situation after i completed my diploma.Yet another part of the complicated crossroads of life itself..>.<..

My University is not nearly as good looking as Nihon University. I wanted to get away from home so I chose to go to a Uni outside of my hometown. I wish I'd gone further out now just so that I had even more independence but it can't be changed now.
I was surprised when you said University students tone down and study less. I always thought that through University they studied just as hard as before getting there.

The Singapore resturant is next to a Seven Eleven! Yay! There are times I really miss franchise convienence stores. All we have here is the local mom-n-pop variety, with a small town "general store" feel. Yeah, I'm strange. LOL

I once had the desire to attend either Oxford, or Cambridge, in the UK. No particular corse of study. I just wanted to go because it was cool, and I was into J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis then. I never went. I attended make-up high school classes at local community colleges back in the late '70s. The closest I ever got to a college education was through a correspondence school for television repair. About that time WalMart was pushing new televisions for the price of repairing the old one. There went THAT career!

I find many students at my university slacking off in college while I myself find it hard not to study. My experience is that people in the states tend to take junior high and high school pretty laid back and either it works the same in college or they actually get serious once in higher education.
Sometimes its pretty annoying to get only two points higher on a test than the guy you saw last night running naked through the quad holding a half full bottle of gin.

LOL IE6. Man they need change...

Hey Danny, I'm also applying to SOAS! I've applied for Korean and Management, received my offer and hopefully I'll get the grades to get in >< From what I've seen and heard, SOAS is quite a... diverse place? lol... heard there are a lot of left wing people and a lot of hippies. I haven't seen any of the main building since I didn't have time, but I did manage to see the new building and lecture halls which were quite nice. Dunno if the teaching is still the same as it was when you were there, but I hope it'll be great still.

It's been 1 year since I left university. Really enjoy the university life. How I wish I can get back those times... >.<"

Very nice and interesting post! I found the colleges I attended to be certainly more challenging than HS here. No entrance exams or whatnot to speak of, and I can't remember stressing out overly much in HS, although there were certain times of course. College much more so. I have two degrees from two different colleges, both of which were quite selective in their admissions. The only regret I really have is that while my first college was a good one and had quality professors and classes, in retrospect it was too small and did not offer enough variety in course selection. Otherwise it was a good experience. I remember having a lot more free time than I thought I'd have in my first college, though. Used to class every day and a bit of work every night from HS, as opposed to free time interspersed with times filled with due dates to huge assignments and tests.

The university buildings in japan compared here are huge, the surroundings are clean and the canteen foods really really looks delicious, Other than that I noticed that there are less students in the university, but in our place you'll be having a difficult time looking a place to sit in the auditorium. Universities in japan are known for it's quality education they teach, I hope I can visit in japan someday and have a round trips in different universities, eat foods and stroll in the long hallway...^^

The scholar system here sucks ass, already that I'm not that good at academics they add another step after high school just to stop me from getting to a freaking university! Thanks to this I got nothing done! I hate where I am.

Is Nihon University a private university??
I only have heard of Tokyo U, but from Chobits.. ^^
Nice University and cool students..

I would definitely be interested in mingling with the Nihon University students! ^^

Hm...my University programs are really tough that it gives students much time for leisure activities. >< I would love to give the Japanese Universities a try. =)

Those libraries are virtually empty! Even with internet our libraries are always packed (University of Nottingham). PC terminals are well equipped (depending on your view of Microsoft products) with both XP and Vista. None using IE6 (IE7 I think) and firefox is available. Personally I prefer Chrome and Opera.

I had no entrance ceremony... don't know if there are unis that do that in the UK?

Exam period right now.. have to leave the house at 7am tomorrow for a 9am exam T_T
I drive a car (no motorbikes, do have a BMX though) and it takes half an hour to get to university - or upto an hour if I leave at rush hour.

Wow thanks Danny. This sentence "Pondering about what others think will start to build walls around oneself - walls that will prevent one from fulfilling ones true dreams and passion. Live your life - not the life of others who dislike you." really inspires me a lot in my life. I now look things from another perspective.

Well, for my university, latest computers and stuffs are available abundantly. The only thing is..the i-connection get very slow when more and more people use it. Education system and management are mediocre. Squeezing 58 students into a calss with only 54 chairs @@

that university looks so awesome!

wow, i would loved to visit that University, i wonder how much different theirs are compared to the US.

My parents live in Michigan so I moved almost the entire length of the US to attend DigiPen in Seattle. It is supposed to be the best school for learning to make games and it is in a nice area so I am happy to be starting my senior year in the fall. It was pretty easy to get in but the course load is really brutal. Most semesters, we are forced to take 22 credits in order to graduate in 4 years.

my school wasnt quite as "cool". i went to the arts institute international-colroado chapter. we had our dorks and geeks and dweebo's alike but i dont remember anything quite to scale as this Nihon Univ. but we did have a pudge bros pizza inside. and its also where i discovered the band Gorrilaz who i luv to this day.

now that's what i call a UNIVERSITY!
and their own Mos Burger??? Awesome!

Congrats on a speech well done. Its truly awesome that you are spreading such inspiration to everyone

I´m planning to study japanese language and culture in Vienna, Austria from september at the Universität Wien.
I hope it will not be too hard, and that I will get a scholarship for one year in Japan.

need more cash into nihon university!dannychoo to teach students about otaku?

Never actually been to a university myself. I went to a vocational school in a different state. I would love to go to university in Japan for their architecture.

Ohh wow Nihon Uni looks like a really nice school! Seems really big too. x3

Universities here are like hell in that there is almost no diversity and you'll never see the world if you go to any of them here. Thank goodness I'll be in Cambridge soon! ^^

Love posts like this! Since i live in a town if you are going to a good college you would have to move to another town. Still there is a Community College, which is cheaper and owned by the gov, and a few Technical Institutes (places that prepare you to work in a specific field like say been a car mechanic). Still haven't attend college, even though is going to be about a year since i graduated, but have taken some drawing courses in the mean time. The college expenses are quite expensive for my situation thus still looking for a way to go in, though i do use the internet all the time to study by myself. Have been studying about two years Japanese all by myself and have improved greatly, ^_^.
I would really like going to a university in Japan even though i do manage to get into one here in the US. I believe there is no limit for what people can learn thus i try to study all i can and interests me. Hope i can go to japan to mingle with students in Nihon university if possible someday ^^.

The university in Malaysia is kinda strict if it's public university, less for private. The college I attend now is quite relaxing actually. XP

Just a coicidence but I notice in the picture of the diligent Taiwanese student who attended your lecture: "A dull lecture" was on the handbook/reference book. lol

D: Posts like this makes me want to go to University even moreee T^T;;
sigh~ one more year to go till I graduate~
I hope I get in Waterloo ><!;

i'm so jealous about the UNI there, T_T i still studying in INDIA, kinda sucks here...

That Barry guy sure knows how to ride with style, huh? :P

I never heard of Nihon University but it looks great!

Hello Danny. I am actually studying at SOAS now. I just finished my first year and got my results just recently, I did quite well in Japanese but I am worried about next year because as you've mentioned, I've heard it gets pretty intense. Anyway, I've made it this far and I just won't give up, your own personal story has been really inspirational and I want more than anything in the world to be able to live and work in Japan after I graduate. I'll do my best, I might update you on how it goes!!

yea i agree when i got into my specialization in uni my study become less.
i would love to get a scholarship to nihon uni ^^
i really really wanna go to japan and learn how to speak Japanese.
I also love web development, and i am doing software engineering at the moment^^

Colleges scare me.
Funny how i'm posting this in one. xDD

*sneaks in* *whispers* Looking into Devry "Electronics Engineering". Want to go all the way for masters. And it is expensive ToT. Waiting on paperwork to arrive before I go there to discuss enrollment and tuition further.
Was in Lockyear Business college and held a solid 3.8 and top 5%, and it was really BORING because I was thinking $ and not <3 .
I'm trying to learn Japanese through anime, yes I know, and other places trying to keep the cost free but ultimately I know going to classes will be far faster and more productive... *tip toe out*

I know a lot of people who rarely use the library as a place to study and research now a days. Most of the time when I go there it's because it's so quite, just atmosphere to work, away from all the distractions, and more. However, at our school the library is usually always packed, most students don't have the financial status to pay for internet costs so school is the only place to do work, check e-mails, etc.

Studying abroad is something that I am looking forward to but in these economic times I believe that might be hard. Though I look forward to being able to study the fields of Animation and linguistics in japan.

Great article. I've finished school, and instead of going to uni, i'm just going out into "the real world" trying to find a job. Most of us spend most of our youth in schools, and while that helps you out both socially and academically, i think it's better to go out and enjoy the last of your youth. As for my high school tutor, he was a professional animator (worked on the Hercules film by Disney), and he would always help you even if you don't ask.

"This then lead to another idea of maybe bringing a group of dannychoo.com readers to Nihon University to mingle with the Japanese and foreign students. Would you be interested in something like that?"

Yes, very much so =]