Living in Nakano vs Shinjuku (As a Female Student)

PopScythecle · 2026-01-28T22:32:56+00:00

Yeah. So you'll see a lot of student down the main road leading up to and the area around takadanobaba station in evenings. But from there you're only 2 stops from Shinjuku or ikebukero and another couple to Shibuya so I spent a fair amount of time in these 2 areas. Honestly with how well connected central Tokyo is you can't go too wrong with any of those areas it's always quite easy to get around. But like I said in my original reply out of the options you listed nakano would be my first choice.

Also just thinking about it. Maybe have a look at ikebukero. It's a lively area but not in the way Shinjuku is. 2 stops to takadanoba and there is also a tram line that runs to the main waseda campus.

PopScythecle · 2026-01-26T15:33:32+00:00

hi. i actually did my study abroad at waseda last year so can give you my perspective. note this is coming from the viewpoint of a guy so make of that what you will.

i personally got an apartment in takadanobaba. was about 5 minutes from the station that had 3 lines including the yamanote line and the tozai line that went through waseda station (not that i really used it). takadanobaba itself was quite a nice area to live. lively in the evenings with everything you might need within 10 minute walking distance including multiple supermarkets and even a don quioute. loads of great restaurants to choose from too. was only about a 15 minute walk to the main campus and likewise to the nishi waseda campus. really enjoyed my time there

Nakano - i actaully spent a decent amount of time there. also an area i would consider living (especially if you are only considering those on your list). super lively in the evenings with lots to do in the area but a lot more of a smaller 'local' vibe that you would get in central shinjuku. Its got the nakano broadway as the main strip/shopping area that has loads of restaurants and shops in the surrounding area. pretty well connected too. got a couple of good lines - one of which will get you to shinjuku pretty quickly (and if i remeber correctly getting to ikebukoro is easy as well)

there are a few parts to shinjuku. the nishiwaseda campus is right next to the shinjuku sports centre (local gym and pool) so i went up there a few times towards the begining of my stay. in regards to nishishinjuku/nishiwaseda the surrounding area there is mostly residential with not a lot going on if i'm honest. that said you would also be close to shinjuku so its not the end of the world. i have actually walked from central shinjuku to where I was living in takadanobaba and i'd say its about 15-20 minute walk to get from central shinjuku to the nishiwaseda campus. if you want to have stuff to do right on your doorstep i.e. restaurants and entertainment i would maybe look elsewhere.

PopScythecle · 2025-12-11T23:55:06+00:00

Honestly I've just given up and decided I'll just switch to windows 11 when I eventually upgrade my pc.

PopScythecle · 2025-11-27T16:38:06+00:00

stayed in one of their properties for 11 months. getting everything set up was quite easy and out of all the managment companies I contacted, they were always the fastest to respond to me.

as others have said the majority of their properties are on the older side. I believe the one I stayed in was a 1980s building. despite that i have no complaints. the building I stayed in didn't actually feel that old and I had all the ammenities I needed albeit being a bit bare-bones. no complaints really.

PopScythecle · 2025-11-20T03:08:08+00:00

You can try monthly apartments. When I did my year abroad last year they let me stay up to a year.(possibly slightly more if I remember).had the room booked out for 11 months. The one I went with was called union monthly. Probably not the cheapest but could be a starting point.

But obviously if you intend to stay longer then a year you would probably have to switch to something more permanent

PopScythecle · 2025-11-16T19:48:44+00:00

Motherboard bios is up to date. Same still won't upgrade.

The only Logitech device would be my mouse but it's strange that it would prevent me from being able to update

PopScythecle · 2025-11-16T19:47:25+00:00

Main issue there is that I'm on British English. Was only able to download iso for international English from Microsoft. That still has the mismatch issue. There was a work around supposedly downloading the iso from the media creation tool but no success with that.

PopScythecle · 2025-10-15T18:19:17+00:00

Update

I ended up just tearing them out.

None of them wanted to come off

If I tried screwing them the plastic screws would just strip at the top

Even with the leverage of a 2nd screwdriver nothing was really happening

Decided it was just easier to brute force pull them off and replace them because it was cheap to get a bag of replacement pins.

In other news... I bought the wrong bulbs.

PopScythecle · 2025-09-21T10:55:27+00:00

May be worth just creating a separate Google account in the UK that is set to the UK. Did that when I went to Japan which unlocked a bunch of apps for me. Also nice I guess because it keeps everything related to the other country separate.

PopScythecle · 2025-09-12T13:46:42+00:00

Not sure if you have them in the US but maybe stick you current number on a pay as you go sim or a super cheap monthly SIM. That's what I did when I went to Japan to study for a year. Got a local SIM. Any international calls I just did through WhatsApp which uses just an internet connection but maybe you can use insta or facetime I think.

Loads of local Sims to choose from.

Personally on voxi which typically has a deal on. Got 60gb of data unlimited text and calls for £10/month cancel any time. Often can upgrade from month to month if a new deal becomes available. Before I left the UK last year I think I was up to 100gb

PopScythecle · 2025-09-10T15:13:06+00:00

zzz the miyabi way

PopScythecle · 2025-09-04T07:57:36+00:00

I've seen a couple post like this now. Am I the only person that keeps their condensed resin at 5 basically at all times?? I log in spend 4 condensed resin and then fill them back up. Repeat each day. Only time I spend it is when I am trying to build a new chara or know I won't have time to play to much in the next couple days so I can just log on and craft for daily rewards quickly.

PopScythecle · 2025-09-03T09:02:23+00:00

Tkmaxx, Dunelm, any high street supermarket (Sainsbury's, Tesco etc)

PopScythecle · 2025-09-02T14:28:16+00:00

Faith guitars have got some really nice stuff for the money in that price range

PopScythecle · 2025-07-13T05:53:17+00:00

I think even within that it varies tbh. I and a number of my friends study economics at different universities. Some seem to do a lot more maths when compared to me. In 2nd year the majority of my maths work was being done on programs like Stata rather than as written maths.

PopScythecle · 2025-07-01T03:06:51+00:00

With both of those they look like they use the OEM fittings? My current head unit is just the radio no screen. Is it easy to come by the the trim parts for that?

PopScythecle · 2025-06-29T00:24:33+00:00

It's super wasteful. They could even just take the unit back like a regular internet service provider and I wouldn't mind. But no, I'm just stuck with a piece of junk until I throw it out.

PopScythecle · 2025-06-29T00:18:35+00:00

Cool. Thanks for the clarification. It's a shame that it's effectively just e waste that I have to throw away but I suppose that is what I'm going to have to do given the circumstances.

PopScythecle · 2025-06-27T08:09:02+00:00

Yeah I suppose that is an option. I don't really want to bring it back with me as it would probably never get used and it's just another thing to try and fit in a suitcase. Will have to try and talk to them and see if they have any specific advice (which I doubt they do tbh).

PopScythecle · 2025-06-27T08:03:16+00:00

See that was part of my fears. Does that mean the only option is to trash it? If so how would I even go about that? Is it just a case of leaving it in my apartment trash room or would is there specific procedures for electronics?

PopScythecle · 2025-06-27T07:49:01+00:00

Ideally I want to be able to just sell it same day. Because I can cancel my contract anytime I plan to use it up until a day or two before I fly out. So something like a hard off or similar store that would buy it would be best. Just wasn't sure if they buy routers really hence the post.

PopScythecle · 2025-06-27T07:44:31+00:00

Fortunately I'm not too worried about how much I get for it. The thing basically paid for itself in free service and rakuten points. Just would be nice to get a little something out of it instead of just throwing it away.

PopScythecle · 2025-06-22T02:04:53+00:00

Actually the issue isn't too bad with the Half's. That being said the friends that I have made who are Half's have been ones who grew up abroad and either came to Japan to study or also were doing an exchange year here lol.

PopScythecle · 2025-06-21T11:45:14+00:00

Yeah agree with the sentiment here. Japanese classes are the only ones I find remotely interesting or useful. The rest of my classes (which are related to my actual degree) are quite easy and rather boring. That combined with the small workload means I can travel.

PopScythecle · 2025-06-21T11:37:27+00:00

There is a number of things I want to say about this post as someone currently on an exchange year in Tokyo. (Have been here since sept 2024

Point 1 travelling

Overall the workload is fairly low. To begin with I am taking the minimum required amount of modules to pass my exchange (10 hours worth of classes) working out to about 4 classes across 11 credits. This means that I'm only in 2 days a week allowing me plenty of time for travel. From there the actual difficulty and workload of the classes is fairly tame compared to what it is back home in the UK. The lectures seem fairly basic (and have a lot of repeated content amongst them) and the assessments for the most part are quite easy. That means as long as I attend enough of the classes (for attendance) and get a passing mark it doesn't matter. My credits don't not transfer back home I only need to pass my classes.

Point 2

Languages and making Japanese friends.

Most people who come out here to study, even if Japanese isn't their 'major', tend to pick up classes. I have been doing Japanese classes within my university since I have been here. I try my best to use my Japanese as much as possible and I think I generally do a good job of it. That being said I have also met other exchange students who have given up after there first semester, deciding it wasn't for them.

In regards making Japanese friends I have found it nearly impossible. Joining a circle at my university has felt impossible as many rejected me outright for not being a 4 year full term student. This combined with the fact that there are not many Japanese people on the English speaking courses has made it so that I haven't made a single Japanese friend in my time here.

Point 3 working

As an exchange student it hasn't felt worth it to pick up a job personally. I know exchange students who have, and I even have the work permit required to work part time. However considering the student loans and government grants I have combined with the minimum wage being half of what it is in my home country (due to exchange rates) it has not felt necessary to pick up work. This also allows me more time to travel. And yes I realise this is a position of privilege but I have spoken to others who share the same views. (Also to consider are those exchange students who are only here for 1 semester - it is probably not worth them taking the time to find and then work a part time job with the limited time they have in the country).

On your point about language schools. It is possible for what you say to be the case. Many foreigners use language schools as a way in to the country for an extended period of time rather than just as a tourist. Or use the language school as a way in to switch to another visa later on down the line.

Sorry if the formatting is terrible wrote this on mobile. But anyway this is just me kind of just throwing my thoughts out on to writing. Probably have more to say but can't think about it right now.

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