Since I started learning Japanese, I have become greatly interested in Japanese language and Japanese culture. After studying Japanese for 2 years, I realized I had been attracted by traditional Japanese culture with its long history. Things like bushido, sado, kabuki and others appealed to me.
Because of that, I decided to learn more about Japan. Moreover, I also made up my mind to study Japanese further and try hard to improve my Japanese skills. Therefore, I determined to go to Japan to learn Japanese and experience local life. As far as I am concerned, studying in Japan is a great opportunity that will help me acquire Japanese well. Learning a foreign language doesn’t mean that one just needs to learn some words or grammar. It is more significant that foreign language learners should make good use of the language they have mastered in real life. For instance, foreign language learners should fully understand the habits and customs of the object country. Thus, people can improve their language levels by experiencing local life and local culture on their own, which enables them to practice a lot in order to have a good command of the foreign language. This is the reason why I chose to go to Japan to study Japanese.
My main purpose for studying in Japan is to try my best to improve my Japanese language level. Also, I want to make lots of Japanese friends so that I can practice Japanese in a multitude of situations and develop my language skills by communicating with them.
Besides, I want to experience life in Japan and visit some places of interest so that I can broaden my horizons and deepen my understanding of Japanese culture.
Moreover, I would like to take lessons at college which will help me gain knowledge to enrich myself and lay the groundwork for my future study. I think experiencing different lessons in different countries will offer a variety of challenges and opportunities and contribute to improving myself.
Finally, I will try hard to devote myself to friendship between China and Japan. I want to communicate with young people and listen to them to learn what they think and what they want to talk about, and exchange views with them to convey messages of goodwill and build up mutual understanding and friendship.
I am looking forward to my study in Japan and I hope that I can achieve my goals.

It has already been five months since I came to Japan to study. Looking back over the last 5 months in Japan, I enjoyed my daily life a lot and have learned many things about Japan.
I took a lot of lessons on Japanese culture and history in the last semester, such as the culture of kado, etc. On this course, I experienced Japanese flower arrangement three times and learned a lot about the culture of kado. I find flower arrangement very interesting and got attracted by it. Also, the teachers and classmates in the college were all kind to me. These lessons provided me with the chance to practice my Japanese and improve my Japanese skills. Besides, I gained much knowledge which I had not studied before in domestic classes, like the culture of flower arrangement and the dynasty culture of Japan, and I was enabled to experience wonderful Japanese culture on my own, deepening my understanding by actually visiting Japanese temples and shrines.
In terms of daily life, I experienced various things about life in Japan like taking a train by myself, experiencing hot springs, and experiencing interesting traditional festivals in Japan. By experiencing life in Japan, I broadened my horizons and knew more about the habits and customs of Japan. I always pay attention to the differences between Japanese culture and Chinese culture and try to understand those differences. By reading books and articles about this, I managed to understand the reason why the differences arose, which is very helpful for me to avoid some trouble in cross-cultural communications.
I also made friends with many Japanese people and chatted a lot with them. Through chatting with them, I heard many opinions about Chinese people and their thoughts about Chinese culture. Having conversations with Japanese people did not only improve my Japanese skills, but also helped me learn more about Japanese culture. I always find Japanese people very kind and friendly to foreigners. I would like to actively interact with Japanese people more and experience more things about Japanese culture in the future.

My life studying abroad is coming to an end. I will always remember this wonderful experience in Japan for one year. In the past year, I have experienced a lot in Japan. I have had a great time everyday and I have made many friends from different countries. I have also expanded my horizons by traveling around Japan and communicating with many local people. There are seasonal views in Japan, and you can enjoy beautiful scenery in different seasons. The autumn leaves of Kyoto, the snow in Hokkaido in winter, the cherry blossoms in the spring and the summer fireworks displays are wonderful and impressive. I can’t forget these beautiful views in my whole life.
I took many courses at the university related to Japanese and Japanese culture. I gained a much deeper understanding of Japan through those lessons. In the second semester, I studied the history of classical literature, the spirituality and aesthetics nurtured in the tea ceremony, and how to write reports and so on. The knowledge I have gained at the university is useful for my Japanese. I managed to expand my knowledge.
I have learned that much of Japanese culture was originally transmitted from China. But in Japan, I found that foreign cultures were arranged and re-developed in a Japanese style, and the new culture-Japanese culture- was formed. It’s very interesting that Japan has the unique way of accepting foreign cultures. I want to make the characteristics of accepting different cultures in Japan a topic for my future research.
What I have clarified through studying abroad for a year is my career. After graduating, I will try hard to go on to graduate school and continue to study attractive Japanese culture. In my opinion, to study a foreign language, you need to understand the culture of that country. It’s very important for foreign language students to understand their country’s culture and the target country’s culture.
I would like to study Japanese culture at the graduate school and try my best to contribute to Japanese culture research. From now on, I will make use of the knowledge I have learned in Japan so that I can go on to graduate school.