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Foreign exchange to Japan.

Foreign Exchange Japan.. and as a vegetarian?

  • I'm a freshman in high school and for years I've been dreaming to go to Japan for my junior year for a full year through a foreign exchange program! There are quite a few programs out there and I'm trying to look for the cheapest one. I don't have much money, but this trip is very important to me. I also am a vegetarian. I heard that being a vegetarian is REALLY hard in Japan because even though they have rice and tofu they put fish products in everything. I don't even eat fish, or gelatin or anything that would come from a dead animal. I've seen on some foreign exchange sites where they won't even accept vegetarians that want to travel to Japan, but I've also heard that it is definitely possible to function as a vegetarian, so I haven't lost hope. So I have a few questions. How early should I apply for a foreign exchange program if I want to go my junior year? Can you really function as a vegetarian in Japan? And what are some good (and cheap) programs out there? I've heard of Rotary, but I don't like the fact that you switch host families up to 3 times and also, I kind of gather that it's just for going and volunteering to help a lot of causes? Which is totally fine with me, but I also want to get a taste of the typical Japanese lifestyle. Any information would be fabulous! Thanks!

  • Answer:

    I'm sure vegetarians would have very hard days in Japan. I'm a Japanese living in Japan, and I've never seen, in my life, any Japanese family who are vegetarian, to tell you the truth. Some Japanese hate meat and/or fish, but they usually don't care tiny pieces, soup stock, non-bulky ingredients. All "real" vegetarians I've ever met, in my life, are foreign people, and they also had hard days in Japan.. I guess it's very hard to find a host family who would welcome vegetarian staying for a full year.. There are some restaurants and hotels in big cities which provide meal for vegetarians, but these are rather posh and expensive. Only few restaurants in local area provide vegetarian meal. There might be many Japanese meals which are OK for vegetarians, like tofu, natto, noodle, vegitable templa. however, it usually served with fish/meat dishes, or cooked in fish/meat soup stock. You cannot keep on eating only plain tofu and rice for every days. Additionally, it must be hard for you to even know the ingredient of each meals. I guess it'll be extreamly painfull for a non-vegitarian family to accept a vegitalian student for a full year. One thing I could think of right now is...... Buddhist temple. In Strict Buddhist temples, monk and dicsiplinant eat no meat. I've heard some temple accept travelers to stay for several days. I'm nor sure if there were any temples to accept foreign students for a full year. It's unlikely. Most likely, you'll need to cook yourself. But I don't know how the host family take it. I wanted to say something good for you. It's chilly reality, however; for vegetarians in Japan. Just FYI., following web site told situations are getting better., and people became to understand "Vegitarian", and some restaurants in big cities start vegitarian menu. However, a host family to accept a vegitarian is still very hard to seek, I guess. http://www.jpvs.org/Eng/ep1/index-eng.html http://www.chandraclan.com/living-in-japan/food/vegetables-and-being-a-vegetarian-in-japan/

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As a vegetarian you will need to become comfortable with cooking your own meals according to your chosen diet. This becomes more important if you decide to live away from home. This is true in nearly any country in the world. Unless you are fortunate enough to move within a few minutes of a vegetarian restaurant or wealthy enough to hire your own cook - you will need to do it yourself. I am a vegetarian living in Japan and I rarely eat out. As you know meat and fish stocks are part of the everyday diet here. You can do it. The typical Japanese lifestyle involves the father and sometimes mother working full time (and a whole lot of unpaid overtime for father) and the kids very busy with school, homework and clubs. You will see people on the train sleeping standing up. Why? There is little leisure time and people work themselves hard. Of course you may be put into a wealthy family that has put aside time to host you. You of course can experience much of Japanese life with them but know that they are unusual and not typical. You have a number of requirements. Cheap, vegetarian, little or no switching of families, etc. you may need to be flexible with your requirements as you want to experience life as it is in Japan - not life as you would have it. Give that some thought.

Sonny

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