the program

CIEE support

Our partner organizations in Japan are responsible for the support of CIEE participants throughout the duration of their stay. All host families are carefully screened, interviewed, and selected to be matched with a student according to their profile. A local Program Coordinator works with each student and will remain in regular contact to make sure the student's language classes and homestay experience continue to go well. The language school offers 24 hour emergency support, and in addition, students have access to 24 hour worldwide assistance provided through their travel insurance with iNext.

CIEE orientation

Orientation will take place upon your arrival in Tokyo. These programs consist of information on important topics such as an introduction to Tokyo's transportation system, getting to know your host family, health and safety, tips on how to adjust to a new culture and language, the academic program, and getting to know other Gap Year Abroad participants. Students will be met at the airport upon their arrival by CIEE staff. They will also assist in the final transfer to their host family.

CIEE excursions

Students have the opportunity to learn about contemporary Japan through their homestay, their own activities in Tokyo, and through group activities with the Program Coordinator. Group excursions include visiting sites of historical interest such as Big Buddha in Kamkura or the Edo Tokyo Museum, as well as sites popular with modern Tokyoites such as department store food basements and the gardens of Shinjuku Gyoen.

CIEE excursions help students to sample a variety of traditional Japanese foods as well! Foods on the menu may be bento lunch boxes, noodles, tempura, and tea sweets. Each three month term offers an overnight trip out of Tokyo, such as a trip to Kyoto or an individual planned trip, for example, to visit historic farmhouses in the mountains of central Japan.

Students are encouraged to pursue their own interests and may ask the Program Coordinator to help find classes in, for example, cooking or the martial arts, or to help them find information and maps on museums and trips.