北海道大学

English- Japanese below

Hokkaido University is a great place to study as the campus is so beautiful. Currently, we are in late January in Sapporo and the snow is very deep! In Sapporo usually the snow lasts from about late November until March time so you should be aware that a lot of your time in Hokkaido University will be very cold. For that reason, it is a good idea to buy a lot of warm clothes and good quality boots. All students at Hokkaido University where warm boots and there are many places you can buy them around the main city, these include, ABC MART and many surrounding stores near Sapporo station, these range from around ¥3000-10,000 which is around £30-100. This may sound quite expensive but it is a very important purchase in ensuring you do not fall on the slippery ice in winter.

Discussing safety, in Hokkaido you do have to pay medical care but it is only 30% of the overall bill, Edinburgh University covers some payments but you still have to take out these insurance policies as every person in the prefecture is required to, this will be explained in a lot of detail when you arrive. Also most individuals at Hokkaido University are lucky enough to get the JASSO scholarship, but this does mean you are not allowed to do part-time work because they believe with this money you should be able to put a lot of focus on your studies and not outside work.

However, moving away from the serious stuff, there are so many fun things to do around campus, with the fact that Sapporo station is only 15 minutes away and there is many great clothing, book, and other types of shops there. Food is also super delicious, this website in English gives really good and cheap place recommendations!-

https://www.tripadvisor.jp/RestaurantsNear-g298560-d8269634-Hokkaido_University-Sapporo_Hokkaido.html

Socialising is fun in Hokkaido too as most karaoke places and Izakayas are relatively cheaper than in Tokyo and Kyoto. This karaoke is super cheap for students!- http://www.takahasi.co.jp/sp/shop/detail/?shop=u-k24

Another cool thing about Japan is that conbinis are so cheap and practical, there is so much more to do than just buying lunch, although you can get super delicious lunches for really cheap prices at the conbini! You can pay all your bills so you don't have to get confused with banks or companies and also copy files and use the atm service that they provide. Hokkaido is also really special as they have their own conbini called ‘Seicomart’ and this is only available in Hokkaido so you can get Hokkaido limited products!

Moving onto daily life, I have not yet gotten my haircut in Japan but I do plan to soon. There are many places in Hokkaido to get your haircut, although places who speak English are quite limited, this is why it is a good idea to take in a picture and learn vocabulary which is useful for this situation. However, it is quite expensive to get your hair cut in Hokkaido so it is a good idea to talk to students around you and your Japanese teachers so they can give you recommendations. This salon in Hokkaido speaks English!- http://www.salon77.jp/english/

Hokkaido also like most of Japan take garbage disposal very seriously, I won’t go into detail but if you come to Hokkaido this app will tell you everything you need to know! - Apple Store- ‘札幌市ごみ分別アプリ’.

Lastly, the famous snow festival begins next month in Sapporo, there are many beautiful festivals in Hokkaido which shows how beautiful the nature is, arguably I think better than Tokyo and Kyoto! I will upload this blog before it begins so I’ll attach pictures from last year’s snow festival! I recommend Hokkaido, but, your study in Japan will be amazing wherever you are!

Some extra useful links-

-https://www.city.sapporo.jp/city/english/medical-welfare/- medical

-https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/yurekuru-call/id398954883?l=en&mt=8- earthquake notification

-https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/%E4%B9%97%E6%8F%9Bnavitime-%E4%B9%97%E6%8F%9B%E3%83%8A%E3%83%93%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A0/id528532387?mt=8- transit app

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/%E3%83%9B%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%E3%83%9A%E3%83%83%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%93%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%BC-%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3%E4%BA%88%E7%B4%84/id385724144?mt=8- hairdresser recommendation app

-https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/line/id443904275?mt=8- most people use line(like WhatsApp)

-http://association.sapporo.travel/

日本語

キャンパスはとても美しいので、北海道大学は勉強には絶好の場所です。現在、私たちは1月下旬に札幌にいます。そして雪はとても深く積もっています！札幌では、通常11月下旬から3月にかけて雪が降りますので、北海道大学で過ごす時期のほとんどは寒いです。ですから、たくさんの暖かい服と上質なブーツを買うことをおすすめします。 ABC MARTや札幌駅周辺のたくさんの店など、暖かいブーツや服を購入できる場所がたくさんあります。これらは通常3000円〜10,000円くらいです（£30-100ぐらい）。 ねだんはちょっと高いですが、冬に滑りやすい氷で転ばないようにそれを購入することは非常に重要なことです。

札幌駅はキャンパスからわずか15分でつきますし、とても楽しい場所です。駅の食べ物もおいしいです！—このウェブサイトは英語ですが、本当に良いメニューをおすすめしています！

https://www.tripadvisor.jp/RestaurantsNear-g298560-d8269634-Hokkaido_University-Sapporo_Hokkaido.html

また、ほとんどの北海道のカラオケや居酒屋は東京や京都より安いのでうれしいです。

このカラオケは学生割引があるからおすすめです！

http://www.takahasi.co.jp/sp/shop/detail/?shop=u-k24

日本のもう一つの素晴らしいところはコンビニです。とても安くて実用的で、ただ昼食を買うだけでなく、いろんな商品がたくさんあります。日本で現存する最も古いコンビニのひとつであるセイコーマート。創業以来、北海道内で最も多いコンビニチェーンであり続け、2010年には北海道1,000店舗を達成しました。

日本の生活の中でも、散髪をする場所は北海道にはたくさんありますが、英語が話せる場所はかなり限られています。しかし、北海道の中でもここは話せますよ！—http://www.salon77.jp/english/

北海道でもごみ処理はとても大切なことだと思います。この札幌市のアプリは一番便利です。—‘札幌市ごみ分別アプリ’。

最後に一札幌市で一番有名な雪まつりは来月に始まります。北海道は自然が綺麗なので、たくさん美しいまつりがあります。北海道の方が東京と京都より綺麗だと思います。北海道はとてもおすすめです。どこにいても素晴らしい一年が過ごせます！

便利なリンク-

-https://www.city.sapporo.jp/city/english/medical-welfare/- 医療情報

-https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/yurekuru-call/id398954883?l=en&mt=8- 地震知らせ

-https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/%E4%B9%97%E6%8F%9Bnavitime-%E4%B9%97%E6%8F%9B%E3%83%8A%E3%83%93%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A0/id528532387?mt=8- 電車アプリ

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/%E3%83%9B%E3%83%83%E3%83%88%E3%83%9A%E3%83%83%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%93%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%BC-%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AD%E3%83%B3%E4%BA%88%E7%B4%84/id385724144?mt=8- おすすめの美容院アプリ

-https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/line/id443904275?mt=8- 話アプリ（日本でみんな使えます）

-http://association.sapporo.travel/