In preparation for WAC-8, we put out the call for advice about living as an international student in Kyoto. Dr. Maureece (Reecie) Levin, an archaeobotany post-doctoral researcher at Stanford University, generously offered tips from her own experiences studying there. Here’s what she said:
Accommodation
There are lots of hotels for business travelers that are usually way cheaper than hotels intended for tourists, so those can be sought out.
Finding affordable food
Shijo Doori and Kawaramachi Doori are great places to shop, and there are lots of cheap eats along both. Curry houses, rice bowl with toppings (donburi) places, ramen restaurants, and some kaiten sushi places tend to have the best deals.
Also, most department store basements give out mega food samples, and you can eat an entire meal just eating samples. The Takashimaya basement on the corner of Kawaramachi is a great place for that. Also, that district is really close to Gion, which is right by the river, and when you can sometimes see Geisha walking around in the evening (which is really uncommon in Japan in general these days).
Most universities have pretty cheap eats in the cafeteria. I studied at Doshisha for a year, and I remember the cafeteria having pretty solid food at low prices.
Transportation
If you’re traveling, the Seishun Juu-hachi Kippu (translates to Youth 18 ticket; buy one here), is an AMAZING deal. It requires you to take local trains, but you get a pass to ride unlimited on local trains for an entire day for five days (11,850 yen for all five days.) The same ticket can also be used by multiple people, say if 5 people wanted to all travel around on different days, they could split the cost and use the pass one day each. When I was living in Yamagata after college, which is super far north, I took the train from Yamagata to Osaka in a day for the equivalent of $20 by taking only local trains.
Taxis are really expensive, but buses and local trains are usually quite reasonable in price, so I’d avoid taxis.
Plus, Kyoto is a really safe city in general, so walking around, especially if you’re with someone else, is generally fine (I have not had problems with getting followed by men in Kyoto like I have in other cities.)
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Thanks so much to Dr. Levin for her helpful advice! In our next posts we will build on her advice, sharing more information on transportation and food options for students in Kyoto!