TSM and Tokyo Film School

[Burn]

Does anybody here have any experience with these two institutions? I am currently looking into a summer program based at both the Tokyo School of Music and Tokyo Film School, run by the University of California. Any opinions on the location/environment, student body, and networking opportunities would certainly be appreciated.

- A grateful noob

[Burn]

Well I found out that the program is at Jikei's Tokyo School of Music, which is located in Edogawa City...the price tag is pretty steep, probably running me about $6000 when I take everything into account (though, I suppose it's not that much considering the costs of school here in California).

Does anybody have any opinions about Edogawa? Is it easy/relatively fast to take a train to Shibuya/Shinjuku?

I probably need to make a decision in the next week or so. Any help would be appreciated

[Mulboyne]

The closest station to the school is Nishi Kasai on the Tozai line. It would take you about half an hour (and 230 yen) to get to Shibuya. For the same price, it's a few minutes longer to Shinjuku if you stick to the Metro connection rather than using the Toei subway lines. The last trains back from both places go around 11:50pm. If you pull an all-nighter, the first trains next morning will be about 5:00am.

[ttjereth]

Well I found out that the program is at Jikei's Tokyo School of Music, which is located in Edogawa City...the price tag is pretty steep, probably running me about $6000 when I take everything into account (though, I suppose it's not that much considering the costs of school here in California).

Does anybody have any opinions about Edogawa? Is it easy/relatively fast to take a train to Shibuya/Shinjuku?

I probably need to make a decision in the next week or so. Any help would be appreciated

I live about 15 mins from it and my parent's in law live down the street. It's fairly close to the station and you can find housing in the area (and in a lot of parts of edogawa ku) fairly cheaply, so if you were looking to stay near the school it's fairly convenient.

Edogawa ku is mostly working class (with a few areas that are notable exceptions), there are 4 metal working shops within a couple of hundred feet of my house. It's fairly low class, but aside from the ocassional drunk punch perm wanna be or smart ass jr. high student it's not really a terribly dangerous area or anything.

Nishi kasai is probably one of the better stations you could live near in the area since it has the most shops/restaurants/banks etc (including the only mexican restaurant I know of in the ward!). nearby. There's also a very large indian/pakistani population in Nishi kasai and the surround area (kasai and naka kasai) so there are a few indian/pakistani restaurants and shops as well.

It's not the most amazingly interesting area of Tokyo or anything, but you could do worse.

The school is a fairly short walk from the station but is in a semi-residential section. It's a surprisingly small building with a weird design that looks like it was painted by someone who was color-blind, but better than the average grey I suppose

If you have any more specific questions than "what's the area like" let me know and if I don't know the answer my wife definately will (about the area, not the school itself, never been in the door).

[Burn]

Thank you so much for the help. I believe the students in the program are going to be staying at a business hotel in Nishi Kasai...for three weeks. Not sure how this will compare with living in dorms, but I've had some good experiences with business hotels (in Kyoto at least). There is also a one week excursion to Lake Biwa, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima. I'd imagine the JR pass is going to run me several hundred dollars.

The courses I'll be taking are mostly taught by UC Irvine faculty - History of Jazz (and how it affected Japan), Sociology (Japanese pop culture), and music production. I've been making hip hop beats for a little while now. Maybe I'll somehow be able to pitch a track to Wise or RipSlyme while i'm there (I can dream right? )

As far as Edogawa, I'm pretty happy with the location. I don't mind it being "boring", as long as I can take the trains into central Tokyo. My other option (Aichi) is probably just as "boring" and much further away from Tokyo. Being that I'll probably be one of many 18-22 year olds, is there any good bars around the area? I have read that Edogawa is a bit cheaper (in comparison), so maybe I won't have to pay 800 yen for a beer like I did in Roppongi and Gion?

[ttjereth]

[quote="Burn"]Thank you so much for the help. I believe the students in the program are going to be staying at a business hotel in Nishi Kasai...for three weeks. Not sure how this will compare with living in dorms, but I've had some good experiences with business hotels (in Kyoto at least). There is also a one week excursion to Lake Biwa, Kyoto, Osaka, and Hiroshima. I'd imagine the JR pass is going to run me several hundred dollars.

The courses I'll be taking are mostly taught by UC Irvine faculty - History of Jazz (and how it affected Japan), Sociology (Japanese pop culture), and music production. I've been making hip hop beats for a little while now. Maybe I'll somehow be able to pitch a track to Wise or RipSlyme while i'm there (I can dream right? ]

I know of two quite nice business hotels at nishi kasai station, but there are some kind of nasty places too. One of the nicer places (Tokyu, which is a chain, and I forget the name of the other for the moment) and if you have a room to yourself, it's better than any dorm I've ever had the misfortune of staying in Small, but you don't need much space for a few weeks right.

Bars aren't a problem. The whole 2-3 block area in any direction from the station is packed with bars, hostess clubs, restaurants, izakaya etc. Some places might be slightly cheaper (750 yen:p), but even the ass-end of Tokyo is still Tokyo. If you want cheap you might be better off going to Aichi There's not a lot of English speaking bars though, so practice your menu reading.

[Burn]

Drink prices are the least of my concerns haha. It's good to know, though. I do need to keep working on my Japanese, but I think i'm ok as far as ordering stuff goes. As for hostess bars, I know better than that

I do have a couple more questions at the moment...

- Is there any decent gyms in the area? I'm used to working out like 6 days a week...Last time I was in Japan, I worked out at a small local gym and freaked out most of the old people there.

- The weather was pretty gross when I was there in late August-early September...what is it generally like in July?

thanks again

[ttjereth]

Drink prices are the least of my concerns haha. It's good to know, though. I do need to keep working on my Japanese, but I think i'm ok as far as ordering stuff goes. As for hostess bars, I know better than that ]
If you don't want to spend lots of money then there is the ward run sports center close to the station. I forget the exact price, but it's something like 300 yen each time you want to use it. Pool and everything.

If you want to go to a "private" gym, there are a few right across the street from the station, but they're expensive, some of them are equipped worse than the government-run sports center, and there isn't really going to be any big difference in terms of number of people/crowdedness and being gawked at

July is also pretty awful. I can't stand hot weather, so in my opinion July is also pretty bad. Hot and humid, and if you are staying in Nishi Kasai and riding on the trains there (formerly the tozai line, currently known as the tokyo metro) it's really horrible in the summer because it ridiculously overcrowded for at least 10 or so stations in both directions from Nishi Kasai. My hate for that train line is undescribable... it's really terrible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metro_T%C5%8Dzai_Line

The Tōzai Line is the second most-ridden subway line in Japan (after the Midōsuji Line in Osaka), and according to a 2005 study, is the country's most crowded during rush hours, when it operates at nearly twice its design capacity on average.

[Samurai_Jerk]

In general, July ain't as bad and as August, but it's still hot and humid.

Edogawa-ku and Neighboring Koto-ku are two of the coolest areas in Tokyo to drink if you want to do some real Japanese-style drinking. And if the price of beer scares you, save money by drinking whiskey and shochu.

By the way, six thousand bucks for less than a month sounds crazy expensive.

[ttjereth]

In general, July ain't as bad and as August, but it's still hot and humid.

I'm probably not the best person for advice on weather. I'd be happy as anything living in Hokkaido. I hate the hot weather...

Edogawa-ku and Neighboring Koto-ku are two of the coolest areas in Tokyo to drink if you want to do some real Japanese-style drinking. And if the price of beer scares you, save money by drinking whiskey and shochu.

With real Japanese style drunks!

By the way, six thousand bucks for less than a month sounds crazy expensive.

I assume that includes staying at the hotel and everything, but yeah it is expensive.

My first 3 months in Japan on an exchange program was done on about $1200 staying in a dorm (no meals included) for 2 months and with the help of local friends for the rest.

[Burn]

yeah about $1300 is for tuition/unit fees, and a $4100 program fee...weekday food, a metro pass, lodging in the hotel and at the resort, and some field trip stuff is included. I'm not sure but I might have one free flight, and I'll have to buy a one week JR pass (about $220?). It's still through the University of California, and they're not exactly hooking people up with deals these days.

Again, I'm not exactly sold on the program yet, but since Im going to Japan this summer anyways, I might as well earn units towards my graduation while I'm there.

It's either I pay for a two week vacation there ($3000), or I spend a month there, earn units, and let the school fund pick up most of the bill. Doesn't seem like that tough a decision eh