Arrival in Japan and Experience at KAI
DS2020Katie Croft

I think that my experience of the DS has been quite different that of previous scholars. After the originalplan to start the programme in July 2020 was derailed by the pandemic, it wasn’t until 30 March 2022 that I
finally arrived in Japan. The path to get here involved a lot of twists and turns, including starting andstopping work a few times, a couple of months living nocturnally, getting married, a change of language
school and even a stint in Thailand. Throughout it all, the DAJF office in London were generous andflexible and I feel very lucky that I have had their backing throughout.
The support of my language school, KAI日本語スクール has also been fantastic. When I started studying inJanuary it was in the early hours of the morning on Zoom from London, followed by a month on Zoom
from Thailand, which was the only country that would let my wife and me in at the time. Actually, welanded in Phuket to the breaking news that PM Kishida had announced that students would be allowed
entry to Japan from March which was a wonderful welcome. We enjoyed studying online in a kinder timezone (and much better weather!) before we were able to arrange our travel to Tokyo. When I finallyreceived my visa in the Japanese embassy in Bangkok, there were tears of relief!
There were more tears when we started the next term at school in-person, although mostly from theteachers who were meeting students they’d been teaching online for up to a year. KAI is a small language
school and it has a very friendly, family-like vibe. Although I’m not the most dedicated student, I havereally enjoyed studying and I’m amazed how much my Japanese has improved since January. I’ve gone fromstruggling to speak at all, to being comfortable having conversations with Japanese friends and workcolleagues. At times it felt like I’d never understand what anyone was saying to me, let alone be able toread, so it’s even more satisfying that I’ve started to feel comfortable with the language. Although, ofcourse, I’ve still got a long way to go! Apart from schoolwork, I’ve been practicing my horticulturalJapanese whilst volunteering at Koishikawa Botanical Garden and taking ikebana classes. As much as I
enjoy school, the few hours I get to spend with plants each week are very precious. Gardeners aren’t meant
to be at desks all day….
There’s not long left until I will graduate from KAI at the end of December, shortly after I take the JLPT N2
exam. Time has gone very quickly but I’m looking forward to the next stage of the DS programme.
Nishikawa san in the Tokyo office is currently working hard to organise my homestay for January and I’mmaking plans for my work placement which will start in February. The rest of the DS2020, the DS2021 andDS2022 arrived about over a month ago and are settling in at the moment. It was great to be finallyreunited! Meanwhile, the summer heat has dissipated, the tourists are returning and Tokyo is lively. Afterthe epic journey to get to this point, it really feels like things are taking off at the moment and I’m excited
to see what awaits.

View of the beach in Thailand, where I went for my preand post- school dip

Meeting Grace under the cherry
blossoms at Naka-Meguro on
the day we arrived in TokyoMy class at the end of the Spring term

Me and Sarah at the top of Mt Kintoki with Mt Fuji behind us

Spectacular views during a trip to Kamikochi in June

Hiking in Hokkaido during the summer
break whilst trying to avoid mosquitoesDinner with Classmates

The Daruma I bought for good luck on my N3 test
(it worked, I passed!)