Home Stay

I’ve been reading up on sites for homestay’s in Japan and I wanted to know what anyone thought about them from a more educated about the subject point of view, especially if you’ve experienced or know someone who has experienced staying in one.

Does it seem like a safe idea?
Does it seem like it’s worth the cost? (on average I seen about 15000 – 25000 yen a week and I use the basic take off 2 zero’s method for converting to USD’s even though I know it would still be a little less)
Sites say that it’s a better way to experience the culture and learn about it, is that true?

Those are my basic questions…I AM a student BTW but if I were to do this it would be through a homestay website and not my school.

The idea is attractive to me because it looks more and more like I’ll be visiting Japan on my own and this seems like a less lonely and confusing way to go about Tokyo, especially if my homestay family has someone my age living there to show me around.
Sorry, the way I put it sounded like I expeted them to be a guide or something. I just meant with getting directions and what not. I’d have somewhere to go with a reliable source with at least people I’m familiar with as to how to get around.

I highly recommend it! I did a homestay when I spent a semester in Japan, although it was organized by my university and not by a commercial website. My host family was rather busy so I didn`t spend much time actually going out and doing things with them, but simply having a house full of people to talk to and ask questions of really helped me make sense of all the unfamiliar things that piqued my curiosity. And just living with ordinary people and seeing their daily lives really helped me gain a better understanding of Japanese culture.

The prices you listed seem quite reasonable, much cheaper than a hotel or renting an apartment. If you`re worried about safety (which I wouldn`t be, since Japan is a very safe country overall and most people who would volunteer to host are quite kind) see if the homestay organization can give you contact information for people who have used their services. Or find someone who has done a homestay and then ask them what site they used and how they felt about it. A former customer can best tell you whether any given company is reliable.

And if you do get there and find you have problems with your homestay, well, no one`s making you stay there. You can pack up and find a new place at any time.

I will soon be staying with a homestay family in a small town in Japan. I will live as part of their family, but I would also like to provide them with some money each month so that they do not feel too put upon. How much is reasonable? (In USD.)

I stayed at a homestay in Tokyo last year and paid 4000 yen a day including all meals. This is around 35 USD.

Host family, homestay tutor – this English homestay family offer the perfect stay to improve your English in a lovely house. The tutor is also fluent in French and will also teach French see www.xilfee.eu for more details.

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Can someone please write in Japanese hiragana "osewaninarimashita".
My computer doesn’t have Japanese and I need to send my homestay family a thankyou letter.

Please help me

おせわになりました。

……That’s all? xD

English homestay family – www.xilfee.eu Some families have horses and ponies. If you like riding, we have some wonderful English homestay families to visit.

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Hello, would you like to offer that for me, indian family/homestay will be cool, No muslims plz sorry you can send me a message to discuss more or lead me to good sites, Hotels are so expensive,thanks

There is a Youth Hostel YHA close to Saint Paul’s. Check website.

Last night was our first night and we ate hot dogs which he loved! He brought my sister my parents and I a bunch of stuff from his family in Japan such as: toe socks, slippers his wife made, decorative balls his wife made, Japanese candy, spinning top, pens only from Japan, pretty scarves and we loved them all! We want to give him something special from us but we don’t know what! He likes the Cubs (we live in Chicago) and we are bringing him to see Sue at the Field Museum and going to the Shed Aquarium. Do you have any recomendations on what we can give him to share with his family about us and our family?

Thanks!
I should also add that he is a principle for a school in his town that come to America all together to perform Kabuki. Maybe something he would like for the school and the kids as well?

The best gifts are home-made OR gifts specifically from your city, state, or country. If you or anyone in your family does anything like sewing, quilting, painting, etc. those gifts will be graciously received. If there are famous hand-made things in Chicago (I don’t know if there are), even if they are not made by your family, they are still good gifts.

As for gifts from your city/state, Chicago has a lot of sights, so in that regard, you are lucky. While he is living with you, do "Chicago-ish" things. For example, take him out to eat at your favorite restaurant that serves Chicago pizza and tell him that it’s a famous Chicago food. People always love those sorts of things!

Books about Chicago with lots of pictures are great souvenirs. Make sure the pictures are good and feature the destinations and famous things that you do with him. It will be a great memory for him, and he can use the book to show his family/friends in Japan exactly where he was and what it’s like. Pictures are important, because his English may not be good enough to understand a really long, wordy history book. Even if HIS English is good, the English of his friends/family may not be good, so they will likely not be able to read the descriptions. That’s why books with nice pictures are important.

It may sound cheesy or stupid, but shirts and baseball caps that say "Chicago" or feature a famous Chicago icon or site (like the sports teams or the Sears tower) are also nice gifts, and you can buy him extra to take back to his wife.

If the kids are indeed young children, candy is a gift that he can easily distribute to everyone. Root beer flavor is considered very American, and I’ve never seen it in Japan.

You can also get ideas about good gifts by talking to him. You know he likes the Cubs, so that’s a good start. Maybe find out other interests or what his wife likes. That way you can buy more personal gifts.

One last thing, if you are taking pictures of him, your family, and the places you take him while he is with you, a GREAT gift is to make a memory album. You can either try to prepare it and present it to him before he leaves, or make sure you have his home address and send it to him with letters from your family members about how much you enjoyed spending time with him and hosting him. The other gifts are great, but this is the most personal sort of gift that ANYONE would feel touched to receive!

English homestay family – www.xilfee.eu

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is there anywhere in the united states where you can stay with a local native american (indian) cherokee, navajo…etc. family and learn about culture and traditions from them like a homestay sort of thing (for maybe 3-10 days?)

i was just curious because i think it would be a great experience that i could benefit a lot from.

ignore people who don’t know what they are talking about…

i don’t know of any "program" to do what you are asking but many of the larger reservations have volunteers that work there in various capacities with youth or helping to build things etc. if you want to stay with a native family you may have to first get to know one and wait for an invitation.

Homestay family. Find the perfect English host family to improve your English. The family live in a lovely old house and are very welcoming. – www.xilfee.eu

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