Japan

Anime & Manga

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Immerse yourself in the anime and manga capital of the world. Develop your illustration skills and design techniques through interactive classes with industry experts.

  • Art

  • Language

  • Outdoor Activity

WHY STUDY ANIME AND MANGA IN JAPAN?

Learn from the best as you attend a reputable anime school in Tokyo, one of the safest and largest metropolitan areas in the world. Develop your artistic ability and style through classes taught in Japanese by design and animation professionals. 

Practice animation techniques such as color blending with Copic markers; inking with fountain pens; and screen-toning, a method of applying textures and shades to drawings. Work on character development; then take your characters from paper to the screen through digital animation using programs like Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, and After Effects. 

Immerse yourself in Japan’s pop culture with visits to vibrant neighborhoods. Play games in the colorful arcades in Akihabara, the city’s anime, manga, and tech district, or Ikebukero, known as the Pokémon Center. See the famous alternative street fashion of the Harajuku neighborhood. 

Broaden your perspective on Japanese culture during home visits with local families. Spend time with peers by participating in local high school activities. Learn about Japanese history by visiting shrines and museums and take an excursion to Hiroshima and visit the historic Hiroshima Peace Park and Memorial Museum.  

LEARN BY DOING

The Experiment’s programs are designed to build skills that will help you succeed. In Japan, you will learn: 

TECHNICAL SKILLS

  • Japanese language  
  • Digital animation  
  • Anime techniques, i.e., color blending, inking  

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

  • Resourcefulness  
  • Intercultural communication and understanding  
  • Problem-solving  
  • Adaptability  
  • Relationship-building  

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

  • Explore urban life by foot (lots of walking!) and learn to navigate the public transit system.  
  • Temperatures and humidity are extremely high during the summer.
  • Meat, seafood, rice, and noodles are staples of Japanese cuisine and will require planning ahead for vegan and vegetarian diets. Your homestay family will be very keen to share many traditional foods and local and regional delicacies with you, and their preparation and your enjoyment of these will be a source of pride for your hosts. Culturally, it is considered very rude to your homestay family to leave food on your plate during meals, so adventurous eaters are appreciated.   
  • Access to the internet is limited and internet speeds and connectivity will vary.   
  • Japan is a conservative country regarding LGBTQ+ issues and you will find traditional gendered spaces, such as male– or female-only public/communal baths in the dormitories. We encourage students to approach the program staff for support on gender and sexuality questions and concerns. 
  • The diverse personal and social identities of participants may, in part, shape their experience abroad. In-country partners will discuss cultural norms and the local context during orientation. We take a collective effort for all students to have a safe space within the program spaces and with the local staff and group leaders.  
  • The Experiment program structure is rooted in experiential learning and cohort-based learning. The participant group experience is a major source of learning for Experimenters and is facilitated by trained Experiment group leaders.

AT A GLANCE

Program Availability

Filling Fast

Program Date

Jul 8 - Jul 30

Prerequisite

None

Program Fee

$8,413.00

(does not include airfare)
Group Airfare Cost

$1,720.00

Departure City

Los Angeles

WHAT'S INCLUDED
  • Lodging
  • Meals
  • All program activities
  • In-country transportation
  • Health insurance
  • Experienced group leaders

Families or partner organizations are also responsible for arranging and paying for participants' domestic travel to the international departure/return airport in the U.S., whether flying, driving or by other means. By its nature, domestic airfare varies by airline, timing, destination, and availability.

TALK TO AN ALUM
Questions? Ask Us! APPLY NOW
Study abroad in Japan summer, learn how to make manga
Learn how to make anime characters through interactive classes at an anime school in Tokyo. Develop your illustration skills and design techniques with industry experts in this high school summer abroad program.
Study abroad in Japan summer, learn how to make manga
Learn how to make anime characters through interactive classes at an anime school in Tokyo. Develop your illustration skills and design techniques with industry experts in this high school summer abroad program.
Study abroad in Japan summer, learn how to make manga
Learn how to make anime characters through interactive classes at an anime school in Tokyo. Develop your illustration skills and design techniques with industry experts in this high school summer abroad program.
Learn how to make anime characters through interactive classes at an anime school in Tokyo. Develop your illustration skills and design techniques with industry experts in this high school summer abroad program. Learn how to make manga
Learn how to make anime characters through interactive classes at an anime school in Tokyo. Develop your illustration skills and design techniques with industry experts in this high school summer abroad program.
Study abroad in Japan, learn how to make manga
From the streets of Tokyo to the woods of Nanae in Hokkaido, our group traveled everywhere! The anime classes we attended were great and always introduced new and exciting aspects to our art. We did voice lessons, worked with professional animation technology and tools, and learned from experienced instructors.

KOFI, The Experiment alum, Japan

Sample Itinerary

This itinerary is only a sample and is subject to change. Because of factors such as group size and availability of in-country offerings such as festivals, your experience — including sites visited and the number of days spent in each location — may differ somewhat from the one presented below.

View Itinerary Details

Day 1

Pre-Departure Program Orientation (U.S.) 

  • Meet your group and group leaders and get an overview of the program. 
  • Begin building your learning community and learn about program expectations.

During this period, you and your group will stay in a hotel near the airport. 

Days 2-14

Orientation, Animation and Manga Study in Tokyo 

  • Get to know other members of your group while exploring diverse neighborhoods such as Harajuku and Akihabara, and visit iconic locations such as Shibuya crossing. 
  • Make your way through the city by way of a walking tour, navigate the city using public transportation, and sample Japanese cuisine. 
  • Participate in drawing and animation workshops and interactive language lessons at a Tokyo-based anime school. 
  • Work with Japanese instructors and student animators to create and animate your own character through design, coloring, and basic animation. 
  • On the final day of classes, share your animation with your group and students from the school. 

During this period, you and your group will stay in a dormitory-style youth center.

Days 15-16

Hiroshima stay  

  • Learn about the history of Hiroshima by visiting the Peace Memorial Museum and Park.   
  • Take a ferry to Miyajima, an island in Hiroshima Bay and recognized as a World Heritage site.  

During this period, you and your group will stay at a hotel.  

Days 17-19

Homestay and Host Community Visit

  • Spend time with a Japanese family during a home visit.
  • Visit a high school to interact with local students by lunching together and participating in their club activities.  
  • Explore your host community and the surrounding area with your group and learn about traditional Japanese culture. 

During this period, you and your group will stay in homestay and hostel accommodations near the host community. 

Sample host communities: Sagamihara, Yokohama  

Days 20-21

Program Reflection and Wrap-up in Tokyo 

  • Reflect with your group on your experiences during the program. 

During the reflection period, you and your group will stay in a hotel near Narita airport. 

Day 22

Departure

Past Group Leader

The Experiment’s group leaders go through a rigorous selection process and have extensive experience with youth education, local expertise in the country or region of their program, language abilities, knowledge in their program theme, travel logistics and management know-how, and experience with health, safety and risk management.

Weymar Osborne

Weymar is a lifelong global traveler and multiculturalist. Born to an American father and a Japanese mother, he grew up in a multilingual household, and lived as a youth in the United States, Japan, and Taiwan. He is a recent graduate of Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado where he majored in economics with a minor in environment & sustainability, and he also attended Royal Thimphu College in Thimphu, Bhutan for two years as an exchange student. He has been to 13 countries and hopes to make that number much larger. He enjoys cooking and food anthropology, video games, American Football, and aviation, among others. He hopes to pursue a graduate degree in international development and work engage in governmental or NGO work.