KEIO: MOTOSUMIYOSHI RESIDENCE DORM TOUR

Sooo I moved into my dorm yesterday, got settled, and Mr. Kotani (our dorm manager) cooked us dinner. He's so nice!!! I feel like I had a really warm welcome. Even though I'm a little under the weather right now, I feel really comfortable in my living quarters.
Today I went to register my residence at Musahi-kosugi (two stations away from Hiyoshi, one station away from Motosumiyoshi). Prepare for a wait, it kind of reminded me of the DMV. I filled out an application (a really nice worker gave me an english translation for the app), turned it in and was given a number to wait. They said it would be about an hour until it was my turn so I had time to grab some lunch. When I got back, I waited for about 5 min then they called me up and then I went around to the other counter to get my health insurance. I waited a little more, then I was all set! I went with my friend and it helped a lot to be with someone who spoke more Japanese than me.
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Check out my blog: hawaii2tokyo.weebly.com/.

[@OrpheePacific]

Thank you for sharing this dorm tour! I am going to Keio this fall and I was not sure which residence before this video. I really hope I get the Motosumiyoshi residence now!

[@dinmolle]

IM SO JEALOUS. i stayed up all night (because of the timezone) so i could be the first to apply for the motosumiyoshi dorm. literally within 10 seconds of the portal opening i had applied for motosumiyoshi. and STILL i got plume is. and someone thrashed the room before so the management had to fix the worst, so it was still so dirty. so i spent two days just cleaning everything. even the walls and doors were very dirty. and the rules are so strict. and the people who got motosumiyoshi are so smug and pleased. they have every reason to be. i did make an effort with some flowers and candles and new furniture to my plume room.. but it's just... it's not anything like motosumiyoshi

[@dinmolle]

how motosumiyoshi is cheaper than plume is just insane

[@GamerzShit]

Hi I will be going on exchange is Fall 2021. Is it hard to get a dorm? From your comment I assume Motosumiyoshi is the best one? And does it work by first come first served principle?

[@shadowblade2149]

I'm more of the guy who tries to get something, then says 'oh well' and gets something else. That's dedication for a dorm room

[@christykooo]

Hello ! I really enjoyed your video. Like the previous comment, I dont know if you would see this comment 2 years after. I am attending Keio this September 2018 ! I am wondering if you were allowed to have guests stay over at your residence?

[@emirkarakaya7070]

Thank you for your tour, so really you get all that stuff from "downstairs" for free, I will pray a lot to find those when I arrive, and there is no wi-fi you just use LAN cable for internet right?

[@lexiloves808]

Yes there was quite a lot of "stuff" available for us to take but it's first come first serve. I went once after I moved in and then a second time a few hours later and most of the good things were gone. And yeah, only LAN, no wifi and you need to bring your own cable. I suggest renting a pocket wifi (that's what I did)

[@emirkarakaya7070]

+Alexis Abroad thanks again 😊

[@lexiloves808]

+Emir Karakaya you're welcome!! 😁

[@johanneszhengdu4625]

Hey Alexis, don't know if you will still read this 9 months later... But I too am going to study abroad at keio from september 2017 and this dorm looks really awesome! How did you apply for it, and was it hard to get a room in motosumiyoshi? and if you have a LAN port, would it have been possible to use a router to have wifi in your room? or did the dorm had some kind of restrictions?

[@lexiloves808]

Hey! thanks for watching my video!! After I was accepted to study abroad at Keio, I received an email from them with information as well as a link to the dorm application. It will be best to apply to the dorm as soon as the application opens (Japan time) so that you can get your first choice. You will be asked to list three choices for dorm building. But yes, I highly recommend Motosumiyoshi!! It was such a great experience for me. And I think you should be able to use a router in your room. i didn't inquire about it while i was there but as long as you set it up yourself, pay for it, and everything, it should be fine. You may want to ask the dorm manager when you get there if it's okay. He's really nice though and will go out of his way to help if you need it.

[@johanneszhengdu4625]

thx for the quick reply ^^ so if I understood correctly, everybody can apply for every dorm right? and the final decision is up to the university. yeah, i really love, how nice and generous the japanese people are :D if you didn't had wifi, how could you use internet on your phone? or didn't you needed it in japan? maybe one more question :D i saw on your blog, that you moved out in august, so around 1 month before the students for the next semester came in, did you prolonged your stay in tokyo after you moved out of the dorm? thx again for answering :))

[@lexiloves808]

yes, all Keio students should be able to apply for the dorms :) it's on a first come, first serve basis! And I actually rented a portable wifi device for the duration of the time that I was up in Japan. It costed me about $50 USD a month (it was a Japanese company and they actually delivered the device to me in the mail). I can give you more information on this if you'd like! I used the wifi device for my laptop when i was in my dorm and whoever came to visit me could also connect to it. It connected up to 10 devices. But as for internet connection on my phone, I actually have Sprint in the US and they work with Softbank in Japan so I had free unlimited data the entire time! It was onlly 3G but it worked perfectly fine for me and i used it for Google Maps, LINE, and even streamed videos while I was sitting on the train. I think T-mobile has a similar international roaming option but i'm not sure. Other carriers like Verizon and AT&T are super expensive internationally. Sometimes the connection on my phone was spotty and that's when the portable wifi came in handy. My phone only had data and text, if I made any phone calls it would charge me per minute. I liked the system I had but many of my friends got Japanese SIM cards. The latest move-out date for me was August 3rd, so I had to move out by then, but i ended up staying in Tokyo a little while later (at an Airbnb and then a Hotel) before catching my flight home. Some people travelled but i had a lot of baggage with me so it would have been difficult. Hope this helps!! ^__^

[@johanneszhengdu4625]

wow 50$/month, was it unlimited data then? so how long did you stay in tokyo afterwards? because I'm maybe planning to stay until the end of march (the courses will be finished by end of jan i think) was it hard to find reasonable airbnbs? because i think what will limit my stay after lectures have finished, will probably be my bugdet :D

[@lexiloves808]

I thought it was unlimited data...lol! But it turns out, that the device I had came with 30GB/month (theres an option for 100GB and one for only 10GB) but if I used more than that limit, I was told that I may experience reduced speed but there is no additional charge. I only went over the limit once when I fell asleep watching netflix and episodes kept playing all night. I didn't have any issues with it after I went over though. And I only stayed about a week after...reasonable airbnbs are pretty easy to find! you may even want to consider finding off-campus housing rather than staying at the dorm and you could just stay longer without that hassle of moving out when the dorm needs to be vacated. A few of my friends stayed at their own apartments. There are definite pros and cons to this option so you'd have to really consider weighing your choices :)

[@fabianagarciafonseca1304]

Hi! Im really loving this uni, but I was wondering if it is possible to pay with MEXT scholarship. Its so prestigious that I don't know what to think, have you met any PhD MEXT students there?

[@sophiaselamat3626]

Hello. Im from Malaysia and applied mext and plan to study at keio or waseda univ as well. maybe we can exchange infomation.

[@ppretzlsticks]

Omg, your dorm looks amazing! If you don't mind, what are you studying at Keio/what course? I applied for the PEARL programme, which is apparently new, and I haven't found many people who are taking that course. Also, how many types of dorms are there? I really hope I get into the PEARl programme!

[@HowTo-vf9if]

Heyyyy Irene, Did you get into PEARL programme? I will graduate HS in 2019 and I also would like to apply for PEAL. If you're free, let's chat!

[@Mario-yf1ex]

Hey I was wondering if I choose the international pearl program do they offer Japanese classes for me too learn the language?

[@kattxiz2318]

It looks amazing. How much you paid for the dorm?

[@lexiloves808]

I think I paid about 650 USD per month. But i'm sure prices may have changed since then. Keio's site has all the info on its dorms for international students here: www.ic.keio.ac.jp/en/life/housing/ryu_boshu.html

[@syaqiqsidik]

Is this dorm just for students only? How much does it cost per month?. Appreciate your reply

[@JenHime_]

Hey there thanks for the video! My question is which campus were you going to take lessons and how much time did it take for you to go from this dormitary?

[@lexiloves808]

I took lessons at Mita Campus. This dorm is located close to Hiyoshi Campus (about a 10 minute walk). But from the dorm to Mita Campus, it's about 45 minutes away. You will take the Meguro/Mita Subway line and there is no need for any transfers! If you get a seat it's not bad. I usually took a nap, did some reading, or played on my phone. But if it's morning rush hour for example, expect an uncomfortable ride. Luckily I only had one early morning class so i didn't have to deal with rush hour everyday >

[@JenHime_]

Thank you so much for your answer! Tbh it turns out they don't have any vacancy on this dorm so we have to choose one of the others... I really thought this dorm was the best, it has everything in it and it's cheaper than others!

[@emuujinnyamdavaa3243]

Can I ask you, if Keio teaches dentistry and if they teach how good is it?

[@animekkgjgirl]

You sound Caribbean

[@Zepsor]

LAN Cable - no WiFi?

[@lexiloves808]

Carl no wifi :( at least while i was there, but that was a few years ago. It might be different now!

[@Zepsor]

@@lexiloves808 Thanks for the speedy reply! I'll be going in September, so I'll get myself an adapter before that. Thank you very much!

[@lexiloves808]

Carl no problem! Have fun up there! I rented a pocket WiFi, which i used the majority of time. It wasn’t too expensive and it was super useful to always have WiFi with me (especially when i took weekend trips to other parts of Japan).

[@zakyrabbani7194]

Is it only for girls

[@lexiloves808]

Girls and guys! But separated by floors. (all girls floor, all guys floor)

[@user-or6is8fw3r]

You look like Chungha