Observations

College college college. That's what I am doing right now, and that's what a lot of Japanese college students are doing right now as well. However, there is a distinct market for college students in the states I think, one that is totally non-existent here.

Using Ohio State as an example, the surrounding campus and part of the city is purely devoted to students. From bars, cheap food joints, to other places that sell dorm/college specific items. The campus is a microcosm of a larger market, which is the college students.

Now here in Sapporo, around the campus area there are most certainly cafeteria, places to buy school stuff and what not, but there really aren't any stores that are focused on the college student as a market.

In America you might have the stereotypical case where you stuff the car full of your things, drive a couple of hours, and pick which corner to shove it all into in a dorm room. I really don't think Japanese people have this type of experience whatsoever.

Now obviously I may be totally wrong, but so far I have only seen 4 dorms here on campus, 1 of which I am living in. There is another that is only for girls but only has 16 rooms, another one for international students, and then the all boys dorm, which has a designated wing for foreigners. Compare this to Ohio State, which has around 8-10 thousand beds in the dorms, pretty big difference.

So where do Japanese students live? I think its a decent combination of things. Anyone that is originally from the area still lives with their parents. It's really common for Japanese students and people in general to live with their parents for extended periods of time, however there isn't a negative connotation associated with it like there is in America.

The students that aren't from around here simply live in apartments. Some live 30-45 minutes away from the campus itself to save money. This is so different from America, because in America if you lived 45 minutes from school, 9 times out of 10 you would have to drive to school. Where as in Japan, most students bike to school, and when the weather is bad, they take the bus or the subway. Both of which just aren't possible in Columbus.

So during the daytime the campus is full of people and pretty active, but the surrounding area is not focused on students or that age group at all. There is Sapporo station which has food, shopping, and many other things you might need, but it's just not the same.

So when I go to a store, looking for a 10 dollar coffee maker, and 15 dollar rice steamer, they simple do not exist. There isn't a market for these super cheap goods that last maybe 1-2 years at most. It's really strange and interesting and annoying at the same time. There are of course used goods stores, and the 100 yen store, but these are pretty common everywhere.

Pretty cool/weird eh?