Yamaguchi Prefectural University

Yamaguchi Prefectural University (YPU) is located in Yamaguchi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in the western part of Japan's main island between Hiroshima Prefecture and Fukuoka Prefecture.

Yamaguchi Prefecture has easy access to the main cities of Japan via bullet train, airplane or car. It takes one and half hours by plane or approximately five hours by bullet train from Tokyo to Yamaguchi. It is three hours from Kyoto/Osaka by bullet train. Yamaguchi is connected to Kyushu by a beautiful bridge crossing over the Kamon Straights and is only about half an hour from Fukuoka by bullet train.

YPU is a small university originally established by the Prefectural government. It has three faculties, five departments and two postgraduate courses. Approximately 1,300 students attend YPU. They are taught by 120 full-time teaching staff. The student-taecher ratio is low, and students are able to receive the utmost support from our teaching staff. We attempt to meet every student's needs, including those of overseas students, though a system of tutoring by both professors and peers. You will find a friendly atmosphere at the university and we hope that Yamaguchi and YPU will become your second home. In fact, many of the overseas students who had attended YPU have come back to Yamaguchi to study further or to work on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (the JET program). We hope you will expand your horizons through through the study abroad program we offer.

Do you dream about studying overseas in Japan? What type of cultural exchange programs would you like to participate in while you are here? The International Office is always ready to work with you to ensure you find the right program for you. In addition to normal classes offered to all students in Japanese, Yamaguchi Prefectural University offers a special program for students coming to Japan for the first time.

Yamaguchi Abroad is a comprehensive curriculum that includes Japanese language study, courses in the traditional arts of flower arrangement and tea ceremony,　courses in English about Japanese culture and society, and four courses that make up our Yamaguchi Studies program.　Yamaguchi Studies is a unique collection of four courses covering the history,culture, crafts, and people of Yamaguchi. All courses are taught by our talented and knowledgeable faculty in coordination with local experts and nationally renowned poets, artists, and scholars. Each course features a combination of in-class and on location components, which gets you out of the classroom and literally "into" local culture and history.