The Fall 2007 semester is just around the corner now: classes begin on September 6th. In addition to finalizing their visa applications, incoming students should be taking care of following three things:

1. Choosing a Dorm - Students are placed into one of the three dorms listed below:

Naito-so (men only)	Casa Colagio (co-ed)	Kitamoto-so (co-ed)

Please read about Accommodation at the Japan Center, have a look at the dorm photos, and email us your accommodation requests.

2. Learning Hiragana and Katakana - Students must have learned how to read, write, recall, and pronounce both hiragana and katakana by the very first day of class. Japanese texts will be almost exclusively in hiragana and katakana, so this knowledge is vital to success in our language courses. Have a look at the following two websites to get started: Flashcards (for recognition and recall) and Stroke Order (for writing correctly). Also check out these sites for online quizzes and games as study aids: Manythings.org, Kanacards.com, and Kanasensei.

3. Reading the Student Handbook - the Student Handbook is full of very important information about living in Kyoto and studying at the Japan Center. All students should read it carefully before coming to the center.

In addition to the above three points, students may also wish to start learning more about Kyoto before they come. Feel free to browse some of the following sites to get a feel for what is happening here in the area:

JapanFile - the website of the Kansai Time Out magazine.

Kyoto City Tourism and Culture Information System - news and information on events and sightseeing in Kyoto.

Kyoto Travel Guide - things to see and do in and around Kyoto.

Kyoto Photos on Flickr - explore the many wonderful images this culturally and historically rich city has to offer.