Waseda University Student House

There are 3 dorms for international students at Waseda: Nishi-waseda, Hoshien and University Student House (or Soudairyou). My dorm is University Student House - South Wing. You can find information on the prices and facilities of the other dorms here.

Although Soudairyou is quite small (there are only around 65 people in it altogether) it has the biggest room out of the dorms. A lot of furniture is provided for you - so much that I'm struggling to fill up the space! There are 2 bookshelves, a mini fridge, 2 mini chest of drawers, a desk, a small cabinet under it, a chair and a bed.

Bookshelf no.1, Mini fridge, AirCon and Chest of drawers

Bookshelf no.2, Desk, Chair and cabinet under desk

The bed is also a pretty decent size and the bedding is provided for you although you do have to pay a one-time linen fee of 3000yen. Note: If you're picky about your pillows and need a soft fluffy one to sleep on I would bring your own. The pillows that are provided would be better described as a square beanbag filled with rice. It's not comfortable.  

All the bedrooms also have their own ensuite toilets as well. The toilet is, unfortunately, just a regular toilet and doesn't have 50 different functions but it's still a good size and has everything you would need in it. There is no shower though as there is one big shower room on the 1st floor. Apart from having to make the effort to travel to the 1st floor to wash, the showers are modern and clean and are in individual rooms which each have the shower cubicle and a dry area where you can dress/undress.

Most of the rooms also have their own balconies with lines where you can hang your laundry out to dry. There are laundry facilities on the bottom floor which are big enough to do a month's worth of laundry in and cost 100yen to use. Also, just having a balcony is nice so you can step out and get some fresh air without leaving your room or having to get dressed!

So that's my room at Soudairyou, South Wing. I think that the rooms in the North wing are a bit smaller but they're pretty similar. From what I've heard from my friends at other dorms, Soudairyou has the biggest rooms followed by Hoshien and the Nishiwaseda - which apparently has tiny cell-like rooms.

All dorms have their own rules, most of which are common sense - no pets, no smoking, no illegal activities etc. Some of the rules, however, are much more important than others. For example, you aren't allowed to bring any non-residents whatsoever back to the dorm. It doesn't matter who they are, if they don't live there they are not allowed in. The only dorm where others are allowed in is Hoshien which has a large lounge on the Ground floor with sofas, tables, computers, a piano, DVD players and a large TV. Most of this will be explained to you by your Resident Advisor (RA) or your Dorm Manager. As long as you stick to these rules you should have a great time!