Arrival Information for MEXT Scholarship Students
Updated on : August 26
The information below is for the MEXT scholarship students who entered TU in October 2020, or April 2021.
The contents of this website are not applicable to MEXT scholarship students enrolling in October 2021, and it will be noticed later.
We opened our website on Jun. 11th, 2021.
International Education Section of Student Exchange Division, Tohoku University is providing arrival support for MEXT scholarship students. Please check this website frequently as we will update it in near future. Thank you for your kind understanding!
Please rigorously implement infection prevention, such as wearing masks, disinfecting hands, avoiding the "3Cs" etc.
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
Avoid the “Three Cs”!
5 Situations that Increase the Risk of Infection
Getting Started～Overall Flow
| Step | Embassy Recommendation | University Recommendation | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0. | Health Check: Please monitor your temperature and health condition and log them twice each day while you are in your own country. |
| |
| 1. | Obtain a Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship Certificate | *You will receive the certificate from the department office. | |
| 2. | Apply for a visa: After the Embassy of Japan etc. in your country contacts you, apply for and obtain a visa. |
| |
| 3. | Arrange airline tickets: The Embassy of Japan will contact you and arrange your flight ticket. | Arrange airline tickets: The University will contact you and arrange your flight ticket. | *MEXT will bear the cost of the airline ticket. *If you will bear travel expenses yourself, please arrange the airline ticket then send your travel itinerary to the university. |
| 4. | Confirm flight, prepare for the departure | *Check your itinerary and make sure you have everything you need for the trip. | |
| 5. | Undergo COVID-19 test (PCR test etc. in your own country): Undergo a COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure and obtain a negative test result in the required format. | *If your result is positive, you cannot depart for Japan. | |
| 6. | Submit your Health Check List and report your COVID-19 test result to Tohoku University before departing for Japan. |
| |
| 7. | Arrival in Japan: *Pledge and Certificate of negative COVID-19 test will be required to enter Japan. *Answer the questionnaire on the airplane or at the airport on arrival and present your QR code at the quarantine station. *Undergo another COVID-19 test at the airport of your arrival in Japan, and submit the test result to Tohoku University. |
| |
| 8. | Quarantine: *After leaving the airport, go to the hotel where you will quarantine. *While under quarantine you are required to use a rental smartphone to provide daily reports of your location and health condition. | *You will stay at a hotel near your airport of arrival for 14 days, counting from the day after your arrival in Japan (15 nights, 16 days). *The university will make the hotel arrangements. You do not have to make reservations. | |
| 9. | Travel to Sendai: Go to Tokyo Station by bus after leaving your hotel. From Tokyo Station, take the Tohoku Shinkansen to Sendai Station. | *The Student Exchange Division will arrange the tickets. *You will receive them at the hotel during your stay. | |
| 10. | Travel to your housing: | *Those staying at Tohoku University housing must complete the moving-in procedures before moving in. | |
Beginning your Studies at Tohoku University! You will be contacted later by your department at Tohoku University about the following. ◆ Arrangements necessary to receive scholarship money: Resident Registration, opening a bank account, submitting airline ticket stubs, enrollment confirmation ◆ Other procedures: Enrollment procedures, class registration etc. Note: The above information is current as of August 1. It may change hereafter. Note: Expenses borne by each student will vary from person to person.
| |||
Arrangements and Fees
| MEXT | Tohoku University (or travel agency) | Student | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Paid by MEXT | Arranged by TU | Paid by TU | Arranged by the student | Paid by the student | ||
| PCR test/ certificate issuance before traveling to Japan | Yes | Yes |
| |||
| Airline Ticket | Yes | Yes | Paid if entering Japan by the end of Sep. | |||
| Private health insurance | Yes | Yes | Valid for 21 days upon arrival | |||
| Smartphone | Yes | Yes | ||||
| PCR test for those from areas where COVID-19 variants are prevalent | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Disinfectant /masks | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Airport taxes | Yes* | Can be paid after 1st scholarship payment | ||||
Transportation (airport to hotel) | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Hotel | Yes | Partially | Yes* | Can be paid after 1st scholarship payment | ||
| Meals/other expenses for hotel stay | Yes | Yes | ||||
Transportation (hotel to Sendai) | Yes | Yes* | Can be paid after 1st scholarship payment | |||
*About JPY 100,000 total
Departure Preparations
Please complete the following before leaving your country of origin.
Health Check | * From the day after you receive an email about priority entry, please begin monitoring your temperature and health condition and logging them twice each day in the Tohoku University Health Check List. Submit your Health Check List to Tohoku University before departing for Japan. |
|---|---|
Visa Application | * After the Embassy of Japan etc. in your country contacts you, apply for and obtain a visa. |
Flight Arrangement | * MEXT will specify the schedule and route of travel and issue an airline ticket. The ticket will be an economy class ticket from the international airport nearest the student's residence (generally within the student's country of origin) to an international airport in Japan commonly used to travel to the host university. * In general, you must bear all transportation costs from their residence to the nearest international airport, airport taxes, airport fees, special travel taxes, transportation expenses within Japan and baggage/shipping fees. * Please wait to arrange your flight until you hear from the university or Japanese mission/embassy. You will definitely be contacted. Please do not reserve your ticket before then. We will contact each student in turn. Please look into airport/luggage fees and rules on travel to Japan yourself. |
COVID-19 test | * You must, at your own expense, undergo a COVID-19 test within 72 hours before departing for Japan and obtain proof of a negative result. Proof of a negative COVID-19 test result will be required to enter Japan. The certificate must be in the specified format. Please be sure to use it. * Immediately before departing, please report your test result to Tohoku University using the form below. Include an image of your negative test certificate. You can take a picture and upload as JPEG or PDF format. * If your test result is positive, please contact us promptly using the email address at the bottom of the website.
|
Others | * MEXT states that students cannot bring family members with them to Japan. Please come to Japan by yourself. * In addition to items and clothes you will need for your daily life/studies in Japan, please make sure to bring your own thermometer, masks, hand sanitizer, sanitary products etc. (about a month's supply). Please also bring a Wi-Fi capable device such as a smartphone, laptop PC, etc. (You will be able to use Wi-Fi in the hotel room. You will need a Wi-Fi device to communicate with the university during your stay there.) * Scholarship payments will be made about 2 months after your arrival in Japan. Please bring about USD 2,500(JPY300,000) to cover living expenses until then. * For information on Japan (Sendai), please check the TU Support website. * Cancellation fees : If you are unable to come to Japan due to the result of a PCR test conducted within 72 hours before your departure, or if you are unable to enter Japan due to some other reason upon arrival at an airport in Japan, you might be responsible for cancellation fees for your flight and hotel. |
Checklist before your departure
Here are the final things you must check before departing.
◆Double check your flight date and time.
◆Submit to Tohoku University： Please upload as JPEG or PDF format.
□ Health Check List
□ Certificate of negative COVID-19 test
→Does the certificate use the REQUIRED FORM?
→Did you submit the report form for your negative result to Tohoku University? (A digital copy of your certificate is required.)
Health Check List & COVID-19 Test Result Form
◆Keep all the following documents etc. with you on the plane.
□ Passport
□ E-ticket (Please print out two copies of the ticket.)
□ Certificate of negative COVID-19 test
(Please print out;)
□ Pledge (for MEXT Scholarship students. Student Exchange Division will send it before your departure. Please print out.)
□ Smartphone delivery letter (Student Exchange Division will send it before your departure. Please print out.)
□ Smartphone (needed to complete questionnaire)
◆Other
□ Prepare your own thermometer, masks, hand sanitizer, sanitary products etc. (about a month's supply).
□ Prepare a Wi-Fi capable device such as a smartphone, laptop PC, etc.
□ Cash (approx. USD 2,500).
□ If needed, prepare prescriptions for any medications you are taking.
Quarantine at the Airport
Questionnaire | * To enable follow-up checks of your health during the 14-day period after your arrival, please complete the online questionnaire at the website below, while on the airplane or at the airport of your arrival, then generate the QR code (the questionnaire can be completed offline, so try to complete it on the airplane if possible). Take a screenshot of the QR code and present it when asked at the quarantine station. |
|---|---|
COVID-19 test | * Upon entering Japan, you must undergo another COVID-19 test at the airport at which you arrived. It may take a very long time from obtaining the test result to completing customs/immigration procedures. Please be patient. |
Entering Japan and Going to the Hotel
Entering Japan | * Proof of a negative COVID-19 test certificate from your country of nationality, Pledge (for MEXT Scholarship students) and the smartphone delivery letter will be required to enter Japan. * At the arrival gate, staff from Tohoku University's appointed travel agency holding a signboard that says "MEXT" will be waiting for you. Please be sure to meet with the staff. * The travel agency staff will give you a smartphone. You will need it during the quarantine period, so please do not lose it. * Staff from Tohoku University's appointed travel agency will help with the hotel arrangements. You will travel from the airport to the hotel by charter bus. Travel agency staff will guide you. * Before going to the hotel, please exchange your money at the airport. |
|---|---|
Going to the Hotel | * Before coming to Tohoku University (Sendai), you will be quarantined at a hotel near the airport. The quarantine period is 15 nights, 16 days. (The quarantine period is calculated from the day after you arrive in Japan.) * We will ask the travel agency to allow you to pay hotel fees after the first scholarship payment. Therefore you do not need to pay them there. |
Others | * You will have to submit your used boarding pass to the university. Please keep it in a safe place. * All students will be enrolled in overseas travel insurance. The university will cover the fees. It will be valid for 21 days from your arrival. |
Quarantine at the Hotel
* Monitor your health and use your own thermometer to take your temperature during the quarantine period.
* You are required to use the rental smartphone to provide daily reports of your location and health condition, and take calls on the teleconferencing app if necessary. The smartphone will come with all the necessary apps already installed and any necessary settings will be preset, but you must send the daily reports and provide responses yourself. Please be sure to do so.
The Health Monitoring Center for Overseas Entrants (HCO) will contact you with a teleconference app "My SOS". Please do not forget to log in the app before starting quarantine. Also, please be sure to respond a message about health monitoring from HCO everyday during 14 days quarantine.
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare ・ Quarantine Station ・ Health Monitoring Center for Overseas Entrants (HCO)
Regulations on Mandatory 14-Day Isolation
https://www.hco.mhlw.go.jp/en/
●Daily for 14 Days ・ Your Obligations
・Report your location with the Overseas Entrants Locator (My SOS) app
・Report your health condition (My SOS)
●At any given time・Health Monitoring Center for Overseas Entrants (HCO)
・Confirm your location on the teleconferencing app (MySOS)
●Miscellaneous
・Settings for saving location records on the smartphone
・Use the COCOA/COVID Contact Confirming App
Failure to respond to or comply with requests/instructions will result in deportation in accordance with Japanese law and make you ineligible to enroll at Tohoku University as a MEXT Scholarship Student. You are under obligation to monitor your health and respond to any requests during the quarantine period. Please do so every day without fail.
《Request》
Information (excluding personal information) gathered by the airport quarantine station and Health Monitoring Center for Overseas Entrants may be provided in information for future MEXT Scholarship Students. We ask for your cooperation with any future university requests.
MEXT asks that you please rigorously observe the following instructions while staying at the hotel:
→ Do not leave the hotel.
→ Do not leave your room, except for essential reasons.
→ Do not use the hotel's public spaces, lounges, etc., or enter other guests' rooms.
→ You may use the tour desk, convenience store etc. for shopping and laundry.
→ Eat in your own room.
* MEXT's instructions state that students are not to go to restaurants during their quarantine. Please obtain meals at a convenience store or order room service. You must pay for meals yourself at the hotel. You will be informed on the rules for using the convenience store/laundry room before your arrival.
* Please take COVID-19 precautions at the hotel. Tohoku University will provide masks and hand sanitizer for use at the hotel.
* While staying at the hotel, please take your temperature twice a day and monitor your health. Comply with the Japanese government's daily follow-up health survey. Failure to comply with this survey or other government instructions will result in punishment in accordance with Japanese law. (A detailed explanation will be given when you check in.)
* If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the hotel tour desk or Tohoku University.
Entering Japan from Countries/Regions where COVID-19 Variants are Prevalent
The Japanese government has identified about 40 countries/regions where variant strains of COVID-19 are prevalent.
If you arrive from one of these countries, you will undergo another PCR test on the 3rd day of your hotel quarantine.
You will not be allowed to leave your hotel room until this test's result is issued (even to use the convenience store or laundry room).
During this time, you will be able to get meals from the hotel's room service.
If your test result is negative, you will be able to use the hotel facilities (convenience store, laundry room, etc.).
The number of such countries/regions may increase hereafter.
Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website: https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page4e_001053.html#section3
(3) Enforced quarantine measures for all the travelers who enter, re-enter, or return to Japan from countries/regions with community transmission of coronavirus variants and countries/regions whose authorities have announced confirmation of domestic infection of new variants of coronavirus
End of Quarantine, Coming to Sendai
* After the quarantine period is over, you will come to Tohoku University (Sendai). Our travel agency will arrange your ground transportation (for the trip to Sendai) and you must pay for travel within Japan yourself. You will be allowed to pay the fares for the ground transportation within Japan after getting first scholarship payment. The travel agency will issue invoice and request you the payment by bank transfer (Detailed information will be announced later). To ensure a quick and safe journey, all students will travel by Airport Limousine and bullet train. The travel agency staff will give you your tickets at the hotel while you are staying.
* You will return the rental smartphone to the tour desk in the quarantine hotel when you check out.
* Please be sure to wear a mask while traveling. Use hand sanitizer while on trains and taxis as well. Please eat before you board the train or taxi. Do not eat while riding in vehicles.
From the Hotel to Sendai (MIYAGI Pref.) Transportation from Narita airport to Sendai station
Ground transportation
Updated on Jun.30 | (1) At the tour desk in the quarantine hotel;
|
|---|
Before Heading to Dormitory Get a Smart Card for Transport
We recommend you to get a Suica from a ticket machine (tap "Purchase new Suica" on the screen of a machine) or JR EAST Travel Service Center at JR Sendai Station and top up with approx. JPY 3,000 for starters, before heading to the dormitory. Suica is a smart card for transportation paying as you go for Sendai City Subway, Sendai City Bus and JR train, even for purchasing stuff at major convenience stores and drugstores.
From Sendai Station to Dormitory
You will have to arrange the transportation by yourself or follow the instructions from your department.Student Exchange Division does not specify how to get to your dormitory, but please make sure to arrive at the dormitory by 17:00 at the latest.
See page 24 of the Pocket Guide for the details.
If you take a taxi from JR Sendai Station to get to your dormitory, it would take about 15 - 30 minutes. The fare would be about JPY 2,000-4,000 but differ depending on the traffic condition. At JR Sendai Station, go down to the 1st floor to find a taxi stand, just outside of the station.
After arriving at Sendai
You will go to the university dormitory you have been assigned. Please make sure to bring the Residence Permit (only those who will stay at the university dormitory).
* Register as a resident of Sendai and open a Japan Post Bank account. (University staff will give you instructions.)
* Undergo enrollment procedures at the university. (University staff will give you instructions.)
* Submit your ticket stubs, boarding pass etc. to the university. (University staff will give you instructions.)
Useful Websites
Maps & Directions
- Bus & Subway Commuting Guide
Campus Life
1. TU Campus Life
2. TU Computer Network Access Guideline
3. Medical Handbook
4. Sendai Living Guide (Hospital List)
5. Disaster Handbook (English, Chinese, Korean and Tagalog)
6. Disaster Handbook (English, Vietnamese, Nepali and Indonesian)
7. Traffic Safety Guidelines
8. Tips for Avoiding Cyber Crime
9. Aeon Sendai - Supermarket (Downtown)
10. Gyomu Super - Supermarket (Downtown, Halal food available)
Contact
Arrangement & Inquiries (Please put your name in the email subject.):
International Education Section, Student Exchange Division
Hours: 9:00 am-17:00 pm, Mon-Fri
Counter #6-B, 2nd floor, Education and Student Support Center (A01 on the map), Kawauchi Campus,
41 Kawauchi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8576 Japan
E-mail: mext-tohoku*grp.tohoku.ac.jp (please replace the "*" with "@")