Rikkyo University

Located in Tokyo, Japan, Rikkyo University was founded in 1874 by an American Episcopal-Church missionary priest. It is one of the oldest and nationally recognized research universities in Japan with 10 colleges; namely Liberal Arts, Economics, Science, Sociology, Law, Tourism, Community & Human Services, Psychology, Intercultural Communication and Business. Its undergraduate and graduate programs currently enrol about 19,000 undergraduate and 1,500 graduate students.

Rikkyo University has two campuses: The Ikebukuro campus, located in the center of Tokyo, is home to College of Business and six other colleges, while the Niiza campus, about 30 minutes westward by train in the neighbouring Saitama prefecture, is home to the colleges of Tourism, Community & Human Services, and Psychology.

School’s Main Website | International / Exchange Student Website

GPA requirement:

2.5 / 4.0

Language of instruction:

Japanese, English

Courses:

Course descriptions can be found in respective college’s webpage.
Course descriptions for College of Business (COB) can be found in COB webpage.

Japanese language courses
Rikkyo University offers Japanese language courses ranging from J0 (Beginner) to J8 (Advanced) for international students interested in taking up the language. Before doing so, you must take a placement test at the orientation. You will be tested for grammar, reading, writing, and speaking ability. Students with no prior learning experience in Japanese will be tested for Hiragana and speaking only. Those who wish to take J0 classes do not have to take placement test.

For more information about the levels of Japanese language courses, you can go here!

Flying Chalks’ tip: Do note that the language of instruction for most courses offered in colleges other than COB is Japanese. Certain conditions also apply before you may be registered for courses outside of COB. 

Course registration process:

The “Special International Students’ Program” is open for short-term international students accepted through partner institutions or foreign governments. Direct applications from students are not accepted.

For more information on the program and course registration, you can go here!

Flying Chalks’ tips:

• Apart from certain courses with limited enrolment for exchange students, students will be guaranteed a place in the classes they register for.
• Be sure of the courses you are registering for as you are not allowed to add or drop courses after the submission deadline.

Attendance policy:

Attendance policy differs across professors, but generally speaking, those with bigger classes usually are not very strict with attendance.

Rikkyo University has two campuses and the one that you’ll be attending lessons at depends on the courses you’re taking.

Campus map:

Rikkyo University's campus map can be found here!

Selected facilities:

Library
​The library at the Ikebukuro campus is huge and really pretty. It is conducive for studying, and allows you to print stuff there for free too! However, you will have to either loan one of their laptops or make use of their desktops there to connect to the printer.

Athletic Center
The athletic center offers a 50-meter heated pool, tennis courts, and other facilities for use in coursework and extracurricular activities.

Food on campus:

Daiichi Shokudo, Rikkyo University’s Main Dining Hall, is famous for its delicious yet cheap Japanese food. It is also open for public to visit. Daiichi Shokudo is open from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm on weekdays, and 10:00 am to 5:30 pm on Saturdays. Between 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm, they offer limited-time special and some menu items are priced lower. As the menu is written in Japanese, you may require assistance from someone with basic Japanese ability.

Campus transportation:

Students commuting between home and the campus by train or bus, can ride at a discount by purchasing a student commuter pass.

To purchase a student commuter pass for the train, students must bring their student ID and a commuter pass certificate to a train station with a commuter pass office. Obtaining a student commuter pass for the bus requires the student to obtain a Commuter’s Certificate from the university and then taking it to the sales office of the bus line.

Orientation program:

The school holds an orientation program for the exchange students over a course of almost 2 weeks. During this period, you will be briefed about the course registration process and other administrative matters such as the health insurance, your residence card, opening a bank account etc. You will also be required to attend a safety briefing where you will have to go through a rather interesting course on how to react to different emergency situations.

Buddy program:

In Rikkyo University, the school will connect you with a buddy on your first day of school. The program also includes events such as tours around Tokyo to provide for opportunities of interaction. As most of Japanese students there are really interested in learning about the foreign cultures, you can expect an interesting and engaging experience!  

University events:

Rikkyo university has various university events specially organized for exchange students such as:

1. Welcome reception for new international students
2. Day trip bus tours
3. Homemade lunches
4. Trips to Tokyo Big 6 Baseball League games
5. Lunch break get together
6. Christmas parties
7. Tea parties
8. Home visits

University wide events include Sports Fair and School Fair. For more information about the school’s calendar, you can go here!

There are many malls surrounding the Ikebukuro campus that allows you to find almost anything you need there. People usually head to Roppongi for nightlife, Harajuku/Shinjuku/Shibuya for shopping, Daiso/any other 100yen stores for necessities and any nearby supermarkets for groceries. There are also many convenience stores all over Japan, which offers a wide variety of food and snacks.

For food:

Flying Chalks’ recommendations:

• Zozoi Café – perfect for girls who are looking for a nice and sweet-looking café
• Mouku Tanmen – popular for its super spicy Chinese noodles
• Sakura Café – popular among foreigners and has 60 different beers from all over the world (24 hours)

For daily necessities and groceries:

For daily necessities and groceries, “Seven-Eleven”, “Lawson”, and “Family Mart” are relatively easy to find around the university area.

For shopping:

Sunshine City is one of the most exhaustive shopping places near Rikkyo University. Other than that, you can also go to Seibu Ikebukuro Main Store which is connected to Ikebukuro subway station. It has an underground shopping area in if you want to buy various kinds of skin care products.

Taking the airport limousine bus is the easiest way to get to and from the airport as you won’t have to worry about having to change trains or squeezing with other commuters.

The main campus which most students go to is the one at Ikebukuro, a 10 to 15 minutes’ walk away from Ikebukuro station. The other campus is located at Niiza, which you can access by the shuttle buses provided from Niiza/Shiki stations.

Getting from Narita International Airport to Rikkyo University:

• By taxi, it will take around 1 hour without traffic
• By subway, it will take around 60-90 minutes. You can take either the Skyliner line or Keisei line and then change to Yamanote line. Both are from Terminal 2 Station.
• If you want to take airport limousine bus, it will cost around 3,000 yen for one-way. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket counters of the Airport Limousine. The depots of the Airport Limousine are all located near the arrival lobby on the ground floor of Terminal 1 and 2.