Has anyone done a homestay in japan?

Question:

I am hoping to do a homestay in Tokyo japan next year but I want to know about someones experience because i haven't done anything like this before. I am 16 so the host family will be putting me in a high school, if someone else has done this what was it like. Also will two weeks be long enough to get the full experience? And I am black British so I heard that I would be met with curiosity about my skin tone.

Answer:

I actually did a homestay program in Naka-shi, Japan, last summer! It was one of the best trips I'd ever taken. I learned a lot about their culture, which is saying a lot because I actually am Japanese and was born there. As to what you'll be expecting, it will depend on the family. They say Asian families are strict, but my homestay family was way more lenient and laid back than my family here. However, all ten of us that did the program all agreed that the families were extremely nice and considerate, and most of us were told to call the mother and father "Mom" and "Dad".

I think two weeks is good enough to get the experience as well as any foreigner could. We only got one week, but that was enough time to get used the family's regular schedules and to get to know how their family worked. And seeing as all of us cried when we had to go back, it was definitely enough time to get to know and to start caring about each other.

As long as you're in Tokyo, I don't think you'll get that many stares for your skin tone. After all, it is a city of tourist attractions. I actually saw about a dozen black men working in stores in Harajuku.