My name is Sailau Khakim, and I am a 3^rd year student studying Japanese philology at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. Recently, I have completed a semester studying abroad at Hokkaido University, Japan. It was a one semester program called Japanese Language and Culture Studies Program (JLCSP), where my main focus of study was Japanese language and culture. Initially this program was supposed to be on-site, but due to the current coronavirus situation in the world, I was not able to go to Japan and studied online at home. The period of my studies was from October 1^st, 2021, until February 28^th, 2022. Hokkaido University is one of the leading Japanese universities located in Sapporo, Japan. While studying at a Japanese university, I was able to immerse myself in Japanese culture and language, which improved my Japanese language skills. In addition, I deepened my knowledge of Japanese society and language, which is directly related to my major. Talking to native teachers and taking seminars with them helped me to improve the knowledge I gained at my university, and I think the knowledge I gained during this study will be useful to me in my future studies and in my work life. During my studies, I was given the opportunity to learn about Japanese society and the application of the language from all angles. At the same time, I had opportunities of introducing students from around to Kazakh culture. Many of my classmates gained interested in Kazakh language, culture and lifestyle. Thanks to all of this I was able to gain invaluable experience, which is necessary for every student. I am grateful to Al-Farabi Kazakh National University for the opportunity to study abroad, thanks to which I not only learned the Japanese language and culture, but also improved my skills in using a foreign language. Training gave me the opportunity to explore Japan more deeply, to acquire new useful knowledge, to broaden my horizons and perception of the world, and to become more knowledgeable in the specialty that I am now studying at my university.