Young Traveler

Hello there everyone,

I'm fourteen and interested in visiting Japan during one of the upcoming summers. I have some family there, but most are too busy to take me in. I was looking at a few homestay listings and what-not but I couldn't help but feel a bit on edge. Being that I was born in raised in the U.S. where you can walk to the store alone I'm not sure who I can and/or can't trust. How would i be able to tell if a family is trustworthy? Thank you, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Homestays seem pretty safe any where in the world. I don't see how you can judge the family beforehand. Perhaps focus on analyzing the homestay organization.

Maybe I should have worded it better, maybe asking for signs to look for, things to find out or understand before staying with a host family.

As suggested by ChicagoMike, I would focus on finding a reputable homestay/exchange student program organization. They select and register trustworthy families to send their students to.

Try LABO. I did this homestay program twice, and heard that finding a "bad" homestay family hardly ever happens for the kids. They screen them before they allow anyone to stay in their homes.
Also, my experiences were wonderful, and the 4 host families were all very respectful and trustworthy.

LABO is definitely very reputable, and the homestay families are usually much nicer than those of other organizations that I've noticed.

In regards to your comment about going to the convenience store alone, in Japan it is very safe to do that however, I must say that in a host family situation you will probably not have that kind of freedom. Your host family is responsible for you, so they usually don't feel comfortable letting you roam around alone. Going out with a host brother/sister is usually okay though.

Japan is at least 3 times as safe as the USA

Hello everyone,

I really appreciate the replies. Some of your replies have led to a few more questions though. I had previously heard about a program called LABO and bookmarked it awhile back because of the relatively cheap price. Upon looking it up I found two different homestay programs listed with the same name but drastically different prices. I'll provide you with the links:

The one I originally found:
http://labo-exchange.com/in-japan-homestay.htm

The new one:
http://letshomestay.com/labo/

The first one has a website that looks a bit more... how do I put it... unprofessional? Along with that the price is pretty decent at only $1,300 aside from airfare; well from what I understand from the brochure: http://labo-exchange.com/downloads/discover_japan_brochure.pdf

The brochure doesn't go very in depth, it talks about a camp and a homestay, but I really would like more information. What cities do you visit? What kinds of places to you visit, eat? I'm really very eager to learn more about this program from those of you that either experienced it or had a relative/friend experience it.

In response to the post directly above me: I really was looking forward to being able to roam/explore. Does anyone have any ideas or know of any programs that would allow young 14/15 year olds explore Japan "somewhat" freely. I'm relatively responsible and well-rounded kid that would have no trouble getting around by himself so long as it's safe. Does anyone have any ideas of what I would be able to do to stay in Japan as an adult or sorts yet still have people to guide me? I have family in Japan, family of relatives, and not sure whether it would be rude or not to sort of invite myself. Any help would be greatly appreciated!