Kobe.

Student nightlife centres on Sannomiya and Motomachi, packed with izakaya, live-music houses and bars, with the harbour and Chinatown adding atmosphere. Kobe University's hillside campus fosters a close community and a lively autumn festival, and Osaka's bigger scene is a quick train away when you want more. The mix of local students and Kansai's international crowd makes it easy to settle in.

• Sannomiya's backstreets are wall-to-wall izakaya and bars, the go-to student night out.
• Catch live music at a Kobe 'live house', then wander Nankinmachi Chinatown for late snacks.
• Ask the Kobe Studcasa group which izakaya and circles are most welcoming to exchange students.

Kobe runs a little cheaper than central Osaka or Tokyo, so budget 850 to 1,150 euros a month. Flats near the hillside campus areas are more affordable than the flashy waterfront, a Chinatown snack or bakery lunch is cheap, and an ICOCA card keeps transport simple. Kobe beef is the one splurge you will want to save up for.

• Flats in the hill neighbourhoods are cheaper than the waterfront, expect 40,000-65,000 yen.
• Eat cheaply in Nankinmachi Chinatown and Kobe's celebrated bakeries.
• Use an ICOCA card across JR, Hankyu and Hanshin, three parallel lines serve the city.

Students rent small private flats through agencies or opt for a sharehouse to skip guarantor headaches and meet people. The Rokkodai area near Kobe University is the obvious student base, though it is hilly, while Sannomiya and Motomachi put you in the centre for a bit more. Compare the three parallel rail lines when picking a location, as one may be far handier for your campus.

• Rokkodai near Kobe University is the classic student area, if you don't mind the slopes.
• A sharehouse avoids key money and is an easy, social option for a semester.
• The Kobe Studcasa group is handy for flatmates and rooms passed on by leavers.

Three parallel east-west railways, JR, Hankyu and Hanshin, run the length of Kobe, backed by a municipal subway, city buses, and the automated Port Liner out to Port Island and the airport. The Rokko cable car climbs the mountain for one of Japan's finest night views. The city is long and thin, so trains handle east-west and your legs or a bus handle the short uphill.

• Pick the line, JR, Hankyu or Hanshin, that best serves your campus and home.
• Take the Port Liner to Kobe Airport, or the Rokko cable car up for the night panorama.
• An ICOCA card works on every train, subway and bus across Kansai.

Kobe University is a leading national university spread across campuses on the Rokko hillside, strong in economics, maritime sciences and the humanities, and a popular exchange host with English-taught options and Japanese-language support. Konan University and, just over in Nishinomiya, Kwansei Gakuin add well-regarded private options. The academic feel is serious but the setting, overlooking the bay, is hard to beat.

• Kobe University's Rokkodai campuses offer exchange tracks and Japanese-language classes.
• Kwansei Gakuin, a short train east in Nishinomiya, is another strong exchange option.

For a full semester you'll need a Student visa, and the reality depends on your nationality, but the shape is broadly the same. Your host university applies for a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) on your behalf inside Japan, which can take 1–2 months. Once it arrives, you take it to a Japanese embassy or consulate at home and they issue the visa, usually within a week and often free or cheap.

At the airport you're handed a Residence Card ('zairyu' card), carry it at all times. Within 14 days you must register your address at the local city hall and enrol in National Health Insurance (around ¥1,500–2,000/month, covering 70% of medical costs). Want a part-time job? Apply for 'permission to engage in activity other than that permitted' and you're cleared for up to 28 hours a week.

• Student visa needs a COE, your uni applies, allow 1–2 months
• Register at city hall and join health insurance within 14 days
• Work permit clears you for up to 28 hours/week part-time

Kobe's food identity is famous worldwide: marbled Kobe beef, of course, but also the Nada district, Japan's biggest sake-producing area, where you can tour breweries and taste freely. The port history left a deep bakery and Western-sweets culture, Nankinmachi Chinatown does cheap street eats, and comfort food like sobameshi rounds it out. The hillside Ijinkan foreign residences make an atmospheric wander.

• Tour a Nada sake brewery, such as Hakutsuru, and taste fresh, local sake.
• Save up for a Kobe beef teppanyaki meal at least once, or try a cheaper beef bowl.
• Graze Nankinmachi Chinatown and Kobe's renowned bakeries for everyday eating.

Sannomiya is the transport and nightlife hub, Motomachi its shopping-and-Chinatown neighbour, and Kitano the hillside quarter of old Western merchant houses with real charm. Nada to the east is sake country, Rokkodai is the student campus district up the slope, and Harborland and Meriken Park give you the waterfront. Central for social life, hill for cheaper student rooms.

• Sannomiya and Motomachi: central, connected and the best for nightlife and shops.
• Kitano: atmospheric hillside streets of historic foreign residences.
• Rokkodai: the student neighbourhood by Kobe University, cheaper but hilly.

Kobe sits perfectly for Kansai weekends. Osaka is 30 minutes and Kyoto about an hour, the magnificent Himeji Castle 40 minutes west, and the old onsen town of Arima just over the mountain behind the city. Nara's deer park, Awaji Island's beaches and the night view from Mt Rokko or Maya are all close, making day trips effortless with an ICOCA and a rail pass.

• Visit Himeji Castle (about 40 minutes west), Japan's finest original castle.
• Soak at Arima Onsen, reachable in around 30 minutes over Mt Rokko.
• Hop to Osaka (30 minutes) or Kyoto (an hour) whenever you want a bigger city.

Work out which of the three parallel rail lines best serves your daily route, it can save you real time and money. Kobe is hilly the moment you head inland, so factor the uphill into your flat hunt and your shoes. Remember the 1995 earthquake shaped the modern city, and enjoy how walkable and calm it feels compared with Osaka just next door.

• Choose your home around the handiest of the JR, Hankyu or Hanshin lines for your campus.
• Factor the slopes into housing, 'near the station' can still mean a steep climb.
• Base yourself in Kobe but use Osaka and Kyoto freely; a regional pass pays off quickly.