Homestay sucked for me (in Kyoto). It was more of a share house with dinner than a real family experience. Turns out I vastly preferred living on my own (not to

Homestay sucked for me (in Kyoto). It was more of a share house with dinner than a real family experience. Turns out I vastly preferred living on my own (not to mention it was about half the price), and got plenty of culture making normal friends at university instead. I know another guy who stayed with a host family who ran a cat cafe and had practically an anime-type experience and became de facto part of their family, so it's a bit of a lottery and does depend on your personality too.