"Beatiful building. Every first Monday of the month an event takes place. There is a language exchange group, food stands (too pricy though. You may pay 20 euros for 10 sushi pieces maybe even less. There is free kirin beer. I don't know why but everyone says they would be happy for a donation. If you pay for the food and to take you plant with you what's the point in donating for example to the kirin bier stand lady? This isn't a non-profit event organized by 5 people, this is a foundation institution."

Agelos

"They have an open day once a month. A few stalls usually sell food and have themed activities."

Ther Canto

"I took the N4 exam at the JDZB. The exam itself was well-organized, and the examiners did everything they could to ensure that no one was disqualified for negligence, such as accidentally leaving a cell phone on vibrate instead of turning it off or not writing down exam numbers correctly. The rules were indeed very well followed during the exam. However, parts of the listening comprehension section were incomprehensibly difficult. The level was at N3-N2 in some sections, due to the speed and difficulty of the vocabulary. One section was so unusually difficult for the level being tested that even the examiner looked at it in astonishment, looked through the exam booklet, and searched in vain for further pages. A very Japanese exam indeed. Personally, I wouldn't criticize that too much, since I was able to take the exam voluntarily. What was truly unacceptable, however, was the organization of the exam venue! The exam itself was already difficult, with the hardest part coming at the end after a good four hours (including breaks and preparation time, etc.). But the breaks were so incredibly loud (and this was before a hearing test—pretty stupid and rude of many of the participants who were so loud) that it was almost impossible to concentrate enough to pass the test. Everyone was supposed to be quiet during the breaks because N5 had a different schedule and was still taking their exam. However, this was implemented half-heartedly. A word was said at the beginning, but then completely ignored during the next few breaks. Instead of disqualifying the troublemakers, they were simply allowed to disturb everyone else. Writing a test of Japanese difficulty is one thing, but not having a test environment modeled on the Japanese system was absolutely unacceptable! Contrary to what was announced, no food or drinks were sold during the breaks. Since you weren't allowed to leave the building for four and a half hours without being disqualified, the whole thing was really poorly organized. There weren't even any quiet zones or break rooms. It shouldn't have been necessary, really... And everyone was happily chatting about the test questions during the breaks, even though that was actually forbidden. It's a shame the Japanese language exam was held under such poor conditions. Many more participants would certainly have felt better at the end of the exam if it had been conducted as planned! I sincerely hope that the exam can be held under better conditions in the future. It's quite special to be able to take the Japanese language exam in Germany!"

Jay Lenno