All AKP students live with homestay families in the Kyoto area throughout the duration of the program. Spending nine months with one family provides students with an ideal opportunity to experience Japanese culture intimately and to apply classroom learning by sharing to the fullest extent possible the lives and activities of a Japanese family. Students living with a family are exposed to a much broader range of linguistic and social situations than those living in dorms or apartments, and consequently find that their personal lives and academic endeavors complement each other. Of equal significance is the opportunity for the homestay families to come to a better understanding of the diverse population and traditions of the United States.

Over the years, AKP has built up a large pool of generous, experienced families with new families joining the program every year. Each family is screened by the Resident Director and the AKP Homestay Coordinator and every effort is made to place each student with a suitable family. An orientation is held for homestay families, and the student-family relationship is reinforced throughout the academic year by systematic follow-up, counseling, and mediation if necessary. For many AKP students, the homestay is the most memorable part of their Kyoto experience, and contact with their homestay families often continues long after the students have graduated from college.