Breaks Between Sections

[kurisuti]

Just wondering - since I'm assuming you do each section of the exam (Reading/Listening/Kanji) at seperate times, what exactly can you do during the 30 minute breaks between these sections? It seems kind of like a waste of an hour & a half to me rofl. Though if you're allowed to review during that time, would be nice I suppose

[Harisenbon]

It is the biggest waste of time.
There's really no reason for it that I can tell, and even the lunch-hour is completely unnecessary.

If they just started the test after lunch, with 5 minute breaks between sections, the entire process would be much less painful, I think.

[spin13]

The breaks are to help you unwind by ogling Korean girls, no?

[katafei]

You can use the time to review. I usually do. And I'm also grateful for the possibility to go outside and get a bit of fresh in between. A bare necessity for my brains

Oh, as non-native english speaker: by reviewing, I mean look through your own study material and so on, you don't get to review the part of the exam you just finished...

[kurisuti]

I see I see~ I'll be sure to bring a snack, vocab review, and my ipod (gotta have jpop bwuahaha)

[ThePacster]

You can use the time to review. I usually do. And I'm also grateful for the possibility to go outside and get a bit of fresh in between. A bare necessity for my brains

Oh, as non-native english speaker: by reviewing, I mean look through your own study material and so on, you don't get to review the part of the exam you just finished...

I may have missed something, but how can we review when we're not allowed to bring anything but pencils?

[spin13]

You're only allowed pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, and a clock on the table but, as far as I know, there are no rules about what belongings you have in your bag, be it textbooks or your lunch.

[mbridge]

hmm... I took 1 kyuu, and my breaks were only about 15 minutes long. The tests were scheduled with 20~25 minutes of free space in between, but some of that is spent giving out and collecting papers, in addition to reading directions, waiting for people who are late, getting technical problems (book is printed correctly? audio is audible?) sorted out.

I had about 10 minutes between tests (which were 45, 45, and 90 minutes long per section) to sort out bathroom business and head back in to small talk a little with my neighbors.
You can bring a backpack of whatever you want. They don't search your bags nor confiscate your phone. All they ask is that nothing on you makes any beeping (cell phone or watch). If you're taking 2 kyuu or 1 kyuu, I would advise packing a light lunch.