I'm planning on studying in Japan for a year in autumn of 2025.
I've been looking at different schools, at first I considered GenkiJACS. While it's a very tiny school, it felt very real and passionate about giving you a good time while staying in Japan. Then I discovered ISI though GoGoNihon. Which, while promising at first, reading the reviews honestly left me appalled. I know reviews can be dramatic, but there are a lot of them, claiming the staff is rude and racist, very indifferent to your needs, the state of the classrooms and the behavior of students and restrooms. The videos of the school looked really nice at first but they felt awfully scripted too. The school also, allegedly, only offered one single culture trip for a whole year which didn't sit right with me.
I found a previous post about ISI and ARC through GoGoNIhon which almost exactly described my situation, however it was 4 years old, and it felt very outdated. But even being that old it described some of the issues the current reviewers mention in their posts on Google Maps, making me think that nothing has really changed at all in the school since. But I have no way of contacting alumni of any schools privately, so I'm left in the dark.
Since I will be staying for a year, I want to make sure I don't pick something I will regret. I don't intend to continue to a University or pass any high level exams. My main reason is holiday, experiencing Japan and its culture and learning average level Japanese. This too is why ISI feels somewhat wrong, as it's more of a Uni-preparing school, supposedly.
There're so many companies that offer a multitude of plans to attend an even larger assortment of schools that it all feels overwhelming. At this point I'm starting to consider studying by myself before I go, apply for a part time job and staying on a working holiday visa, not attending any schools.
Which schools would you recommend based on this? Do they also offer housing accommodation? I'm very adamant on being in the Kyoto region.
by Dx8pi