I felt this fit better here than the other subs, so I decided to just post here.
I am from Norway, 26 years old, soon to be 27 this summer.
For some months now I have been studying japanese by myself out of pure interest. I absolutely love the process of learning the kanas, and the complex world of kanji is so intriguing to me. I love drawing, so this is another factor when learning kanji, as it is such an elegant writing style with intricate lines and forms. Anyway.
I have seriously thought about going to Yamasa Institute for a year or two in Japan. I have researched it closely, and it seems to be a perfect place for what and how I want to learn. The tuition is actually surprisingly cheap, with accommodation included, which is very nice. I’d easily be able to take a loan from the system we have here in Norway regarding loans to support the entire thing.
I really wanted to do that. It’s my dream to be able to live in Japan, their culture is so fascinating to me.
But then my dreams were crushed… because I realized two things.
1. Student visa. It costs around 1,5 Million JPY. Even with the fact that I’m working now, that kind of money just makes the whole thing a real struggle, and it sucks.
2. Getting some kind of job afterwards with no bachelor yet. I don’t have a bachelor yet, and I’ve heard everywhere that it is essential to have one if you want to find work in Japan.
I kept reading all these things about people saying it is a worthless dream to go to a language school just because you find another language so interesting, and really want to learn all about it. Because, at the end of the day, after you are done with the language school, you’re without a bachelor and you have no other skills to show for to be employed in Japan. The natives are already way better at speaking than you even after you finish the school and they HAVE skills to apply in different jobs there.
It’s just sad. I guess this is a bit of a rant, but I’m mostly wondering about this;
Is there anything else at all I can do at this point, other than just kneeling down and giving up? Every day, I keep learning japanese, listen to various media completely in japanese and I want to completely immerse myself in it. This is why a language school IN Japan is interesting to me, not one in Norway, where I honestly would be too exposed to my own language all day.
Has anyone done something different to achieve something similar to what I hope to do? Or is it useless?
2 comments
Have you explored the option of learning the language somehow (language school or self-study), and then get a bachelor’s in Japan?
It’s clear you have a dream to live in Japan and it’s great, it would be helpful for us if you could also list out **how much time and budget** you are able to spend on this dream. On top of that, what employable skills do you have? If it involves tech or coding, there’s still a chance for you to work at international companies (they tend to pay better anyways). I do agree with the people you’ve quoted on that having employable skills is important when it comes to job-hunting. That constitutes a different set of problems, independent of your language learning journey. You have at least done some research on “language learning” —- what steps you have taken to address the “employable skills” department?
side note: Japan has a ton of international students from developing countries. Maybe **check your sources** because I don’t think it’s realistic that the visa alone would cost 1.5 million yen. Based on a quick Google search,
>How Much is the Japan Student Visa Fee? The fees for Japan Visas are as follows: Single-entry visa: 3,000 Yen. Double-entry or multiple-entry visa: 6,000 Yen.
>Student visa. It costs around 1,5 Million JPY. Even with the fact that I’m working now, that kind of money just makes the whole thing a real struggle, and it sucks.
Are you sure that’s the cost of the visa, and not just the amount that you have to show that you have access to in order to finance your stay?
A student visa in Japan may allow limited part-time work to offset the costs of living and studying, with permission from Immigration.