Hey,
I’m an American student about to graduate from college in June and receive my bachelor’s degree. I’m interested in committing to study Japanese, and I would like to take the time doing so to enjoy life in Japan before entering the workforce full-time. I’ve decided that I want to attend a language school in Tokyo, and I was hoping I can get some recommendations for schools through Go Go Nihon.
Like I said, I am serious about becoming proficient in Japanese, as my long-term goal is to have a career and live my life in Japan, and I know that likely the best way to become acclimated to a language is by talking with others, specifically native speakers. I also intend to work part-time while attending language school, and for these reasons, I am unsure if the 4 out of 5 “School Intensity” options are best for me, as I also want to make sure I’ve got time to go out, do stuff, make friends, and talk with others. Also, when looking this up before for info, I’ve seen some posts say that the 3 intensity is more like what Go Go Nihon’s describes as a 4, and that they were swamped with work and did not find themselves with much time for a job and leisure. I would especially appreciate if people with experience at the language schools could give me their opinion on this.
Two particular schools that caught my attention were Yoshida Institute of Japanese Language and Shinjuku Japanese Language Institute, as they are close to Waseda University and as it describes, “caters to a student’s lifestyle.” I am open to any recommendations for a school, but these two were just those I was looking at as of now. Also, I would love to know if there is an easy way to get an idea of what pricing would look like for a private apartment. Especially with these two schools being in Shinjuku, I am not sure if the apartments are much more likely to be on the expensive side. Go Go Nihon also lists accommodation partners like Fontana, which states that rent for a private apartment is around ¥80,000 per month, but I’d very much appreciate a way to get specific prices of apartments in areas around Tokyo, as I’m not having much luck with Google.
Another question I have is about course costs. I hope to study for 24 months, but I would first like to make sure that the experience is right for me before committing to the full two years. If I choose to enroll in a 6 month course and then would like to extend my enrollment, is there any downside such as a risk of potentially not retaining my spot? Or is the only drawback that tuition will be more expensive than if I had just paid for the 24 months initially?
Furthermore, I see that on the FAQ, it states that you will likely need a JLPT N5 certificate or a document proving 150 hours of Japanese class. I had taken 4 semesters worth of Japanese at a community college from Fall 2019 to Spring 2021 prior to transferring to my current university. I’m assuming this will suffice for the requirement?
Lastly, will a student at a Japanese language school remain eligible for a program such as JET following completion of one’s time at the school? I’m not sure if people already living in Japan for a period of time aren’t able to participate in JET afterwards or something.
I have also contacted Go Go Nihon with a lot of these questions already and am waiting for a response.
Thanks in advance for advice!
4 comments
So I have not been to a language school yet but I’m about to submit applications for the April 2024 term. I can answer some of your questions.
1. GoGoNihon will be able to provide you with schools that will help with your preferred intensity. I am personally applying for Tokyo Galaxy as it fits my needs.
2. I also plan to use Fontana. A reason to do so is because the apartments are already furnishes and provide English support which I believe is very important. You could go through other private groups but because you are a foreigner, they might not lease the apartment to you.
3. You can apply for 6 months and if you want to stay longer you can apply to extend your visa. As long as you are passing and attending your classes, there should be no issue.
4. As long as you provide documentation that you took classes or a note from your teacher, they would accept the 150 hours.
5. I’m not familiar with the schools you are interested in but they should have staff be able to help you with post language school employment/ further education.
I recommend taking a deeper dive on GoGoNihons website. Specifically the FAQ page as it helps answer some of these questions and others you haven’t thought of. Also their blogs are pretty interesting. They also have a TikTok and YouTube page if you want some video guides on schools and/or tips for living in Japan. Hope I was able to help!
Edit: Fixed formatting.
ooh boy okay here we go. My background here is I came in via language school on a student visa, but now am working with the usual engineering/humanities/etc. visa.
For language school choice, all I can say is I went to intercult in “akihabara” (really okachimachi) which is a 3 and it was fine, but as you go up in level the workload gets more and more, which I think is just unavoidable tbh, but I have friends still going there and climbing levels while working part time and still have time to hang out, it’s doable.
Yeah don’t live in shinjuku or whatever, you don’t need to live near your school, you just need to figure out what tolerance you have for commute. There’s cheap areas of Tokyo to live in that aren’t a terrible commute to the core areas where a school would be. The further out you are and the older the building is, the cheaper things get.
you can look at [Gaijinpot apartments](https://apartments.gaijinpot.com/en/rent) to get a feel for the what apartments cost with the english friendly tax on top, or you can look at [suumo](https://suumo.jp/chintai/kanto/) for everything that’s been listed online. However online listings aren’t everything, eventually you’ll need to talk to an agent and they tend to have more stuff around than what is online at the moment (more up to date info, etc.)
As for commitment, I’m not sure exactly what it looks like at every school but when I did intercult through gogonihon I said I was gonna go for the full two years, but they still did the payments for every 6 months, and when I quit for work they refunded for the months I paid for but wouldn’t be there for.
The N5 certificate thingy isn’t a hard line. I had no JLPT cert and just self study before I came here and saying that I had X amount of self study hours was fine.
I can’t see why you wouldn’t be allowed to JET after school, but there’s also plenty of other english teaching jobs that could maybe sponsor a visa after school if that’s what you wanna do.
I went to Japanese language school for 21 months immediately after graduating university, and went from N4 to N1 during that time. It was the best decision of my life and I hope you get a chance to experience it as well! Here’s my thoughts in bullet points, but feel free to ask for more details if you want to know more:
・Not getting a part-time job while I was studying is my only regret. It would have provided more opportunities for me to use Japanese outside of the classroom and gotten me used to using honorific language sooner. I spoke Japanese with drinking buddies and girlfriends, but this is not the kind of language you will use when you enter the workforce.
・I don’t know your personality or if you have experience living in Japan, but I personally think living in a sharehouse is a better initial option than a private apartment. It makes it easier to make friends in the beginning. Introversion paired with not speaking the local language can turn a private apartment into solitary confinement. Sharehouses also tend to be a little cheaper (¥50,000-¥70,000 in major cities).
・I extended my enrollment another 3 months after the original 18 months. I can’t imagine a school saying no. They want the money.
・I know nothing about JET requirements, but that shouldn’t even be on your radar. Once you become proficient in Japanese, the goal should be to use your skills in the workplace.
Just a couple of points:
– You don’t need to go through GGN, any good school will happily organise with you directly with an English speaking staff member.
– It’s much easier to get away with not having to use Japanese day to day in Tokyo. There are plenty of people that visit and live in Tokyo (for YEARS) with basically zero Japanese ability. If you pick a school elsewhere you will be forced to use your developing language skills day to day.
– Don’t apply for JET after language school, apply for further training or a job.