Hey, lurker for a while now, hope this posts works as standalone as I’ll try to share as much info as I can and would appreciate any advice or insights I may be missing.
28M from a SEA country, and serving my last two weeks of notice for my current employment. I’ve started looking into applying for Japanese language schools in Tokyo for the April semester. I am a native English speaker.
I have a bit of savings which should allow me to pass the visa requirements of 2.5M yen AFAIK, and also have parents to sponsor me if required.
日本語 background:
I’ve self-studied for a while years back and passed N4 in 2018, and haven’t worked much on it until this year when I started going for weekly classes earlier in the year. It’s fun definitely but with work, I haven’t put in as much effort as I’d like to further study as I’m drained at the end of the day. Working on conversational skills mostly, but my end goal is to pass JLPT N3/N2 eventually.
Employment status:
I have a Bachelor’s degree if that matters, but only 2 years of full-time working experience post-graduation.
Leaving my current employment so with my life unplanned for the near future, I’ve been wanting to stay in Japan for an extended period already, but my country is not on the list for working holiday visas and I don’t think I have enough working experience to qualify for a working visa. Hence, looking into studying Japanese and working part time to immerse myself as much as possible.
Japan experience:
I’ve been to Japan 4 times (2012, 2018, 2019, 2023), with a full month in July for a summer university session in 2019, and the last 3 times all on solo trips, so I’d like to think I’m comfortable enough to get around on my own.
As of now, I’ve tried looking out to GaijinPot for some early assistance in the matter, so if anyone has experience with them, I would appreciate if you could share! Otherwise, I’m not quite sure if it would be easier/harder to apply for a student visa on my own and to apply directly to a JP language school. Ideally, I am looking to study for at least 6 months now and any potential work opportunities as well.
If by chance I’ve missed out any other ways to stay in Japan for an extended period (that does not involve being an English teacher), do let me as well.
Thanks so much for anyone who has read this far, and appreciate all replies!
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Advice for moving to Japan for studying Japanese language**
Hey, lurker for a while now, hope this posts works as standalone as I’ll try to share as much info as I can and would appreciate any advice or insights I may be missing.
28M from a SEA country, and serving my last two weeks of notice for my current employment. I’ve started looking into applying for Japanese language schools in Tokyo for the April semester. I am a native English speaker.
I have a bit of savings which should allow me to pass the visa requirements of 2.5M yen AFAIK, and also have parents to sponsor me if required.
日本語 background:
I’ve self-studied for a while years back and passed N4 in 2018, and haven’t worked much on it until this year when I started going for weekly classes earlier in the year. It’s fun definitely but with work, I haven’t put in as much effort as I’d like to further study as I’m drained at the end of the day. Working on conversational skills mostly, but my end goal is to pass JLPT N3/N2 eventually.
Employment status:
I have a Bachelor’s degree if that matters, but only 2 years of full-time working experience post-graduation.
Leaving my current employment so with my life unplanned for the near future, I’ve been wanting to stay in Japan for an extended period already, but my country is not on the list for working holiday visas and I don’t think I have enough working experience to qualify for a working visa. Hence, looking into studying Japanese and working part time to immerse myself as much as possible.
Japan experience:
I’ve been to Japan 4 times (2012, 2018, 2019, 2023), with a full month in July for a summer university session in 2019, and the last 3 times all on solo trips, so I’d like to think I’m comfortable enough to get around on my own.
As of now, I’ve tried looking out to GaijinPot for some early assistance in the matter, so if anyone has experience with them, I would appreciate if you could share! Otherwise, I’m not quite sure if it would be easier/harder to apply for a student visa on my own and to apply directly to a JP language school. Ideally, I am looking to study for at least 6 months now and any potential work opportunities as well.
If by chance I’ve missed out any other ways to stay in Japan for an extended period (that does not involve being an English teacher), do let me as well.
Thanks so much for anyone who has read this far, and appreciate all replies!
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I’m not quite clear on what your goal is.
If it’s just to have an extended stay in the country, then yeah language school is easy way in. You can stay for a max 2 years total, then you have to move to another status of residence (visa).
English teaching is another (relatively) easy way in, and you’ll earn some money.
If it’s to stay in Japan long term, what kind of work do you want to do/work towards to be able to stay in Japan?
coming to japan is easy. Getting a job to stay in japan is another story.
if you don’t mind spending 2 years in language school and finally going back home because it is hard to find a job then go for it.
otherwise research more on job opportunities for your fields.
Dont resign from your job before getting CoE. It might lower your chance according to some agents.
gogonihon or gaijinpot, whichever should be fine.