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Studying in Japan

	How to Keep Study Costs Low
	Where to Study Japanese Types of Programs Finding a School Summer Language Courses
	Paying the Bills, ie. Work
	What to Know Before You Go Japanese Textbooks Japanese Customs Assistance for Foreigners Buying Books in Japan Cashing Foreign Checks
	Questions and Answers

So, you want to study Japanese? Perhaps as an exchange student in Japan, just to take a break and study abroad in Japan for a bit, or as a full-time Japanese language student? Studying Japanese in Japan can be a very rewarding experience, as I know from spending over a year doing it myself, so I hope that the tips and information that I provide in this section will help you.

In This Section
Tuition
Housing
Transportation
Food
Phone Calls
Plane Tickets

Related Pages
Part-Time Work

How to Keep Costs Low

Due to the reputation Japan has for high costs, your first worry when considering whether to go to Japan is probably whether you have enough money. In fact, things can be much cheaper than you probably think. Let's consider what I paid per month:

Tuition : 50,000 yen
Housing : 30,000 yen
Train Pass : 7,000 yen
Food : 20,000 yen
-----------------------
Total : 107,000 yen (~US$800)

How can you keep your expenses this low?

Tuition

Tuition expenses for a full time student don't vary all that much from school to school, so you can expect to pay about this much anywhere. However, many Japanese universities with a program for exchange students have extensive scholarship programs. Likewise, at language schools there are scholarships available for students who want to go to Japanese universities after finishing the language course, although unfortunately there are generally none for people who simply want to learn Japanese. In both cases you will usually need to apply after you arrive in Japan, so you have to cover the first semester's expenses yourself. Before you go you might want to see what sorts of scholarships you can apply for at your prospective school after you've arrived and if perhaps there are any that you can apply for even before going. Also check the Association of International Education, Japan for some scholarship information, especially if you hope to attend a Japanese university at some time in the future.

Housing

For housing, Osaka Prefecture has two dormitories for students with a "Ryuugakusei-Bisa" (Foreign Student Visa). As long as you are a full time foreign student (4-5 hours per day of class) at a University or Specialty School (language schools, fashion schools, etc.) then you are qualified to live in one of these dorms, at a cost of only 20,000 to 25,000 yen per month + utilities! (~US$180-230 per month) Before you go to Japan ask the language school that you will study at to get you a room in these dorms (just remember, you must have a student visa, a tourist or work visa isn't good enough).

Other prefectures may have similar programs and many schools have their own dormitories, so even if you don't go to Osaka it would be worthwhile to check in advance what's available. If you think you might be stuck with nowhere to stay then you should look for "Foreigner's House"s. These cost 30-60,000 yen per month and range from so-so to filthy. You can find a list of "Foreigner's House"s for the Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) area at Kansai Time Out - Classifieds.

Transportation

As far as the Train Pass goes, mine was actually at the upper end of the scale in terms of cost. First of all, as a full time student you can get a special student price for your train pass with a form your school will give you. Depending on the train line you take to school and the distance you travel the price will vary (in Osaka there are 7 different train companies and the company you use depends on where you commute from). Prices range from 8,000 yen for a 3 month pass on some of the cheaper lines to 23,000 yen per 3 months on the train line I used and can go even higher if you have to take multiple train lines to school.

Food

Now we come to food. The cost of food will vary drastically depending on how you eat. At the high end of the range there are many people who buy their food every day at convenience stores or restaurants. Slightly cheaper are those who cook western food for themselves and of course the cheapest of all is if you cook Japanese food for yourself.

One interesting thing about Japanese supermarkets is that instead of weekly sales the sale items change every day. This means that if you go often you can find some things extremely cheaply, for example chicken breast could be as cheap as 50 yen per 100 grams on sale (about $1.50 per pound), although the regular price is twice that.

Another thing to look for is small discount shops. For example, whereas a 10 kilo bag of Japanese rice at a supermarket was generally about 4,000 yen I found a discount shop which sold a 10 kilo bag of California rice for only 2,000 yen (note : Japan will soon be putting a 390% tariff on imported rice but discount shops also sell cheap Japanese rice so it's still worthwhile looking around). So look around and you could save a lot of money.

If you've heard a lot of horror stories about how expensive things are in Japan then you might consider checking Price Check Tokyo! to find out just how much normal staples such a McDonald's Hamburger or Starbuck's Coffee cost, it's not as much as you're probably thinking.

Phone Calls

Phone calls from Japan to the US can be made for as cheap as 19 cents per minute or from the US to Japan for as cheap as 6 cents per minute. Check my Other Japan Resources - Phone Calls page for details on these.

Plane Tickets

To get to Japan you'll need a plane ticket. These can be found for under US$450 for a round trip ticket from Los Angeles or under $500 from New York. Check my Buying a Cheap Plane Ticket page for detailed information.

Summary

As you can see above, studying in Japan does not need to be as expensive an experience as you probably supposed. Moreover, if you are a native English speaker then it is not that difficult to find jobs teaching English in the evening (see Working in Japan). If you do this then you can easily end up leaving Japan with more money than you went there with!

In This Section
Types of Programs
Finding a School
Summer Courses

Related Pages
Other Japan Sites

Where to Study in Japan

I have made every attempt to make this section accurate and detailed, but of course I cannot discuss things I know nothing about. For a different viewpoint and for more details about studying in Japan I highly recommend the Association of International Education, Japan Homepage. You might also want to check some of the Japan related sites at my Other Japan Resources - Other Web Sites page.

Types of Language Programs

Not all language schools are created equal, so you should make sure that the place you go to is a reputable school. There are three main types of Japanese language programs that I encountered. First I will describe the types of schools and then I will give my recommendations as to what are good schools.

University Exchange Programs (type 1)

For westerners the most common route seems to be studying as an exchange student at a Japanese university. Some universities are well prepared for these sorts of students and have an entire English language curriculum that they can take for their normal university credits back in the US, Canada, etc. The problem with these schools is that only a few hours a day are spent in Japanese language classes and the dorms for these students often contain only other westerners, so everyone ends up speaking English most of the time. If you're going to apply to this sort of program I'd recommend you request either a homestay or a dorm with Japanese people. Otherwise you might end up like a friend of mine who transfered to my language school after a year in such a program and was placed in only the second semester course.

University Exchange Programs (type 2)

The second type of university exchange program is with universities that have a Japanese language class for the exchange students, but no other special courses. My friends in these sorts of courses said that the first six months were very difficult because all of their courses were conducted in Japanese and they were studying alongside the normal Japanese students, but in the end they ended up speaking the language very well and had a great experience. This option is probably only for those who have previous Japanese experience and are willing to suffer for that first six months, but I think it would probably be the more productive experience of the two.

Full Time Language Study

The next option is to study as a full time student at a Japanese language school. This was what I chose to do and I was very satisfied with the results. Most of the students will be Asian -- typically about 50% Chinese / Taiwanese, 20% Korean, 20% other Asian, and only 10% "Western" -- which may feel a bit strange when you are one of the few "westerners", but this just provides a greater motivation to speak Japanese.

At a typical school the first semester text has translations of the Japanese into several languages such as Chinese, Korean, and English. Even at the beginning level the teacher speaks Japanese 99% of the time, which is very hard for everyone the first few weeks but within a month the students are all used to it. By the second semester the teacher speaks Japanese at a normal speed and the students converse fluently with each other in Japanese. This "full immersion" system is very effective, although probably frustrating at first. However it is really the only way to teach when the students come from so many different countries.

One problem with these schools is that they are intended for people who want to go to a Japanese university, and hence they are more focused on the reading, writing, and listening that is important for exams and spend less time on strict conversation practice. But you're in Japan and everyone is speaking Japanese so these are things that you will pick up even without instruction.

Part Time Language Study

The third option is to study part time, perhaps while working. Financially speaking this may be the easiest way to go, but if your goal is to learn Japanese then you should study full time. If you see the section on Studying Lowcost in Japan you will see that this really doesn't have to be as expensive as you may think. However, if you do choose to study part time then most schools offer both a morning course (3-5 times a week) and an evening course, among which you can choose the most appropriate for your work schedule.

Finding a Language School

First are some comments about the costs of different types of programs, since this will probably play a role in your decision. Next is the section listing language schools on the web and links to directories of language schools.

Part-Time Study

First I will consider part-time studies. Supposing you take a part-time course for two hours a day 5 days a week then you will probably pay around 30,000 yen for the entrance fee and another 120,000-180,000 yen tuition for a three month course. If you buy a local English language magazine (for example, "Kansai Time Out" in Osaka) you can find many schools advertising their Japanese language programs.

Another alternative that could save you a lot of money is to check if your prefecture has a government subsidized Japanese language course. In the case of Osaka there was one affiliated with the "International House" which was two hours a day 3 days a week and only cost a few hundred dollars for three months tuition. The drawbacks to these programs are that enrollment may be limited and there may be no homework or tests (to save teachers time and hence money, which helps keep the tuition so low). This can be more serious than it sounds because it takes away much of the motivation to study.

Full Time Study

Now we come to full-time studying. As far as cost is concerned you should expect to pay about 80,000 yen as an entrance fee / student visa fee (oftentimes waved if you have a spousal visa) and then about 330,000 yen per 6 months for tuition (usually payable in installments). However, as many prefectures have heavily subsidized part-time courses it may be worthwhile to check if there is a full-time one in the place you want to study. I don't know of any at the moment, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Language Schools on the Web

If you're not yet in Japan (or even if you are) then you should look at some of the directories and schools that I have gathered here. The school home pages I have links to are a few that I've run across, check NewGenji for a list of phone numbers and addresses of most of the language schools in Japan.

Language Schools in Osaka / Kansai

Osaka YWCA Language School. This is where I studied and it comes with my highest recommendations. I explain things about the school in detail, have brochure information and web links here.
Osaka & Kobe YMCA Language Schools. The YMCA is my second recommendation in the Kansai area and along with the YWCA is considered one of the 3 best schools in Osaka.
Kansai Foreign Studies University This University has probably the largest program in Kansai for University Exchange Students, with over 350 students per year. If you want to do a year abroad and receive credit at your university this may be an option.
Kansai Time Out. If you want to check beyond the YMCA and YWCA then you you should check the Kansai Time Out magazine which has a section of ads from perhaps a dozen schools. I have scanned in Page 1 and Page 2.
Yahoo! Language Schools Outside Tokyo

Language Schools in Tokyo, etc.

Directories of Japanese language schools throughout Japan

NewGenji has names, addresses, and phone numbers of almost every language schools in Japan.
NSC Japanese Language Schools Page
Studyabroad.com
Worldwide Classroom
Yahoo!'s Directory of Japanese Language Schools

Sites that contain lists of Japanese language schools mixed among other data

Focus Japan II. This has more about exchange programs than normal courses.
Japan : Exploring Your Options. The sites here include both places wanting to hire English teachers and places offering Japanese courses, don't miss the JEO Online link.

Summer Courses in Japanese

In searching for a summer program in Japan you will tend to find there are two types, those from mid-July to mid-August and those offering programs beginning around June. The reason for the strange timing of the former is that the summer vacation in Japan is at this time. Hence these programs tend to be the cheapest, tuition is only around 65,000 yen (~$550) for a 3-4 week course beginning in mid-July whereas the more convenient programs beginning in June cost 100,000 yen - 200,000 yen per month ($850-$1500). Housing is of course extra for both, a 1 month homestay with breakfast and dinner will cost about 65,000 yen.

The section here is about the mid-July to mid-August programs, you'll probably also want to check for info about programs that start in June so check the Summer Courses of Two Months or Longer page for that. If you look around the schools on the Language Schools on the Web page you should also be able to find some other summer language programs. Don't forget to check the Traveling Cheaply to Japan page before you buy your plane ticket and Making Cheap Phone Calls page on how to call home cheaply.

Osaka YWCA

The first summer program I know about is the Osaka YWCA. The program there is about 3 hours a day for 3 weeks (July 21 - August 7) and the cost of tuition, application, etc. is 65,000 yen (~US$500). They can also provide a homestay, I'm not sure about the cost of that but I think it's somewhere around 60,000 yen including breakfast and dinner.

Kobe YMCA

The Kobe YMCA also has a 4 week summer course. The home page says "July-August" so perhaps that means mid-July to mid-August, I'm not sure exactly. Tuition is 65,000 yen ($550) and it's 20 hours per week.

Kyoto Center For Japanese Linguistic Studies

Kyoto was the capital city of Japan for nearly 1000 years and as such it is full of old temples, shrines, etc. It also provides an interesting contrast between old and new Japan, you can enter old serene temple grounds but as soon as you walk out the gates you're back in the hustle and bustle of a modern world. Check the school's Summer Intensive Course page for information about the program.

The Yamasa Institute

This school is located near Nagoya and has 1 month courses beginning in June, July, and August. Tuition is ~100,000 yen per month (~$850) and housing ranges from 35,000 yen per month for a double to 65,000 for a homestay. You can find out more information on my Summer Courses of Two Months or Longer page or on The Yamasa Summer Programs Page.

Tokyo Schools

If you're more interested in the Tokyo area then unfortunately I don't know anything about school there so you'll just have to check some of the links on my Language Schools on the Web page page. In any case Kansai (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto) isn't a bad area for a short term visit because Kyoto and Nara are only 30 minutes to 1 hour away by local train (only $3 each way from Osaka to Kyoto!). If you don't know, Kyoto and Nara are Japan's two former capital cities before Tokyo and they're both full of ancient temples, shrines, etc. Also, the biggest festival in Japan is in Kyoto in June (Gion festival) and another big one is in Osaka in July (Tenjin festival) so that would be a reason to go to Kansai.

Other Schools

I've got info on a few more programs on my Summer Courses of Two Months or Longer page.

Programs in the US

An alternative to studying Japanese in Japan is to study it in a summer program in the US. One program I've heard good things about is the Middlebury University Summer Course in Japanese. The program is supposed to be total immersion (ie. you're only allowed to speak Japanese except a little English in class) and the Japanese resources are supposed to be excellent, including a large selection of Japanese movies and the TVs have only Japanese language programming. However it is rather expensive, tuition, room, and board ranges from $4,300 for a 6 week course to $5,800 for a 9 week course.

In This Section
Types of Work
Types of Visa

Related Pages
Jobs in Japan

Working in Japan

Types of Work

Now we come to the issue of finding work in Japan. In addition to the information here I'd recommend you check ESLJapan and ESL Japan's Discussion Board, especially if your goal in going to Japan is to find a job teaching English part time.

First let's consider what working in Japan means. For those who want to work full time this means finding a company that will hire you and sponsor your visa. If you plan on teaching English then the procedures are very similar to those of a student and this section should be useful to you (see especially The Work Visa section), for other types of work you should check my Other Resources - Working in Japan page. On the other hand, for those studying Japanese work provides a means of paying for living expenses and perhaps even saving some money. The best paying type of work is doing private tutoring. The minimum pay is about 3,000 yen but more typically runs in the 4,000 to 5,000 yen per hour range. The problems with this are (1) hours and locations are irregular, and (2) you may need to prepare for your lessons.

With these things in mind it may be a good idea to work at an "English Conversation School" (see Eikaiwa for a description of this work). Pay is typically 2,000 - 2,500 yen per hour for part-timers, not too great but you generally teach at fixed times every evening and preparation isn't necessary. For example, in my case I taught from 6:15 pm - 9:15 pm five days a week. These jobs also usually aren't too hard to find if you already have a visa that allows work (see below for information on this).

As far as finding a job is concerned, word of mouth will tend to find you the most lucrative positions. However, there are of course other ways. If you buy a local English magazine (again, such as "Kansai Time Out" or the "Kansai Flea Market" if you're in Osaka / Kyoto) there should be an employment section with lots of ads for jobs teaching English. You can also check the Other Resources - Working in Japan for many job resources and web sites of English schools recruiting internationally.

Now we come to the matter of what qualifications are necessary to get a job teaching English in Japan. There are two things you must have, (1) a four year college degree and (2) an appropriate visa. I don't need to address number one as everyone knows what that means. As for the visa, there are many types of visas.

Types of Visa

The Tourist Visa

The standard visa is the tourist visa, but unfortunately it is only a three month visa and you aren't supposed to work with it. Many people go to Japan on a "Tourist Visa" and then search for a company to sponsor their work visa, but that is now a much more difficult matter than it used to be. It's possible to do, but you might want to investigate matters a bit before you go because the current economic situation in Japan has greatly decreased the demand for such teachers.

The Working Holiday Visa

The next type of visa is one which Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders can receive (but not Americans) and that is the "Working Holiday Visa". This visa comes with permission to work up to 20 hours a week, although many people manage to evade this rule by either doing overtime or by taking two jobs of under 20 hours each. Depending on your country of origin this visa is good for a year or a year and a half. Check The Work Visa section for further details on finding a job.

The Student Visa

Then comes the "Student Visa". To get this visa you must study full time, defined as 25 hours a week or more, although many language schools get around this rule by having 4 hours of language class and 1 hour of optional math, science, etc. classes each day. You are not allowed to work for the first three months you are in Japan but after that you can work up to 20 hours a week. The limitation on working hours is so that you don't end up spending all your time on work and none of it on studying. Actually I would recommend that you try to stick with only 3 hours a day as 4 hours a day tends to leave you with no time to study.

The Work Visa

For those who don't plan on studying, the "Work Visa" is the best visa to have, but also the hardest to get. To qualify for this you need to have a language school in Japan sponsor your visa and also have a 4 year college diploma. There are basically two ways to get this visa, before you go to Japan or after you go there.

To get a visa before you go to Japan you will need to get hired first and for that you will need to find a language school that is interviewing in your area (the large language schools hire many of their teachers through interviews on site in the US, Canada, Australia, etc.). Check at your university or call some of the large language schools and ask if they are interviewing in your country. My Other Resources - Working in Japan page also provides links to companies recruiting around the world.

As far as getting a work visa after you go to Japan is concerned, it is best to have some work experience first, although it is not an absolute necessity. For example, holders of a "Working Holiday Visa" will often work for someone for a year under that visa and then get the company to sponsor their working visa.

You can find other useful information about working full time at Secrets on Teaching English in Japan.

The Spousal Visa

If your spouse is a Japanese citizen then you can get this visa. If you're not in that situation then I can't offer any advice on how to find a Japanese wife / husband.

In This Section
Japanese Texts
Japanese Customs
Help for Foreigners
Books
Money from Home

Related Pages
Other Japan Sites

Before You Go

Japanese Customs and Traditions

Once you finally reach Japan you're going to have to adjust to life there. You may already know a few things, such as that you should take off your shoes before you enter a house, but there's almost certainly quite alot you don't know yet so you might want to investigate things a bit in advance. To learn some of the essentials such as customs, logistics of daily life, banking, etc. there's a lot of good information at The Japan FAQ, and Japanese Manners and Etiquette. Although not really about customs and such, you can get a taste of some of the odder but still important aspects of life in Japan at Rob's Japan Photo Gallery.

It's also important to know some of the negative things in Japan before you experience them firsthand. Japanese Culture - A Primer talks about many aspects of the Japanese way of thinking that you're unlikely to read anywhere else but which you definitely want to know before you go. At the same time it also dispells many myths about Japanese extremism which you've probably read in the newspapers back home.

If you want to research things more then you can also try Kansai Gaidai's Page on Living With a Japanese Family, Yahoo! Destination Guides - Japan or The Mining Company's Guide to Japanese Culture site. To find out about where you can buy Japan related books, on such things as customs, etc. in your home country check my Other Resources - Buying Books In and Outside Japan page.

Japanese Textbooks and Online Help

At the moment I don't have textbook information but here are some sites to check for help learning Japanese. The Nihongo Journal is a monthly magazine that including grammar lessons, Japanese articles with English translations and vocabulary lists, and other helpful tools for your Japanese study. If you're interested in learning some regional Japanese dialects then you might want to check on Kansai-Ben. Kansai includes Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Nara and the Kansai dialect is the most widely spoken dialect other "standard Japanese" (Tokyo dialect). Also look through some of the sites on my Other Japan Sites page.

Assistance for Foreigners

Before you go to Japan you might want to visit an office of the Japan Foundation if there is one nearby. They will have assorted information on studying in Japan as well as a library of books about Japan. A list of their locations (about a dozen wordwide) are on the Japan Foundation web site.

You also might want to know of some places that help foreigners living in Japan. A list of many organizations around Japan is available on the Japan Foundation Home Page. In the Osaka area two good places to go are the International House and OFIX. Both have libraries with information on living in Japan and a wide variety of English language newspapers and magazines. There are also message boards where you can post a message that you're looking for a Japanese friend or for a language exchange, where you speak to the other person a bit in English and in return they help you with your Japanese. The message boards also have postings about places available for rent and there's an information desk nearby with English language speakers who will help answer any questions and assist in solving any problems you've been having in Japan. If you're desperate to read your email back home then OFIX has a computer connected to the internet that you can use for free and the International House will let you use their's for 500 yen an hour.

Books

After you arrive in Japan you'll probably soon be wishing you brought more English books. To find out about where to buy English language books in Japan check my Other Resources - Buying English Books in Japan page.

Getting Money from Home

The best way to get money from home is via an ATM card. Most Japanese ATM machines do not accept foreign cards (despite having a VISA or Mastercard logo). However, the ATMs at the Post Office and a handful of special VISA ATM booths in a few prime tourist areas will take a foreign ATM card (even the one in Narita is quite concealed). The Japanese ATM won't charge a service fee, but even with fees your bank will charge this is still much cheaper than currency exchange.

If you can only get your money via mail then have your family send a Postal money order (available from Post offices worldwide), take it to the central post office in your area in Japan, go to the currency exchange counter and they'll handle it without a fee (checks might be OK, but I'm not sure and my bank in Japan wanted to charge 2000 yen to handle a check). I've also heard rumors that only US Dollars are free of charge and money orders in other currencies have a fee, but I don't know if that's true since I only received these in US Dollars.

Last modified: May 4, 1999

Ravi Montenegro (monteneg@yahoo.com)