It's more like the TSA "agent" will grope you a few times and feel you up really good and then force you into a body cavity search for complaining about getting groped.
Going again "Over There" in December myself. Haunting Hokkaido included. _________________
"There is no such thing as a plea of innocence in my court. A plea of innocence is guilty of wasting my time. Guilty."
Has anyone gone to study at a language school in Japan? I am thinking of doing one of those year-long language courses in Kyoto (a friend recommended a school there), but wondering if I should be going elsewhere in Japan instead... like Hokkaido or anywhere north of Tokyo that's not as expensive. _________________
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:23 am Post subject:
junny wrote:
Has anyone gone to study at a language school in Japan? I am thinking of doing one of those year-long language courses in Kyoto (a friend recommended a school there), but wondering if I should be going elsewhere in Japan instead... like Hokkaido or anywhere north of Tokyo that's not as expensive.
I doubt you want to go to Hokkaido! It's far too remote...You probably want to stick to a more metropolitan area like Kyoto, Osaka, or Tokyo.
I doubt you want to go to Hokkaido! It's far too remote...You probably want to stick to a more metropolitan area like Kyoto, Osaka, or Tokyo.
Yeah, I'm just worried about the cost since I'm eyeing a two-year thing (the school offers anything from 3 months to 2 years). I'm trying to avoid Tokyo since I've heard how expensive it is. I thought about a course at Waseda, but I've missed the April intake deadline (for applications, that is) and am looking elsewhere for now.
Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2331 Location: in South Atami Country:
Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 4:33 pm Post subject:
Hi Junny, maybe I can help a little. I am currently finishing my 2 year course in Tokyo.
Regarding Waseda (and Keio) I have a friend who just started the programme, and it really depends how old you are because the average age is 18 years old and he reckons 80% of the students are Chinese wanting to enter Japanese university. He is around 30 years old and feels a little out of water.
Regarding living in Tokyo, a lot of the younger kids on a budget kids live in Saitama or Chiba and commute to Tokyo. But you can find guesthouses for 60.000-70.000 per month, only you will live in 3 square metres.
I agree with Tu_triky, outside the metropolitan areas, it'll be difficult to find decent school. I have a soft spot for Hiroshima, but there aren't any good schools out there.
Lastly I think ARC has a branch in Tokyo but I was told they cater a lot to American highschool students. But that's the Tokyo branch.
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:48 am Post subject:
junny wrote:
Yeah, I'm just worried about the cost since I'm eyeing a two-year thing (the school offers anything from 3 months to 2 years). I'm trying to avoid Tokyo since I've heard how expensive it is. I thought about a course at Waseda, but I've missed the April intake deadline (for applications, that is) and am looking elsewhere for now.
Thank you, Tu_triky and EstherM! Both of you gave very good advice, much appreciated. I guess it does look like Kyoto for now. You're right, I definitely won't be able to gel with the younger crowd if they're barely getting their start in the real world. Pity about Waseda cuz it'd have been nice to be able to say I attended the same university as Fujiki Naohito I was looking at Keio too, but oh well.
I'm not very keen on Tokyo, to be honest, although I do like the idea of Chiba. I'm hoping Kyoto is not as expensive... or maybe I should be looking at the more suburban areas and commute a little more (gotta work out what's the cheaper housing + travel option).
ARC also has a branch in Osaka, so there's another option.
EstherM, did you at the beginning decide on a 2-year course, or did you take it one year at a time? And may I ask which institute are you studying at? Will you be working in Japan? _________________
Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2331 Location: in South Atami Country:
Posted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 4:37 pm Post subject:
Hi Junny, my initial plan was to stay a year, but I extended (and had to apply for a new visa) and it has been 2 years now. I finished my course but am still taking classes because my visa is still valid. I would go for a 2-year visa, you can always leave earlier right? My school is called KAI Language school and I picked them because they seemed the nicest.
Not sure if you know some Japanese already and if your goal is to spend some fun time in Japan or if you want to become fluent. If so, you'll need 2 years, maybe a little less if you know Mandarin or Korean. Sometimes I read about people in forums or on news sites claiming to have picked up Japanese in 6 months. They are lying.
I currently looking for a job in Tokyo but it's not that easy because I have a lot of conditions: it has to be a real job (no teaching English, translating or being the decoration foreigner), I am asking for quite a high salary to keep the same standard of living I had in Europe, I am a woman at an age where a lot of Japanese women are bullied out, a company who would like to hire me needs to sponsor my visa and my Japanese is still not native and lastly few Japanese companies are looking outside Japan to expand (an area were I could add value). But I gave myself until end of November. Then I will start to apply for jobs in Europe/China etc.
About costs, not sure if Kyoto is actually cheaper than Tokyo because Nagoya, where a lived in 2006-07 wasn't much cheaper. You could commute from the Osaka or Kobe area ... Osaka people are said to be friendier than Kyoto people. Tokyo people are said to be quite cold too, though I made many friends in just 2 years.
Hi EstherM, I wish you all the best in finding the job you want! I know you said you're looking for a real job, but maybe in the meantime you can do some freelance translation? That might open up something for you.
I know kana and just a handful of kanji (since I can read Chinese), and just a few basic grammar rules. Ideally I would like to become fluent enough to hold down a job in Japan, which is why I am considering the two-year option, and also because self-study does nothing for me - it just makes me procrastinate more. I just hope I can hold out for the whole study period!
I came across KAI while searching for language schools in Japan, it seems like quite a good school and there was some positive feedback about it. What's the teaching like?
I would like to travel a bit while I'm in Japan, and I'm warming up to the idea of Kyoto because it seems like a city with a lot of history and old-world charm, and I like places like that. But yeah, mainly I'm planning to go there with the intention of picking up Japanese and then finding a job there. If nothing else, I can do a bit of translation, though that will depend on how good my Japanese is by then.
One of my biggest concerns is housing. I want to live alone in an apartment (not sharing), and I'll have to find one that is pet-friendly. I just did a quick google and apparently it's no easy task. Sigh. _________________
Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2331 Location: in South Atami Country:
Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 3:17 pm Post subject:
^ yep housing could be an issue if you are going for a classic 2-year contract, you'll need to find a landlord who's comfortable with non-Japanese tenants and who accepts pets and you'll most likely need a guarantor as well (but most real estate agents offer this service). And you'll need to budget non-refundable key money (one month rent), deposit/guarantee (2-3 months rent), agency fee and furniture/appliances (which you can sometimes find for free on craigslist from expats leaving the country or buy them cheap at rakuten/muji). Look out for the "no key money ads". I acutally rent a serviced mini-appartment but no pets allowed either.
Thanks for your good luck wishes - sadly translation work doesn't get me a visa and I am not a certified translator so chances are slim, even then the system prefers a Japanese person with knowledge of a foreign language. Plus I won't be able to justify this sharp drop in my career should I go back to Europe. I hope I don't sound too negative, I am not :-) just not willing to pay any price to stay in Japan.
I like the teachers and teaching methods at my school, they'll only ever speak Japanese to you, classes are small (5-14 people) and a lot of exams which forces you to study. It focuses on all aspects: speaking, hearing, writing, reading. but it's no drilling school to make you pass the JLPT exams. I am always surprised when I take the JLPT, a majority of people seem to perform well but can't understand the instructions of the test supervisors. Lastly one word of warning, in the lower levels you'll meet probably more "tourists", people doing the course for fun but they drop out pretty fast.
If you have more questions, you can always PM me :-)
PS: sorry for all the spelling mistakes, typing all my responses on my phone on the train :-)
Has anyone gone to study at a language school in Japan? I am thinking of doing one of those year-long language courses in Kyoto (a friend recommended a school there), but wondering if I should be going elsewhere in Japan instead... like Hokkaido or anywhere north of Tokyo that's not as expensive.
Nope. Not me. I just keep nagging my lecturers at college. First year Japanese Studies here is like Japanese Language BUD/S. _________________
"There is no such thing as a plea of innocence in my court. A plea of innocence is guilty of wasting my time. Guilty."
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玉木宏、藤木直人、佐藤健 
I was looking at Keio too, but oh well.
