studying japanese in tokyo?

[Josh_]

hajimemashite. josh desu. osutorariajin desu. yoroshiku onegai shimasu. koko ni mou aussiejin ga imasu ka? 21sai desu. kyounen no 3gatsu kara nihongo no benkyou o shite imashita.

hi ive been around for a while, but i havent posted yet, largely because i dont have the program to post in japanese :\

ive been set on going to japan next year to eventually teach english, but first i want to go to a japanese language school to get as much of the japanese language as i can before i start working.

i was wondering what can i expect to pay for a semester in a japanese language school in tokyo? so far ive seen KCP - www.kcpinternational.com - which costs about 5500 USD (including dormitory accomodation) for 1 semester. this seems a bit steep, considering i could do a semester at yamasa institute for about 4000 USD. now, yamasa is in Okazaki, a city i know nothing about, and i think id prefer to be in a major city as its my first time in japan. the question is, do i have to pay that much more just to be studying in tokyo? can anyone help?

[padrik]

Hi Josh,
I have been to Yamasa, but before I went, I looked all over Japan. All the schools I could find in Tokyo, were much more expensive. Yamasa is in Okazaki, about 25 minutes on the train from Nagoya(3rd largest city in Japan). Okazaki is cheaper, but lacking some of the convenience of Tokyo.

Also, most schools in Tokyo have a student body made up mostly of Chinese and Korean and very few english speakers. This can make it difficult bouncing homework questions off another english speaker difficult. At Yamasa the mix of people is very good from all over the world, but from experience, outside of class most of my chinese/taiwanese friends tended to revert to speaking chinese. Most European and Americans wanted to practice Japanese. Not everyone of course, but I have read how this is a problem with some of the Tokyo schools for english speakers.

If you have a chance to go to Japan before you choose a school, try to visit a few schools before deciding. Most will give you a tour, and some even let you sit in on a class or two.

学校をみつける、頑張ってね。。
カール

[padrik]

Hilan,
I did the AIJP program for a year, before going there I always visited and stayed in Tokyo, so Okazaki was a bit rural at first. But you will be a 20-25 minute train ride from Nagoya, and can always get a train to Tokyo or Osaka/ Kyoto, if you want to take trips. Nagoya is a big city.

I liked the school a lot, most of the teachers were really nice and helpful. There is a good percentage of chinese speakers, who already read kanji, so I felt they slacked on teaching westerners kanji(mostly on our own), but everything else was covered equally. This may have changed now, as we all only complained about wanting more kanji.

You will be surprised at how much you learn in a short time, especially if you study what they tell you to outside of class. The teaching is only in Japanese, from the start, but the beginner level books have translations in them for vocab, grammar and such. Just no english speaking in class.

I stayed in Yamasa accomodations, starting in the villa then moved to residence Hane when it was done. Clean and walking or biking distance to school, so cheap transportation. Tokyo you would have to train to most places, costing more.

Use what you learn, and you will improve fast, dont be scared to speak to Japanese people, (ask questions at stores, restaurants, get a haircut, etc...) So many people dont take advantage of being there.

頑張って下さい！
カール

[JonB]

I think you will learn more in Yamasa because you will have to use it more outside class. In Tokyo you can get away with not speaking Japanese

[NickT]

Hilan,

I have never studied at the Yamasa institute, so I can't help you on that front, but I have read a lot about it and I have only heard good things.

I am spending 5 weeks in Japan this summer too, and I was wanting to study at somewhere like Yamasa/SILAC. In the end, I decided to go with the GENKI JACs school in Fukuoka, mainly just because the dates that the SILAC course was running were not convenient for me.

I will probably do a detailed write up when I get back. I would be interested in hearing more about your experience at Yamasa too, as I might possibly do that or something similar next year.

Are you doing 3 weeks is Sapporo and 3 in Okazaki, or all 6 in Okazaki?

Another thing I liked about the GENKI JACs course is just the location. Fukuoka is a major city, and one of my favorite places in Japan. It is still a big city, but not such a sprawling metropolis like Tokyo. They can also arrange homestays.

Nick

[NickT]

There are further details on the Sapporo/Okazaki combined course here: http://www.yamasa.org/hcjs/english/programs/summer.html

Seems like it is pretty popular, and is no longer possible to book for this year.

I will be back in the UK by 25 June, after 5 weeks in Japan, 3 of which will be at the language school in Fukuoka. I will be on the Intermediate conversational course there, which they roughly define as post JLPT3 level. I can't wait!

[botterli]

I'm considering something similar next year, and am interested in reading your thoughts on the intensive courses. A blog would be great

Good luck!

[Josh_]

thanks for the replies guys.
NickT: you've been to fukuoka? ive been thinking about going to fukoka. whats it like? ill have to check out that course, it would be cool if i could study there. i want to go somewhere thats not too rural, and tokyo i think would be too big. fukuoka has been reccomended to me.

[NickT]

I really liked Fukuoka when I was there 2 years ago. It was one of my favourite places, if not my favourite, of all the places I visited in Japan.

Having said that I spent only about a day and a half there, so that was very much just my first impression. It could be wrong. I will be able to give a more considered second opinion in a months time.

There is not much to do in Fukuoka from a touristy point of view, but the place just had a laid back vibe that I liked, and it seemed like a place I could live. It is a big-ish city, but nothing like Tokyo or Osaka.

[nathanscheer7663]

Hilan,

I have never studied at the Yamasa institute, so I can't help you on that front, but I have read a lot about it and I have only heard good things.

I am spending 5 weeks in Japan this summer too, and I was wanting to study at somewhere like Yamasa/SILAC. In the end, I decided to go with the GENKI JACs school in Fukuoka, mainly just because the dates that the SILAC course was running were not convenient for me.

I will probably do a detailed write up when I get back. I would be interested in hearing more about your experience at Yamasa too, as I might possibly do that or something similar next year.

Are you doing 3 weeks is Sapporo and 3 in Okazaki, or all 6 in Okazaki?

Another thing I liked about the GENKI JACs course is just the location. Fukuoka is a major city, and one of my favorite places in Japan. It is still a big city, but not such a sprawling metropolis like Tokyo. They can also arrange homestays.

Nick

I love Genki Jacs my wife and are going and it's only been a week and I'm very happy to say I actually like going to school again!

I tried going to a school called FFLC here in Fukuoka.... It was like going to school at a jail, it stunk... the teachers were too high strung an even the marketing manager Salman Bari told my wife and I the school is pretty much S&%^.. So, that tells you a lot right there, but it was so horrible it made feel bad just continuing to go so I had to leave for that and many other reasons. Skip ahead as it a rather long story, they extorted us out of 6 months of class payments we don't get to use. http://nihonscope.com/learn-japanese/fflc-fukuoka-foreign-language-college-review/ -- I'll be posting a bit about it here shortly. If ANYONE is thinking of coming to Fukuoka to go to school long term or even short I can strongly suggest Genki... there is another school a few buddies from a shared house were going to... can't remember the name, but they seemed okay, sorry I can't remember it though.

-Nihon Scope