Hi All,
I’m looking to enroll in a language school from April 2025. I’m 30F, have lived in Japan before in Kyushu on the JET program in 2017-2018 where I went from zero Japanese to N4 (passed). I haven’t really studied since 2018 but have recently been doing WaniKani for the last 4 months. I always wanted to go to a language school but unfortunately didn’t have the funds after JET to do this, and then COVID happened and now I finally have the money.
My goals for the year are to seriously study Japanese, work on speaking and pass N3 in December 2025. I don’t want to take a part time job and I want to use this time off work to get back into the gym. I have no plans to stay in Japan after language school as I have a good career, social life and family in the UK.
After a lot of research I have narrowed it down to about 10 schools, but I am struggling to narrow it down further. If anyone has any opinions for guidance, that would be much appreciated.
Some other information, if relevant:
- I am not interested in night life / partying
- I will bring an international driver’s licence
- Making friends is important, I don’t want to be isolated
- Excluding tuition, I have about £15k / ¥2.8 million for living costs for the year.
As you can see below, I have tried to select schools with lower tuition costs (except Yamasa). My aim is for annual tuition to be under ¥900k / year.
~Tokyo Schools~
Kudan Institute, TOYO, Shibuya Gaigo, JF Oberlin University.
Pros:
- All appears to have decent reviews, though not much known about JF Oberlin, but I selected it because it was cheaper and in the suburbs of Tokyo
- More meetup events to interact with Japanese people. More chance of making friends.
- Convenience of living there
- Wider variety of food (I do get bored of Japanese food)
- Standard dialect
Cons:
- Due to expenses, I will likely have to use a sharehouse (could be a pro as I’ll interact with Japanese people but would prefer own space)
- Expensive city
- Crowded & overwhelming.
- As Tokyo is used to tourists, there will be more English used.
- More distractions
~Kyoto schools~
Kyoto University of Foreign Languages
Pros:
- Smaller city. Although it’s touristy the part of Kyoto the schools are in are less crowded.
- Cheaper, can probably afford to rent own apartment
- Less English than Tokyo
- Accessible nature
Cons:
- Still very touristy, could be overwhelming
- Would probably have to travel to Osaka for events
- Kansai ben, will it make it harder to learn / make it confusing?
- Haven’t seen many reviews for the school
~Hokuriku University~
Pros:
- Located in Kanazawa. Much smaller than Tokyo/Kyoto so good for immersion / less crowded
- Much cheaper cost of living, probably around 30-40% lower than Tokyo.
- Known as ‘little Kyoto’
- The course looks quite rigorous and being in a university environment would attract more serious students
Cons:
- Only 500k population, is that too small?
- Location wise quite far from everything: 2.5 hrs from Tokyo, 4 hrs from Osaka
~Yamasa Institute~
Pros:
- Very good reputation, seems like a serious school with a mixed demographic of students
- Immersion
- Short train ride away from Nagoya
- Dorms look good
Cons:
- Not a lot going on in Okazaki, about 400k people.
- Less opportunities to interact with Japanese people outside of grocery shopping etc. though maybe Nagoya has more events/meetups.
- Expensive school (most expensive in list)
So there is my list. As you can see, I am having a lot of trouble deciding! Or if anyone has a suggestion for any other schools.
I would greatly appreciate any opinions on this. I understand this is such a lifestyle question, but I guess I want to understand if studying in Tokyo will be less beneficial than studying in Kyoto or elsewhere and if the cost of living differences are actually that different.
by hoshi_ga_hoshii