Hi all,
I’m currently planning my expenses for a year in Tokyo at Naganuma language school and I’m starting to get cold feet looking at posts from people talking about expenses. I’ll have ~$20k at the time I go overseas (looking at October 2026 intake). According to the school’s website:
Tuition: 1,095,000 JPY for 1 year (7,412.47 USD)
Dorm: 300,000 JPY (1st month only) + 84,000 JPY thereafter (8,287.35 USD for one year); utilities are included plus WiFi and furnishings
So I’m looking at 16,000 USD for a full year with tuition and living expenses. I will have a financial guarantor so I’m not worried about not qualifying on paper during the application process. However, I’ve seen posts from people talking about how even 30,000 USD isn’t enough for them for a year in Tokyo. Am I missing something when considering expenses? Is it not enough?
I am also wondering if the prices for school and housing are reasonable in general. I’ve researched a good 8 schools in Tokyo and haven’t found tuition prices less than 6-7,000 USD for a year.
Some background info: I’m 25 and about to graduate with a Masters in a technical field. I specialize in clinical data analytics and am working in clinical research right now but I’m not making much money (40k/yr.). I’ll be looking for a new job after graduation in December. The market is awful for tech right now and I fear I will not land anything until it’s time for me to leave in October. So I can’t bank on being able to save much more than my predicted $20k unless I get a much better job very quickly. It’s all very risky so I am considering pushing to April 2027 to give myself more time to find a job and save before I leave. I hope to find something remote and even potentially see if I can continue to work part time remote in Japan when I go with permission. Otherwise I will just quit and go. I know it sounds like career suicide, wishful thinking, or even just stupid in general, but I want to go so badly. When I was an undergrad I was supposed to study abroad for 6 months and lost the opportunity due to COVID and I feel I missed my chance. Since then I’ve visited 3 times and it’s only made me want to go long term even more just to experience it.
I know some people might recommend learning Japanese on my own and trying to get a job with my degrees in Tokyo. I understand this sentiment but I don’t know how realistic it is for me. At least with language school I am certain I can go…I don’t know the first thing about how I could get a job in Tokyo even with improved language skills. Please correct me if I am being too pessimistic about this path. I’ve self studied in the past and struggle immensely and have always done better in classroom settings. Should I look into private lessons here instead?
I guess I’m looking for someone to knock some sense into me. I passed N5 and can read and write hiragana and katakana and am currently studying for N4 whether I leave or not. I’ve followed this subreddit for a few years and have read a lot of posts on this but it’s hard to come to a conclusion for my situation. Sorry for the lengthy post, and thank you to anyone who can offer advice!
by Siceimin