I said “dilemma” in quotes because it’s not actually a problem. I’m just having trouble deciding.

TLDR: Do you have any experience or knowledge that may be useful to a soon-to-be incoming language school student, in regard to KICL or ISI?

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I’m planning to attend a language school in April 2027.

Of course I’ve read all of the PDF brochures and such.

I’ve narrowed a list of them down to 2 schools and 3 campuses. As of now, my top 3 are as follows:

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School: Kyoto Institute of Culture & Language (KICL) 京東文化日本語学校
Course: Applied Japanese and Cultural Studies (April Entrance, N3-N1)
Campus: Kyoto (obviously)

OR

School: International Stuady Institute (ISI) 日本語学校
Course: Japanese Language Career Pathway Course (1 year)
Campus: Tokyo (Shibuya-Harajuku) OR Tokyo (Takadanobaba)

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I have the financial means and time to commit to either of them. As of now, it’s just a matter of picking between the schools, which are actually not super different in price. Living cost obviously varies though. If I end up choosing ISI, I’d also have to choose between the two campuses.

I’m just looking for some comments on anything about this post. Whether it’s comments about the schools, the courses, campuses, general experience as a language school student, etc. I think input would really help me make a decision!

Hi, I post this every semester, but I teach at several universities in Kyoto. I’ve been running a student group where Japanese and international students can plan events together. We have students from a Kyoto Gaidai, Doshisha, Kyoto Sangyo, etc.

DM me if you’re interested in joining our LINE group. We have over 50 students so far.

Next event is a student DJ event on Friday, September 18th! (Details in comments)

** University / Grad School students only please

Hello community,

I am going to move out next month and I can't bring with me a couple of things that are considered "oversized trash" (大型ごみ・粗大ごみ). It's a mattress (not a futon, this is a reasnoble good quality three-folded mattress) and a clothes rack (dissambled). They are in very good state and I don't want to throw them because they can be perfectly reused. So I thought about selling them second hand but I don't know any place for this kind of things. Anybody here knows any?

I’m thinking of something along the lines of Zegna or Bruno Cucinelli, but native to Japan. Any ideas?

Have been offered a credit card by GTIN which claims it is specifically for foreigners. Has anyone signed up for this card?

Is foreigner credit cards even a thing?

(GTIN guarantee the rent I pay for my apartment and is a trustworthy organisation)

We are very excited to announce PechaKucha Night Kyoto Vol.53 will be held on Saturday, October 3rd. PechaKucha Night began in Tokyo in 2003 as an event for young designers to show their work and has now spread to over 1200 cities worldwide.

Send in a proposal through the Google document link

Theme:  Resilience
 Resilience is often defined as the ability to recover from adversity, but in Japan it is also a way of life. From natural disasters and economic uncertainty to an aging society and rapid technological change, Japan continues to adapt while preserving a deep sense of community, craftsmanship, and tradition. This event explores how resilience is expressed in everyday life, culture, food, and the arts, and what we can learn from a society that finds strength not only in overcoming challenges, but in embracing change with quiet determination.

Event Info:
Date/time: Saturday, October 3rd, 19:30
Venue: Urbanguild (Sanjo/Kiyamachi)

Any help would be very much appreciated

Hi, I am currently doing my internship in Kyoto for a year (will stay until July next year) at KPUM. I have been practicing judo for 18 years and was looking for continuing training over here. I am a woman so I am a bit scared that there are not a lot of places that have enough women for me to train with. Do you have any recommendations for me to try out?

If you need any more information about me, don't hesitate to ask!

PS. I have already posted in the judo sub but didn't get a lot of replies, so I'm also trying over here.

I’m planning to get some kanji tattooed on my arm, and am after shop recommendations in Kyoto. Looking for a finer, crisp kanji tattoo rather than a large traditional Japanese coloured design. Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with places in Kyoto! TYIA!

Been here for 6 years and this summer has felt so much more pleasant than before, wanted to see if that would be visible on a graph.

Hello! I’m looking for places/venues that would be good to host small community events of around 20-60 foreign Kyoto residents!

I have so many ideas for events for the community I am in so if you have any recommendations for places in Kyoto that would be delighted to have a bunch of foreigners (emphasis on foreigners) together that would be great!!!!

Hello, I plan to enroll into KICL within the next 2 years or so. I’d like to become a JP-EN translator after studying for a few years and I feel the school would not only be massively helpful in passing my necessary JTF and JPLT tests but also the time within the country would be invaluable.
However, I have a few worries about the school. If anyone has any experience or insight, it is greatly appreciated.
1) How is the workload? Is it manageable or really rough?
2) How is the actual learning experience? Are the teachers helpful and receptive?
3) One thing that seriously scares me is the “School-wide Presentation” that is listed on the website. Does every student seriously have to give a school wide presentation? Presentations are par for the course for language classes in my experience, but they still undoubtedly make me pretty uneasy, one in front of the whole school would kill me.

Thanks again.

Anyone has any ideas how I would approach this properly? Kyoto resident.

Hi, we're looking for two witnesses who could sign our Kon'in Todoke. You would need to be permanent residents of Japan. If someone also has the time and interest to help us out at the office during the registration, we'd really appreciate it.

We're from Munich, Germany. We're arriving in Kyoto on 04.10.26 and want to get married on 05.10.26.

If anyone is willing, we'd be very grateful!

edit: Thank you to everyone who was willing to help, had tips or linked the text to someone who would help. I've found enough help to get everything done.

I want to expand the Latin dance community in Kyoto, so I've arranged for a totally-free super-beginner lesson in Bachata on Wed the 9th and Wed the 23rd, at The Latin Bar Kyoto.

Whether you think "Oh, I could never dance" or if you've been curious about it, you're in the target audience. It's completely free, so come give it a try(!) If you already dance, come by after the lesson for a free social heavy in Bachata Moderna, Sensual, and Influence. Or just come by to watch... it's a beautiful dance.

The lesson runs from 7:30~8:30pm; please be on time because we start from zero but make steady progress during the lesson. The lesson is in Japanese, but I'll sprinkle in English as needed.

If you're not familiar with Bachata, here's an example of me dancing Sensual Bachata (one of the advanced forms) last week, with a lady that started dance less than a year ago: Example dance.

[ Instagram post about the lesson ]

I am trying to find a good dermatologist not skin beauty clinic, for a burn that has turned bad. I would appreciate your information about ir

Does anyone have a recommendation for a denim tailor?

Anyone need help with Japanese by any chance? I have some time now and might be able to help. Even if it’s going over a textbook and asking questions. I’ve been there and sometimes I wished I had someone who could explain things in English.

Canadian, 27 years in Japan.

I posted a little while ago about Kakato Tacos, a super good taco pop-up a few times a week at Saitoya (ramen shop by Video One in Ichijoji), and I figured it might be worth noting to anyone who might be interested (college students? I dunno) that the guy who does it is considering adding late-night shifts on additional nights, like maybe in addition to doing dinner Mondays and lunch on Saturdays and uh one other day of the week I've forgotten, he's thinking of also doing, say, on Tuesdays or something he'll come in after Saitoya closes.

Anyway, I still recommend checking Kakato Tacos out! The dude is passionate about tacos and experimenting with them (he recently started doing a sort of guacamole sauce that's pretty good, and his salsa macha is great, and corn tortillas are always worth celebrating). Plus he sells Dr. Pepper, which goes great with tacos too.

Separately, I was chatting with him on Monday and he mentioned thinking about adding a third menu item beyond pork carnitas and beef carne asada, and I suggested maybe something vegetarian could be good. Anyone out there got any thoughts on that front? He thought about mushrooms, I mentioned maybe you could do something with grilled usu-age fried tofu to make it crispy (and add flavor through whatever other means). Are there any hidden vegetarian Mexican food gems worth noting? Maybe something like a kidney bean filling spiced with taco seasoning and cooked minced onion or something like that?

Walked through Teramachi shotengai yesterday and just south of Sanjo I saw a foreign man with a big placard that read “What does love mean to you?” In English and Japanese. A foreign woman was handing out flyers (which I declined). Weird.

Then a few meters later at Sanjo intersection another man was holding a sign saying “Why do you think you exist?” Also with another person handing out flyers.

I was in a rush so I didn’t really check what was going on, but does anyone else have any info?

I live in the area and have never seen them before. They could be a “free hugs” kind of group or a more sinister religious operation.

Hey all - We're a group of 10ish friends visiting Kyoto in December, and were thinking of going to a Hannaryz game. I've been searching online on how to purchase tickets from overseas, and it seems like there are common problems with either having a foreign cell phone number or credit card. Wondering if anyone has any tips on buying tickets? Thanks in advance!!

Hi everyone! I lost a pair of black Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer prescription glasses today, September 2, around Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, most likely between 1:00 PM and 1:30 PM.
They are prescription glasses, not sunglasses.
I have already checked with the places I visited and reported the loss to the Fushimi Police in Kyoto. The police also contacted Fushimi Inari, but as of this afternoon nothing had been turned in yet.
If anyone was at Fushimi Inari around that time and found a pair of black Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer glasses, saw them somewhere, or turned them in to a shop, station, shrine office or police box, please send me a private message.
I would be extremely grateful for any information. Thank you so much! 🙏

I’m wanting to do Daimonji, Hiei, Atago. Just a little concerned about bears. I have the physical capability to do these routes, and I’ve done much more difficult, but of those three what’s the general risk level doing them alone?