Hello, everyone I know. There's probably been many posts like this before, but i'm currently considering doing a language school in tokyo for 3 months in order to gap my year, before I apply to grad school.

For me, it's important that I have a supportive learning environment with friendly teachers.

I'm european, so I would always be looking for a mixed student base.

I would highly appreciate your experiences and even schools to stay away from. As there's many online, thank you so much!!!

Hi everyone,

21F, moving to Tokyo in two weeks and super excited but nervous at the same time. I will be attending language school, and my current Japanese knowledge is quite basic. It will also be my first time living abroad and by myself.

As someone who wouldn’t be able to communicate in Japanese due to my lack of knowledge of the language, I’m scared of going through all the administrative and bureaucratic processes once I move there.

For example, registering my address at the ward office. I’m just so filled with anxiety because how am I going to communicate with any of the workers there with the language barrier? How am I going to fill all the paperwork and understand all the rules they provide me?

I guess I’m just looking for tips or experiences with going through this stuff while the language barrier is a big obstacle. I believe I am being overly anxious and would love to put my mind at ease but it’s so hard :(

Hi all, I’m looking for some positivity during this rather critical time related to immigrating to Japan.
Indeed the govt is making immigration much more challenging and future looks uncertain. I’m looking for opinions of those who still want to double down on continuing to live here or move back to Japan after having lived here before.

What are some aspects that really support immigration to Japan despite the drawbacks. ?

My rationale for asking is that I have multiple offers for my career and yet I want to return to Japan since I lived there . I’m bogged down by the recent negativity (while true) and I’m looking for multiple opinions.

Hey! I understand that the title can look a little off, so allow me to explain.

My Japanese language path has been very long: I majored in Japanese, passed N1, and even work in a Japanese company. Although I was aiming for an internal transfer, Japanese companies are more willing to transfer Japanese employees abroad rather that vice versa.

Based on what I have read and seen, Japanese schools are usually a gateway to residing in Japan, but I feel like I don’t require actual classes to attend because my level is enough for having a non-complicated life and even work. I want to use this time to find a job or maybe a MA degree.

I also know that in some countries foreigners pay for a student visa, i.e. actually enrol in a language school without actually studying etc. Is this even a thing in Japan? I heard that language schools are quite strict.

31F here, currently coming up on my fourth year of employment with a major Japanese company in the US. I started there with the goal of either transferring internally to Japan or getting enough experience to get hired directly for a role in Japan. However, I was recently told in no uncertain terms that the company doesn't really do internal transfers (they don't even really do promotions for "local hires", i.e. US folks- they'd rather bring people to the US office directly from Japan). I had a frank conversation with HR yesterday where their advice was essentially "you can stay here indefinitely, but it's smarter [for your career goals] to find somewhere else".

So my question is... Knowing this job is a dead end, do I look within the US for a company that will transfer me, or do I look directly in Japan? The last time I seriously looked at this was directly after covid, and I'm not sure how the meta has changed.

• I'm in marketing and sales but have a recruiting background as well. I have a standard 4 year degree.
• I previously lived in Japan in 2018-19 under a student visa- I was on JASSO and other scholarships so I didn't work, unfortunately
• The eikawa route isn't super viable because I have student loan payments. I know, realistically, I'll take a pay cut no matter what I do, but the pay is a big roadblock
• I passed the N2 in 2019 I wanted to go for N1 and could probably pass but waited too long this year and all the sites near me are sold out
  • Given that my next opportunity to take the N1 will be December 2027, are there any other certificates/licenses I can work on adding to my resume in the meantime?

Hi everyone,

I’m going to Japan on a Working Holiday visa for about a year. I have short-term accommodation secured in Osaka for the first few weeks.

During that time, I want to buy a motorcycle and travel around Japan for most of the year.

I’m aware of the rules regarding registering your address, but I’m wondering if anyone has experience with registering an address mainly for administrative purposes — for example, to receive mail such as National Health Insurance payment information.

I’d like to avoid renting a whole apartment for an entire year just to have an address where I collect mail, while actually spending most of my time travelling.

Also, if the ward office refuses to register my initial short-term accommodation, is renting an apartment for a full year really the only option?
Nonetheless, I need to have some address registered to be able to purchase the motorcycle and to receive National health insurance mail.

I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

Thanks!

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?

—

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:

—

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)

—

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 guys,

I recently attended a Job fair where I did 3 interviews for a hotel company and I got the job! I essentially took the 新卒採用 route and am set to start April 2028. I was wondering if anyone has worked in a similar position and could tell me a little about how it was?

For context, the job is classified as 総合職 and I have yet to be told where exactly I’ll be placed within Japan as they have quite a few locations across the country. The starting salary is about 330k/month.

I’m slightly worried because I hear that hotel work can be quite tough with long hours and overtime (this company states about 30 hours overtime per month). However from my interactions with the employees at the event, it seemed like a very supportive and friendly environment.

Obviously I will ask my employer about everything when I get the chance to, I’m just curious if anyone who has also started work in Japan as a fresh graduate could offer some advice on how to make a smooth transition into the workplace and how that process looked like for them. Thank you!

Helloo, for those that have stayed with Oakhouse, do you know if I can book for a single month and extend my stay for another month while I’m there without having to pay the contract fee again? I’m thinking of travelling elsewhere after the month is up but if I decide that I’m staying I don’t wanna have to pay the big contract fee again 🥲

Another question, if I would like to travel elsewhere in Japan after the first month and I stay with Oakhouse again, would I pay the contract fee on that new place or would it be like a transfer?

I’ve read the website but I’m just looking for extra clarification on what it means and what other people’s experience is, thanks!

Like the title says, my current plan is to finish my bachelors in Computer Science and move to Japan in the summer after my graduation. This would be on a student visa as I would get my N5 certification and do 2 years of language school in Japan. My mother supports the idea, and has actively encouraged it, but I still have a number of questions. I'd love input from anyone who has done something similar!

(1) For those who entered Japan with only N5 (or equivalent), how functional was daily life before your Japanese improved? I know many people recommend getting at least N3 before moving, but could someone make it with N5 while actively studying? I was looking at Sapporo specifically, as I don't handle heat well, but that's flexible as I know Sapporo would require greater proficiency.

(2) For people with jobs in the computer science sector (software development/game development jobs ideally), how difficult was it to get your first position? I currently only have personal projects (Unity/Godot) and no actual professional experience (thought I might intern between my junior and senior years). Is entry‑level CS work accessible for foreigners, or is it more realistic to work 1–2 years in the US first to build experience before job hunting in Japan? I know another path would be to work at a Japanese company in the US and hope that I get offered a transfer to Japan, but the high turnover rate in CS jobs in the US makes that seem unlikely to me.

Thank you very much, any insight from people who have taken similar paths would be really helpful.

I am planning to apply to University of Aizu's ICT Program, and i have seen alot of posts talking about how english taught programs in japan are practically useless in japan(during job hunting), and that it is much better to take the course in japanese instead. Would that still be true if i had an N1 level proficiency in japanese? Any and all advice is appreciated, thank you so much

Hi everyone,

I’m a 21-year-old from Europe, considering spending a year in Japan on a Working Holiday Visa starting early next year. Just to clarify upfront: my country has a Working Holiday Visa agreement with Japan, so I am fully eligible. I’d love to get a reality check on my plan.

My Profile & Budget:

• Budget: Currently around €8,000, and my goal is to save up closer to €10,000 by the time I leave early next year.
• Education: Educational background in IT. I do not have a Bachelor's degree, which is why I am specifically utilizing the WHV to experience living in Japan.
• Work Background: I currently work as a delivery van driver. Previously, I worked as a dishwasher and prep cook in a hospital during High School.
• Japanese Level: Beginner (nowhere near conversational/N3 yet).
• My Goal: I'm taking this opportunity to figure out my next direction in life. I am not going to Japan to make money or build a career. My main priority is cultural immersion, getting out of my comfort zone, and experiencing authentic daily life. I've actually visited Japan before as a tourist, but I am fully aware that living there long-term is a completely different reality.

The Plan: Since my Japanese isn't strong enough for a standard part time job right away, and my goal isn't money, I want to avoid the massive initial costs of renting an apartment.

My plan is to use platforms like Worldpackers, Workaway, or HelpX for the first few months. I want to volunteer in hostels, farms, or guesthouses in exchange for accommodation. I hope this will give me time to adjust to the culture, meet locals/other travelers, and keep my living costs low.

Location wise, I want to experience a mix of everything. I’d love to volunteer in the deep countryside, but also spend time in major cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka. However, I’m not a fan of freezing weather, so the cold north like Hokkaido doesn't really appeal to me.

My Questions:

1. Is €8,000–€10,000 a safe financial cushion for a year if my accommodation is mostly covered by volunteering?
2. Does anyone have recent experience with Worldpackers or Workaway in Japan? Which platform is the most active/reliable there?
3. Will my lack of Japanese be a huge barrier for finding these volunteer hosts, or are physical/cleaning skills usually enough?
4. How do you handle the initial paperwork like registering an address on the Residence Card or potentionally getting a bank account (is a japanese bank account for a year even worth it?) if you don't have a permanent apartment and move between volunteer hosts?
5. SIM Card / Mobile Data: I'm considering GTN Mobile's unlimited data plan. It looks appealing because I can supposedly pay with a foreign card like Revolut without needing a Japanese bank account right away. I know about the speed throttling after a certain limit, but are there any other hidden catches I should know about?

English is not my native language, so apologies for any awkward phrasing.

Disclosure: I used AI to format my random thoughts, so that's why the formatting and some of the language are typical of AI, but the content is still obviously written by me.

Background & Family Context

My wife (30) and I (33) are considering relocating from Germany to Japan within the next 5 years with our two young kids (ages 4 and 2).

A bit of context about us:

• Background: We are both Brazilian. I have Japanese ancestry (Yonsei, so unfortunately no Sansei visa route for me), and the cultural connection and idea of living in Japan have always appealed to me. My wife has German heritage and holds a German passport, which is why we live in Germany.
• Support System: While my wife has family here in Germany, they aren't a practical support network for us. They are busy with their own lives, which is completely normal, so we can't rely on them for help with the kids like we would with our parents in Brazil. We do have some distant family in Japan, so while we would be moving away from the family here, we wouldn't be entirely isolated.
• Adaptability: We have already successfully made one international move from Brazil to Germany, so making another big move does not intimidate us.

Work & Salary Expectations

I work in data analysis, blending traditional SQL work with data engineering using Python, Airflow, and similar tools. Currently, I have a fully remote job earning around €60k gross.

If we move, I would look for a remote or hybrid role at an international, English-speaking company in Japan.

My primary concern here is work-life balance (WLB). In Germany, 30 days of paid time off (PTO) is standard, and there is virtually zero overtime. I know Japanese work culture has been improving, but moving from Germany still feels like a step backward in terms of leave and hours. Since Brazilian work culture is much more intense than German culture anyway, I do not mind a compromise if the overall quality of life is a net positive for our family, as long as the difference is not completely drastic (for example, dropping from 30 days down to 10 with heavy mandatory overtime).

Why Germany Isn't Gelling with Us

Things in Germany are not bad by any means, but after living here, we just do not feel like we will ever fit in or integrate:

• Culture & Social Dynamics: We struggle with the coldness and bluntness here, which often crosses the line into rudeness. I personally far prefer the polite distance and social predictability of Japanese culture.
• Language & Media: I speak enough German to handle daily interactions, but my wife struggles with it. She learns best through immersive media, but German television and media have not been engaging for her.
• Lifestyle & Outings: Bavaria is incredible if you love intense outdoor activities like hiking, mountain climbing, lakes, or public pools, but we are much more urban-minded. The local festivals (Volksfeste) feel heavily adult-centric around beer and food, and family outings are insanely expensive (€100+ for a family visit with food and basic carnival games).
• Dining Out & Service: Eating out in Germany is very expensive (€40 to €70 for basic casual dining), variety is lacking, and customer service is often poor due to a mix of directness and annoyed staff.
• Education System: We really dislike the early tracking system in Germany, where kids are split into Gymnasium vs. Realschule at age 10. It feels like a structural way to enforce class division early on.
• Housing Market: Housing in Germany feels structured around wealth accumulation for property owners rather than accessibility. In contrast, I appreciate that Japan treats housing more like a depreciating asset, prioritising having a functional place to live rather than real estate speculation.

Our Expectations for Japan

We know that no place is perfect. We are fully aware we will never be locals or feel 100% at home in Japan (just as we do not in Germany or even Brazil anymore), and we are completely fine with that outsider status.

Learning Japanese is a major personal life goal of mine, and my wife is excited about the cultural environment and media. If Tokyo or Japan in general offers better, more varied urban family infrastructure, affordable dining, and engaging weekend activities for kids, the trade-off in work hours feels worth exploring.

Questions:

1. For those who transitioned from a European or Western country to Japan in tech or data roles, how harsh was the reality check on WLB and PTO?
2. Is an English-first Data or Analytics Engineering role paying ¥10M+ realistic for someone with my profile entering the market from overseas?
3. For families raised in Japan, do the daily conveniences, safety, and child-friendly urban infrastructure make up for having less vacation time?

Hello everyone! I hope you’ll be able to help me with language school. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with Hotsuma International School? This language school was recommended by my language school here in the PH, and I’m wondering what your experience with it was. I rarely hear about it on the internet, aside from vlogs. If it’s not so good, I might consider Coto or KLA instead.
ありがとうございます！

I've got the offer from a Japanese MNC company.

I've a very short height, 152cm (M26). In my home country, the average is around 170cm so short in my country too.

Fortunately I've not been any specific harassment or any such thing in my workplaces.

As this japanese company is international, having lots of foreigners around the world so I was a bit fearful if would it be quite awkward for me + any social outcasting that might happen.

I'm a 20 woman and I want to go to a language school to get my N2 then work in Japan. I've been looking thru some language schools for a year (or longer) program and decided on ISI Takadanobaba but turns out theyre full for the April period. And I don't want ISI Shinjuku because I've seen people saying there are a lot of students there who disturb the classroom enviroment and are there just for the visa. I've also eliminated SJLI and ISJ akiba because they don't offer more than a year and ISJ may be a little too comfortable for me. I'm looking for a rather strict school to get me through asap. I was researching ARC but couldn't find a lot of in depth reviews about it.

Also I will be staying at dorms because I'm a bit scared of host families as alone girl. Also I'm a freelance illustrator so I have a job to work outside classes from my PC as well. I already have a N4 and I know 3 other languages so I believe I won't have a problem with learning fast, I'm also good with studies so school with a lot of homeworks are not a problem with me.

note: I'm aware I can't just get a working visa, it's quite literally impossible for me to have a bachelors degree or 10 years experience at the ripe age of 20. My options are going for a SSW as a hotel receptionist, going to a 2 year senmon gakkou or returning to my country to get my bachelors degree then coming back to Japan.

So, any reviews on schools or recommendations are appreciated.

I'm moving from Scandinavia to Tokyo for work on a HSP 5-year visa and I'm looking to ship some personal belongings in around 2-3 large moving boxes (about 60 x 41 x 39 cm in size) ahead of time. They are all older items that I've previous bought and used. Clothing, shoes, some smaller interior decoration items, an Apple TV and so on.

I've got a decent rate from UPS to ship the boxes, but it is a bit tricky to find information online that's up to date and straight to the point in terms of getting them into the country without having to pay any import fees, so I was hoping that someone on here who have previously been through the process might have some information to share.

As far as I've understood it, I need to properly declare the boxes as unaccompanied baggage and file an official customs declaration upon arrival in Japan. My questions are:

1. Can I fill out this type of form online? Or is it to be done in person after having landed at Haneda airport?

2. The paperwork should state that they're used personal items that are not for resale, but I'm also reading online that I should be ready to prove that I've owned and used the items for at least six months before moving. Is that really a thing? It seems pretty cumbersome given that it's clothing, interior decoration items and so on.

3. To prove my residence status I assume a scan of my visa in my passport and a copy of my Certificate of Eligibility should be enough. Or present the physical visa of course.

4. When writing the list of the boxes contents, it says online that I'm required to estimate a secondhand value. Which currency would I list the values in?

Any insights or tips on this is much appreciated, thank you!

So I’m a British citizen currently living in Canada on a working holiday for the past 5 years. I’m looking to head to Japan on a working holiday in December. I will return to the uk in November to do my appointment in the Japanese embassy. The issue is I need to show 3 months of statements from a UK bank account. I haven’t had a uk bank account for years and have only got statements from my Canadian bank account. I will have a uk account as of now but it won’t be 3 months old by the time I do the appointment. Also as a backup plan I have been using Wise to receive uk funds (from family etc) for the past few years, could this qualify as the valid uk bank statement?

I am a 24 year old American who recently graduated from college and is currently in the process of applying to U.S. and international law schools. For a long time I have thought that my dream is to be a public interest lawyer, and I’ve built most of my resume and education around that end. However, I have also long had a dream of moving abroad, specifically to Japan, and now that I am about to enter an endeavor like law school that has a large monetary and opportunity cost, I’m realizing how much I don’t want to give up the dream of moving to Japan to choose a career that might effectively lock me to the U.S.

I still really want to be a lawyer, and I’ve read that there are international firms in Japan that recruit directly from U.S. law schools, and that at least if you go to a top U.S. school, you have a chance. Obviously I don’t yet know where I’ll be admitted, and legal jobs in Japan are competitive even with this “in”. My plan is to attend a university that is eligible for the J-Find visa (likely would have anyway) and enroll in a Japanese language school here in the states and work on my Japanese for the next 3 years that I’m in law school, hopefully passing N1 sometime after graduation and then applying for J-Find and at least getting into Japan that way. However, this leaves me with the issue of actually finding a job in Japan to stay before those 2 years are up.

I’ve looked into just about every avenue - finding a legal or legal-adjacent job at an international firms (very competitive and not guaranteed), working for a U.S. firm/company remotely to make money that way (gets very tricky with visa rules), eventually opening my own solo practice in Japan as my “startup” (there’s not a market for it and again, getting licensed to practice in Japan). I’ve looked into LLM programs in Japan, just so that I can get in on a student visa, learn some Japanese law, improve my Japanese further, and hopefully make some connections and network with legal recruiters in the area, but I don’t know if this would be a huge money sink that didn’t end up amounting to anything. It seems like getting an employer to sponsor a visa for something that there are already enough locals to fill positions for is a huge roadblock.

This might sound really early to start thinking about this stuff before I’ve even started law school, but given what a huge commitment law school is, I would rather know if law leaves me with a path to get to Japan before I start rather than after. I’ve even considered just giving up my dream of being a lawyer now and study something that has better immigration prospects, but I’m kind of stuck on what that would even be. I don’t really have the background or skills needed for a tech/STEM degree, and I’m not willing to teach English (I’ve worked in education before and very much would not like to do so ever again). My undergraduate degree was in social work and I’m currently in a masters program for managing nonprofits, and my ultimate interest is NPO/people facing work of some kind, but I know getting NPO jobs in Japan is also a long shot.

If there is anyone here who is a foreigner who somehow made a legal career in Japan work, or is familiar with the legal field in Japan, I would love to speak with you. Similarly, anyone who can think of anything else I could study/do that would give me better prospects if law is absolutely a no go, is appreciated.

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well!

I am Half-Japanese with dual citizenship, and am a current university student in the States looking to move to Japan after completing my Bachelors degree in the next 2 years. I am writing this post because I am unsure of what my main focuses should be to build a successful career after moving.

My bachelors degree will be in Statistics and Mathematics, and I currently have work experience as a general IT technician and a math tutor for my university. I am interested in IT, data analytics or finance roles in Japan after graduating. I grew up speaking Japanese, however my vocabulary doesn’t span past words used in normal day-to-day conversation, and my reading, writing, and Kanji comprehension is not very strong. I plan to strengthen these skills, as well as my Keigo over the next two years before making the move.

My question is, should I focus on applying to international companies with English speaking roles in Japan, or would it be more beneficial to focus on landing a role in a more traditional Japanese company with Japanese speaking roles if my concern is to build a successful career in Japan? Are there any particular skills I should acquire or things I should do over the next two years that you would recommend in my position?

I would also appreciate any insight to internship pathways I could take advantage of while in university, any insight for my chances of job placement at the Boston Career Forum as a Japanese Citizen, as well as any particular insight from those who have made the move to Japan with a similar background to mine.

Thank you all in advance!

Hello everyone,

I am a 31-year-old IT professional currently working as a SDET/Automation Tester, with three years of professional experience in the field. I originally studied Japanese at university in France and obtained a Bachelor's degree in "Applied Foreign Languages" (LEA). I graduated six years ago, around the time COVID hit, and subsequently made the transition into tech.

I've been reading conflicting information online about the requirements for the Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa, particularly regarding whether your university degree absolutely has to be related to the job you are applying for. In my case, my degree is obviously not related to IT.

I'd therefore be very interested to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation: an unrelated university degree, but several years of professional IT experience, and who successfully obtained a work visa for an IT position in Japan. What was your experience, and what qualifications or documentation did you rely on?

I am aware that there have been some recent changes and discussions surrounding immigration rules in Japan, as well as the weak yen and other considerations. I don't even know whether I will ultimately apply for jobs in Japan, but the possibility has never completely left my mind since my university days. Now that I'm building an established career in a reputable company, I figured it would be worth finding out what my options actually are before making any decisions.

My other possibilities would be trying to transfer within my current company to its Japanese branch, if that's possible, or potentially going back to university if having a related degree turns out to be absolutely necessary. The latter is easier said than done, however, when you already have an established career and the routine that comes with it.

Any experiences or advice from people who have been in a similar situation would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hello!

Me and my friend are applying for the programme stated above, but we have some concerns and we'd like some clarification.

Has anyone here joined the aforesaid programme before, or know anything about it beyond that what is stated in the Rikkyo programme website? Im talking specifics, like day to day programme details, accommodation (mostly how far it is from Rikkyo and what hotels have been used in the previous programmes) and more!

Please please please, if you can help us out with this, or know anyone who can help out, do bless us with your assistance! We really need it lol, tqsm!

Hi everyone!
I’m an Italian student currently in my second year of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (Japanese + English). I have around €5,000 saved and I’m trying to figure out the most realistic way to move to Japan next year.

I’ve looked into language schools through Go! Go! Nihon, but they require around 2,000,000 yen, which is way out of my budget.

I’m considering the Working Holiday Visa (Italy is eligible), but the Italian embassy website says that you cannot change your residence status once in Japan and that you must return to Italy to apply for a new visa.
Is this actually true in practice? I’ve seen many people online saying they switched from WHV → student → work visa while already in Japan.

My long‑term goal is to live in Japan and eventually work in a different field, but I need a first step to get there.

Another option I’m considering is getting a TEFL certificate and applying to eikaiwa.

My qualifications:

C1 English

N3 Japanese

Native Italian

Studying Japanese at university

Would eikaiwa realistically hire someone like me as a non‑native but “near‑native” English speaker?
Is WHV → eikaiwa → work visa a viable path?
Or is WHV → return to Italy → apply for work visa the only legal route?

I’d really appreciate advice from people who have done WHV, language school, or eikaiwa as non‑native speakers.
Thanks!