Learning Japanese in Kansai

Living in the country of the language you’re learning is a very quick and fun way to improve and advance your language skills.

The Kansai reigon has many Japanese language schools which cater to a variety of levels and outcomes.

The requirements for being a qualified Japanese language teacher are stricter than being an English TEFL teacher, but in general the methodology is sometimes a lot different and more old fashioned.

Most schools offer a couple of types of course:

Full time which is usually several hours a day and for which you can get a student visa and which last about 18-24 months.

Part time is usually a couple of hours per day or week and are usually held in the morning (for mothers or ekaiwa workers) or evening (for business people and school teachers).

Intensive classes offer you the chance to study full time for a couple of weeks which is great if you’ve got a job back home but want to live in Japan for a bit to study.

You can usually get a free trial lesson, but many schools have an entrance fee (where else in the world do you have to pay to become a customer?) on top of tuition.

Here is a list of various Japanese language schools you can find in the Kansai reigon

(EDIT just found a site chock full of one to one Japanese teachers in Kansai).

Osaka

Arc Academy has two schools in Osaka (Nanba and Umeda), and offers a range of conversational style courses from beginner to advanced. From 4 weeks to 3 months classes as well as private lessons. From 60,000 yen.

Osaka YWCA Situated in Umeda and part of the YWCA center (including a hotel and restaurant) it offers a range of part time morning and evening, intensive summer classes as well as full time university entrance exam Japanese. Pretty cheap and friendly teachers.

Human Academy Nice central location in Shinsaibashi, a specialist college offering range of part time short classes upto full time intensive Japanese study.

Kansai Gaigo Full and part time study classes based in Tennoji offers visas, residences, scholarships and medical support.

NT International Academy Umeda school offering JLPT courses, small 3-5 person classes, full time and intensive classes.

YMCA Japanese language school Full and part time classes from three months to 2 years in Osaka near Tennoji.

International Exchange Center Two locations in Umeda and Namba full time or part time options with small class sizes and all levels. One of the cheapest.

Ecclesia Japanese College Qualified teachers, communicative approach and flexible private lessons including web lessons.

Here is another large list of Japanese language schools

The International House in Osaka has Saturday Japanese conversation classes and an evening class for Kanji. It’s very cheap but filled with housewives and retirees who may start off on war stories.

Kyoto

There are several quality schools in Kyoto for learning Japanese which are listed below.

KAWARA JUKU ( KYOTO JAPAN STUDY CENTER )
4 streets east of Karasuma, south of Oike ; Tel : 231-1608 ; Fax : 231-4450

KYOTO JAPANESE LANGUAGE SCHOOL
The Kyoto Center for Japanese Linguistic Studies, on Ichijo, west of Muromachi ; Tel : 414-0449 ; Fax : 441-9055 ; office@kils.or.jp

KYOTO INSTITUTE OF CULTURE AND LANGUAGE
On Shirakawa, near Kamihate-cho bus stop (on campus of the Kyoto Univresity of Art and Design); Tel: 722-5066; Fax: 722-5067; kicl@kca.kyoto-art.ac.jp

KYOTO INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY
Located in front of the north gate of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine ; Tel : 466-4881; Fax : 466-4929 ;

ARC ACADEMY KYOTO
#5 Hase Bldg. 5F ; southeast corner of Shijo Ayanokoji ; next to Shijo subway station #3 exit. ; Tel : 353-7566 ; Fax : 353-7567 ; kyoto@arc-academy.co.jp

Kobe

Marga Language Service Short term intensive classes as well as a full time Japanese course for all levels.

Online
An online school called JOI has cheap flexible lessons.