I’m a foreign woman living in Japan. I married a Long-Term Resident (定住者／Teijusha) and was granted a 1-year Teijusha status after our marriage.

My marriage has become extremely difficult. My husband has cheated on me with multiple women, controls where I go, and I recently discovered that he has Hepatitis B, which he had hidden from me. His behavior has seriously affected my mental health.

I want to move out and live separately, but I’m terrified that this could affect my immigration status. My husband also refuses to cooperate, and I’m worried he may not provide documents or support when I need to renew my status.

I feel trapped between protecting my mental health and protecting my right to stay in Japan.

Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Can I renew my 1-year Teijusha status if I separate from my husband?

Do I need his cooperation or documents for renewal?

Can I move out and register a new address without immediately losing my status?

I would really appreciate advice from anyone with personal experience or knowledge of Japanese immigration procedures. Please be kind — I’m genuinely scared and trying to understand my options.

Hello! I'm starting my application process for language school. I am looking at three schools; Yu language academy, Yokohama design college, and Ecc language school.

I have not seen a lot of good things about Yokohama. I've seen a lot on YouTube and on reddit about screaming teachers and unkind treatment, but I haven't seen much on Yu language academy, and I've only seen mainly positive things on ECC.

I'm really interested in Yu and ECC, but I would like some input from anyone here who has any experience with the school.

- Do they help with the transition? Bank accounts, apartments, job searching ?

- How are the teachers? Do they communicate well?

- How are the lessons? Intensive? Slow? How many Chinese students attend? (I would like to know so I know how I have to study kanji)

Thank you very much!

Hello!

I’m currently going to study abroad in Japan in the next few months and my school requires me to get international insurance before going. (Its within a form for arrival information). I was wondering are they any recommendations? Or do I apply to the Japan’s national insurance, if so how do I go about it?

Thanks!!!

I’m planning to leave Australia around early July and do a short-term Japanese language course in Japan full time (15 hours a week). My ideal timeline is starting early July and finishing before October, so roughly 10-12 weeks. I do not know whether to do it in Kobe, where i will studying, or tokyo, where there is more to experience

My study component

What I’m hoping to find in a program:

• Short-term (minimum 10 week) course that ends before the fall semester
• Cultural experiences included in the program or offered as add-ons (tea ceremony, local events, calligraphy etc)
• Beginner to lower-intermediate friendly
• Good support for international students
• Provides a certificate (for scholarship)

Schools that I’ve preferred so far:

• GenkiJACS – I like that they seem to offer cultural activity add-ons, but I’m still gathering impressions before I commit.
• ISI Language School (Osaka/Kyoto) – I’ve read some mixed reviews which has made me apprehensive about going with them.

Right now I’m between GenkiJACS and ISI, but I’m not sure if there are better options that offer both solid language learning and meaningful cultural experiences within my timeline.

I’m on a scholarship and have a decent budget for language training. Cost is not my biggest concern. Quality, cultural engagement, and fitting the schedule matter most.

If you’ve done a similar short-term course in tokyo or kobe, or have honest insights about these or other schools, I’d really appreciate your recommendations. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on what a realistic path into Tokyo might look like.

My long-term goal is to coach youth competitive sports in Japan, even if it's only for a few years. I've been coaching the same sport for nearly 10 years and worked my way from a part-time coach to a full-time Head Coach and Youth Programs Manager. Through that role, I've coached youth athletes from across the U.S., South America, and Tokyo through several international training camps.

The challenge is that I don't think coaching alone would be enough to support living in Tokyo right away, especially while trying to establish myself. My thought was to teach English while continuing to coach on the side, then eventually transition into coaching full-time if the opportunity presented itself. Since my career has always centered around youth development, teaching English doesn't seem like it would be a negative step if it helps me get there.

The biggest issue is that I don't have a bachelor's or associate's degree. I know that rules out JET and many English teaching jobs because of the visa requirements.

So I have a few questions:

• Are there any legitimate ways to teach English in Japan without a degree, or is it essentially impossible? I also understand getting a visa without JET and other programs might be diicult.
• Are there other visa or employment paths that might make more sense for someone in my situation?
• Has anyone gone the language school/student visa route and later transitioned into English teaching or their long-term profession?
• I enjoy working with kids but would also be open to teaching adults if that opens more opportunities.
• If language school is the most realistic option, how manageable is it to balance studying Japanese with part-time work? I'm currently studying toward N4, but I've never been particularly academic, so I'm curious how demanding people found it.

Tokyo is my focus because that's where most of the coaching opportunities and facilities for my sport are located.

I realize that not having a degree makes things significantly more difficult, and I'm not looking for someone to sugarcoat it. I'm just hoping to understand what realistic options exist, if any.

I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thanks! 😄

Hello everyone! I will be applying for a 1 Year Working Holiday Visa (from Canada) to Japan. I am currently undecided whether to enter the country during April or September.

A big part of this consideration and the whole trip is language learning. My Japanese is below N5 currently, and will likely still not be quite there in April, whereas in Sept it probably will. However if arriving in Apr, l will be able to start more intensive and immersive study earlier and will therefore likely gain more proficiency in the same timeframe. I feel an earlier start date may also drive more motivation to keep on top of a 1-2hr daily study routine, whereas if it’s about 1yr from now I may procrastinate a bit (human nature I guess).

The other consideration is weather, summers are pretty hot in Toronto, Canada and in general I kinda like the heat around 25-30C, but I know Japan is a whole other level. I’ve only stayed in Japan during April/ May months, so the other idea is to skip the initial summer and start my trip towards the fall.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts/ feedback!

(27M) Hello! I'm from America and have a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering with several years of professional engineering experience. I currently work as a civil engineer for a U.S. state government agency, and before that I worked at a civil/structural engineering firm. I've also been studying Japanese off and on for a few years. While I'm continuing to study Japanese, I'm still below N2, and from what I've researched my current Japanese level wouldn't qualify me for most traditional engineering positions in Japan.

I've realized my current position isn't the right long-term fit for me, and I've also wanted to experience living abroad while I'm at a stage in life where it's realistic to do so and I have the savings. I've visited Japan before which reinforced my interest in living and working there, and I'm aware visiting a country and actually living there are two different experiences.

Because of that, earlier this year I started looking into ways to move to Japan. I currently have an offer in place with an eikaiwa (AEON) in Nagoya, and my original plan was to use English teaching as a way to enter Japan while continuing to improve my Japanese before hopefully transitioning back into an engineering or other technical role.

Recently I've started questioning if this is the right entry path for me. I've read many negative experiences from English teachers in Japan, and because I've already started building an engineering career I'm concerned that stepping away from it now could make it harder to continue progressing toward a technical career in Japan.

I'm not limiting myself to traditional civil engineering. My goal is to build a technical career in Japan, whether that's in civil engineering or an engineering-adjacent or technology-focused role that makes use of my background.

So I guess I'm trying to figure out whether given my degree and experience, if English teaching is the right way for me to enter Japan, or if I'd be better off pursuing a different path from the beginning that better leverages my background.

Since I'm still early enough in the process to change course, I wanted to get advice before fully committing to this path. I'd greatly appreciate any advice or different perspectives. Thank you!

Hello. I'm a Burmese student who is currently preparing to take my IELTS so that I can apply for an English track program around October for the 2027 April intake. Unfortunately I don't know much about the life in Japan nor a university student life. These past few days I've been thinking too much about my future and it has been stressing me out too much. I have too much questions in my head and I don't have anyone else to ask.

1. Choosing a university.

I would love to major in Accounting and Economics or Business but I don't really know which university I should go for.

Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU)

Waseda University

Keio University

Temple University, Japan (TUJ)

Tokyo International University (TIU)

I would really appreciate if you could also leave some suggestions. I don't know which one is the best out of my option but I've heard that TIU has a really bad reputation.

1. Visa and COE Issues

I've also heard that getting your Visa approved for a Burmese student is really hard unless they got scholarship and COE required around 10-12 years of education. I don't know if it's true and it's the COE approval that had me anxious the most. I only finished till grade 6 in my government school back in 2019-2020 and dropped out due to COVID and the current military coup situation. I attended pre-ig back in 2024-2025, since at first I was planning to go study in the US. Unfortunately, the US visa was closed for Burmese and it had left me no choice but to drop out and switch to GED. I already finished my GED exam and got decent marks but it still doesn't make up the 10-12 years of education experience.

1. Language.

I've just recently started learning Japanese and it has been really confusing to me. I don't really know how to self study but I don't want to take classes either. The higarana and katakana is not much for a problem for me but it's mainly the grammer and kotoba that kept me stuck.

1. Part time Job

Because I'm not fluent in Japanese yet, I'm worried I might not be able to get a job in Japan. I mainly wanna work jobs as a cashier or a waitress which aren't too hard but required a lot of communication. I'm a bit okay when speaking in English so is it possible to find a stable part time job for students while only communicating through English.

1. Friends

Is it hard to make friends in Japan. I'm a loner in real life and is socially awkward. I sometimes have problem speaking to new people because I'm always thinking they're judging me either the way I look or whatever I'm doing. I'm working on it to get over it by going out a lot but it still feels weird to me. I'm worried I won't be able to make friends at my university or in Japan.

1. Love life

I would like any most people my age would like to get into a relationship when I get to Japan but I don't know what japanese girls are into. I'm currently 18 and around 6'2"-6'3", but I have a really slim figure and acne scars on my face, 2hich worries me I might not get a gf. Being single is not too much of a problem but I would really love to be in one in the long term.

1. Culture

I don't know anything about Japan culture and I'm still trying to learn about it. I would be really happy if you could tell me things I should know and avoid in Japan.

Mainly Visa and COE is my biggest problem and also choosing a university. The fear of getting rejected from universities also linger within me. Thank you for reading through this, I really didn't want to bottle it up and get me more stressed.

I'm also very sorry if I appear to sound rude in anyway anywhere within what I wrote.

Hi, my name is Imogen (イモジェン) and I’ll be an exchange student in Japan next month. In America my nickname is Imo (イモ) but I know it means potato in japanese and I don’t want to be associated with the vegetable.

I was thinking of going with the nickname Jen (ジェン) since it’s close to my english name but I’m wondering if Japanese people would have a difficult time pronouncing Imo

Which nickname options do I have that would be easy to pronounce in Japan?

I know this is a really broad question. But my husband and I are hoping to move to Japan in August 2027. We have 2 (soon to be 3) children. He's a physics teacher in the UK with 10 years of experience. I'm a novelist so can kind of work anywhere. We're really hoping he could maybe get a job in an international school for a year or two and we can leave London. It feels like the right time for us and we love japan. (We've been many times). Our eldest starts school in 2027 so could start school there instead...?

My question is I've read that it's very competitive to get a job in an international school in Japan but since my husband has a lot of experience and teaches a STEM subject hopefully he'll have a competitive edge?

Can any teachers (ideally in similar subjects) tell me about their application experience? How many schools did you have to apply to to get an offer? Did it take several years/tries or did you manage to move in the year you wanted to go?

Also teachers with children (especially more than 2!) what was your experience like? And financially did it still work? (I have a job though novelists mostly don't make a huge amount of money!)

Also, contract lengths. Ideally we'd only stay one or two years. Are there any 1-2 year contracts? I've only seen 2 year contracts. Could we get a 2 year contract with some kind of a break clause? Has anyone heard of that?

What are the english-speaking school options for 5 year olds?

Also any experience of raising black/mixed race kids in japan would also be appreciated! (my kids are very young, two are babies, so this is more out of curiosity)

EDIT: I'm more interested in hearing about ACTUAL EXPERIENCES that YOU have had than naysaying about my plan. I'm also not interested in explaining all the reasons we want to go to Japan and know that this time is right for us/our family.

Thanks :)

I’m currently looking for an apartment in Tokyo Japan I have my Japanese passport and am fluent in Japanese. Though I have my Japanese passport I am being told by real estate agents that I only have access to 30% of the available rental market because 1. I don’t have a current address in Japan, 2. I plan to work remotely from outside the country (while working in Japan as well), and 3. I will be an independent contractor in Japan when I arrive. Is this information legitimate? I am also unsure if apartments are more expensive if they are perceiving me as a foreigner. I was told by a friend perhaps having a Japanese guarantor will help with applying to apartments. Please let me know what everyone’s experience and opinion is on this. I appreciate it!

Hi everyone, I’m a 17 year old student from Russia planning to move to Japan for an April language school intake. My ultimate goal is to reach N2/N1, adapt to the language, and transition into a Japanese university.

My main hurdle right now is financial: I have a hard limit of about $6,000 saved for my first year, which needs to cover upfront fees and language school costs. Because of this tight budget, I’m trying to figure out all available options for grants, tuition reductions, or work-study programs (like Newspaper Scholarships or JASSO support) available for language school students.

I would love to get your insights on a few things:

• Realistically, how doable is this budget if I work part-time (arubaito) and look into cheaper living areas like Saitama?
• Are there any specific private grants or school-specific scholarships for incoming students on a budget?
• For those who started from scratch, was 1 to 1.5 years in a language school enough to reach the level needed for university entrance exams?
• Are there any current administrative or banking nuances for Russian students that I should prepare for in advance?

Any advice, realistic budget breakdowns, or personal experiences would be immensely appreciated. Thanks!

I am a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology undergrad and thinking about doing my pastgrad in top 20 national university and then my starting job in there. Later might move to other countries depending on circumstances and opportunities.

So need a bit of idea on the career of life science students in japan... That'll help me deciding my abroad study course. Thanks in advance..,,

Hello! I’m currently an American student going into her 3rd year of college. Fortunately my uni is partnered with UoT and SU. I’m seriously considering studying abroad for Spring 2027 (April-August) Does anyone have any experience studying abroad at UoT as an exchange student? And how was the acceptance? I’m actually a nursing student on a very busy schedule but will be completing my electives by studying abroad. To study abroad I have to give up basically a 6 month guaranteed internship at one of the big hospitals in Massachusetts. I saw that UoT will notify students if they get accepted early December and that’s a little too late for me to switch to do the internship as applications and interviews start Nov. I understand University of Tokyo is very competitive so I wanted to see if anyone has any experience applying and getting in. What are the chances that I don’t get in?

P.S my friend is studying at Sophia rn but idk anyone at UoT. I’ve also been taking Japanese classes at my college.

Hello,

I am an Indian student currently in class 12 in ISC board and was also preparing for a major competitive entrance exam (JEE). I have 93% in my class 10, 60% in class 11 and expect around 90% in my class 12 score.

I am also learning a bit of Japanese and I am currently N4(ish) level. I have given the JLPT N4 test this month but I'm not sure whether I will pass or not. I had also applied to MEXT but did not even make it into the first screening.

I am looking for an undergraduate mechanical engineering course. I have heard that I should avoid English-taught courses because scope of getting jobs becomes very low. But I don't know enough Japanese to apply for a Japanese-taught course unless they have a 6-month or a year of intensive Japanese preparatory course before the actual program starts. I am hoping to leave for Japan by 2027 fall (September/October). As per my research, only Kyoto University offers an intensive Japanese preparatory course (iUP is what they call it).

Scholarships, while obviously preferred, may not be necessary.

I will not be able to move to Japan and learn Japanese for a year to apply to universities the traditional EJU way. I will only be able to go if I get a confirmed admission.

Any help appreciated! :)

Thank you!

Hello all. In my last post about housing, my fiancé and I were set on buying a house as soon as we moved to Japan. As many of you pointed out, that transition would’ve been abrupt and left a lot of room for future headaches if we ended up disliking the location or wanted to leave the country. The general consensus was to rent first for a year or two and get a feel for areas we might want to settle in long-term. We’d rather skip the renting phase, but we agree it’s the smart move, and that’s the plan now.

For those of you already living in Japan, I’d love to hear about the town or area you settled in. What made you choose it, and what’s daily life there actually like? We’re especially curious about places that feel quiet and a bit more low-key rather than bustling. If your neighborhood fits that vibe, we’d love to hear what makes it special. We tried to do a bit of research but were only met with crappy advertisements for travel. Trying to find meaningful information on this topic has been pretty difficult, so we’d truly appreciate your insight! Any tips on things to watch out for while renting would help too.

A bit more context: we’re both homebodies who don’t get out much. We prefer a quiet, simple life, but also want easy access to Tokyo for its amenities. My lined-up job is near Aoyama-itchome station, and an hour’s commute or less would be ideal. Our budget would be anything less than $1300 USD/m.

Looking forward to hearing your experiences!

Edit: added budget

Their program looks promising, especially since I am planning to attend university. However, it is more expensive, and I haven't seen many people talking about it. Should I just stick to a normal language school instead? My goal is to reach N2 to pursue a STEM major taught in Japanese

Hi,

I’m an international applicant for a graduate program in Japan. I'm hoping to get some perspectives from people familiar with Japanese cultures or academic admissions / communication norms!

Earlier in the process, the administrative coordinator was replying almost instantly to all my emails and helping schedule everything up through the interview stage and I have earned my unofficial acceptance already.

Recently, the Graduate Students Section notified me that individual divisions handle their own examination methods as the next step and told me to reach out directly to the prospective division regarding exam details. I emailed the coodinator to respectfully inquire about the specific examination details.

It’s now been over a week since my initial email, and I sent a polite follow-up late last week, but I haven't received a reply yet.

Given how fast the communication was prior to this, the sudden silence is making me anxious. I know Japanese admissions can involve multi-layered administrative approvals, but I'm wondering:

- Is it common for response times to drastically slow down after the interview stage while administrators wait on committee decisions?

- Could this silence be a soft rejection, or is it purely a bottleneck with the department finalizing exam protocols for international applicants?

Would appreciate hearing from anyone with experience applying to Japanese grad programs or dealing with admin communication!

Looking for accommodation in Tokyo or any big city in Japan. I'm a digital nomad and I can't work from home, I need a dedicated work environment. I'll also need to take Zoom calls periodically.

In Korea they have co-living buildings and officetels with coworking lounges and gyms in the building, and I haven't found anything like that in Japan. So two questions:

1. Does Japan have residential buildings (serviced apartments, co-living, share houses, anything) with a proper work space inside the building?
2. If not, are there 24/7 places where people study or work that aren't cafes? I looked at coworking spaces but memberships come out to around 600 euros a month, which is steep.

Any names of specific buildings, chains, or spaces would be really appreciated.

Hi I’m a 16f from Iceland and I want to move and attend school in Japan as soon as I am able to. I have done some research and know I have to attend school here in Iceland until I turn 18.
I plan on attending school here as normal and finish my studies here in 2 1/2 years but hopefully move to Japan right after. I don’t know if this is a smart idea, hence why I’m posting this here😅

I know Iceland and Japan have some similarities with currency as 1 isk is 1,29 yen / 1000 isk is 1291 yen, so this won’t course much of an issue and I will try to start learning the language beforehand, but I’m not sure if this is a realistic dream.
Is it likely for me to be able to attend school there and live there? ( I want to live in a less populated city ) or will it probably be an utter disaster if I do try?
I will be moving alone as well as living so will that be an issue? Will it be hard to make friends if I do move? Is there any realistic that I can study and hopefully work in?
Since Iceland is such an expensive country and I have been working for 2 years and plan to continue working with school, money hopefully won’t b an issue in the beginning. But will it be expensive if I do move and will it be impossible to find work? Will I be able to learn the language if I don’t live in a highly populated area or worse, what if they won’t speak English and I won’t be able to communicate in order to be able to learn?

I’m sorry for how messy this post is, but this truly is a dream I hope will come true but I don’t know if it’s a good idea.

Please tell me what you think and how your journey was. Thank you in advance🫶

Feel free to ask me questions as well, il reply to everything it at least try to.

I am going to Japan in one month. I was looking at information about sim cards, however most seem to be for tourists that are only staying for a few days/weeks. I am going to be living in Japan for a year. I currently use T-mobile, and don't want to pay 50 cents per call within Japan. (I would call family back home through whatsapp so I'm not worried about international calls). I am unsure if I should get sim cards from somewhere like Sakura Mobile, or if there are better options for longer periods of time.

Hello, I'd like to have some advice on what I can do and how I should proceed. What I want to do is enroll in a 1 or 2-year Japanese language school, but I want to keep my current remote job that I'm working at US time at least until I settle. So, my job will start at like 12 AM and end at about 7 AM. I see that almost all Japanese classes offer 13 PM for thel latest lesson start time. I think I can manage it somehow because I really want to do this.

I don't want to live in a metropolitan city, I want to live in the less crowded places, preferebly in the northern part like Tohoku area and pick a language school there. I'm also planning to rent a car as well.

My income is around $,1700-1,800, do you think it's enough to get by? I'm thinking of switching at some point after I feel comfortable enough and find some new opportunities there. I firstly want to go there for a month or two, then visit some schools to see how they do and all.

Where should I look to find affordable places to stay? I don't want shared rooms but I can do with a single room, doesn't have to be fancy and all.

I just did a ski season in Japan on a WHV but I only stayed for 6 months. I travelled around Japan for a bit after but ended up needing to go back to the UK.

I really want to go back to Japan for next winter and the Japan embassy says UK nationals can get a second WHV. But I have heard that it is hard to get a second WHV and you’re more likely to be rejected if you didn’t stay in Japan for the whole first visa.

Does anyone have any advice? Or know how to fill out a second application - is it the same as the first time?

thanks!