Frequently asked questions.

Many people asked me specific questions.
I am going to answer here so that everyone can read and get the knowledge!!!

I want to go to Japan and study Japanese. What should I do?

  1. You should decide the school first.
    Click this website and see all the Japanese schools in Japan. (The website is in English!)
    http://www.aikgroup-siki.com/j-school/english/area/section/kanto.htm
  2. If you find the schools you like, contact the school and apply.
  3. If the school accept you, you can apply for the visa.
  4. After you get the visa, you can hop on the plane and start your life in Japan.


What is the cost of learning Japanese in Japan?

The cost depends on a lot of factors.
For example,
-Tokyo is expensive but the countryside is cheap.
-School fee depends on the school.
-Rent depends on house size.
-Vegetarian food is more expensive than non-vegetarian food in restaurants.

Here is an example of expenses.
I made this by asking several Indian friends. The minimum could be lower and the maximum could be higher depending on the quality you want or the cities you live in.

ExpensesMinimumMax
Flight ticket (Round) ₹40,000₹100,000
Japanese school fee(1 year)₹400,000₹500,000
Rent(1 year)₹300,000₹534,000
Electoricity, water and gas. (1 year) ₹40,000₹65,000
Wifi for house(1 year) ₹20,000₹35,000
Phone bill with internet (1 year) ₹20,000₹35,000
Food (1 year)₹100,000₹380,000
Medical Insurance(1 year) ₹60,000₹100,000
Entertainment expenses,travel, movie, etc..(1 year)₹100,000₹250,000
Total₹1,080,000₹1,909,000

For School fee, you can check each school’s fee from this website.
http://www.aikgroup-siki.com/j-school/english/area/section/kanto.htm


I want to work in Japan. How do I get a job in Japan?

First of all, you need to pass at least N3 of JLPT(Japanese language exam) to get a job in Japan. (I highly recommend to pass N1 of JLPT to get a great job in Japan.)
Japanese people don’t use English in business. We only speak Japanese. So, if you want to work in Japan, you need to study Japanese.

By the time you pass JLPT, you will get the idea of how to get the job in Japan.
You need to find the company that you like and apply for it.
You can also use the recruiting company to find the right company for you.
[Example of recruiting companies]
Nippon仕事.com
G Talent(Foreigner/ IT engineer)
JOBS in Japan

If you can study in college or language school in Japan, you can use the specific platform for those foreign students. You can also find a recruiting event in Japan if you live in major cities in Japan.

In 2019, Japanese companies are looking for hiring more foreigners than ever. If you have proper Japanese skills and education, it is not difficult to find a job.

Japanese school system

Hello! 
Some people asked me about the Japanese school system.
I don’t know all kinds of school in Japan because but I can share my experiences.

So, here is the history of my education.

Nursery(0~5 year old)

I didn’t go to nursery because my mom was not working and she could take care of me.

If a mom is working and cannot take care of her child, she can put her kid into Nursery.

Putting a kid into a nursery is a bit difficult in Tokyo. There are more children who need to go to a nursery than the number of teachers in a nursery. It is one of the big problems in Japan.

Kindergarten(4~5 year old)

Kindergarten is NOT mandatory in Japan. 
However, my mom put me in a Kindergarten so that I can do more activities and make more friends.

Kindergarten starts around 8:00 am and ends around 4:00 pm.
We do drawing, playing, dance and a lot more activities but we don’t study much. 

Elementary school (6~11 year old)

Elementary school is mandatory. 
Children can choose if they want to go to public elementary school or private elementary school.

I went to a public elementary school because my house was in the countryside and there was no private school there. Public elementary schools are basically free but lunches and school trips are not free.

Private elementary school cost a lot but the education quality is usually better than the public ones.

Here is the subjects that children study in elementary school and the class hours of each subject.

SubjectFirst 
grade
Second 
grade
Third 
grade
Forth 
grade
Fifth 
grade
Sixth 
grade
Japanese306(h)315245245175175
Social studies007090100105
Math136175175175175175
Sience0090105105105
living studies1021050000
Music687060605050
arts687060605050
homemaking00006055
P.E1021051051059090
moral343535353535
English00003535
Others0070707070
Special activities343535353535
Total850910945980980980

Mastering Kanji is difficult to Japanese people as well. As you can see above, we spend a lot of time to practice Kanji. Also, we have many moral classes in which we learn what is right and what is wrong. We have cleaning time after the lunch. All students clean the school, room, toilet and everywhere. We learn how to clean with various equipment and how to keep the environment organized.

School starts around 8:30 am and finishes around 3:30 pm

Junior high school(12~14 year old)

Junior high school is also mandatory thus it is basically free.
I went to a public junior high school.
In my school, we needed to wear a school uniform.

SubjectFirst gradeSecond gradeThird grade
Japanese140140105
Social studies105105140
Math140105140
Sience105140140
Music453535
Arts453535
P.E105105105
Tech/Homemaking707035
English140140140
Moral353535
Others507070
Special activities353535
Total101510151015

At the third grade, we need to take the entrance exam of high school. Most of us went to cram school in the evenings because the junior high school was not providing enough education to survive the entrance exams.

School starts around 8:30 am and finishes around 3:30 pm

High school(15~17 year old)

I chose to go to a second-best public high school because it was very close to my house and my ballet studio. And, of course, I passed the exam.

High school is not mandatory but 99% of my junior high school mates entered High school. High school is considered “must” to be accepted in Japanese society.

The first year of High school, teachers asked me “Which university do you want to go?”
High school’s most important role is to send students to good universities. So we were forced to study as much as we can. My school had a “Study trip” as well, in which students were put in the hotel and studied 15 hours a day (or more).

Not all high schools are like this but since my high school is very focused on the entrance exam of the university, they make student study like crazy.

Thanks to this crazy studying environment, I passed the exam of Osaka University which is the third-best National University in Japan.

University(18-21 year old)

As I mentioned, I entered Osaka University and majored in Hindi. Osaka University is the public school so the fee is rather cheaper but it still cost 540,000 yen per year. Private University cost double compared to the public university.

I lived in a dormitory in the campus and the rent was only 4,500 yen /month. This is amazingly cheap. Not everyone could stay in the dormitory so only poor students were given permission to stay there. Since my father died of cancer and my family didn’t have legit income, I got permission to stay in the dormitory. (Btw, I didn’t have to pay for the school fee for the same reason. )

I did part-time jobs and earned some money for my living but I was lucky to get a lot of financial support from the government and the university. I had enough time to study hard and enjoy school life.

I took one year break from the university and lived in Delhi for a year.
After I came back to Japan, I did the job hunting and got a job in PwC Japan.

Thanks for reading

Thank you very much for reading such a long article.

I am not sure if such information would help anyone but I simply wrote it down in case someone is interested.

If I have a baby in the future, I don’t want to put him or her in normal Japanese schools. I want to put my kid into an international school in Japan or live in foreign countries. I don’t think the Japanese education system is the best. I will right those things someday…..

See you again soon!