How many times can I visit?

Hello I am an American korean wishing to study in japan. The school I wad accepted to does not help students get student visas. The school is scheduled into quarters so if I were to leave at the end of every 3 months how many times am I allowed to do this? Alsl if I were to stay for one semester only I was wondering how many times I can enter and leave within the given amount of dates to not get in any trouble. Also if I do this will immigration not let me enter?

If you are American passport holder, you can stay for up to 90 days on a temp visitor visa at any one time. But you ain't supposed to study or work.

Other than that. Apply for a proper student visa.

If the school doesn't help you with visa, that means either they are not an accredited school, or that the course you are signing up with is limited to up to 90 days that those on Temporaty Visitor status can just come and study on that.

You can study on that, though no part time work is allowed. As long as you stick with the 90 day limit, and each time you come back in you can show the acceptance letter from the school, you should be ok. But immigration tends to ask about living expenses and funding so please be ready with an answer.

It sounds somewhat fishy that your school doesnft help you with the visa. Have you considered an other school?

On a tourist visa you canft work and you canft rent a flat (except Airbnbbut that gets very expensive after a while), you canft get a bank account, a phone contract... as it seems you plan to stay a year or longer in Japan getting a proper student visa would be better. Also les questions asked if you come back every 3 months, which can get you into troubles at immigration.

Enjoy your life in Japan!

You're not allowed to study long-term on a tourist visa. I would do some research into this school - if you can't get a student visa while studying there, it doesn't sound legit...

Serious people,

As a tourist you may do a Short-Term Program which is designed for those who wish to study Japanese

As a tourist you may do the following activities
Tourism, vacation, sports, family visit, participation to seminars, conferences or reunions. It is possible also to have business meetings, sign contracts, engage in PR activities and conduct market research.

Also many schools apply this option
https://yosida.com/intensive-japanese/short-term-study
https://www.kudan-japanese-school.com/en/visa/90days.php

It is up to the discretion of Immigration, but 180 days seems to be the limit to return ( 2 times if you have 90 days)

School sounds fishy unless that only do short courses and that is what you want. Apply for a student visa without them.
There is no 180 day limit - it is a myth. You can visit 360 days a year if you want (issues other than immigration come into play - mainly tax). Border/immigration officials enforce the law, not some arbitrary procedure. (personal experience, researched the legislation (and the myth) and legal advice on the topic)
On a temporary visitor permit you can do a lot - not just tourism as mentioned above. You can also do many other things like rent an apartment (if you use the right companies), but you can't get a phone (exceedingly unlikely given my understanding of the telecoms act and sales people) or a bank account would be next to impossible) - for those a Status of Residence would be necessary.

I have read on this forum that some people do a 'visa run' to Korea (or Taiwan), which would be a quicker and cheaper alternative than returning to the US. If that is true, then it would be a easy weekend excursion to extend your stay in Japan.

As there are rules for the amount of stay and also the meaning of tourist means that you do not stay in Japan longer than a certain period

Temporary Visitor visa holders may stay in Japan for no longer than 180 days a year
Application process of Temporary Visitor visa is simple most of the time as long as there is no insufficiency in documentation. If you are from a visa exemption country, only thing you need to bring with you to enter Japan is your passport. you may think you can eventually stay in Japan permanently by departing and re-entering Japan every time your visa is about to expire. But in fact, you cannot reside in Japan in such a way. Generally, the maximum period of stay allowed for Temporary Visitor visa holders is up to 180 days a year, which is almost half of a year. If you intend to stay in Japan for longer than that, you are no longer a gtemporary visitorh. Importantly, g180 days a yearh means total sum of days you actually stay in Japan on Temporary Visitor visa over the past year backward from the last day of your departure from Japan, not a sum of period of stay you were granted.

There are some cases Temporary Visitor visa holder allowed to stay in Japan over 180 days a year under special circumstances permitted by immigration inspectors. Though, these cases are not common, and you are hardly allowed to stay in Japan over 180 days a year just for the purpose of tourism.

Reminder for frequent visitors on Temporary Visitor visa
As previously mentioned, the maximum length of period of stay for Temporary Visitor visa holder is generally 180 days a year. However, sometimes your application for a visa is declined or entry to Japan is rejected at immigration inspection, or you may be taken for a long interview at landing permission if you frequently re-enter Japan on Temporary Visitor visa. This is mainly because immigration inspectors become suspicious about unreasonable entry to Japan. Whether or not you are permitted to enter Japan is decided by an immigration inspector after all, therefore you should be aware of that you may be rejected to enter Japan anytime.

anyway if this is a risk OP can afford than try. But you will get questions about the amount of stay in Japan.

@Justmyday - you make the same assertion multiple times with no references or proof regarding the 180 day stuff. most of the "quoted" references on the internet are not official and just repeat the myth. Repeating it five times in your post or putting it in quotes does not make it true.

I have stayed over 220 days in Japan in a 365 day period as a "temporary visitor" with no problem, and staying longer would not have been an issue. It just happened to be as few days as that with the way my work went in that period (yes, I was working). It could easily have been longer, the previous year it was less. I had legitimate reasons for being in the country and a permitted activity. There were no "special" circumstances. I now have SoR so it is no longer an issue, but if I was to give that up, I could and would continue to reside in Japan the bulk of the year under the rules and law that applies. And, no, I'm not in the country as a tourist.

Immigration inspectors are allowed to question people if they think they will be in the country for activities not covered by the particular class of visa that applies, including work or study.

If you want to believe that the is some 180 day rule for immigration, then go ahead. For the vast majority of people, it isn't an issue. Wait for the tax man to come.

@JapanCustomTours
If you can read Japanese, you would have found articles on "the 180 day rule" in many websites of licensed administrative scriveners and lawyers.

Yes, I found those, and none referencing a proper verifiable piece of legislation or regulation from an official government source. I also encounter "professional" advisory websites that have simple errors and mistakes when it comes to visa advice, so I'll take the official line. As I said, people want to believe this rule exists.