I am a 16 year old looking to go to school

Right now I have a few issues that i need to clear before I can tell the school that i can come for sure, the biggset one being housing.

I have looked through most of the options in it has come down to a sharehouse or a studio apartment.
the apertment is what i feel would be best since I am looking for privacy and a place only for myself.
that said it is a lot more chalenging to arrange it due to the lenguage barrier.

the places that are within my price range are on a website called heyamaru and there are a lot of options most 1-1.5 hours from shibuya, which is fine for me and i think i could manege.
the only thing is that it is not in english so i had to use google translate to find the info.
i dont know about the policys of this places on many things like: forigners, minors, etc.
i am trying to find a japanese speaking person to help with figuring these things out.

next is the visa which I looked into and im pretty sure that i can get a student visa for my 2 year stay with the school admission.

i am looking for anyone who is willing to help or just give their opinion of why it is/isnt possible and would very much appriciate it.

I have a few issues that i need to clear before I can tell the school that i can come for sure, the biggset one being housing.

No, the biggest issue is not housing but the visa you have, first and foremost. Do you already have it? If not, how are you going to get it? Without a visa, all you are planning for will become wasted.

i think i can get a student visa with the school admission or at least apply and go theough the proccess.

think i can get a student visa with the school admission or at least apply and go theough the proccess.


If you are a student who wants to join a university in Japan, that may make sense. Although You still need to wait a few years more to become eligible (Here no one can attend a university before 18), but after graduating from your high school and if you get admitted to one by passing exams (studies, language proficiency, etc, mostly held in Japanese), then you will be eligible to obtain a visa.
But what confuses me is that you mentioned you are still 16. Are you talking about your future plans with a 2-year project of you, or are you just dreaming of coming to Japan for "high school"? If you are the latter one, unfortunately visa regulation will say no to your answer.

the school is an internatinal high school not university

Do you get COE from your school?
"I am admitted in japanese school' :it doesnt mean, "i get COE or visa"to enter japan. Coe need several weeks to several months to obtain,visa also need times.so after admitted now you focus on COE,Then Focus on visa.

If you want to attend high school, then you will need some type of Guardian for legal reasons.

I also agree that getting a visa is the biggest issue, as there is no 'i want to do high school visa' in Japan. Most foreign high school students are with their parents.

There is one international school UWC Japan that is a boarding school that may be possible, but it's in the middle of no where and is expensive

well im trying to figure out if the housing is going to prevent me from coming so i also need to figure that out but i have more than 6 months since im starting this proccess very early.

what is a COE?

at first, you should contact the school which you want to go, and ask what is the condition to enter the school with no residing of your parents in Japan.
if possible, they will explain you how.

I have already talked to the school and that is they expect from most people that go there so its fine.

if they say OK, you have to ask them how., the next step.
don't ask here.
only they know the reason why they say OK.
no one in this forum knows the reason why they say OK.

they will explain you, the meaning of COE, visa, etc.

yes i know i was more looking for information on housing

also, you should ask them about your housing, if they say that you are OK to enter their school.
they need to take care of you about everything.

yea thats what i thought too but they said me and my parents will have to arrange that.

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh to you, but you'd better stop fixating on the housing problem for now. The scale of the problem, besides housing, is much larger than it seems to you.

To keep it brief:

-Minors cannot "move" to Japan without guardians for legal reasons. (This is generally the case for other countries as well, as far as I know.)
-The previous point shall mean that minors cannot enter into contracts by themselves, including housing contracts.
-This also shall mean that minors cannot live alone, basically.

That is what they expect from most people who go there, so it's fine.

I've heard that International schools are mostly and basically for children who need to live abroad with their parents due to reasons related to the parents. I haven't heard of international schools accepting children like you who just want to move. Basically, schools (or companies) legally cannot be guardians for minors and will not be able to take legal responsibilities. There might be a few exceptions, like the school that mfedley-san mentioned, but the option is very limited. (Just curious, but I don't know how UWC clears the legal issues. How do they?)

I guess you may be misreading or misunderstanding what the school told you.

that means that they don't take care of your resident status.

ask the school again, "your parents stay in your country (not come to Japan) and you only come to Japan and the school needs to help you to get your resident status and needs to help your everyday life in Japan."
is that OK or not ?

" sharehouse or a studio apartment"
And to do that you need a contract - as a minor, you cannot enter into a contract.
Also, 1 to 1.5 hours commute must be a really long way from the central city.

I have read everything on this thread, and based on that, l0uis21, you are right. Your biggest challenge on finding housing would be your language barrier.

You need to find someone who can find housing by using the person's Japanese-language ability. Then you're essentially halfway done convincing everyone you need to. Then your next challenge would be finding a guarantor who's not a minor.

The place I live operates in multiple languages including English, and while I am easily less than an hour from somewhere like Shibuya, I have a ton of space, utilities included and semi-furnished (and no need for guarantor). But, probably too expensive an option for the OP as it is an apartment not just a tiny 1R, but the company does do share houses as well - I expect they are cheaper.

I'm sure that you ALWAYS need a guarantor if you're a legal 16 in Japan, regardless of your nationality or status. And not only for housing.