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You bet I can tell you about it. During the week, there are 2 sets of classes. Mornings and afternoons. Mornings (advanced classes) are from I think 9-12:30 and the afternoon classes (beginner/intermediate) are from 1:15 to 4:45 as I recall.
They are approved by the Ministry of Education and can provide a certificate of Eligibility. The turn around time was rather quick, once I had applied and paid tuition, gotten the COE and my visa...before I knew it, I was on a plane there.
Kyoto is definitely NOT just a tranquil little town with women in kimono and shamisen players on the streets. It's got the glitz and glamour of Tokyo coupled with having been the capital of Japan for 1000 years...ergo the tons of traditional site and festivals. The random gatherings/parades/festivals that broke out seemed to be weekly.
It is insanely close and convenient to Osaka and Kobe, both of which are an hour or so away, and it's -cheap- to take the trains there. For me, it was maybe 390 yen one way to Osaka. We'll say roughly $4 USD. Hell of a deal.
Back to the school.. It's a modern building, elevator and what not... Right next to a convenience store as well, and also vending machines close by (as per standard in Japan.) The buses and Hankyu railway are about a 3-5 minute walk away. Gion is maybe 10 minute walk away. Kiyomizudera is maybe 20-30 minute walk away.
A large number of the students in my classes were Chinese. The one drawback there, is more often than not, the Chinese have proven themselves to be completely inconsiderate of others in class. It wasn't so bad, but there were several notable occasions where teachers had to pull Chinese students aside and basically tell them to shut the hell up and quit speaking in Chinese in a Japanese language class. The Chinese, feeling superior, did not listen, and I believe there may have been a few threats made by the school to revoke visas for those students, or at least, not vouch for a visa renewal because of bad behavior.
That's really the only drawback about that place. Even with that, it was certainly bearable and doesn't at all tarnish my overall view of the school.
The teachers themselves are incredible. Each had a wonderful personality, and it was not unheard of for one of the teachers to be strolling by a starbucks after work and stop and have a coffee and a chat with their students. I, myself, have bumped into 2 of my teachers while they were walking around and was subsequently treated to beer and okonomiyaki at a local restaurant nearby. Japanese are good like that. :)
The head master, Kurita-sensei, stole the show. His teaching style is awesome. He made me feel good about going to class and every other student (that spoke English, anyway) agreed when we would talk about the school day that he is, by far, the best language teacher any of us have ever had. He really does care. There is a definitely business perspective to the school but there is also a lot of heart involved. He'll get you there. Believe in that.
As for housing, there is a students dormitory (it's not horrible, believe it or not) about a 10 minute train ride from the school in a section known as "Saiin." Saiin itself was pretty blah, but with the train station right close by it was easy to cart my happy arse back and forth. Of course, there were a ton of overly drunken nights where I just didn't want to take a cab back, and since the trains were done, I'd just walk the hour home. heh. Those were the times.
So. Yeah. In a nutshell. Kyoto is great, the school is in a -prima- location, the cost is definitely comparable to other schools, most of the other students are Chinese (or Swedish, that was the other large grou), it's close to shopping, food, lodging can be arranged in advance, Osaka and Kobe are a stones through away (plus lake Biwa and Nara!!) and you can always escape to other cities via Shinkansen if you get too sick of the Kyoto humidity...and yes, it's as bad as they say. Drink a ton of water - you'll be fine.
If you become more serious, I'll give you some info of killer places you can go, as well as more detailed info about who you can contact about lodging, etc.
Hope this helps!!
-C
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