Moving to Japan

Hi! I'm Josh and I'm 16. I'm planning on going to Japan when Im 18 and going to an international college or language college. I have been studying Japanese since I was 12. I really can't wait until I go! I'm ready to experience a new lifestyle no matter how different it may be. I've watched over 1000s of videos from people who have visited Japan.

My dream is to become a manga maker or animator for anime. But I don't know if that's possible for americans. My great great grandmother was Japanese, so I'm partially Japanese.

My family is poor and I can't visit Japan, now, so my question is, is there any other way to get into Japan or international college? If not, then I can save my money from my job.

It is my dream to go to Japan and I would really love to get there some way, and visiting before I move is a must if I can. I'm currently looking through the internet for ways to win a trip to Japan or something....

I just really want to get out of America.

I have had multiple japanese penpals, but lost contact because of the range we are in. But that wont stop me from going!

well im not sure if i can offer any advice seeing as im in the same situation. i also really love japan and want nothing more then to get out of canada . just waiting untill im 18. i just wanna say i really admire you for wanting to go there its also my dream . i love everything about it its food, customs,culture and the place itself is beautiful . so dont you dare give up trying im sure you'll find a way . btw im going to apply for an international college also.

There is a post down the list a bit with the same title as yours, that currently has more than 200 answers to it- not all of them are helpful, but I'm sure you'll find something there!

My parents didn't pay for me to come to Japan either, this is the case for a lot of people. I studied Japanese at high school so I would have loved to come to Japan sooner, but I had to wait until I had finished university and saved enough to come here by myself and then worked as an English teacher.

It would be nice for you to come here when you are 18, but it is very expensive to study here unless you get a scholarship (for this you would need to be a university student in your own country), so like many of us you might need to wait a bit longer, until you have saved enough money and/ or have a university degree that will allow you to work here.

All I wanted when I was your age was to go overseas, but I had to wait a while. Being patient paid off though, by the time I was 26 I had lived in Japan for about 3 years and had also travelled to around 30 countries! All paid for by myself.

Don't expect your parents' help, get a part time job now if you don't already and start saving! Make it happen, don't just hope to win a trip or something because that's pretty unlikely...

I'm 18 years old, and after graduating early from my high school, I worked and saved virtually every penny and managed to make enough money to go within three months.

Here's the deal: you want to go to college in Japan? Any International school is expensive-- I've looked into it. Unless you can speak fluent Japanese, you're probably out of luck for going to a cheap college. But getting there and staying for a week/two weeks is fairly easy. Get a hostel-- mine was around $170 for an entire week-- and stick to the main city of Tokyo for the week. I got there for a week and survived for $2,000 (That is for airfare, hostel and everything else except a cell phone-- that crap is expensive and suggest getting one only for emergencies).

I went last May, so it's not like my pricing is out of date. Only by about two months. Now, airfare is much more expensive, but just add a few hundred to the grand total and there you go.

So as I said-- it's not as hard to get to Japan as you think it is. Honestly.

But in terms of International colleges, I must make a suggestion: if you go as a US Citizen, you CAN get scholarships and you CAN get Federal Aid. Of course, you have to live in Japan for around 5 years before you can even apply for any citizenship, so you'll be a US citizen for awhile, but you certainly can get there if you work hard and get good grades and all that.

Or you could go to a local college one year, then study abroad for a year or so. If you're going to the Wisconsin colleges (I'm from there and that's pretty much the only system I know) you can go to Milwaukee and study abroad for a year for the same tuition as going to Milwaukee, minus, of course, airfare and spending money.

But all in all, if you plan on going to college (I'm getting married this fall to a Japanese guy [I met him in person when I went to Japan!!] so I'm waiting to go to college until I can afford a Japanese college) I suggest you either find a way to get a lot of money for the tuition from scholarships and the government, or, hell, even bank loans (though those interest rates tend to be very expensive), stick to the US and study abroad. It's cheaper, if you find the right school that'll send you for the same price as regular tuition.

I'm sorry, I rambled a bit, but good luck and I hope some of my information, at least, helped!

I'm in the same sitch as you are. I really want to move to Japan ,and would also want to study abroad there. I hear plently of colledges have study abroad programs ,but I haven't found one for Japan. Let us know how it goes for you I'm insterested.

all for now

I just finished sending off for information from a Japanese college that has programs for Gaijin who want to study Japanese language. I believe they also offer other undergraduate degrees to gaijin. The university in Kyoto and seems like a very nice place. At least for me, since Japanese language is what I want to major in. Plus it has fairly low tuition, at least compared to the schools I wanted to attend in the U.S.

The University is Doshisha Univerisity. Here is the link for their website
http://www.doshisha.ac.jp/english/

and here is the link for there Japanese Language and Culture center.
http://www1.doshisha.ac.jp/~bekka/en/index.html


Hope this helps!