Yes! Our support is completely free. We work as an official agent for different Japanese Institutes and we can guide you with the school and program selection, school application, visa process, pre-departure information and on arrival.
No, we do not offer Japanese classes. KOKO JAPAN is an educational agency. We support anyone who is interested in studying Japanese in Japan.
No, we do not offer travel services. But you can contact Origami travel for more information about travel only.
Broadening your knowledge of other cultures. Japan is a unique destination, full of tradition, culture and welcoming people. It also provides high quality education and the opportunity for student visa holders to work up to 28 hours per week.
There are some schools that don’t require Japanese studies to apply, however, it is important to know that classes in Japan are entirely in Japanese. And the lack of knowledge of the language may hinder your learning.
The age limit to apply is 65 years old.
If you are a minor but have completed your basic education up to high school you can travel with a student visa. If you are a minor and plan to travel for less than 3 months you can apply from the age of 14.
Yes, it is possible, however, there are some exceptions with certain schools.
KOKO JAPAN does not offer scholarships. Some of the schools we work with do offer partial scholarships of 20,000 – 50,000 yen. The requirements to apply are: 1 year studying in Japan and perfect attendance.
It is possible. But the procedures to follow are a bit complicated and we don’t recommend you bring your pet, as this will reduce the options of accommodation that you can find and will increase your living expenses. For further information about requirements for your pets travel abroad, we recommend checking out this site:
http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/english/animal/im_index.html
or
https://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/animal/dog/attach/pdf/import-other-42.pdf
To import medicines from overseas is subject to control by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law and the Customs Law to prevent health hazard caused by defective products.Therefore, when you enter into Japan, procedures should be done depending on your bringing medicines even if you have medicines for personal use. You can find more information in this site:
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/english/policy/health-medical/pharmaceuticals/01.html
When living abroad it is always important to care about our health, so we must be informed about the health system of the country you will be living in. According to Japanese law, visitors staying in Japan for 3 months or longer, holding a student visa, are obliged to join the National Health Insurance plan.
If you visit the hospital for illness or injury, you will be responsible for 30% of your medical expenses. Upon arrival in Japan, you will need to apply at the municipal office where you live. Insurance premiums may vary depending on the municipality and income you have.
Nevertheless, if you come to Japan with a short-term visa, you’re not permitted to join the National Health Insurance. Please be sure to purchase overseas travel insurance prior to coming to Japan to deal with unexpected illnesses or accidents.
Students holding a student visa may work part-time, up to 28 hours a week, after obtaining an “Unqualified Activity Permit” at the airport upon arrival. However there are restrictions on the type of work, so please contact us for more information. If you have not applied for a “non-qualified activity permit” or if you have a short-term visa, you cannot work part-time.
The jobs that you can find in Japan are highly related to your Japanese level and how dynamic you are. Most of the jobs international students find are in convenience stores, restaurants, hotels, practically in the hospitality industry and as English or their own language teaching.
It highly depends on the region and place you work but the minimum hourly wage in Japan is over ¥1,000 yen. An estimate could be between ¥1,200 yen per hour, if you work 28 hours per week that would be around ¥134,400 yen per month.
Be careful not to overwork as it can affect your studies, moreover the amount of hours you’re allowed to work is 28 hours/week.
Japanese bank accounts for foreigners are restricted to local use, international transactions cannot be done until you have been in japan for 6 months. That’s why we recommend the following options:
Cash: This is only recommended for small amounts of money. Remember not all currencies can be exchanged in Japan, that’s why we recommend you to bring the most common currencies such as American Dollars or Euros.
Bring your savings/debit card: The simplest method is to bring a savings/debit account and withdraw money in an ATM. 7ven Bank has the best exchange rate.
Online transfer: There are some applications like Wise, revolut and Worldremit that can allow you to make international transactions from your home country, but banks in Japan won’t allow you to issue a card until you have been there for 6 months.
Credit card: This is always useful in case of emergencies. You can ask your parents to issue an extension of their credit card for your use or you can bring your personal credit card, as we said this is always useful in case of emergencies.
We recommend that you bring around 200,000 yen, you can use the money to pay accommodation, purchase of household items or food expenses.
No, the earnings you get by working in Japan are an extra support to cover certain expenses, but you need to have sufficient funds to cover the tuition of your course and stay.
It is possible, as long as the work does not affect your class hours in Japan.
Age is not a limiting factor when looking for a job. However, the type of work found in Japan on a part-time basis are jobs in restaurants, hotel cleaning, building cleaning, convenience stores, tour guide, customer service, etc. Knowledge of Japanese affects job search more than age.
As an agency, we recommend that you purchase flight tickets until you have the COE, as this is the document that confirms your course in Japan. If you decide to purchase one before obtaining the COE, it’s at your own risk. Make sure you arrive at most 5 days before the start of classes, as your visa begins as soon as you arrive in Japan.
It will depend on the type of accommodation you want. If you’re interested in, and your school provides, school dorms then please let us know in the private chat. We will take note of this and will send you dorms information once the school sends it to us. It is very important that you read all the information and follow procedures + due dates as indicated. If you’re interested in shared rooms / private apartments the process starts around 2 months before your course starts, as this is reserved under availability, some places will require your COE or flight ticket so doing it with much time in advance won’t be helpful. We will provide more information on 🏠｜accommodation Please watch the video we will send before contacting any agency, it’s very important for the reservation process If you’d like more something real state, please let us know!
You have to get the full COE document first! Then you can confirm documents needed with your embassy and apply for an appointment if needed. You can’t do this without the COE so please make sure to obtain that first. In 📋｜steps-to-follow you have step-by-step of the process. If you have any questions please reach out to your counselor in your private chat.
Please arrive at Narita [NRT] or Haneda [HND] (Tokyo) or Kansai International Airport [KIX] (Osaka). If you arrive in another airport they might not be able to give you your residence card (在留カード) and it’s super important that you have this document.
Japan schools estimate that it takes around 2 years to reach an Advanced Japanese level (JLPT N1) if you come as a beginner, of course it depends on each person’s dedication to their studies.
As the lessons are taught directly in Japanese you must learn Hiragana, Katakana, vocabulary and basic grammar before travelling. Some schools require you to have at least 150 hours of Japanese study.
You can use Minato’s free courses or contact one of the schools listed on 📕｜japanese-schools.
Remember that you must have at least 150 hours before starting your course, as classes are entirely in Japanese.
When the school receives the COE we will send you the invoice for the course payment and a preview of your Certificate. Please note that until the school receives the money they will send the full COE so we recommend you to pay as soon as you get the invoice, this will assure you’ll get your visa on time. You already know the fee for your course so please make sure to have that money in your account ready for payment around 2 months before your intake starts. In addition, you already have our pdf with the timeline of the process, don’t hesitate to revise!!
Accommodations are rented based on availability. Reservations begin between 2 and 1 month before travel. We recommend that you select 5-10 options so you can minimize your time when reserving spots.
There are different options. Some you can pick up at the airport, others can take a few days longer. If your flight arrives around 9am then airport pick up is great! You can do contract before and just pick up. This one also offers e-sim but you also must pick up at the airport as they need your passport. If you can’t pick up at the airport then getting a data only e-sim works! It’s cheap and you’ll be able to communicate as soon as you arrive. We recommend this option if you need internet on arrival. You can activate before boarding your plane and will have data as soon as you touch land. Long term mobile options will still be needed as you’ll need a Japanese phone number for many things so the option above is only for your first week. More information will be available in 📱｜mobile