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π―π΅ Study in Japan
Applying to a Japanese school is not like applying to a Western university. Your school applies to immigration on your behalf for a Certificate of Eligibility, and that process alone typically takes one to three months. Applications usually close around six months before the intake. Most students find this out too late.
Japan rewards people who prepare. The education system is precise about what it expects, the cities run on time, and the language is the door to all of it. Students who arrive with real Japanese - not app Japanese - find the country opens quickly. Those who arrive without it spend their first year catching up.
Japanese employers actively recruit international graduates who speak the language, and the student visa can be changed to a work visa without leaving the country once you have an offer.
Low crime, reliable public transport and a health insurance system students join on arrival. For a first time living abroad, very little goes wrong that you have to solve alone.
Unlike many countries, Japan has a well-worn route from language school into university or vocational school. It is the route most of our students take, and it is designed to be taken.
300,000+
international students in Japan
International students are a normal part of campus life in Japan, and schools have staff whose job is helping them with housing, banking and paperwork.
The parts of living abroad nobody puts in a brochure, the customs that catch people out and the ones that make it worth it.
Everything downstream - the school you get into, the job you are offered, whether you make friends outside your own nationality - tracks your Japanese. Students consistently underestimate this, and it is the single thing we push hardest on before departure.
Nobody will tell you off for talking on the train or leaving rubbish out on the wrong day. They will simply note it. Learning the quiet conventions early is what turns you from a visitor into a resident.
Cherry blossom in April, humidity and festivals through summer, red leaves in November, and a quiet, cold New Year. The April intake exists because the Japanese academic year genuinely starts with the spring.
Renting privately in Japan usually needs a guarantor, key money and a deposit before you have a bank account or a phone number. Starting in school housing avoids all of it, and you move out once you understand the system.
Trains reach almost everywhere and students buy discounted commuter passes. Budget for a monthly pass, not for fuel and insurance.
Residence card, city hall registration, national health insurance, a bank account and a phone. They unlock each other in a specific order, and getting it wrong costs weeks. We give you the order.
A student visa does not include the right to work by itself. You apply for a separate permission, and the hours you may work each week are capped. Treat any earnings as helping with living costs, never as the way you fund your studies - immigration expects your funding to be in place before you arrive.
Where you study changes what you pay and how quickly your language improves. These are the places we place students most often.
The largest concentration of language schools, universities and part-time work in the country. Everything is available and everything costs more.
Known for: Job opportunities, choice of schools, nightlife
Living cost / month
VND 16Mβ26Mβ JPY 90,000β150,000Cheaper than Tokyo with a famously direct, friendly culture. Strong for food, business and anyone who finds Tokyo overwhelming.
Known for: Food culture, lower rent, Kansai dialect
Living cost / month
VND 13Mβ21Mβ JPY 75,000β120,000A student city with a large university population and a slower pace. Quieter than Osaka, and the obvious choice for anyone drawn to traditional Japan.
Known for: Universities, temples, traditional arts
Living cost / month
VND 12Mβ20Mβ JPY 70,000β115,000Compact, mild and the cheapest of the major student cities. Close to the rest of Asia, with a growing startup scene.
Known for: Affordability, mild winters, ramen
Living cost / month
VND 11Mβ18Mβ JPY 65,000β105,000The practical detail behind each stage, how school actually runs, where you will live, what work is really allowed and the admin that catches everyone out.
Full-time study, four intakes a year, and the usual doorway into everything else.
Dormitory, share house, homestay or private flat β and why almost everyone starts with the first two.
Trains reach almost everywhere, and students get a discounted commuter pass.
Allowed with a separate permission, capped by law, and never a funding plan.
Full-time study, four intakes a year, and the usual doorway into everything else.
Classes run most weekday mornings or afternoons, roughly twenty hours a week, split by level. You are placed by a test on arrival, not by what you claim. Terms start in April, July, October and January, and most students stay between one and two years before moving to a university or vocational school. Progress is measured against the JLPT levels, N5 at the start through to N1, and schools will tell you frankly whether your target school is realistic.
Attendance is tracked and reported. Falling below the school's threshold can affect your visa renewal, not just your grades.
EJU, JLPT, a school-specific exam and an interview β usually in that order.
Most undergraduate programmes taught in Japanese expect the EJU (Examination for Japanese University Admission) plus JLPT N2 or above. Each university then sets its own written exam and interview. A growing number of programmes are taught in English and skip the Japanese requirement, but they are competitive and usually want strong English test scores instead. Applications open roughly a year ahead of enrolment.
The interview is where confident applicants lose places. Knowing the material is not the same as explaining it under pressure in Japanese.
Two years, practical, and a direct line into a specific industry.
Senmon gakko teach a trade rather than a discipline: design, animation, IT, hospitality, care work, cooking. Courses are typically two years and end in a qualification employers in that field recognise. Entry usually requires JLPT N2, because you will be studying alongside Japanese students in Japanese. For many students this is a faster and cheaper route into working in Japan than a four-year degree.
Dormitory, share house, homestay or private flat β and why almost everyone starts with the first two.
Renting privately in Japan usually means a guarantor, key money, a deposit and agency fees before you move in β difficult when you have no bank account, no address and no credit history. School dormitories and share houses skip all of that and are furnished, so most students start there and move once they understand the system. Homestays exist and are excellent for language progress, but they are less common and have house rules you are expected to follow.
Ask what is actually included. "Furnished" can mean a bed and a fridge, or it can mean nothing but a floor.
Trains reach almost everywhere, and students get a discounted commuter pass.
You will not need a car. Trains and subways cover the cities and most of the country, they run on time, and an IC card (Suica, Pasmo, ICOCA) works on almost all of them plus convenience stores and vending machines. Students can buy a discounted commuter pass for the route between home and school, which is worth arranging in your first week. Bicycles are common for short trips, but they must be registered β an unregistered bicycle gets you stopped.
Budget for a monthly pass, not for fuel and insurance. It is one of the few costs that is genuinely predictable.
Rent dominates, and where you study changes it more than how you live.
Outside rent, the big recurring items are food, transport, phone and national health insurance. Cooking at home is dramatically cheaper than eating out, though convenience-store and chain meals are cheap enough that many students do both. Tokyo is the most expensive of the major student cities and Fukuoka the least, and the gap is large enough to change which schools are realistic for your budget.
Use the cost calculator on this page to see how the range moves when you change city and housing type.
Enrolment in national health insurance is required, not optional.
Students staying long term must enrol in National Health Insurance at the local ward office, usually in the same visit as your residence registration. It covers a large share of medical and dental costs, and you pay the remainder at the clinic. Premiums are income-based and low for students. Clinics are plentiful and walk-in appointments are normal; bring your insurance card and residence card every time.
Do this in your first weeks. Enrolling late can mean being asked for back-payments.
Allowed with a separate permission, capped by law, and never a funding plan.
A student visa does not itself grant the right to work. You apply for a separate permission β often at the airport on arrival, which is the easiest moment to do it β and the hours you may work each week are capped. Typical student jobs are convenience stores, restaurants, hotels and language teaching, and most of them require conversational Japanese. Immigration expects your studies to be funded before you arrive, so treat any earnings as help with living costs.
Exceeding the hour cap is a visa violation, not a payroll issue. Employers do not track it for you.
Your status can change from student to worker without leaving the country.
Graduates who receive a job offer can apply to change their residence status to a work status, in country. Recruitment for graduates runs on a fixed annual cycle that starts well before graduation, so students who wait until they finish have already missed it. Japanese ability is usually the deciding factor in whether an offer arrives at all β which is why the language is pushed so hard from the beginning.
Start looking a year before you graduate, not a month.
Nobody will correct you. They will simply notice.
Quiet on trains, no phone calls in carriages, no eating while walking in most places, shoes off indoors, and rubbish sorted and put out on the correct day. None of it will be enforced by anyone speaking to you, which is exactly why it catches people out: you can breach these for months without knowing. Learning them early is what shifts you from being treated as a visitor to being treated as a resident.
When unsure, watch what the person next to you does and copy it. That is what everyone else is doing too.
Everything downstream tracks your language level β school, work, friendships.
English is more common in central Tokyo than anywhere else, and less common everywhere else than visitors expect. Signage in stations and on trains is bilingual; a landlord's contract, a doctor's questionnaire and a part-time job interview are not. Students who arrive with real documented study rather than app practice find the first months dramatically easier, and they make friends outside their own nationality far sooner.
Cherry blossom, a humid summer, red leaves, and a quiet cold New Year.
The academic year genuinely starts in April, which is why that intake is the largest. Summer is hot and humid, and many schools break in August. Autumn brings the red leaves and the most comfortable weather of the year. New Year is the major holiday: shops close, cities empty, and it is the one time everything genuinely stops. Northern regions get real winters; the south barely does.
Residence card, ward office, insurance, bank, phone β and they unlock in that sequence.
You receive your residence card at the airport. You then register your address at the local ward office within the required window, which is also when you enrol in national health insurance. A registered address lets you open a bank account; a bank account and a residence card let you get a phone contract. Doing these out of order is the single most common way students lose weeks in their first month.
Carry your residence card at all times. You are legally required to, and you will be asked for it constantly.
A prepaid SIM on day one, a proper contract once you have a bank account.
Airport prepaid SIMs and pocket wifi cover the gap before you can sign a contract. Full contracts need a residence card and usually a Japanese bank account, and often tie you in for a fixed term β read the exit terms before signing, because leaving early is expensive. Budget carriers are considerably cheaper than the big three and are perfectly adequate for a student.
Japan is less cashless than expected, and international transfers need planning.
Cards are widely accepted in cities but cash is still normal, especially at small restaurants, clinics and older shops β carry some. Convenience-store ATMs are the most reliable for foreign cards. Japanese bank accounts are straightforward to open once you have a registered address, but international transfers through a traditional bank are slow and expensive compared with dedicated transfer services.
Very safe by most measures, but know the numbers and the procedures anyway.
Crime rates are low and lost property genuinely tends to come back to you via the nearest police box (koban), which is also where you go for directions and minor problems. Earthquakes are a real and normal part of life: your school will brief you, your phone will receive alerts, and knowing your building's assembly point matters more than worrying about it.
Save your school's emergency contact and your embassy's number offline, before you need them.
Most students take more than one of these in sequence. Pick the one you would start with.
Best if: Beginners, or anyone without JLPT N2 yet
The usual entry route. Study Japanese full time, then progress to university or vocational school.
Best if: Students aiming for a Japanese degree
Undergraduate study. Usually requires EJU, often JLPT N2 or above, plus university-specific exams and an interview.
Best if: Career-focused students
Two-year practical qualifications - design, IT, animation, hospitality, care work.
Best if: Graduates with a research direction
Masters or doctoral study. Requires a bachelor degree, a research plan, and usually a supervising professor who has agreed in advance.
Where Sakura comes in
Most delays are language delays. Tell us where you are and the pathway you want, and we show the courses that close the gap and the first intake you can realistically make.
Choose your level and pathway to see your route.
Reach the documented study hours or JLPT level your school requires - taught here, before you go.
Language schools generally expect around 150 hours of documented study or JLPT N5. Self-study on an app does not count as evidence, and this is where most rejected applications actually fail. Our courses are structured to produce the certificate the application needs, on the timeline the intake needs it.
An honest conversation about your goal, your budget and your timeline before anyone fills in a form.
Language school first, or straight to a vocational school? Is a degree the goal, or is work? The answer changes which schools we shortlist, how much you need to save, and when you must start. We would rather tell you the plan does not work now than let you find out at the visa stage.
A shortlist built around your level, your city and your budget - then the application itself.
We shortlist schools that will actually accept a student at your level, in the city you want, at a price you can fund. Then we prepare and submit the application with you, including the statement of purpose, which schools read closely and most applicants write badly.
For university and vocational routes: EJU practice, subject revision and interview rehearsal in Japanese.
University and vocational applications usually involve an exam and an interview conducted in Japanese. We rehearse both. Knowing the material is not the same as being able to explain it under pressure in your second language, and the interview is where confident applicants lose places.
Every document checked, translated and formatted before it reaches immigration.
The most common cause of refusal is not the student - it is the paperwork behind them. Bank statements in the wrong name, a sponsor letter that does not explain the relationship, a translation that is not certified. We check the file against what the school and immigration actually want to see.
Your school applies to immigration on your behalf. We track it, and prepare the embassy step that follows.
The Certificate of Eligibility is applied for by the school, not by you, and processing typically takes one to three months. Once it is issued you apply for the visa itself at the embassy. Both steps have to fit inside the window before your intake, which is why we start counting backwards from the intake date rather than forwards from today.
Housing, residence card, city hall, health insurance, bank and phone - in the order that works.
Arrival admin unlocks in a specific sequence: some things need your residence card, others need a bank account that needs an address that needs the city hall registration. We give you the order and stay reachable while you work through it.
Sakura Academy, study-abroad plan Β· 15 Oct 2026
Pick your intake and every date is counted back from it. Tick documents as you get them; your progress stays on this device.
My target intake
Intake: April 2027
Eligibility confirmed
We check your education history, language level and funding against the school requirements.
Service package started
Your case is opened and your document checklist is generated.
Document checklist issued
You receive the full list, with guidance on how to obtain each item.
All documents submitted
This is the deadline students most often miss. Reminders begin 30 days out.
Documents reviewed and approved
We check for the problems that cause refusals - especially inconsistent financial evidence.
Applications sent to schools
Your application goes to the schools shortlisted for you.
School acceptance received
You choose your school from those that accept you.
School files your COE application
The school applies to immigration on your behalf. This is a hard deadline.
Certificate of Eligibility issued
Typically one to three months after filing. There is nothing for you to do while you wait.
Tuition paid to the school
Your COE is not released until this clears. International transfers can take over a week.
COE received by courier
The physical certificate arrives from the school.
Visa applied for at the embassy
With a COE in hand this is usually about five working days.
Flight booked
Accommodation confirmed
Usually the school dormitory for your first year.
Pre-departure briefing
Covers arrival steps, the 14-day registration deadline and the work-hour rules.
Arrival in Japan
You receive your residence card at the airport.
Work permission applied for at the airport
Applying on arrival saves weeks compared with applying later. Most students miss this.
Ward office registration
LEGAL DEADLINE: within 14 days of arrival. Health insurance is usually handled in the same visit.
Bank account opened
Requires your registered address, so it must come after ward registration.
Phone / SIM activated
Usually requires a Japanese bank account, so it comes after the account is open.
30-day check-in
90-day check-in
Next-step planning
University or vocational school preparation, EJU and JLPT scheduling.
Visa extension reminder
0 of 9 ready
Every cost in Vietnamese dong, with the currency you actually pay in underneath. Always a range: the real figure depends on the school and the city.
Total for your stay (12 months)
VND 294Mβ458M
β JPY 1,678,000β2,616,000
Per month
VND 14Mβ25M
β JPY 81,500β143,000
First year
VND 294Mβ458M
β JPY 1,678,000β2,616,000
Paid before you fly
VND 123Mβ158M
β JPY 700,000β900,000
| Item | For your stay |
|---|---|
| Language school tuitionPer year. Varies by school. | VND 123Mβ158Mβ JPY 700,000β900,000 |
| School dormitoryPer month. Usually the best option for your first year. | VND 63Mβ126Mβ JPY 360,000β720,000 |
| Living costsPer month, excluding rent. Tokyo is at the higher end. | VND 105Mβ168Mβ JPY 600,000β960,000 |
| National health insurancePer month. Student reductions are often available. | VND 3.2Mβ6.3Mβ JPY 18,000β36,000 |
Estimates, not quotes. Excludes flights and visa fees (see the fee table below). Many agencies quote only the amount paid before you fly; the first-year figure includes a full year of living costs. Exchange rate used: 1 JPY = VND 175, updated 1 Oct 2026. Figures reviewed 1 Oct 2026.
Unclear financial evidence is the most common reason applications are refused. This is what is usually asked for, and how long the money must have been there.
Balance usually required
VND 350Mβ525M
β JPY 2,000,000β3,000,000
Whose name: Usually a parent sponsors. Immigration checks the sponsor's income certificate and job as well as the balance, so the income must plausibly explain the savings.
A savings book opened 3 to 6 months ahead is the norm. A large deposit made just before applying is a common reason for refusal.
Balance usually required
VND 438Mβ613M
β JPY 2,500,000β3,500,000
Whose name: A parent or close relative sponsors; their income and the source of the funds are checked.
Balance should cover one year of tuition and living costs.
No separate figure for this pathway. Ask us and we will check with the school.
Requirements change and schools add their own. Always confirm the current figure with the embassy and the school before you open an account. Never use borrowed money or arranged documents: it is fraud and leads to refusal and bans. Figures reviewed 1 Oct 2026.
What you can legally earn, against what a month costs. Families who plan on part-time income to pay fees are the ones who end up in debt.
You need "permission to engage in activity other than that permitted", usually granted at the airport on arrival. Nightlife and adult entertainment work is banned. Going over 28 hours is a common reason a visa is not renewed.
Share of living costs covered by work:
Do not count on this money. Finding work takes weeks, hours are not guaranteed, and tuition must be paid before you arrive. Working over the legal limit can cost you your visa.
What you pay us, and what you pay everyone else. No "all-inclusive" packages that hide the split, and no new fees after a deposit.
For confident students who mainly need structure and deadlines.
Quoted in writing at your consultation
Everything in Essentials, plus the human document review that prevents most refusals.
Quoted in writing at your consultation
For families who want someone accountable at every step, including on arrival.
Quoted in writing at your consultation
| Fee | Paid to | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| School application and selection fee Paid once per school applied to | The school | VND 3.5Mβ5.3Mβ JPY 20,000β30,000 |
| Student visa fee Set by the Japanese side | Embassy or visa centre | VND 500,000β700,000 |
| Certified translation of documents About 10 to 20 documents | Translation office | VND 1.5Mβ4M |
| Notarised copies | Ward office or notary | VND 200,000β600,000 |
| JLPT exam fee, if you take it | Exam organiser | VND 600,000β800,000 |
| One-way flight to Japan Depends on season and how early you book | Airline | VND 5Mβ12M |
Third-party fees are set by embassies, schools and airlines and change without notice. We show them so nothing is a surprise; we do not add a margin to them.
Long-running programmes only. Deadlines move each round, so treat dates as a guide and check the official page.
Embassy of Japan
Covers: Tuition, return flights and a monthly allowance
Strong academic record, age limits by programme, selection by written exam and interview at the embassy.
JASSO, through your school
Covers: A monthly allowance for one year
Applied for after you start, through your school; good grades and attendance.
Protect your family
Embassies regularly warn Vietnamese families about these. If you hear any of them, from us or anyone else, walk away.
For a language school, you generally need to show around 150 hours of documented study or JLPT N5 - so yes, but at beginner level. For university or vocational school the bar is much higher, commonly JLPT N2. App-based self-study is not usually accepted as evidence, which is the part that catches people out.
No, and you should not plan on it. A student visa requires separate permission before you may work at all, and the weekly hours are capped. Immigration expects you to demonstrate your studies are already funded before you arrive. Treat part-time earnings as help with living costs, not as your funding plan.
It is the document Japanese immigration issues confirming you qualify to enter as a student. Your school applies for it on your behalf - you do not apply directly - and it typically takes one to three months. Only once it is issued do you apply for the visa itself at the embassy in your country.
Applications usually close around six months before the intake, and the certificate takes one to three months after that. Working backwards, most students should begin preparing roughly a year before they want to arrive - earlier if they still need to reach the required language level.
April is the largest intake and aligns with the Japanese academic year, so it has the widest choice of schools and courses. October is the second major intake. January and July intakes exist at many language schools and are smaller. Choose the one you can realistically be ready for, not the soonest one.
Most students start in school-arranged housing or a dormitory. Renting privately in Japan usually requires a guarantor, key money and a deposit, which is difficult before you have a bank account and an address. Moving to your own place after the first six months is normal and much easier.
Yes. Graduates who receive a job offer can change their student status to a work status without leaving the country. Japanese ability is usually the deciding factor in whether that offer arrives, which is why we push the language hard from the beginning.
Forty-five minutes with a counsellor, in person, by Zalo video or by phone. Bring your questions and your parents. You leave with a written plan and our fee in writing, whether or not you choose us.
