{"id":6330,"date":"2024-08-28T17:37:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T08:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/learning-japanese-in-kansai\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T11:33:34","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T02:33:34","slug":"learning-japanese-in-kansai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/learning-japanese-in-kansai\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning Japanese in Kansai"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Learning the language can be the quickest way to integrate into the culture when you move to a new country. Japanese can be challenging as it involves learning a new writing system, however it can also be fun and there many places to learn, ranging from university courses to friendly sessions with locals in the community. Here is a pick of ways to learn Japanese in the Kansai region.<\/p>\n<h2>Learning Japanese at Universities in Kansai<\/h2>\n<p>Many universities in Japan offer language learning. This gives you the chance to gain a qualification at an accredited institution. You can find both short courses and more in-depth study opportunities. The downsides are these are usually expensive and you typically need to meet entry requirements, such as having completed a certain level of education in your home country. Universities in Kansai offering Japanese courses include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Kansai University \u2013 has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansai-u.ac.jp\/ku-jpn\/English\/other\/jlc.html\">Japanese Language and Culture<\/a> course teaching seven levels of Japanese (beginner to advanced), available over one or two semesters at the cost of 500,000 yen per semester. There is also an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansai-u.ac.jp\/ku-jpn\/English\/other\/ijlc.html\">intensive study<\/a> option lasting 2-3 weeks.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp\/asp\/academics\/course-offerings\/japanese\/\">Kansai Gaidai University<\/a> \u2013 the Asian Studies program here includes Japanese language courses at eight levels, costing around 2 million yen per semester.<\/li>\n<li>Ritsumeikan University \u2013 the Kyoto campus offers both <a href=\"https:\/\/en.ritsumei.ac.jp\/skp\/academics\/rcj\/\">regular<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.ritsumei.ac.jp\/skp\/academics\/ijl\/\">intensive<\/a> courses although you need to either have a degree-level education or be enrolled in a university or graduate school for at least one year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Learning Japanese at Language Schools<\/h2>\n<p>Language schools are a great option as they specialise in language teaching, meaning high quality learning as well as a wide range of options tailored towards your needs. As with universities, they can be costly. There are quite a few language schools across the Kansai region so you can do your research to find the best program for you at an affordable price. Notable institutions include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>TCJ \u2013 this renowned Tokyo-based language school is <a href=\"https:\/\/tcj-education.com\/information\/tcj_osaka_resindetscourse_en\/\">opening an Osaka branch<\/a> providing various courses, with discounts available for early enrollers and those enrolling with friends.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.s-i-s-kobe.com\/en\/\">Kobe Sumiyoshi International Japanese Language School<\/a> \u2013 has group, 1-2-1 and pre-college courses to suit informal learners and those looking to advance to university.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nihongo-center.com\/\">Nihongo Center<\/a> \u2013 located in Kyoto, this school teaches business Japanese as well as courses for residents. Fees vary on course length, with a one-year program costing around 890,000 yen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Learning Japanese at Community Centers and Facilities<\/h2>\n<p>Most prefectures have community spaces where you can find free or low-cost Japanese classes. These may be run by volunteers rather than qualified language teachers and they are less frequent, for example a couple of hours one evening or at the weekend. However, they are ideal for expats looking to get a grasp of the basics. Sessions may also be run by local associations or YMCA\/YWCA groups. Check out what\u2019s available in your neighbourhood. Examples of such activities are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/honkweb.org\/\">HONK Higashi Osaka<\/a> \u2013 small volunteer-led classes run from seven locations in the city, costing 2,000 yen a year.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kcif.or.jp\/web\/en\/classes\/japaneseclasses\/\">Kyoto City International Foundation (KCIF)<\/a> \u2013 basic sessions run by volunteers on Tuesdays and Sundays for a fee of 200 yen per session.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobe.ywca.or.jp\/top\/english\">Kobe YWCA<\/a> \u2013 often hosts language learning activities for expats in the city, although availability depends on volunteers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Online Resources<\/h2>\n<p>Online learning has become a popular way to take in new languages in recent years. Courses and resources are highly suitable for those lacking the time for regular in-person classes or who prefer to learn at their own speed. Many language schools now offer online learning options. Other useful resources include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ankiapp.com\/\">Anki<\/a> \u2013 online learning app<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/jisho.org\/\">Jisho<\/a> \u2013 online Japanese-English dictionary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Living,_breathing_world_languages,_Linguafest_2016_160328-M-DM081-126.jpg\">Cpl. Brittany A. James<\/a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learning the language can be the quickest way to integrate into the culture when you move to a new country. Ja [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,118,85,86],"tags":[615,179,223],"class_list":["post-6330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kobe","category-kyoto","category-miscellaneous","category-osaka","tag-education","tag-japanese-language","tag-kansai"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49564,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6330\/revisions\/49564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}