school,loans,scholarship,living

[cbot]

Hello I am wondering if anyone here could provide information about my future plans.

Please give me:
1.) the best school you know of for intensely studying Japanese for 1-2 years in Tokyo
2.) anything you know about taking out loans or getting scholarships for doing this to cover everything (note: I'm from America)
3.) what apartments or gaijin houses around Tokyo are cheapest and best, and anything else you can think would be good to know.

Info about me (that may or may not be relevant to your response):
I am,26, from America and have had a taste of Japan as I have stayed with a host family for 1 month in Kanazawa, stayed in a dorm in Hirakata-shi while attending school at Kansai Gaidai, and taught English in an Elementary School in Ibaraki while living in a Leopalace in Kitasenju. I have never taken a loan out before in my life because I've always been on scholarships. I just took the JLPT 3 but I'm not sure if I passed it or not (if I failed I think it would be by a hair). I realized that my greatest weakness is Japanese and it would help me so much to actually go to an intensive program to finally nail it down (embarrassingly I've been self-studying off and on for about 9 years but still only barely intermediate level now) . At the moment I am tying up some loose ends I left behind in the States and getting ready to return to Japan. In Tokyo, I was offered many cool jobs related to art but was told that I had to know Japanese. Likewise, I really want to master (or at least get pretty good at) Japanese by going somewhere for 1-2 years in Tokyo (and be making more connections / looking for a good job while in school). I feel that in my case it is extremely necessary to take loans to get exactly the kind of skills (language) that I need. Obviously if you know of any scholarship opportunities or anything to help my costs then please let me know*

Thank you for your time and please feel free to ask me anything about my experience. I know a lot of things but definitely dont know everything so I would greatly appreciate any help! Maybe we can trade some data

cbot

[wuchan]

another "I want to come to japan but I have nothing japan wants" post?

basic math: FG + NJ + NV = no loan

NV - no visa
NJ - no job

[GomiGirl]

Lots of threads on the board on Japanese schools. These have links to good school and their sites that have lots of information for you to research student visas etc.

Just wondering why you would think that you could get a scholorship to Japan to study Japanese?

BTW welcome to the board. Lots of info here - let your fingers do the walking my friend

[cbot]

Whats the best way to go about job hunting for a eikaiwa job in Tokyo?

Look for job on tourist visa while living in a guest house? Look for job on a student visa then switch to a tourist visa to get more time while living in a guest house? How long does it usually take to get a visa processed if I am hired by someone? Would I be able to save enough money for an intensive Japanese language school?

Is it possible to go to school for Japanese, working at the same time, and have enough money for apartment and living costs? My real wish is to be able to do this. Has anyone done this before? Which language school is the cheapest. I did my math but I still can't see how this is possible unless I pretty much already have saved up a giant pool of money to live off of. Of course, I'm not so good at math so if anybody can help me with some numbers then it would be very appreciated.

Thanks so much*

[GomiGirl]

Hello welcome to the board.

A friendly reminder that there is a fabulous search function on this board and there are lots and lots of threads answering these sorts of general questions.

Let your fingers do the walking my friend.