How I got to Japan as a Japanese Language Student

On the way to JLPT Test Site

If you dream of living in Japan, the first step is to learn the language. Japan is a country where English use is uncommon despite the effort Japan puts into strengthening English proficiency. To enjoy Japan to the fullest, you will need to get a good grasp of the language. And the best way to do this is to be a Japanese language student.

Sometime in late 2015 (if I remember correctly), I saw an ad on Facebook about a study and work program in Japan. I checked it out, attended a seminar, and got application forms and a list of requirements. I submitted my documents and waited for the COE result, which took a couple of months. I passed, paid the processing fees, and I was on my way. 

I studied at Oarai International Exchange Academy (大洗国際交流アカデミー） for a year and a half from October 2016 to March 2018.

Simple right? Now let me break down the steps on how to come to Japan as a Language student. 

Prep Work

Before making life-changing decisions (like quitting your job and moving abroad thinking you can make a living by doing odd jobs), always do your research. Before deciding to be a Japanese language student, I did my fair share of research before I jumped on board the "Study and Work in Japan" train. I had been researching a way to get to Japan for years(I was desperate to go to Japan, childhood dream, and all) before I finally found the way that fit me the best.

 

Some things to research:

School or Agency 

There are many language schools all over Japan. Decide where in Japan you would want to study, and research available language schools in the area. Just search for: "Japanese language school in PlaceName." This search should show you the schools in that area. Some students opt to go with agencies, although these usually will cost a little bit extra.

Program Fees

Not all language schools are created equal. Some schools will cost more than others, and this is something you should research on. Spoiler alert: studying in Japan is expensive. So don't be shocked by the figures you see. 

Requirements

For non-OECD countries, the documentary requirements to be a Japanese language student are a bit more strict. It will be best if you do some research on this as well. I will talk more about this in detail below.

Study basic Japanese

"Wait, what?! But this was supposed to be the reason why I am going to Japan to learn the language, right???" Coming to Japan with zero Japanese will be difficult, especially if you chose the countryside area to study. Also, the chances of getting approved for a COE (Certificate of Eligibility) is better if you have credentials showing study time(a certificate showing at least 150 hrs of Japanese language study, or a JLPT N5)

*Special note on age limit: Most language schools will accept students aged 18-30. They prefer that you already have a university degree, but finishing senior high school will suffice. Only university graduates (bachelor's degree holders) can find a job after graduation from language schools.

Find a Sponsor

Studying in Japan can be very expensive. Tuition alone will set you back around 700,000 yen for one year. Adding dormitory costs, utilities, food, and other miscellaneous expenses would bring you up to a total of 1.3 million yen a year. Hence, the Immigration Bureau requires a sponsor who is a family relative and can support the Japanese language student during their stay in Japan. The sponsor would need to show proof of 1.5 million yen bank balance (this is the minimum though most language schools would require 2 million or more).

Application Timelines

Every school has its timeline, this is just a rough estimate of the usual times

Graduation: March

Step 1 - Decide on a School/Agency

After researching schools, you need to decide on which school you would like to apply to. You can then proceed to start the application process one of a few ways:

Apply Directly

Language schools get most of their students from abroad, and more often than not, they will have a direct application link on their website. You will almost always see their application timeline as well. (This can be difficult for smaller schools who are very limited with their English ability)

Apply through Agencies

There are services online offering help with processing documents like GaijinPot Study and Go! Go! Nihon. According to their websites, they offer free services, and you will only pay the fees required by the school.

Apply through a Friend or Family member

If you have a friend or family who's already living in Japan, they can apply to the school directly for you. This method is my preferred way because it's easier to get feedback from both the school and the applicant.

Step 2 - Gather the Required Documents

After the initial inquiry for the application, you will receive a list of required supporting documents. These supporting documents will be used to acquire a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) with the Immigration Bureau. These documents are mostly proof of the ability to pay for your stay in Japan. Gathering documents is time-consuming, and I strongly advise you to gather all the documents you can, as soon as possible. The usual documents required are:

Applicant(Student):

School Application Forms 

University Diploma 

Transcript of Records (the last school attended)

Family Registry (usually your birth certificate should suffice)

Certificate of Employment (for past and current job)

Certificate of Completion (Japanese language study 150 hours or more)

JLPT/JTEST/NAT results (if available)

Health certificate (some schools have this included with their application form)

Sponsor:

Identity document (passport copy)

Proof of relationship with the student (for family members, please prepare documents that show your relationship; birth certificate, marriage contracts, etc.)

Certificate of bank balance (This should be recent, or issued within the last three months, so save this for the end)

Income tax documents for the past three years

Certificate of employment showing annual salary - if currently employed (this also has to be recent)

Letter of guarantee (usually provided by the school)

Step 3 - Submit your Application and Pay the Processing Fee

Some schools will work with you as you gather your documents. There will be a lot of emails back and forth to make sure your application is "wrinkle-free." Schools will usually ask you to scan your filled in application form first so that they can double-check all the details you wrote. Once everything is in order, you will submit the original signed application directly to the school via post or parcel. In addition to this, you will also need to send the processing fee (non-refundable, ranging from around 20,000 yen). Putting together an application for a COE (Certificate of Eligibility) is incredibly time-consuming because everything has to be in Japanese. 

Step 4 - Wait for the COE Approval

COE applications take around three months at the most. This wait time can be extremely nerve-wracking, speaking from experience. While waiting, you can study Japanese, master the kana (hiragana and katakana), and increase your vocabulary. This extra step can help ease the transition when you arrive as a Japanese language student. 

Step 5 - COE Approval and Tuition Payments

Congratulations! You now have your COE, and you are now halfway there! The next step will be to send your tuition payment to your school. Depending on the school and your agreement, you will have to pay anywhere from 6 months worth to a year's worth of tuition upfront. This payment scheme is a safe-guard for the school because many students (especially from southeast Asia) tend to leave midway through school in hopes of getting jobs elsewhere. Requiring the payments upfront ensures the student will stick to the program till graduation. Once the school validates your tuition payment, your COE will be sent via EMS (Express Mail System) or through any other parcel service you choose. You will be paying the shipping fees.

*Special Very Important Note:

If, and when you come to Japan as a Japanese language student, you CANNOT quit midway. You will have to see your studies through graduation to secure a legal job afterward. There are ways around this, but they are ILLEGAL and can result in jail time or deportation. If Japan is your dream, do it right from off the bat.

Step 6 - Visa Application and Ticket Purchase

Once you have your COE, you will have to send your visa application to your country's Japanese embassy. The turnaround time varies per country, but the general average is five working days. You will also get a piece of paper for an application to allow you to work part-time as a student with your COE package. You will submit this application to the immigration desk once you enter Japan. When you get your visa, you can then book your flight to Japan. You will need to inform your school of your flight details to arrange your airport pick up. You will be paying for your ticket as well. 

Step 7 - Come to Japan and Start Your Adventure!

Yokoso! Welcome to Japan! After disembarking your plane, you will go through immigration and get your brand-spanking-new residence card with the stamp at the back showing proof of your permit for part-time work. You are now officially an international exchange student. 

Are you ready for your Japanese language student adventure?  Click here to read about our first-day-of-school shenanigans.

For questions, feel free to comment below or message me on Facebook or Instagram.

 

Silak's JST Series: Introduction to Silak's Japan Survival Tips

Hello Everyone!!!

I have been thinking of some things to post and I really wanted to share how I am learning to survive in Japan. Yes, I may have a little bit of Nihongo under my belt but not nearly enough to understand everything that goes on around me.

And so I came up with this!!!

Silak's JST (Japan Survival Tips) series

This will be basically short posts on practical tips and tricks I've picked up along the way. I will be sharing stuff that I learned and am still doing that makes my life so much easier.

This will be anything and everything under the sun from post rescheduling, inquiries, groceries, and many, many more!

And, good news to the introverts out there like me that want to minimize their human contact as much as possible, these, are going to help you a lot! (As much as possible I do most of my stuff online and I only call if, and when I really need to.)

I will try to make the posts as educational as possible with as many picture illustrations as I can.

So as for now, this is all the free time I have, I will keep you guys posted, and please share the word so we can help as many people as we can!

So as our introductory, inaugural post, let's get to our first survival tip

Silak's JST #1: Japan Wi-Fi Auto-Connect

I recently went home to the Philippines for a long-awaited summer vacation. Needless to say, with the little money I saved up for a mini splurge, this homecoming was a success and I successfully gained 3 kgs due to the amount of eating I did while I was there.

On my trip back, as I was fighting back the tears (I guess leaving home is never really easy no matter how many times you do it) I couldn't help but overhear a nice couple (I will be assuming and assume that they are newlyweds as the wedding rings look fairly new) discussing their roaming plans. When we got on board I thought they were frequent fliers to Japan so I didn't really talk their ears off with tips, but for the internet connectivity thing, I knew how hard it is not being connected.

Where art thou, oh Wi-Fi

And so I gave them the tip I used to survive the initial days in Japan when I didn't have a mobile wifi device yet. When traveling to Japan, try to download this app (for android users) before leaving the free wifi areas of the airport.

It's called Japan Wi-Fi auto-connect and I have provided links here:

Website 
Google Play
Apple App store

Basically, what this does is connect you to available wifi spots (including those that are sometimes locked or requiring logins under the NTT Docomo network) It's a cheaper alternative to getting the rental hotspots from the airport, and if you will be staying longer like us, a means to an end till you can get your own phone plan.

And, it's easy!

Simply install and register! The app will automatically connect you to wifi hotspots all over Japan. 

If you prefer being in control of when you connect rather than automatically connecting to hotspots, you can instead download the sister app, Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi instead.

Website 
Google Play
Apple App store

Both apps are powered by the NTT Broadband Platform and the only difference is the first one connects you automatically once a hotspot is available, and the other one you will have to manually connect.

Although, the downside is, when there are no wifi spots available, you will not be able to connect to the internet and the next thing to do is to look for a convenience store. Most likely, they will always have wifi. But not to worry! The company is adding more wifi spots with time.

This is the first tip I can share and this is usable by all, tourists and first-timers alike! Feel free to share and if you have questions or tips you might want to share, feel free to comment below or message me on Facebook or Instagram so we can all make our Japan stay more fun!

Ja ne~

Just Another ALT Post - Silak Version!

Happy Sunday Minasan!!!

The weather is slowly cranking up and it's getting more and more difficult to step out especially when you don't have a car and will have to walk to destinations. The dangers of heatstroke are real people!

So today I want to talk a little bit about my life as an ALT in Japan.

What is an ALT?

Time and again, people from outside Japan would ask me: "What work do you do there?", to which I reply, "I'm an ALT." Wait, what?

To people who have been interested in Japan as I had been before coming here, you would know that ALT stands for Assistant Language Teacher. Now, this takes different meanings as well depending on where you're teaching and I will discuss the role in detail in a Junior High School perspective as this is where I am assigned. I am basically an assistant to a Japanese Teacher of English.

 I will try and get Jerome, Richard, and Leizel to talk about their experience in the Elementary school front so we can have insight into that area as well as soon as I can.

Okay! Let's get started!!!

ALT in JHS

JHS- Junior High School. In Japan, JHS is equivalent to grades 7-9 or middle school in some countries. The major age demographic are kids ranging from 12-15 years of age. So mainly, my students comprise of tweens and early teens.

Teenagers!!!

I remember being a teen myself and let me tell you, they change moods as often as the weather. One day they will be bright and sunny and all smiles the next you're facing faces grim as district 12 in the hunger games.

My Role

So, what exactly do I do?

I am a part of a two-person team teaching an English class. I always join the class with a Japanese English teacher and mainly do the warm-ups, pronunciation, reading drills, and occasionally playing games with the kids. In JHS, this is the norm as this is the time where the kids start learning about English grammar syntax. This is when they start learning the use of the English language. From what I know, mostly in Elementary school, they learn about vocabulary and the basic greetings and counting.

So once they enter JHS, they start learning the significance of the subject-verb agreement, past-present-future tenses, and all the structures that makes the English language what it is. And this needs to be explained in Japanese first to facilitate understanding. And, unless you are flawlessly fluent and can speak Japanese correctly, you can not handle the class alone.

Although from time to time I do conduct a class in English, although these are usually fluff pieces like writing fan letters but no major grammatical lesson.

Class Clown

I'm okay, I swear

Teenagers have this air of superiority about them. They feel like they are so grown up and simply refuse to be treated like children. (Oh honey, you are far from being an adult, and believe me adulting is ^#% hard). So there will be days where you are met with the cold dead stare of the cool kids.

So what do I do?

As for me, it was hard for me to get the kids' comfort and I really had to earn their smiles. What I try to do is to act a little bit funny (I am not a funny person so this was a big challenge). I learned to let go of my feelings of embarrassment and wore my Pierrot nose with pride. I tend to act like I'm stupid to elicit reactions from them and once the initial tension is broken, I started being more comfortable being in front of them.

Perfect

One thing to remember when you are teaching, you don't have to be perfect. You have to be prepared to the best of your ability but if you do make mistakes, simply admit and turn it into something you and the kids can laugh about. I think having fun and making the class enjoyable for everyone is more important than conducting a perfect class. Reason: It allows the kids to relax and be more open to trying the language. Japan is a country of perfection that kids are so scared of making mistakes. And you need to let them know that the time to make mistakes is now as experience is the best teacher. This relaxes the classroom atmosphere encouraging the kids to try using English.

Working with Japanese Teachers

Ohayou Gozaimasu!

Working with other people is always a challenge and the language barrier does little to help. Working with other teachers can be difficult at times especially if they refuse to listen to you or to reason. I am lucky enough to have kind teachers (to my face at least :P). I think it would be best to just do your best to be a contributing part of the faculty offering assistance when you can and showing an effort to learn their language. Remember the golden rule, respect begets respect, if you treat everyone kindly, even the most difficult teacher will have no choice but respond in kind. The Japanese culture demands nothing less.

Well, these are some of the things I have on the top of my head about my work. This, by no means, justifies what we do exactly, but if you have questions, please feel free to comment to reach out to me via the page.

See you soon!!!

Silak's Wrinkle Care Regimen

Okay. 3 years ago, I turned 30 and didn't really care much for skin regimens. Frankly speaking, I hate having to slap on creams and do face massage and all those stuff. I'm not a big fan of beauty rituals.

I can do makeup. On my face that is. I can do a decent wing with liquid eyeliner, but basically, facial care, NADA.

Thankfully enough I was born with Chinese blood and genetics blessed me with a low maintenance type of skin. I occasionally break out, but never really severe. My skin looks naturally tight (till recently, turns out being neglectful of your skin does eventually show). But genetics can only get you so far.





Da da daaaaaan... (I wish I could do sound effects, but unfortunately I can't so please indulge me and do the sound effects yourself either inside your head or out loud).


I was looking in the mirror, and there it was. I knew that one day this day would eventually come... FINE LINES!!! Okay, I'm not that vain and the lines weren't that deep and were most likely due to me not moisturizing properly, but it was a wake-up call. Everybody eventually ages. (Unless you get bit by a vampire and turn immortal...come to think of it, I think Keanu Reeves maybe Lestat in hiding, but what do I know right?

But, with every dark forest or whatever bad ominous thing there is, there is always a single ray of light that leads you to salvation. Mine was the fact that I am currently in Japan. How in the world is this a ray of light on a dark day you might ask? Ever wondered why the women here look so fair and young despite their ages? There must be a secret.

Well, I poked around the web and yes, there was a secret. Women here love facial care regimens and they start at a pretty young age. This way, they retard the appearance of fine lines to well late into their forties. And even so, they rarely look their age.

I know, I know, enough of the senseless rambling.

I have developed a very easy regimen I follow, (most days that is hahaha) that significantly reduced the depth of my lines almost instantly. Impossible! Lies!

Well, it's true. And if it works for someone as lazy as me, this ought to work for anyone.

As for my morning rituals, before I put my make up on, I have three products:


Coenzyme Q10 Lotion (Toner)

This is a light toner I use to prep my skin after washing my face or before I begin anything.









Melano CC Vitamin C oil/serum

 It says serum on the packaging, feels like light oil. It gets absorbed quite quickly leaving a nice orange smell on your skin.









Hadabisei Wrinkle Care Facial Serum
This smells like coconut water; not coconut milk, but the refreshing water of a young coconut. As you can see it's almost gone but it really is versatile and on days I have no time I just use this.





I put them on in that order. And I wait for one product to absorb before applying the next. Now I am a big fan of sleeping and I tend to sleep up to the time that I just have about enough time to do what is necessary and leave the house. So this whole prep time takes me about 5-7 mins. Not bad huh?



And as for the evening rituals, I basically just wipe my make up off with my Q10 infused makeup remover then splash my face with plain water. I pat my face dry then do the same morning ritual and go about my business. This is on days that I am too lazy to even prepare dinner and end up eating leftovers.






But, on days I do get my butt to do stuff, I have 2 alternating face masks I use. Now, these masks are to die for. This gives you instant results and if you are more consistent than I can ever be, you can kiss your fine lines goodbye for a good couple of decades more.



Hadabisei Wrinkle Care full face mask

I use this maybe once or twice a week. But it does show almost instant results like you can see the lines lighten a little bit right away. It's not that expensive either. It's about a thousand yen for 30 sheets.

Hadabisei  Intensive Wrinkle Care Eye Mask

This one goes under your eyes where the crows' feet show. Even with the deepest lines, this works wonders.






The biggest difference between the two, other than their sizes is, the full face mask is more formulated to plump out the skin of your face on a more general scale and the eye mask has more concentrated levels of penetrating Gold Retinol Ex that helps with filling out deep lines.

I just wanted to share this. I have been meaning to but I never really got to do it.

See you next time!

お久しぶりですね～ Long time no see!!

みんな、お久しぶり！
Long time no see everyone!

Okay, so I know I keep promising to update more, but despite all the time I have, I can't seem to get into my blogging groove. But I guess I can churn at least 1 post a week. I will most certainly try.

So, I can't even remember what my last post was. Hahaha! But lemme catch you up with my current status.


Before December 2017
 The first time I took the test was back in July 2017 for the N4 level which I passed due to diligently studying for exams and memorizing kanji every down time I get even if it's just for 3 mins. So N4 was easy for me, but since then, everything went downhill.

I was lucky enough to score plane tickets on sale and went home for a couple of weeks during summer vacation.

When I got back, I was really tired of going to school everyday. It was so boring and I got caught up in a game on my smartphone. In short, I was barely studying if at all. Before we knew it, it was December and we needed to take the JLPT again.

In all reality, I did not want to take the exam again. I wasn't prepared for it like I was with N4. I spoke to my parents and told them that I didn't want to take the exam anymore. They agreed with me and said that if I didn't want to, no need to force it. But I did take the exam, because my friends convinced me that this is the last time we will be taking this test together.

So I did.

December 2017
I took the JLPT N3 exam with my friends. It was nice and the weather wasn't that cold yet. So we all enjoyed the trip and as for me, I just took the test for the sake of taking the test. I knew I wouldn't pass so I wasn't pressured with the exam and just tried to answer to the best of my ability.

I quickly forgot about it.

I don't really remember how I spent Christmas then...I think I just slept, or maybe I went to my friends' apartment, I really, for the life of me, can't remember.

January - February 2018
In January we renewed our visas. We experienced several snow days that caused a snow blanket that lasted for a week. One of our friends suddenly went home to pursue her Bachelor's degree. We all applied as ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) and all got accepted. And everyone was barely attending school at this stage.

March 2018
I got bit by our neighbor's dog. It resulted in quite a bit of an issue as the person who was supposed to help made matters worse by acting like a vigilante whatchamacallit. But everything was settled in the end which brings me to a lesson I learned.

"Always see the best in people."

Graduation

We all graduated on March 16th. Who knew. We started with 7, and graduated 5 people. One is still in Japan although we have this idea that he might be hiding from the law. The other one went home to pursue her bachelor's degree. And we who remained, are now ALTs.

Disneyland!!!
Yeah, as a gift to the graduating students, the school sponsored (well we think they did but maybe we paid for it hahahaha) a school trip to Disney. It was my first time to go there and it was just sad that it had been raining that day.

Moving out of Oarai
It was a roller coaster of a life in Oarai. It was bittersweet to leave that apartment I shared with 3 other people for over a year.

April 2018
And this brings us up to date with our lives. We are now ALTs and are in separate schools and somehow prefectures.

At this point, I will try to write articles more on a weekly basis.