Program Reviews

My younger brother and I both studied at Hokkaido Japanese Language School together during the summer of 2014. It was our first time traveling internationally without any other family members with us and we were a bit nervous. The school was extremely accommodating and arranged everything upon our arrival to Hokkaido. They scheduled a taxi to pick us up at baggage claim and had us dropped off at our host-family's house. Any worries we had the school had it covered!

Everyone at the school was so kind and friendly. The teachers and staff have a great sense of humor and truly make you feel welcomed. The language lesson instructions was very interactive and there was never a dull moment in the classroom. The school also offered great activities like kendo, taiko and trips to the lavender fields.

During our stay in Hokkaido, we lived with a host family. Our host family was great and surprisingly they used to live in California which is where we're from! They were very welcoming and made us feel part of the family. It was a great way to experience the Japanese culture and it was a lot of fun to do things with them.

It has almost been a year since we studied at Hokkaido Japanese Language School and we still are in contact with the school staff and our old classmates!

Classes:
I did a 9 week winter course, taking group lessons which lasted 3 hours every weekday morning. The small class sizes (max of 6) allowed plenty of personal attention from the instructors to help practice and improve my language skills. My instructors were extremely helpful in teaching Japanese not only from the course curriculum, but also incorporating new material when the students asked to learn about a particular subject or scenario. In 9 weeks I feel that I learned the equivalent of a university semester course (if not more).

Culture:
Beyond the classroom JaLS offers a full cultural experience. My afternoons were filled with optional activities; a few I took part in include making sushi, taiko (Japanese drumming), and learning a traditional tea ceremony. I also attended several conversation lessons, in which Japanese locals mingle with students to play games and practice conversational Japanese.

The school is located in the city center, which gave me plenty of opportunities to explore on my own with easy access to shopping, dining, and sightseeing. I also found it very easy to take day trips and overnight trips to other parts of Hokkaido on the weekends. I took advantage of Hokkaido’s legendary snow and went to several nearby ski resorts, including a couple adventures with JaLS students and staff.

Community:
The JaLS community is what made my time in Japan an amazing experience. I quickly bonded with many of the other students who came from various corners of the world, united by a common interest in learning Japanese. I made many friends and was happy to have new companions to explore Hokkaido with while practicing Japanese.

The JaLS staff is the core of creating a positive community atmosphere. The friendliness and support of the staff is outstanding! I was comfortable in their presence and confident in their ability to proficiently run a language school. And beyond school business I was constantly impressed by the genuine outreach they made, often going out of their way to organize group events, assist with logistics (reservations, housing, travel, etc.), or just joke around with between class.

The staff is incredibly nice and good at teaching. My time there prepared me for over a semester's worth of intensive 2nd year Japanese at my university, and I still had most of the day to freely explore Sapporo and its surroundings with my new international classmates and friends. I stayed at one of the hostels JALS recommended, and it was a great place to stay long term; if you're imagining ten bunk beds and one sink in the same room, don't. We all had spacious rooms to ourselves, and there were several well-maintained communal bathrooms on each floor. There was a kitchen downstairs with plenty of cabinet space and appliances for cooking, as well as a TV area with 3 sofas. The residents were very friendly, as are the residents of Sapporo; the city itself is beautiful, clean, and there's so much to do. I was fortunate enough to choose a great school in a great area, and I had a wonderful experience. (Can't wait to go back!)

I had the great privilege of taking a month off of work and spending it in Hokkaido. My wife and I picked JaLS because of its summer program with all its cultural activities. Classes are 3 hours in the morning and then optional cultural activities take place in the afternoon. The line up of activities was a lot of fun. There was kendo, soba making, and kimono experiences. There were special activities like trips out to nearby Furano and Otaru.

If I had the time and money, I would go back again. I made a lot of new friends through the program. Many of whom I still keep in touch thanks to social media.

I went to study at JaLS for 6 weeks last summer (2014). The classes were great and the teachers were very engaging. I learned a lot and really want to come back again.
I made lots of friends from around the world and we all became like a family.
The housing was really nice and the people who lived there wanted to help with homework and anything we might be struggling with.
i had a lot of fun with the cultural activities after school (such as taiko drumming, making sushi, and wearing kimono) and the weekend trips (rafting, Otaru, onsen).
Overall this is an A++ course and you should check it out!!

My time at this school was my first time travelling to Japan. I thought it would be a normal dull language school and a good class, but what I had experienced was far beyond my expectation. My first impression of the school is that the decoration and environment was very nice. All the classrooms and living area is beautifully renovated and give a warm and welcome feeling. The staffs and teachers are very kind and helpful. I almost feel like they are my own family. The class is taught in a small number of people so I learnt Japanese really fast and got to talk and have fun a lot with my teachers and my friends. The principle said he will always keep each classroom with small group of students to create a great learning environment. He is very kind and often come to talk with us whether we have any problems or issue. Moreover, I had made a lot of good friends from all over the World including France, Germany, England, Hongkong, Macau and definitely Japan. We are still good friends and always keeping in touch(also with my teachers and the staffs!). My first Japan trip become vivid and memorable time I will never forget. I highly recommend Hokkaido Japanese Language School for anyone who seeks for great study and experience in Japan.

I took the summer course last year and I have to say it was an amazing experience. The lessons were always fun - but also a lot of content was taught. The cultural lessons were amazing and something to always look back on. A great way to meet people from all over the world and to form new friendships.
The staff and teachers were awesome and made those 4 weeks very special.

In just 6 short weeks of studying at Hokkaido JaLS, I learned a whole college semester's worth of material -- and without all that much effort. Every day you have class in a relaxed environment from about 9 - 12:30 with a few breaks in between. There are often activities after this if you wish to attend them, or otherwise can spend the rest of the day travelling around on your own. The classes are kept down to a size of around 6 students, which means that interaction between the students and the teacher is very good. The classes are taught entirely in Japanese, but the teachers are very good about explaining things through drawings or other methods if the students aren't able to understand.

All of the students at this school come from all over the world, and it gives you the opportunity to meet all kinds of different people. The school also provides tons of activities for travelling around Sapporo and Hokkaido, and experiencing various aspects of Japanese culture.

Naturally, since the school is located in Sapporo, the lessons in addition to daily life experiences in Japan come together to enforce what you are able to learn in classes. Before coming to Japan, I had little confidence and was afraid to speak Japanese, but after leaving the program I found myself very far ahead of my classmates at home.

The dormitories are all very clean and nice, and filled with friendly people. Some of them are more socially oriented and others are more of just a place to stay. When you make friends with students at the school, you'll be able to visit various other housing locations.

On top of all this, the program is very inexpensive. I chose to return to this school a second time this year because aside from the program being great, I'm able to stay in Japan for nearly 3 months and still have a lower cost than my university's study abroad program for just 5 weeks. I highly recommend this school!

you won't just pay for a course just to study japanese abroad, right ?
i've been taking 2-month japanese cultural course and it was awesome !! i had 3 hours for lesson every morning (mon-fri) and some afternoon we joined an event held by school. we've lots of opportunities to try many things / join most of the festivals during that time together. it was one of my best time in my life coming to jals !

- Standard lessons with experienced teachers, learning by playing, talking, and have fun
- Friendly teachers and staffs, the atmosphere is warm
- Many fun activities to do with schoolmates and staffs, including many Japanese traditional activities
- An opportunity to help others with learning, we all can be the teachers
- Many choices of accommodation, I chose "sharehouse" and it brought me a lot of good memories and friendship :)
- The location is not far from subway station and there are plenty good restaurant nearby XD
- Meet new friends from another part of the world, it's gonna be fun for sure!!