Long term Japanese courses in Japan

Long term Japanese courses in Japan with CESA Languages, offering: 10-, 20-, 40- or 60-week programmes.

Student Visa Courses 
Places in Fukuoka available from April 2027+
Places in Nagoya available from April 2027+
Updated: 01 October 2026

 

Which long term Japanese language course is right for you?

If you are looking for a long term programme of a year+:

Fukuoka: 40 or 6o week programme (Student Visa required)
Nagoya: 40 or 6o week programme (Student Visa required)

If you are looking for a 10, 12 or 20 week course:

Tokyo: 10 or 20 week programme (No Visa or Tourist Visa required)
Kyoto: 10 or 20 week programme (No Visa or Tourist Visa required)

40 week course & 60 week course –
Fukuoka & Nagoya

Levels offered Beginner to  High Elementary
Minimum age 14 (mainly 18 yrs+)
One Year duration 40 weeks tuition (+ holidays)
18 Month duration 60 weeks tuition (+ holidays)
Lessons 20 lessons per week
Lesson duration 50 minutes
Maximum per class 8/12 students
  • These courses are open to students eligible for the Student Visa or the Working Visa only. Refer to the PDF attached for full visa eligibility details and location options or contact the CESA office for advice.
  • Start dates are offered in January, April, August and October each year. Fixed deadlines are applied by Japanese Immigration.

 

Fukuoka

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Nagoya

Details on request

 

October 2027 April 2028
Arrival dates 02 October 2027 03 April 2028
Start date 04 October 2027 05 April 2028
Deadline Early May 2027 Early November 2027
 * Golden week = one week holiday part way through the term (first week of May)
  End dates depend on holiday arrangements – please check with CESA

 

October 2028 April 2029
Arrival dates 02 October 2028 01 April 2029
Start Date 04 October 2028* 02 April 2029
Deadline Early May 2028 Early November 2028

 

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Students looking to spend one year in Japan to make serious linguistic progress can really benefit from this dedicated long term programme. Offering 40 weeks of tuition (plus holiday breaks) four times a year, the course enables in-depth study. There are several holiday periods built in, perfect for travelling around Japan or returning home to see family and friends. The programme is still very communication skills orientated, in-line with the other course options shown below.

Student Visa: Eligible applications are straightforward but take time and eligibility depends purely on Japanese Immigration rulings. One year or 18 month stays only.

Working Visa: Eligible students may only study for a maximum one-year period, (and must meet specific age and nationality criteria – see PDF) and no extensions are possible.

The tuition fees include all school costs, textbook costs, visa mailing charges, health check, and all other fees required to follow this programme, except accommodation.

Course Conditions:

You or a family member must be able to show funds to pay for tuition and living expenses (minimum approx. Yen 1,900,000)
The specific documents you need to provide depend on your situation, but in general you will need:

PROOF OF IDENTIFICATION
PROOF OF EMPLOYMENT (IF WORKING).
PROOF OF BANK BALANCE AND INCOME (EITHER YOURS OR YOUR FINANCIAL SPONSOR’S)
PROOF OF GRADUATION FROM SCHOOL (JUNIOR HIGH OR HIGHER)

Once CESA received your enrolment, we will send you the student visa application form, and a list of required documents, along with detailed instructions.

10 or 20 week course – Tokyo & Kyoto

Levels offered Beginner to Intermediate
Tokyo: Min age 18 yrs
Kyoto: Min age 16 yrs
Course duration 10 & 20 weeks
Lessons 20 lessons per week
Lesson duration 50 minutes
Maximum per class 12 students
  • These courses are open to students eligible for the Working Visa or who meet the Visa Waiver criteria only. Refer to the PDF attached for full visa eligibility details or contact the CESA office for advice.
  • Start dates are offered on set dates each year.

Tokyo:

Get a Quote now

Kyoto:

Get a Quote now
Read more

The Japanese language course is purely communication orientated, ideal for those who wish to study key grammar and conversation skills of the language.   Classes are made up of 2 lessons of grammar and 2 lessons of conversation per day, with the main focus on real-life skills, across all language levels. In reality the school anticipate 2 to 6 students per class and rising to 8 students per class in July/August.

If a student is the only person at his/her Japanese ability level, the Japanese school will provide reduced private classes for them.

These courses use interesting and modern materials and activities to focus on improving your Japanese speaking ability in a way that gives you the flexibility to adapt to new situations, until one day you won’t even need a teacher anymore!

Working Visa students can study for six months and then travel. There are no holiday breaks in this programme.  Students must meet specific age and nationality criteria – see PDF.

Visa Waiver students will need to discuss extending the standard 90 days visa waiver arrangement, for a 20 week course. Eligibility to do so will depend on your nationality.

JLPT Exam Preparation

Do you speak Japanese? Now you can prove it!    JLPT Exam course information

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