Practical Japanese – Speak with Confidence

Local Life Japan

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Special offer

$155 discount for some courses and accommodations from 1-5 weeks until 19 Dec 2025 Show details »

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Course description

Our Japanese Course is designed for students who want to build real-world communication skills and enjoy the full experience of exploring Japan.The focus goes beyond grammar and vocabulary, we emphasise speaking and listening in real-life settings, helping you navigate everyday situations with confidence.

With 15 lessons per week, the course blends essential grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation with lots of conversation practice. You’ll engage in role-plays, discussions, and interactive exercises that help you use Japanese naturally and effectively in daily life.

Small class sizes ensure personalised attention, and our experienced instructors tailor lessons to your level and goals. We use a mix of textbooks, real-life materials like news articles, and cultural content to bring your learning to life.

Whether you’re a complete beginner or aiming to improve your fluency, this course gives you the skills you need to speak Japanese confidently and experience Japan like a local.

Course topics

Listening, Speaking, Pronunciation, Reading, Writing, Vocabulary and Grammar

Class schedule

Course duration
1-50 weeks
Start dates
Every Monday
Start dates for beginners
17 Nov 2025, 05 Jan 2026, 09 Feb 2026, 16 Mar 2026, 20 Apr 2026, 25 May 2026, 29 Jun 2026, 03 Aug 2026, 07 Sep 2026, 12 Oct 2026 and 16 Nov 2026
Classes per week
15 lessons per week (each lesson lasts 50 min)
Class days
Monday - Friday
School holidays
20 Dec 2025 - 04 Jan 2026 and 19 Dec 2026 - 03 Jan 2027

Local Life Japan does not hold classes on the holiday dates above. The school does not compensate for these holidays, so make sure to choose your start date accordingly.

Class times

You can choose from the following class times:

Morning session
09:30 AM - 12:20 PM

Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.

Class level

Absolute beginner
Elementary
Pre-intermediate
Intermediate
You will take a placement test before your arrival in Akashi to determine your class level.

Class size

Average 5 students
Maximum 9 students

Student age

Age range 18 years old and older
Average 30 years old
(20 in the summer)

Certificate

A certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the course.
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school
photos

Photos

  • Homestay housing offered by Local Life Japan 1/44
  • Homestay housing offered by Local Life Japan 2/44
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  • Common room at Local Life Japan 4/44
  • Classroom at Local Life Japan 5/44
  • Students of Local Life Japan 6/44
  • City of Akashi 7/44
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  • Homestay housing offered by Local Life Japan 12/44
  • Homestay housing offered by Local Life Japan 13/44
  • Homestay housing offered by Local Life Japan 14/44
  • Homestay housing offered by Local Life Japan 15/44
  • Local Life Japan 16/44
  • Students of Local Life Japan 17/44
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  • Students of Local Life Japan 19/44
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  • Students of Local Life Japan 22/44
  • Homestay housing offered by Local Life Japan 23/44
  • Homestay housing offered by Local Life Japan 24/44
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reviews

Reviews

100% recommend

based on 8 reviews
5 stars
7
4 stars
1
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
0
Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing

"I had a stimulating and productive week at Local Life and it was also really fun!"

Mark Dorey, student from UK

First of all Akashi was a fantastic location for my week’s visit. It a small, friendly town in which you get to know the locals. The school itself was also excellent. All of the teachers and lesson were engaging and the teaching material was presented at just the right level and a very high quality. We had many trips outside to practise our conversational Japanese and I really appreciated this as a useful boost to my learning. Out of the excursions, I particularly enjoyed the Kareoke. I did not stay in the school housing as I was accompanied by a family member, but from what I heard from classmates it was really good. We stayed at Hitomaru Kadan, a local Ryokan, which I would also recommend highly. In summary, my experience of Local Life was vey positive and I hope to return in he future.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
4 Aug 2025 - 8 Aug 2025
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"It was a wonderful experience, I would definitely do it again! Thank you very much."

Ellen Mai-Anh Rohm, student from Germany

The classes were sometimes really frustrating because most teachers would just tell us how to do it, but never when to use it or what it means in English. Whenever I asked I got an even more confusing answer, so either I understood from the start, my classmate explained it or I didnt get it at all.
The teachers were all really nice, they tried to hold conversations even though I didnt understand them.
The location was good, close to a station and lots of convenience stores nearby.
The facility was also great, and I liked how every room had different air conditioning.
The activities were mostly fun, but it would have been nice to be able to choose or help decide what to do, instead of just being told 'here this is what we're doing, come'.
The housing was amazing, I loved everything about my host family, my room, my way to school, I couldnt have asked for anything better.
Overall I really enjoyed the time I spent there.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
1 week
Date of study
18 Aug 2025 - 29 Aug 2025
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"It was a great cultural experience with lots of opportunities to talk and get to know people and customs."

Anna Chudoba, student from Sweden

The location of the school was fantastic, as it was very close to the station and a lot of restaurants and cafes. Akashi park was also close. I loved walking through it when I had the time. The school common area has both air conditioning (which is important when the days are 35 degrees) and wi-fi, as well as snacks, manga and switch games so there were plenty of ways to spend the breaks between lessons. The teachers were very kind and fun to talk to, and had great recommendations for lunch places in the area, as well as weekend activities. They would also help when we had a problem.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of people for most of my stay, which meant that it was difficult to tailor the lessons to the people present and some people were in classes that were ill-suited for them. Though Local Life Japan did their best to fix that. The textbook had some errors in it and some exercises were confusing enough that even the teacher did not know how to do it. Personally, I would have liked more speaking practice rather than sticking strictly to following the book, but I guess it's an individual thing. We had a different teacher nearly every day which allowed for some variety in teaching styles and let another teacher offer explanations if the students still didn't understand.

A lot of the activities were very fun, like the art aquarium we went to (it was gorgeous, and had a lot of sealife I had never seen before) or fruit picking and calligraphy. However, some activities were poorly planned, or did not work with large groups of people, especially when 11 year olds were mixed with people over the age of 20. For example origami, where no one really knew how to create anything other than a crane.

I got matched with a fantastic host family, that did their best to include me in their family and took me on trips during the weekend, while cooking delicious dishes and talking to me during the weekdays.

Overall, it was a very fun experience that I do not regret.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
23 Jun 2025 - 11 Jul 2025
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Thank you so much Yuriko and Hiroko for the superbly professional supports and responses all the way."

舒忧 王, student from China

We had a wonderful three weeks' trip, and we are sure will see you guys next time.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
30 Jun 2025 - 18 Jul 2025
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Überwältigende Erfahrung"

patrick schmitt, student from Switzerland

Die Schule ist toll. Sehr gut gelegen mit schönen, hellen Klassenräumen. Das Mobiliar ist gepflegt und neuwertig. Das beste sind die Lehrer. Sehr aufmerksam und geduldig. Meine Hauptlehrerin war fantastisch. Sie hatte immer ein offenes Ohr für mich, egal welche Zweifel und Sorgen mich plagten. Als mid Fünfziger geht das Lernen einfach nicht mehr so einfach. Meine Lehrerin wusste aber immer, wie sie mich motivieren kann. Ich werde nächstes Jahr für mehrere Wochen dort wieder hin gehen. Für mich ist Local Life weit mehr als „nur“ eine Schule. Ich habe meine Lehrer alle in mein Herz geschlossen. Diese Schule ist das Beste das mir passieren konnte.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Date of study
9 Jun 2025 - 13 Jun 2025
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
This is a verified review. This student has booked a course at this school through Language International.

"Excellent way to immerse yourself in Japanese language and culture"

Wen Wei Yap

The school is located close to the train station and the instruction provided is very clear so finding the school is not hard. The surrounding of the school is also good where you have various options of nice foods, shopping area and even a market area to explore with.

The classes are designed for you to speak more Japanese thus building your overall speaking ability which I found it very useful. The one week class improve my overall Japanese speaking ability and of course increase my interest to further my Japanese learning journey. The teachers are all very nice and patience to guide me throughout the class to learn new grammar, words and also practicing speaking with me which improve my confidence in speaking in Japanese.

The activities available are also interesting. As the school is not too far from Himeji / Kobe / Maiko / Awaji Shima etc, there’s plenty of interesting activities/sightseeing you can do with the school or on your own. And you will have the teachers (the locals) to recommend you activities/things to try on when you are around that area.

Highly recommend to those who are looking for a place to learn speaking Japanese and immerse yourself in the real Japanese culture/life.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
11 Nov 2024 - 15 Nov 2024
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"Good combination of learning japanese language and culture"

Silvia Grossinger

Locations:
Location of the school is very central and good to find
Location of my homestay family was also in a good distance to school, without long walks

Classes and teachers:
The lessons were well prepared and a good mix between learning new things and practicing talking. Every single teacher was amazing and responded to my needs - I cannot wish for more :)

Thank you so much, for teaching for me, though I was the only student. I really appreciate that!

Afternoon Activities:
All Afternoon activities were adjusted to my interests, so I was very lucky! We went to Himeji and Kobe city, to art and architecture related museums and even for dinner together. The activities were a good combination with the classes in the morning, to get to know Japanese culture and language.

If I would stay for more than one week, I would ask to maybe shorten every second activities a little to get home earlier, to get more time to rest. Because of all the new impressions and the three languages (Japanese, English and german) I was extremely tired every evening. I think a little time to rest between school and evening time with the family (just half an hour - to one hour) would have been perfect.

Homestay family:
What a lovely family I had! They were so helpful and showed me so much about daily Japanese life! We always had breakfast and dinner together and one evening they took me out for dinner to one of their favorite restaurants to eat Okonomiyaki. That was a great experience, though I wished my Japanese language were better, so I could talked more with the other guests. The mum also made me every day lunchbox with was soooo delicious!

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Date of study
21 Oct 2024 - 25 Oct 2024
Would you recommend this school?
Yes

"It was a fun and varied experience."

Sam Tsang

The school is located close to the train station, which makes it convenient to travel to.
The classrooms are clean and cool. The teachers are kind and accommodating and try to push you to use more japanese when possible to help build more confidence. The activities avaliable were nice and interesting. Housing wise, it was a nice experience living in a japanese household and eating japanese home cooked foods.

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My ratings for this school

Quality of teaching
School facilities
Social activities
School location
Housing
Duration of study
2 weeks
Date of study
12 Aug 2024 - 30 Aug 2024
Would you recommend this school?
Yes
housing

Housing

Local Life Japan offers the following housing types:
homestay

Homestay - Single-person room - Breakfast and dinner

$317
weekly
Age range: 16 years old and older
Housing type: Homestay
Room type: Single-person room
Board type: Breakfast and dinner (14 meals per week)
Facilities: Kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, free internet, air conditioning, and heating
Distance to school: 60 minutes by train or subway
Availability: January - December
Check-in: Sunday, after 12:00 PM
$317
Local Life Japan is partnered with Homestay in Japan, who has over 5000 Homestay Families across Japan. With over 11 years of experience, they have helped more than 14,000 foreign students gain a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and way of life!

Learning a language is also about learning a culture and way of life. Homestays help to completely immerse you in Japanese language and culture to accelerate your pace of learning.

Homestay families go through an extensive vetting process and are eager to share Japanese culture with others. Student support is also available 24/7 in multiple languages.

Whether you are looking for interaction with Japanese people, or local recommendations on tourism and food, choosing a Homestay will definitely leave you with fantastic memories!
visa

Visa support

We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. However, the school can supply you with all the documentation you need to support your visa application.

Your letter of acceptance will be sent to your home address by regular mail at no charge to you. If you wish to receive your paperwork by express mail, you will be charged ¥ 6,500 when you register.

Flights and airport transfer

Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Akashi based on your budget, schedule and preferences.

Travel insurance

Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.

Learn more about our insurance plan »

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questions

Questions and answers

Have questions? Get answers from Local Life Japan staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.

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