Akamonkai Japanese Language School

About the school

Opened in 1985 in front of the Akamon (Red Gate) of the University of Tokyo. Since 2005 the Arai Gakuen educational corporation has run the main school (Higashi-Nippori, Arakawa) and the Nippori campus. Capacity: 1,800 at the main school and 450 at the Nippori campus; 1,810 enrolled at the end of October 2025. It states it has taught over 30,000 students from about 100 countries and regions, with around 50 nationalities studying at any time. Classes have about 10–20 students. The main school is designated by the Ministry of Education (MEXT) to offer a preparatory course, and students with a student visa can get a discount on commuter passes.

Fees

Annual tuition

From ¥720,000

Fee basis

Annual tuition for fiscal 2026. A revision is announced: ¥720,000 up to January 2027 entry and ¥780,000 from April 2027 (tax treatment not stated). Please confirm the latest fee.

Admission fee

¥65,000Applies up to January 2027 entry; ¥70,000 from April 2027. Tax treatment not stated.

Dormitory

YesFrom ¥40,000 per month

Dormitory & housing

Available (about 30 buildings owned and managed by the school, plus introductions through 3 partner real-estate companies). ¥40,000–60,000 per month, utilities extra (about ¥5,000–10,000), within 40 minutes of the school. Wi-Fi, air conditioner, refrigerator, bed and desk provided; bedding can be rented if requested in advance. 2 women's dormitories. You may be assigned a dormitory other than your preference.

Admission requirements

Intake months

• April12 months(1 yr)24 months(2 yrs)
• October18 months(1 yr 6 mo)

Study period

April: 1 or 2 years / July: 1 year 9 months / October: 1 year 6 months / January: 1 year 3 months (up to 2 years for those aiming to work or return home).

Admission requirements

The general course requires 12 or more years of schooling (high-school graduation or equivalent). The preparatory course is for people with fewer than 12 years. Documents from the person paying the costs are required (a bank balance of ¥2,000,000 or more is preferred). No age limit or nationality-specific conditions are listed.

Japanese level requirement

All levels, so complete beginners are welcome. Classes are decided by a placement test after enrolment. Required study hours, a JLPT level and whether an interview is held are not stated.

Graduation & further-study support

Three-way meetings between homeroom teacher, advancement adviser and multilingual staff, JLPT/EJU prep, and EJU basic-subject classes. Recommendations to partner schools: 30 private universities (100+ departments) and 80 vocational schools. For jobs: individual career-consultant support and a business job-hunting class (90% reported to get offers every year). Scholarships: JASSO, Kyoritsu Maintenance and others.

Accreditation

Approved for the Ministry of Education's preparatory course in September 2006 (this is the only designated school). A school that can submit applications on behalf of applicants at the Tokyo Immigration Bureau. Member of the Japanese Language Education Association of Vocational Schools. Appropriate-school class, Certified Japanese Language Institution status and Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education certification could not be confirmed officially.

Nepal applicants

The official website states no country restrictions (application documents and enrolment pages checked). Please ask us whether applicants from Nepal are accepted.

Language support

Classes are taught in Japanese. Website available in Japanese, Chinese (traditional and simplified), English, Korean, Vietnamese and others. Staff support languages are not stated.