< See All PostsISI Japanese Language School - Tokyo (Takadanobaba, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku) Is any of this better than the others? Is it too heavy work? Is it possible to work and study attending to any of this schools? Opinions or Experience going to one of those? (I'm open to school recommendations) Help please :')
by Sbua248_ on Jun 13, 2026
Does anyone has information on any of ISI's schools? (Takadanobaba, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku)
I need to apply to the school this week but i'm still trying to look for information about schools to make the best decision (i'm trying my best to not regret my decision later)
My goal is to apply to University or Technical School after, so i'm looking for one that has an academic approach (professional works too I think but I think academic as mi 1st option)
The think is: **I obviously have to work to sustain myself in japan**, and even if I really like what I heard and saw about ISI in general (mostly Ikebukuro and Takadanobaba) I've seen some few people taking about how its impossible to do anything but study because is so strict you don't have time for anything else, but I've also seen a lot of posts of people saying they really like it and that it's not THAT extreme and you just need to dedicate what you normally wood learning anything, and that just being a little diligent and dedicating some time to it outside of school is enough.
Can anyone confirm this or provide me more info about it? I'm also open about hearing recommendations about other schools in Tokyo (my house will be near shinjuku so I prefer the school being in a close area)
I just really need a school that let's me LEARN (for real), work a part time job (4-5h a day) and also have a lil life still to explore japan, meet people, and have a bit of social life still If posible :')
I'd **REALLY** appreciate any information and opinions about this
Comments
by untoasted-glitch on Jun 13, 2026
I went to ISI. I don't feel there was much homework outside of class - usually only 15-30 minutes worth (e.g. 2-3 pages in Shinkanzen Master). It might depend on your level - I was in the advanced classes.
by ReleaseeEscape1 on Jun 14, 2026
Can confirm, the homework is very light. Though they expect you to study in your spare time.
Recently started N2 kanji and grammar.
by Sbua248_ on Jun 16, 2026
Hi! Thank you so much for the information!🫶🏻
Which ISI campus did you attended? Did you ended up staying in Japan, getting a job there or studying something else? Or you went back to your country?
by untoasted-glitch on Jun 17, 2026
Takadanobaba. My case was a bit unusual since I work in a high-demand, technical field and have considerable experience so it was easy for me to find a job (Japanese wasn't even required).
by NovelCarpenter7376 on Jun 13, 2026
ISI Known for heavy work
by SkellieBunnie on Jun 13, 2026
A couple of things to note: you won't be able to work "4-5 hours a day" for more than a couple days a week because you're limited to "28 days in a 7 day period". Doesn't mean working won't help, but schools are going to require that you can support yourself even without a job (in case you can't find one/don't get hired for awhile), so that's something to bear in mind. Most students at my school have a job - classes are about 4 hours a day, morning or afternoon depending on your level, and we don't get specific homework assigned. It's good supplementary income, and obviously great speaking/listening experience.
Beyond that, though, it's just about researching the schools and finding one that sounds like it'll work for you. Reach out to them, see how they respond to your questions. I'm currently at Kyoshin Language Academy in Shiga (they have 9 campuses, including one in Ikebukuro if you really want to be in Tokyo). Shiga has been wonderful - it's quieter than Tokyo, but also a lot less expensive. The school has been phenomenal - I'm in the N2 class right now, and our Thursday class is literally just "future life planning" basically where we work through things like "what do you want to do with your life" and "how to get there". We just did a mock job/school entrance interview last week, and this week we went to a "meet and greet" thing for a bunch of senmon gakkou. We work from some JLPT graded books like the TRY books and "Kanji workbook" for some material, but most of what we study isn't "JLPT oriented" and we have tons of dedicated speaking practice beyond just answering the odd question in class (we have to give a presentation on "universal (accessible) design in the world around us" soon).
Good luck!
by Sbua248_ on Jun 13, 2026
Hi! Thanks so much for the info, I’ll look it up
But the part that I got confused is about the job
I do have a financial guarantee in case I don’t find a job right away and I also have the required savings the schools ask for, for the same reason (in fact I plan on starting looking for a job at my 6th month there)
But the information I had is that every school allows you to have a part time job while this one doesn’t go beyond 28 hours per week, which would be 4 hours per day 7 days a week or 5.5hrs 5 days a week. Like I mentioned I have my savings and all but if I can find a job which allows me to not always be taking money from there I would very much prefer it
That’s what they told me I could do and the information I was given. It works that way or no?
Also did you contact your academy directly or did you use some of those third party websites/companies to do your process until moving to Japan?
by SkellieBunnie on Jun 13, 2026
I'm not sure how the "hours per week" is calculated, I seem to remember something about it being "no more than 28 in any 7 day period" rather than it being "no more than 28 hours from one Monday to the next"? But I admit, I do not have a part time job atm so that would definitely be something to ask the school for clarification on. It's just something to be aware of with all the new anti-foreigner stuff happening.
I did reach out to Kyoshin directly and they were very kind. I applied in April for an October start date, and had to rush a new passport but they helped me work through all the application process and even waited I think an extra week for my passport to arrive. They answered all my questions, and were really thorough with the application documents to ensure the COE processing would go as smoothly as possible (it took a couple months, but no problems and no requests for additional info). Definitely recommend the school, I've had nothing but the best experience here with the staff and the students are great as well. Most everyone is young and south east Asian so as an older white lady I'm definitely out of place and it's a bit hard to make real friends, but everyone has been kind, friendly, and we have no problems talking in class. Just different life places so I don't really hang out with anyone outside class. There's a guy from England and one from Germany in my class and they've made plenty of "outside class" friends both with other students and other people, so if you're out-going and want to hang out a lot, you'll find people here no problem.
by SkittyLover93 on Jun 13, 2026
I have some friends at ALA in Iidabashi and they say it's pretty chill. It's not one of those schools that assume you already know kanji and rush you to N2/N1
by Sbua248_ on Jun 16, 2026
Hi! Thanks so much for the info! I’m trying to get more information about that academy
From what I saw it has related with arts (name give it away haha) do you know what they do related to Art?
Only by the name it already caught my attention, ’ll definitely keep on looking into it because I haven’t heard much about that one
by SkittyLover93 on Jun 16, 2026
They don't do fine art, it's a language school.
https://ala-school.jp/
by abrrrrrg on Jun 13, 2026
I’ve attended intermediate-advanced classes ISI Takadanobaba (career campus) and Ikebukuro. The amount of time you’ll spend studying outside of class really depends on how you study. We don’t get much actual homework, maybe at most an hour a week. But since there are 5-6 kanji a day, 2-4 grammar points a day, and a couple dozen vocab words a week, you may spend a lot of time reviewing. For me, I usually spend at least two hours studying per day, but I take a lot of time to make my own flash cards. Of course, if you only intend to study as much as it takes to pass, you will have a lot more free time.
My main gripe with ISI is the lack of speaking practice. I think there might be more at lower levels, but I haven’t noticed myself improve significantly in speaking for the 9 months I’ve attended. But if you are supplementing with a part-time job in Japanese, and/or clubs and socializing outside of class, this might not be as big of an issue.
by Sbua248_ on Jun 16, 2026
Hi! Thanks so much for the info 🙂↕️
In fact those two schools are the ones I’m most interested in, but I don’t know which campus yet
Does the teaching method or exigence changes depending on the campus? Or are they the same in that aspect? Because I’ve heard that Ikebukuro is more “relaxed” than Takadanobaba, but I don’t really know if that’s true.
Between those two was there one you ended up liking more? If so, which one was it and why?
I also thought that once you chose a school, were accepted and started classes, you weren’t allowed to transfer to another. How did you end up changing campuses? Did you had to pay anything to do it?, was it like an “extraordinary situation” and they made an exception? Or in this case I’d different because you didn’t transfer from one academy to another, but rather changed campuses within ISI itself?
Could you explain more about how that works please? I would really appreciate it, as this is information I’m definitely interested in and could be very useful in case I needed it
Thank you SO much in advance and sorry about that many questions but im a little nervous about making the wrong choice about the academy 😅
by abrrrrrg on Jun 16, 2026
Happy to help!
I’m not entirely sure if the teaching method as set by admin differs at each campus. I was only at baba for one semester and have been at Ikebukuro for two now, but it seems like every teacher has a different style. Of the four main teachers I had at baba, I liked two of their teaching styles. Of the 8 I’ve had at ikebukuro, I haven’t really liked any, to be honest. This is mainly based on how engaging the class is and how much speaking practice we get. But this could be all chance! I had a great elective teacher at Ikebukuro who I wish was one of my main teachers. I also suspect that classes might be more engaging at lower levels; most people in my class don’t really participate so it’s kind of hard to enjoy.
Are you considering the Takadanobaba career campus, not the academic one? One thing I didn’t like about the career campus was that we had to take two electives. If I remember correctly, we had to choose between EJU and JLPT, and between 進学(continuing education like technical college) and 就職活動 (job hunting). But you had to do that every semester. So if you intended to get a job after you’re done with language school you’d end up taking the same 就職 elective every semester. At Ikebukuro, we choose one elective each semester and they offer conversation, JLPT, EJU, and 就職I think. Also at Takadanobaba , in the main class, we did a little business Japanese every week. But I think that starts from the intermediate level.
I was able to change campuses because I am a short term student, I only register for one term at a time.
Let me know if you have any more questions and I’ll do my best to help.
by PacketLePew on Jun 13, 2026
Did 1 year at baba full-time. It got me to N3 and very fluent in day to day conversation. I tried to do my IT job on the side, but couldn’t keep up with the coursework so I quit. I figured it would be better down the road that way, and I’ll tell ya after 13 years, that was absolutely the right decision. I got hired at Rakuten right out of the course.
by Sbua248_ on Jun 14, 2026
Your job was part time? Or full?
by PacketLePew on Jun 14, 2026
Full time at a Fortune 500. Had to choose between prestige and money vs. living my dream.
by drafthard on Jun 15, 2026
I'm at ISI right now! While I don't do baito, I have many classmates that work and they manage. Schools program actually teaches you, we have daily homework, weekly tests, etc.
by Sbua248_ on Jun 16, 2026
Thank you for your response ❤️ At which ISI Campus are you?
Because i'm 99.9% sure I'm picking ISI too but idk wich campus between Ikebukuro, Takadanobaba and Shinjuku
How's your experience so far? Are classes and homework okay?
by drafthard on Jun 16, 2026
I'm not in Tokyo campus, so idk about those, sorry, but since they're all pretty close to each other, I imagine there wouldn't be any difference between them, lol. Personally for me it's not that difficult, program is made for it to be easy to comprehend, and teachers really go out of their way to make sure you understand. For homework, we have kanji + 語彙 daily, and 文法 after we finish each chapter of the book, and weekly 作文. Also have mini tests every week and daily kanji dictation. Overall I like it a lot.
by drafthard on Jun 16, 2026
Also, saw your post about dorm/share house so I'll write about that here as well. I stay in apartment because it's more cost effective, dorm is pretty overpriced for what you get, even cheapest one, you stay in one room with 2-3 ppl, and I'm renting an apartment for little over that, lol. My classmates who stay in a dorm say it's not good, rooms are small and old and unkept. Idk how situation with that is in Tokyo, but iirc it's not ISI's own dorms, they just "rent" it from other places and have their students stay there. Look into LeoPalace apartments, they're not that expensive and foreigner friendly!
by [deleted] on Jun 16, 2026
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