Program Reviews

I had a great and constructive experience in Meiji Academy, Fukuoka. My 4 weeks were very intense and productive. The methodology for learning Japanese was very useful to me, through classes in mini-groups. I met new and good friends. Meiji Academy has a way of collecting great people who come from many different countries and are very friendly and kind to each other. We all enjoyed the classes, so all awkward moments of the first day passed by quickly.
I thank and greet to my teachers, their dedication was very important for my learning, I appreciate them very much. They also placed a lot of value on my skill development which I think makes Meiji Academy different than the other language schools
Fukuoka is a wonderful city, and the local festivals are a lot of fun to attend. I would enjoy coming back.
Love from Italy,
Federica

Hey everyone!
First of all, thank you, Meiji staff, for those wonderful weeks! And also thank you to all the beautiful people I could meet there ;)
At first, I wasn't sure about Fukuoka. I have a friend in Kyoto so it would have been cool to go there too. But... definitely no regrets haha!! Fukuoka is a nice city and the Hakata ramen is sooo good. As it was my first time in Fukuoka I was a bit worried, but they came to pick me up at the airport, and then I was placed in a share house with other students of Meiji. It was a relief for me because my Japanese was really bad at the beginning. Now I can speak about daily life matters, and I'm confident I would be able to travel to Japan on my own! I'm super happy about that, cause it was my dream since middle school to learn Japanese!!
Anyway, I can recommend Meiji, the teachers are cool, the staff too, and I improved my skills beyond expectations. Thank you!
PS: summer in Japan is REALLY hot lol

Japan always fascinated me! This summer, I wanted to do something different from my usual summer holiday which I would spend chilling by the beach. So I decided to save up and come to Fukuoka to chill by the beach here :lächeln:
Of course I didn’t just waste my time at the beach but also studied a lot. The summer intensive course that Meiji offers allowed for a fantastic balance between relaxing in the Fukuoka summer heat with a bottle of Pocari sweat (yes, that’s a drink here and it’s surprisingly good) and studying hard to improve your Japanese. My teachers were awesome! One of them even invited me to a BBQ party. What better way to practice Japanese than with locals, aye?
Apart from my teachers, I also got in touch with a lot of other students from a long list of different countries, cities, age groups, educational backgrounds etc. At first I was a bit confused to see 18-year-olds study alongside 25 or even 35 year-olds. But it’s the best thing! I am still in school, indecisive about what to study once I graduate, so talking to all these people about their studies/education/jobs was a huge plus for me!
Thanks Meiji for everything! Japan? I will be back!

Johan Huizinga once wrote: „If we are to preserve culture we must continue to create it.“ I am majoring in Heritage Studies because I love the old and ancient. I strongly believe that in order to understand people, we need to understand their culture, and thus, their traditions. I had been studying Japanese on and off for 3 years before I came to Meiji Academy. When I saw that they offered a traditional class add-on to their standard Japanese classes I was hooked and knew it was the school I wanted to go with. It was a good choice. My Japanese classes helped me to become more confident in speaking, whereas my traditional culture classes helped me grasp the world behind the language. I also added some Kanji classes because I realised the immense meaning behind them. Believe it or not, there is a huge difference between studying Kanji in your local library or having a Japanese person explain them and their story to you. I can say that I have benefitted greatly from studying at Meiji Academy and can recommend it to others who wish to get a deeper insight into the Japanese culture.

I have studied East Asian Studies at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and took Japanese classes at uni and also practised with a tandem partner. But I had never been to Japan! I read about all the traditions, studied the language and often ate sushi, but never knew what all these things are like in reality. It was a dream of mine for the longest time and this year, it finally came true when I started studying at Meiji Academy. I was here for 2 months and took a few weeks of traditional class as well. My highlight was the traditional matcha tea ceremony I attended. I had written papers about Japan’s tea before, so seeing it all in real life was an extraordinary experience for a history buff like me.
Thank you Meiji team for this great time. I can recommend studying with them!

I enrolled in Meiji Academy’s program to prepare for the JLPT N2. It was a great experience. My sensei was top notch. She was patient while teaching us and going over tricky pronunciation. She also created many creative ways for us to interact in Japanese in the classroom. Before I had only studied Japanese with private tutors because my parents wanted me to learn it. At Meiji Academy, for the first time, studying Japanese was fun! They often arranged language exchanges. Not the static kind where you are paired with another person and have to speak about boring topics, but rather fun games and conversations in bars or at the school over takoyaki!
Meiji Academy knows how to teach! The teachers are great at planning their classes and the staff arranges fun ways to practice Japanese outside the classroom. I genuinely looked forward to my classes every day. ありがとうございました!

This year, I spent 5 weeks at Meiji Academy. I am a bloody beginner, so obviously I was not fluent after my classes ended. Still, I learned a lot. The teachers are very helpful and want you to succeed. I would highly recommend this school if you are looking to learn Japanese in Fukuoka. Fukuoka is a bit of a rare choice, but I encourage you to go for a smaller city than Tokyo or Kyoto because it is a lot easier to get in touch with locals here.
My host family was the best! They are exceptionally nice people and if you need something they will help you! The food they prepared was fantastic as well. Yum!
Moreover, I had the chance to participate in different cultural events organized by the school on a regular basis. I always had a lot to look forward to: my traditional culture activities, Meiji Academy events and various trips suggested by external providers where I could meet many new people.
I am now confident in doing some social interaction in Japanese. I still can’t talk much, but at least I can understand some stuff people are saying and writing! That’s a big first step and I am eager to take all the others!

I took the Intensive course with Meiji Academy.
The school building was very easy to find, thanks to the maps and directions the very organized staff members sent to me. The classes themselves were well structured and left plenty of freedom for interaction and personal preferences.
On my first day, I was given my class schedule, the names of my teachers and was brought to a local shrine on a very nice little tour. I had two different teachers, which is a great thing because they could focus on different aspects of my Japanese. I was especially fond of my private classes because they allowed me to identify my weak points.
The team is very flexible and motivated.
Overall, I had a very productive, very enjoyable stay at Meiji Academy. Warmest recommendations!

I took the Intensive course with Meiji Academy.
The school building was very easy to find, thanks to the maps and directions the very organized staff members sent to me. The classes themselves were well structured and left plenty of freedom for interaction and personal preferences.
On my first day, I was given my class schedule, the names of my teachers and was brought to a local shrine on a very nice little tour. I had two different teachers, which is a great thing because they could focus on different aspects of my Japanese. I was especially fond of my private classes because they allowed me to identify my weak points.
The team is very flexible and motivated.
Overall, I had a very productive, very enjoyable stay at Meiji Academy. Warmest recommendations!

Let's go straight to the point;)

Teachers: I couldn't have dreamed of better ones, skilled and very kind! I mostly was the only person in my class.
In general, whole Meiji staff works very hard and was very kind and helpfull with every single matter.

Accomodation: for the first three days we did not have a shower and the school did not organised different place to stay we got some money to use public bath or we could have money back for this week and find different place but we were informed to late to get not very expensive one. But shower is fixed now so don't worry;)

Share house approx:40min by walk from school and by public transport is NOT faster. I really liked the neighborhood and i would highly reccomend if you dont mind to have a bit of walk, i liked there more than i would have the city centre. So it is a good opportunity to see part of the city, away from the busy roads and there is nice forest and viewing ponts near by,

But the most important I LOVE MY HOUSEMATES!:D even so the house itself is not extremely clean but it is spacious and has balcony.That was best possible choice as I could meet amazing people.

Activities: Ok, we went out for meals, karaoke, tea ceremony or language exchange. There were trips organised as well.