Hokkaido JaLS — Local services in Sapporo

I had a wonderful and unforgettable 6-week experience (originally 4, but I extended it because I loved it so much!🤣) at Jals🥹 This trip exceeded my expectations for improving my Japanese and experiencing the culture.👍🏻

I apologize for this lengthy review😂—just a disclaimer: no one paid me to write this! It’s my honest opinion about the school and this journey❣️

Group class Before being assigned to a class, I took an online test and filled out a questionnaire. Students can request a class change after the first lesson if needed. Very structured lessons with a fixed syllabus. Can be interactive if students are proactive. The pace felt slow for me, likely because I’m familiar with Kanji (I can read and write Chinese). Lots of repetition, which can be good or bad depending on the learner. Small class size (max. 8), allowing plenty of speaking opportunities. The short essay writing was helpful; I had never written short essays in Japanese before. My class was very interactive (maybe because I was in it! 😂), and my classmates were fun, kind, and curious about Japanese culture. I felt lucky, but I heard not all classes are like that.

Private class I also paid extra for private classes, which were very helpful. I appreciated being able to discuss lesson planning with my teacher. Since I wanted to focus on speaking, we did free talk, discussions, and role play. My teacher corrected my sentences and taught me new vocabulary and grammar to convey my message better, which was a very effective way to learn for me.

Japanese friends❣️ I’m so grateful to have made awesome Japanese friends at Jals! I met some through chatting activities organized by the school, which brought together Japanese and non-Japanese students. We became friends and hung out afterward.🤣

My friends also made Japanese friends by chatting in the lounge. They were Japanese people who come to the school to learn other languages. We all went out for izakaya dinners and karaoke!🤣

The staff are fun, nice, and friendly—definitely my first Japanese friends on this journey. 😘 They are very helpful and caring, often assisting shy students, which I really appreciate. 👍🏻

Activities The school organized many cultural activities—about 3-5 each week! I signed up for most of them.👍🏻 Most of them were fun (my favorites were sushi making and the game center) while some of them were not what I expected, but they all taught me about Japanese culture. Just keep an open mind!❣️

Friends from all over the world I made so many friends here—more than 10 countries! So crazy! 😂 I’m thankful for all the nice people I met; they made my stay special and unforgettable. I hope to see them again in the future. 🥹 Fun fact: my English improved because I hung out so much with them😂 It’s wonderful to have good people to learn Japanese and explore the city with. Thank you, friends! ❣️

Accommodation I was lucky to experience both homestay and private apartment living.

I was fortunate to experience both homestay and private apartment living. My homestay parents were the best! 🥹 They were kind, fun, and chill. I loved watching TV together every night and laughing over random stuff. It was a sweet experience and I learned a lot about Japanese living. I feel lucky to have met such nice people. 😭

The apartment was a good deal—spacious and neat, with all the necessary amenities. It wasn’t fancy, but it was much cheaper compared to Airbnb and hotels.🤣

Both options were good but had trade-offs.

Homestay allowed for local interaction and Japanese practice, plus meals were provided, saving me money and letting me enjoy Japanese home cooking. 🥳 However, homestay are generally farther from school, it took me around an hour to commute, which was inconvenient.

Private apartment was very convenient—just a 20-minute walk from school and close to the city center. This was handy for late nights out with friends, as I didn’t have to rush home.

That’s a lengthy review, more like a travel journal!😂 I hope it helps anyone considering...

JaLS Hokkaido has been a wonderful, meaningful, life-enriching experience.

There have been many magical moments during my time in Hokkaido that I will treasure forever. The day of “Kimono Experience”, we got the opportunity to wear a kimono and brave the cold while taking pictures around Sapporo. To get out of the cold, Misaki-san brought us to a rooftop Ferris wheel with enclosed cabins. As we rode the Ferris wheel, Sapporo came into view from above, the sun was setting, we could see the mountains and, for a brief moment, life was perfect.

The day that we went to Otaru, it was snowing all afternoon and into the evening. Otaru is famous for its “Snow Light Path” Festival near the canal and areas around it. Volunteer guides taught us about the history of Otaru and its culture. We got the opportunity to try our hand at creating the little snow structures that shelter the candles from the winds. As the snow kept falling, we were treated to a beautiful spectacle of lights across the canal and through the lighted paths.

For six weeks, the duration of the Winter course, I learned Japanese. I did Japanese shadowing, memorized conversations, wrote essays, sent a postcard written in kanji, took private lessons, learned kanji and spoke Japanese. For me, the most important, are the new friendships and relationships I was able to make. My fellow students and new friends came from Australia, England, France, Taiwan, Israel, Netherlands, USA, Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, and Thailand. I met many interesting people with different backgrounds, dreams, goals and aspirations but with a shared love of Japanese and Japanese culture.

The JaLS staff really worked hard to make everybody feel at home. They helped connect people on a regular basis and were our cheerleaders everyday. Their friendliness, warmth, and kindness made a deep impression on me. Yuko-san, Misaki-san, Yusuke-san, Tetsuro-san, Kazuya-san, Haruka-san, and Shino-san, thank you for all your hard work! お疲れ様です! A very special thank you to Yuko-san and Misaki-san which, for me, were the heart of activities and cultural experiences. A shout-out to Risa-san who joined on many activities and was so much fun.

The teachers encouraged our learning and challenged us to do better. Because JaLS rotates the teacher lineup frequently I was exposed to different teachers, each with their unique approaches to teaching. Aki-sensei, Harumi-sensei, Asami-sensei, Ritsuko-sensei, Keiko-sensei, and Kaoru-sensei, thank you for all your hard work! お疲れ様です! As the days passed JaLS felt more like family than school.

The activities and cultural experiences gave me an opportunity to get to experience the Japanese culture a little closer. I participated in as many as I could: Welcome Lunch, Bowling Party, Kimono, Kendo, Cross Country Skiing, Japanese Tea Ceremony, Sapporo Beer Museum and Lamb BBQ, Mount Moira Ropeway Sapporo Night-view, Asahiyama Zoo in Winter, Soba Making, Japanese Fan Making with Family Crest, Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival “Hyoto Matsuri”, Japanese Dyeing, Japanese Flower Arrangement, International Exchange Party, Hoheikyo Onsen, Sapporo Snow Festival, Karate, Japanese Chopstick Making, Otaru Winter Festival “Yukiakari no Michi”, Royce’s Chocolate Town, Japanese Drumming,Japanese Paper Making, and Winter Graduation Party. There were other activities I could not participate because I was taking private lessons.

I chose the home stay lodging option that JaLS helped set up and I’m so happy that I did. My host family has been very kind, caring, and supportive. They have been gracious hosts and made me feel like part of the family. My homestay mother, has really taken care of me. I feel so lucky to have stayed with my Japanese family.

Hokkaido is beautiful and Sapporo is lively. I truly believe that if you come to JaLS Hokkaido, you will have an amazing time learning Japanese, immersing into Japanese culture, making new friends and many wonderful...

I've done the Spring seasonal course for 6 weeks and booked a private apartment with Hokkaido Jals. I should mention this was not my first time in Sapporo as I studied before with IAY. Just this time I wanted to give it a go and see what Hokkaido Jals is about as I came across them online quite often.

Their website and whole promotion seemed to focus primarily on cultural activities and fun events which was one of my main decisions why I wanted to give it a try. Sooner I had to discover that most of the things they display on their website are just a facade covered up with many excuses by staff members and sporadic events only...

From application to arriving in Japan I should start by explaining the whole applicaton process which was very smooth and fine at the beginning. I told them that I studied Japanese before and was about JLPT N4 and N5. They offered me to have an online Japanese test and ensured me I will be placed in a suitable group. Another important decision for choosing them was the apartments that they advertised which were supposed to be "fully furnished" (which is NOT TRUE). So I went on and applied with them choosing an online payment method like Wise or Flywire. Once I have done the payment they insisted me having to pay an extra "International Bank Transfer Lifting Charge" of more than ¥4,000. Anybody who has used online payment providers knows that they are cheaper than traditional banks and such fees do not apply because you DO NOT use a bank transfer. So this was not a big deal for me but already created some trust issues.

Another thing I found very suspicious was them insisting to take their airport pickup which is ¥15,000 quite pricy to say the least. I was telling them that I have been to Sapporo before and know how to find my way, but they became less and less willing to compromise. It went to so far that they told me by email to stop creating "trouble and disturbing the peace". This made me quite perplexed and I already felt very uncomfortable.

Japanese Classes I tried to kindly remind them by email but was either ignored or just put on hold. The day came for me to embark for my studies to Japan and I still haven't taken my Japanese level test. So after arriving at the school, they just randomly placed me in a complete beginner class! I cannot imagine this was done on purpose but it felt like the whole management was either completely disorganized or some teachers were simply unqualified. I complained about it and they apologized and promised to place me in an adequate level, which took place in my 4th week. Yes, it took them 3 weeks to place me in a suitable level. Their excuse was that the schedules were too busy and there was no suitable class and teacher. I rather had the impression that they wanted to save up money by squeezing more students in one class. I had 9 classmates at one point which is misleading of what they wrote on their website. On another side I have to say the classes were overall good but 3 classes per day in this setting were not acceptable.

Accommodation The apartment I was placed was fine but again it was not "fully furnished". No tv, no microwave and no washing machine in my room. Just a coin laundry next door I had to use. The other thing was the distance to the school, it was almost 40 minutes away by public transportation. But I have to say the neighborhood was not bad but again not what was previously...