I don’t have a japanese bank account yet. And I am currently in my home country (waiting for visa to get processed).
I heard Western Union is super expensive. And there is something called Wise I saw.
which services do you guys recommend?
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Hi everyone,
I’m from India and I’m currently trying to go to Japan through the SSW route, specifically Construction – Building 1.
I recently failed the Building 1 skills assessment for the second time, and honestly, I’m struggling to understand what exactly I’m doing wrong.
Before this, I passed JFT-Basic on my first attempt with 225/250, so I know I’m capable of studying and clearing these exams. My Japanese isn't perfect, but I can understand basic workplace Japanese and I’ve been studying consistently.
The problem seems to be the Construction exam.
For my first attempt, I prepared mainly by studying the available material and doing practice questions. But when I actually took the exam, a lot of the questions felt very different from what I had practiced. There were questions where I understood the individual words but still wasn't sure what the question was actually asking.
I thought maybe I simply needed more practice, so I prepared again and took it a second time.
Unfortunately, I failed again.
This time I tried to focus much more on the theory, practical questions, terminology, safety, tools, construction processes, etc. I also did many mock tests and was getting reasonably good scores in practice.
But again, the actual exam contained many questions that I wasn't expecting. Some were more logical/situation-based, and some used wording or concepts that I hadn't encountered much in my practice.
The most frustrating part is I don't even know exactly where I am falling short.
If I knew, for example, "I'm weak in scaffolding," or "I'm weak in construction materials," or "my Japanese reading is the problem," I could work on that specific area.
But right now it feels like:
Practice → good enough scores → actual exam → unfamiliar questions → fail → repeat.
I don't want to keep taking the exam blindly.
So I'm hoping people who have actually passed SSW Construction Building 1 can give me some advice:
What did you use to prepare?
How different were the actual questions from the official/sample questions?
Did you study Japanese construction terminology separately?
How much of the exam is memorization vs understanding the situation?
What kind of mistakes did you make before eventually passing?
Is there any preparation material that you found genuinely useful?
Most importantly, how did you identify your weak areas?
I'm still considering one final attempt, but I don't want to just repeat the same preparation for a third time and hope for a different result.
I would really appreciate honest advice from people who have taken and passed the Building 1 exam.
Thank you.
Hello, I am a freshman computer science major based in America. I'm looking to study abroad in Japan next year, but I'm having trouble deciding which program to choose. I am deciding between Waseda, Kyoto University, Nagoya University, and Chuo University.
The factors I am considering are the quality/transferability of the classes, the prestige of the school, and the overall atmosphere. I know that computer science in Japan isn't really at the same level of quality as it is here in America, but I'd like to at least be able to advance my degree a little bit while I'm there, since the language/culture credits won't count because I already have all my gen ed credits. I know prestige doesn't really matter all that much because it's only one year study abroad but still.
Obviously, Waseda and Kyoto University would be the best for job-hunting since they have the most prestige (although I'm not entirely sure if I want to work in Japan in the future yet). One thing is that I've travelled to Japan once before and while I enjoyed my time in Tokyo and Kyoto, it was a bit overstimulating and imo there were too many tourists like me. I also was able to get around using just English, so I wasn't really able to practice my Japanese well. The other problem is that the Waseda and Kyodai programs are very competitive and there are very few slots available.
As for Chuo University, I talked to a Japanese student from there doing an exchange at my school and he didn't really seem to like it there. Other than that, I don't know much about it other than it's also in Tokyo.
I don't know much about Nagoya University either, but I am interested in it since it seems to be a good school for STEM and people say that Nagoya is better for learning Japanese than the other major cities like Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka. However, I hear people have mixed feelings about it though, some say that it's a really boring city while others say it isn't. I said that Tokyo and Kyoto were overstimulating earlier but I'd rather have too many things to do than none during my year abroad.
As for my language ability, I am a self learner who mainly learns by reading books/manga with liberal use of a dictionary, so I might have big gaps in vocab and grammar knowledge. While I am part of my college's Japanese Club and speak with natives semi-regularly, I am not entirely confident in my Japanese ability. One of my main goals while studying abroad is to get nearly fluent in Japanese and avoid only making friends and hanging out with other international students.
There are other schools like Shimane University, Kansai Gaidai, and Aoyama Gakuin, but since those don't have any English computer science classes, I'm not really considering them. There's also Tohoku University but STEM major exchange students are required to participate in individual research, which might be too rigorous for me.
Money isn't really an issue since I have a lot of scholarships (though I'll lose them if I fail classes).
I'll probably apply to all four of them, but I'd like to get a general feel of things before I start working on my applications, so any information would be much appreciated!
I'm in my early 30s and looking to study at a language school in Tokyo for a year or two. I have been running into problems trying to find a school that matches well with what I am looking for but also accepts students who need a psychiatrist. I have a bit of anxiety but my SSRI helps greatly and is not something I am looking to get rid of due to the stability it offers me.
There are a few schools that will potentially accept me as long as my current psychiatrist writes a doctors note, but the schools I am really interested in will not even consider it. I am debating not disclosing this to the schools I am interested in applying to and just taking care of it myself. I am not sure if there is any way they would find out or if it would be a problem if I was already there. From my understanding the issue is that it falls under a mental health disorder and I could be seen as "potentially disruptive to other student's learning experience". This was how it was explained to me but I am not sure if that is true.
In regards to selecting language schools is there anyone out there in a similar situation that found a medium intensity school that catered to people a bit older and preferably western that may be in the same situation as me? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Hi guys!
This is my first post, and I´m sorry if this question has been asked before.
My question is: I´m moving to Japan from Sweden for work (A specialized role), but I´m also in need of a new phone. Would it be recommended to buy a phone from Sweden (iPhone 18 Pro Max) and download all the apps, etc here, or just buy a new phone in Japan? I will be flying back and forth between Sweden and Japan from time to time and will use it for calling ppl normally and not through apps such as Messenger, Instagram, and so on.
And I won´t mind the price of the phone or anything; a starting salary of 8 million yen should be more than enough.
Thanks & all the best
/S
Hi guys! Last year I did a summer abroad in Tokyo at Waseda University and loved it, so ever since I've been considering the idea of moving to Japan for a bit. I've finished my Bachelor's, and so I thought the next logical step would be to go for a Master's in Tokyo. My visa for my current residence (UK) will be elapsing this time next year, and I'm starting Japanese lessons now to prepare to move around that time (or a little later).
But now I'm really asking myself- do I want to do a Master's? I really love studying but the fact that a Master's is mostly independent research does not appeal to me, especially since I'll probably have to have a research topic in place before even applying. My dream scenario is doing a short and structured degree course that would grant me a student visa for around a year. I'm keen to learn Japanese for getting around and daily life, but I do not want to have my sole focus be that.
Does anyone know of any short-term degrees that I could look into? I'm open to it being both theoretical or practical/hands-on. I have a broad interest in the arts and humanities, and ultimately my goal is to learn something interesting while living in a city I want to explore.
Sorry for the long post, any recommendations would be highly appreciated!
I hope this is the right place to ask.
My wife and I obtained a 3 year visa on the basis of her parent’s Japanese citizenship (she was as never added to the family registry. We bought a home but are not in a position at this time to stay more than 2-3 weeks. We got our resident cards on our last visit in July. Retired, so all our income is from the US.
As a frequent visitors, but not residents in the usual sense, should I talk to someone at the city about our obligations under Japanese law? Do I need to register our address at city hall? I’ve not found anything applying to our situation. I don’t want to get in trouble.
Good morning,
I applied for a working holiday visa on Monday last week and I’m picking my passport up tomorrow, I’ve got a feeling that the visa will be denied as I’ve concentrated on the working part and less on the travelling part. If this is the problem will they allow me to re apply or am I screwed?