Fukuoka is a surprisingly cheap place to stay, despite being a major city.
Here are the costs of accommodation with Genki Japanese language school, compared with the average costs in Australia (just because we happen to have them on hand). All prices are in US dollars, based on the current exchange rate, and per week.
Cost of residence/dormitory accommodation
Australia: ~$270
GenkiJACS: ~$150
Cost of homestay accommodation
Australia: ~$265
GenkiJACS: ~$175
Accommodation in Fukuoka is also significantly cheaper than Tokyo, which helps to reduce the overall cost of your Japanese study. And living costs are low too, with restaurant meals with drink included available for just 500 yen ($6) from restaurants all over the city - the so-called ワンコイン (one coin) plate. Save your money, come to Fukuoka!
Here are the costs of accommodation with Genki Japanese language school, compared with the average costs in Australia (just because we happen to have them on hand). All prices are in US dollars, based on the current exchange rate, and per week.
Cost of residence/dormitory accommodation
Australia: ~$270
GenkiJACS: ~$150
Cost of homestay accommodation
Australia: ~$265
GenkiJACS: ~$175
Accommodation in Fukuoka is also significantly cheaper than Tokyo, which helps to reduce the overall cost of your Japanese study. And living costs are low too, with restaurant meals with drink included available for just 500 yen ($6) from restaurants all over the city - the so-called ワンコイン (one coin) plate. Save your money, come to Fukuoka!
14/05: Beach weather in Fukuoka!
It's raining today, but recently the weather has been lovely here. Last weekend one of the beaches at Odo Park was full of people digging for アサリ (clams).
It's also the start of barbecue season! The park was full of people doing just that.
Nobody was swimming, but it was certainly warm enough to! We have a massive beach barbecue planned as a school event for the national holiday on July 16th, with about 150 people expected to come - we can't wait!
It's also the start of barbecue season! The park was full of people doing just that.
Nobody was swimming, but it was certainly warm enough to! We have a massive beach barbecue planned as a school event for the national holiday on July 16th, with about 150 people expected to come - we can't wait!
We are proud and humbled to receive an Excellence Award for 2012, our 4th consecutive year of receiving this award! The award is based on evaluations of the school by former students, and is done by Languagecourse.net, an independent third party. We're so happy to hear that our students enjoyed their study with us, and have consistently given us the highest rank of evaluation.
From Languagecourse: "Only the very best schools receive the Excellence Award ... The feedback of your clients showed that your school did excellent work in providing satisfied customers throughout the last year."
We look forward to satisfying students for 2012, 2013, and possibly the rest of time!
23/03: New reception photo
We hung a beautiful photo print of some of our staff members at the Genki Japanese language school reception recently.
Staff don't have the free time it takes to put on kimonos for work every day, unfortunately, so this is the next best thing. A lovely way to welcome everyone who comes to our Japanese school, I'm sure you'll agree!
Staff don't have the free time it takes to put on kimonos for work every day, unfortunately, so this is the next best thing. A lovely way to welcome everyone who comes to our Japanese school, I'm sure you'll agree!
In addition to the plethora of cheap airlines starting to offer domestic flights this year, China's Spring Airlines has begun flights between Shanghai and Saga Airport (about 1 hour's drive from Fukuoka) for just 3000 yen each way! This is by far the cheapest way to get to Shanghai from here, and a great way to spend a weekend! We recommend all of our students to visit China once while in Fukuoka.
Ironically, since discount airlines offering flights between Fukuoka and Tokyo haven't started yet, currently the cheapest way to get from Tokyo to Fukuoka is through Shanghai! Fly from Ibaraki airport to Shanghai for 4000 yen one-way, then from Shanghai to Fukuoka for 3000 yen, for a total of just 7000 yen. There is only one flight each day, so you might have to spend the night, but we wouldn't recommend passing through Shanghai without having a look round anyway!
Ironically, since discount airlines offering flights between Fukuoka and Tokyo haven't started yet, currently the cheapest way to get from Tokyo to Fukuoka is through Shanghai! Fly from Ibaraki airport to Shanghai for 4000 yen one-way, then from Shanghai to Fukuoka for 3000 yen, for a total of just 7000 yen. There is only one flight each day, so you might have to spend the night, but we wouldn't recommend passing through Shanghai without having a look round anyway!
Students on GenkiJACS' long-term student visa course graduated from our partner Japanese language school, FICC, last week. Congratulations to everyone who successfully completed their Japanese course!
The long-term Japanese course is a great way to improve your Japanese ability, of course. But it is also a great way to go on to a university or college in Japan, or even just to get the language ability required for a job here. If you're interested in the courses, send us an email - but do it early, as application deadlines are early!
11/03: Cherry blossom in Fukuoka!
We visited Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine this weekend, and the cherry blossoms have already started to, well, blossom!
The official "season", when the cherry blossoms are at their most beautiful, is expected to be from March 24th to April 8th this year. The top sakura-watching spot in Fukuoka is Ohori Park and Maizuru Park (two connected parks in the center of the city). The cherry blossoms around the remains of Fukuoka Castle there will be lit up from March 28th. It'll be busy, but definitely recommended! More details (in Japanese) here.
07/03: Staff changes at GenkiJACS
April is the time of change in Japan - the new school year starts, people move house, and quit old jobs or start new ones. We have two personnel changes at GenkiJACS too.
First, the bad news: Our accommodation manager Ayako-san will be leaving us, for the best possible reason! She's due to give birth to her first child in June, and will go with her husband back to her family home in central Japan. We'll have a message from her for everyone soon, but in the meantime, if anyone has a message you want to pass on to her, send it to info@genkijacs.com and we'll pass it on to her!
Second, the good news: our former accommodation manager Mai-san will be coming back, this time with baby in tow! Her lovely daughter Maddy-chan is old enough to crawl around now. We're all looking forward to having Mai-san back again, but maybe even more, we're looking forward to seeing Maddy-chan each day!
Just in case you're worried, administrative manager Yuuki-san will of course be continuing on as planned, and we look forward to serving all of our students with an even stronger team this year!
First, the bad news: Our accommodation manager Ayako-san will be leaving us, for the best possible reason! She's due to give birth to her first child in June, and will go with her husband back to her family home in central Japan. We'll have a message from her for everyone soon, but in the meantime, if anyone has a message you want to pass on to her, send it to info@genkijacs.com and we'll pass it on to her!
Second, the good news: our former accommodation manager Mai-san will be coming back, this time with baby in tow! Her lovely daughter Maddy-chan is old enough to crawl around now. We're all looking forward to having Mai-san back again, but maybe even more, we're looking forward to seeing Maddy-chan each day!
Just in case you're worried, administrative manager Yuuki-san will of course be continuing on as planned, and we look forward to serving all of our students with an even stronger team this year!
The busiest season at GenkiJACS is always summer vacation (June through August), and this year looks to be no exception. In fact, we're filling up even quicker than normal. So to everyone who is interested in learning Japanese with us this summer, we recommend booking as early as possible, to guarantee yourself a place! As a Japanese language school, we don't want to have to turn anybody away, so we're doing what we can to increase summer capacity too. Looking forward to seeing you this summer!
Genki Japanese language school students will enter Ikea's dance contest, to celebrate the opening of their Fukuoka store this April! We'll be sending a team to dance a unique, GenkiJACS 盆踊り ("bon-odori"), inspired by home furnishings. Up to 30 teams will enter, so the competition will be tough, but we fancy our chances - no other team will have so many Swedish people! The best part, though, is that the competition will be televised. Hopefully we'll have something to show you on Youtube shortly afterwards. Wish us luck!
Official website of the competition (in Japanese) here.
