So what about school...

GEOS Kudan (just smile, my dear colleagues, this one happens to be quite a big language school chain) is located in central Tokyo, just a 10 minutes walk from the imperial palace. It belongs to Chioyda business district, but it is not really downtown, the big business places are located in the southeast (Otemachi, Ginza) or even farther off in Shinkuku. Besides the offices present here, you have a lot of universities around, and the lower part of yasukuni-dori (avenue) is full of bookstores.
First school day, was like total chaos! There was the placement-list for all the newcomers, the names written in katakana (the syllable-script for foreign words. No problem writing, but try to find your name on such a list. Furthermore they use forenames, so I had to look twice anyway...). Class started at 13:30 after a short self-introduction by everyone with the teacher just talking rapidly in japanese and – oh my goodness – the students just responding in japanese in a relaxed manner. While i didn't understand anything!
In fact class is held in japanese only. So new vocabulary is described with (mostly) more basic words. This is an overall characteristics of teaching here, things are not explained but shown (in a more or less transparent way). That applies to the structure of exercises as well. With some it took my over 2 weeks to figure out, how they really work (Especially those with pictures only, leaving you just wondering what they are supposed to mean already).
The level of the course I am in, is quite challenging for me, it is at about the level of the university course i took in Austria. But it is much more relaxed and fun, and there is a lot of interaction. Not only plain grammar repetition. After all I am quite positively surprised.
A propos repetition, yes, you have that kind of jointly reading aloud texts, fortunately only for some short times during the whole week.
One more thing: School is crowded, like most places in Tokyo, there is not much space. Classrooms are mall and 15 people fill it up quite well. During the breaks you can stay either in the classroom or in the hallway, where it is crowded. So most of the time I join smokers in the closet (smoking second hand). This is just the only place where you need not constantly give way for someone passing by.

Now it's set!

I finally applied for a language course!

The school I chose is GEOS Kudan, who I have already been in contact with.
The nice contact is one main reason I chose them. Responses have always been rather swift, and they tried their best to help me with my questions.
Furthermore, the price is reasonable (150.000 JPY/term) and they are located not far from the emperors palace, so i hope it will be situated nicely. (In fact it seems to be quite near the (at least internationally) disputed Yasukuni Shrine, so I'll probably be right at the focus of controversy about japanese history).
Lastly, they will organize homestay at a reasonable price either. (By the way, there's a worldwide homestay marketplace online too....)

Anyway, the last few schools I wrote to, didn't reply at all (except one), so it seems to be silly season in Japan too. Actually I'm rather curious how the school will turn out to be.

Have to clear out my appart now, as I'll move out by september 1st.
Ahh, getting rid off all the piled up stuff, that'll be purifiying!

Directly into latest news.....

So i have been working through about hundrets of Tokyo-based language schools, which are more or less very similar. What I'm disappointed of, i found no new ones that organise homestay. So the choice here's quite hard limited down to the three or four Institutes I have been envisaging from the beginning on.
Another thing that astonishes are rather flat tuition fees, which never leave the range between 150.000JPY and 220.000JPY for a term, everything included.
So now I included some more contacts which I think are good picks, for the one or another reason. See the list below:

LABO Japanese Language Institute
focused on "cultural exchange", has severeal language foreign langugae courses, so no Ghetto, about 140.000JPY/3months. No Infos on accomod.
Located:Shinjuku

Tokyo Central Japanese Language School
Includes Teacher-Education, nothing on accomodiation. Course 44.000JPY/month
Located: Shibuya (near Shinjuku, Yoyogi Park)

Tokyo Riverside School
Fall-Term fpr 175.000JPY, no infos on accomodiation
Located:Taito (Ueno, Asakusa, really just at the riverside)

AN Language School
Nice site, only to mention its-"Learner-Based" System, price is 150000/3mon
Located:Toshima (Ikebukuro)

Tokyo Shibaura Institute of foreign Language
No Short-Courses, perhaps on request.
Located:Minato (directly at the harbour!)

Shurin Japanese School
Nice Site, 150.000JPY/term, school-owned dorm, no further infos, Jap.-Teacher education.
Located:Koto (East)

Language Course Research

I'll have to force my search for an aprropriate language school now.
I took me somer time to find it again, but here it is:

Association for the Promotion of Japanese Language Education

The have a list of all the schools over there, included a search by conditions (such as area and price).
So 'ill have to work through it now the upcoming days.

MAPS

Another thing relevant for choosing the rigt school: its location in Tokyo.
Here some links to maps
Tokyo City Map (at japaneselivestyle.com)
Tokyo Special Wards Map (TravelWiki)
Tokyo 23 Wards Map (J-accomodiation)


So long.