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.

Preparatory News!

As the project is official now, i'll step out of the shadows!

The bosses have been granting me the leave without any problems. I'm quite pleasently surprised!

Starting date will be the 18th of september 2007, i'll return at the end of march 2008.

I even booked the flight already. After a little dispute with the travel agency, i got the there and back ticket for laughable 600€s.
Next step will now be selecting an appropiate language school. But that shouldnt turn out to be too much a hassle, since the correspondance i had so far is quite positiv.
The final unknown so far: should I try to apply for a pre-college visa or not. If so i will have to book a course for 6months at once, meaning augmenting fixed costs: Visa assistance by the school is extra. 1300€ plus.
The consulate told me, i could stay for 6months visa free, only thing required: alien registration as late as 90 days after arrival, followed by extension for another 90.
Let's see...

What's my motivation?

Basicly I wanted to learn one more langugage and live in another contry for some time. Only this time something more different than my stay in Switzerland (which has been rather nice after all).
From the beginnig on my choice has been either an eastern european or an asian country. While the first would have been much more easier to realize and also lucrative of some sort (regarding EUs eastward expansion) my decision fell on the latter.
That is because I wanted getting to know a really different kind of lifestyle and culture, which wouldnt be the case in an european county (who are all very much alike in the end).
So my preferred options narrowed very quickly to either Japan or China. That's based on my fascination for the grafic characters used both in chinese as well as the japanese writen language.
Besides at the final stage of my studies i rather accidently attended a university-course on chinese philosophy, which let my interest grow once more.
Finally I have already been training Iaido (Art of the Sword) for quite some time, so one more thing to make up my mind.
Besides Iaido it's my personal fascination for Japan, which has always been in the background of my perception during early youth, though always present.
There are the well known Cartoons made for European Television, as well as the expanding economy, which made the country in the news (about as much as China today), Tokyo as of beeing some kind of city of the future, where they are already building robots and at the other hand the land where there were samurais: at once a culture beeing in the midst of modern times but at the other hand rooted in a cultural background, which is totally different (That word defintily occurs a lot!) from mine.
So my final decision on focusing on Japan is not really rational, but more rooted in curiousness.

No Yuippie!!!-Now-Me-Too-Im-Writing-A-Blog-Stopping-At-Once-After-
Two-Or-Three-More-Posts-rubbish here!
Practical stuff is to be put here!

What I'm up to (aka My preperations for going to Japan)

Job & Educational stuff

• Looking for a language school
• Try to get an arrangement with my employer.
• Looking for possibilities for jobbing in Japan (Including getting in contact with the chamber of commerce, putting my profile online)

Insurance Matters

• Collect Information about travel isurance
• Get in contact with employment agency (so they wonct cut my claims by wangling interpretations: i paid my dues).
• What help can really be expected from the visa travel insurance?
  

Finance & Money

• Opening a savings account.
• Put back some money (naturally!).
  

Health

• Vaxxination.
• Visiting a physician for preventive examination of health.
• Visiting a dentist for preventive examination of teeth.

I know Im little bit pendantic.