Ren-san

Language School Staff・Waseda, Tokyo・Language school → working in Japan

For a better future for his family, he came to Tokyo with N2 in hand — from language school all the way to working in Japan.

Profile

From: Taiwan (family restaurant)
Route: Language school
Enrolled: October 2025
Japanese: N2 before arriving
Family: Married, two children
Based in: Waseda, Tokyo
Tuition: ~¥800,000 / year
Monthly cost: ~¥100,000 / month
Now: Staff at Waseda Keifuku Language Academy (admin, admissions, student support)

Before coming to Japan, Ren helped out at his family's restaurant. Married with two children, he hoped to give his family a better environment — and, while the kids were still young, to try living abroad for a few years and see if they could adapt. He studied Japanese for two years and passed N2 before arriving, and in October 2025 he enrolled at Waseda Keifuku Language Academy in Shinjuku, Tokyo — the school he has since graduated from, and now works at. This is his first-hand record of studying and living in Japan.

About Me

I'm Ren Zhong-hao. Before coming to Japan, I helped out at my family's restaurant. I studied Japanese for two years and passed the N2 exam before I came to study. In October 2025, I enrolled at a language school.

Why Japan

Ren-san's family of four looking at Mt. Fuji by the lake

I'm married with two young children, and I wanted to give my family a better environment for the future. I also wanted to try living abroad for a few years while the kids were still small, to see whether we could all adapt to it.

Choosing a School & Preparing

At first I also considered the Business Manager visa, but given how high the cost is and how it isn't necessarily easy to maintain, in the end I chose the lower-barrier, most-traveled path: studying at a language school.

Before I officially came to study — and before I'd even decided on a school — I had already bought the place we planned to live in. Later, during a short stay, I happened to learn about the school I eventually attended: it was very close to my home. The staff were warm and helpful, Waseda is a convenient area with a strong study atmosphere, and the tuition and everything else suited me — so in the end I chose to study here.

Applying was smooth because a teacher guided me one-on-one. Only a few documents had to be mailed as originals; most just needed to be scanned and sent to the school. From officially applying, to submitting and revising documents, to finishing, it only took a little over a week.

Tuition back then was around ¥800,000 a year, which I paid before arriving. My own living costs in Tokyo run a bit over ¥100,000 a month — roughly half eating out and half cooking at home, with the occasional little treat. It's a budget that doesn't feel especially tight.

What Student Life Is Really Like

Once you actually live in Japan, you find that many things can't be done on the spot the way they can in Taiwan — you basically have to book weeks, or even months, in advance. And even once you've got an appointment, it usually takes quite a while before the task is actually finished. There isn't much coordination between one office and another, so you often can't get more than one thing done in a single place. The inconveniences during that early "painful period" right after arriving were what I found hardest to get used to.

During my time as a student I didn't take a part-time job, so after my morning classes ended, I'd mostly head home to cook, rest a little, and in the evenings usually go out to meet friends or join events.

Challenges & What I Gained

His child walking through a Japanese garden after snowfall

Because my wife and two children were still in Taiwan, there were times after coming to Japan when I missed them badly and the thought of giving up would surface. But whenever I thought about being able to give my family a better environment down the road, I'd decide I should keep pushing on.

Looking back on this chapter, both my family and I have grown. I've found that only after coming to study here could I see Japan — and my home, Taiwan — from a different angle. My perspective and my heart have both grown wider; I complain about my circumstances far less than before, and I try harder to adapt to whatever situation I'm in.

Where I Am Now & A Word to You

Right now I work at Waseda Keifuku Language Academy in Shinjuku, Tokyo, handling administration, admissions, and student support. For me, that time as a student was a wonderful bridge into really living in Japan: your schedule at language school is fairly free, you get to meet all kinds of people, and you can strengthen your language skills; whenever I ran into a problem, I could always talk it over with a teacher. It was a truly precious stretch of time.

To everyone hesitating over whether to try living in Japan — whether through study or some other route — I'd say this: we've all had that urge to change our circumstances. As long as you're willing to begin, and to steadily complete the goal right in front of you one step at a time, the rest you can leave to time and effort. One day, we really will arrive at the place we once longed for.

As long as you're willing to begin — and finish the goal in front of you one step at a time — the rest you can leave to time and effort.

In Photos

Cherry blossoms in full bloom along a Tokyo riverside in spring.

His groceries. He says his days in Tokyo are split roughly half eating out, half cooking at home.

His family and child in front of a flower bed.

Waseda University's Okuma Auditorium — the neighborhood where he studies and lives.

Come find Ren-san at Waseda Keifuku Language Academy

Shinjuku, Tokyo — 2 min from Waseda Station・A mid-sized school of 440 students, mostly Chinese-speaking

Visit Waseda Keifuku Language Academy

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