I’m visiting Japan for about 5 weeks (Tokyo for over half that) and would like to find an affordable but quality tutor in Tokyo to help me learn basic Japanese. I’ve tried looking on metropolis.co.jp, but no luck.
Suggestions? I’m looking to start asap.
I may go tomorrow and visit Japanese language schools and ask if they have a teacher who takes on students on the side for extra tutoring help.
Hi! In most countries I wouldn’t recommend it, but in Japan Craigslist is actually quite reliable for things like this. Obviously keep your wits about you, but it can be a good place to find teachers. I noticed Ako Kitamura (@akokitamura) on twitter is offering summer lessons and she’s lovely!
I’d try posting in some Meetup groups or even on LinkedIn before going round to schools. Even schools that have non-full time teachers aren’t likely to tell you who is teaching privately on the side. That is a taboo in schools - to have teachers that do private lessons. They are naturally afraid that teachers skim students. This is especially true because schools are generally charging students around twice as much as the teachers are getting paid for private or semi-private lessons.
I do know of one person who used the service offered by the Shinjuku Council, even though they weren’t a resident at the time. These are done by volunteers, so your mileage may vary, but I have heard good things from them. Probably not best if you are a little bit advanced though.