High School Exchange in Japan

High School Exchange in Japan
4.8
43 4.8

Living in Japan as an Exchange student? it's possible! Participate in this High school exchange in Japan and improve your Japanese!

Study abroad and immerse yourself in the ancient culture of this Asian country by living with a Japanese family and attending high school. Experience a full cultural immersion for a semester or academic year with Nacel! Start your Japanese Culture Journey Abroad, choose a High School Study Abroad in Japan.

Note: this exchange program in Japan is unfortunately only open to students from the USA, Canada, Ireland, and the UK.

Looking for a Japanese summer course? Discover our Summer camps in Japan

high school study abroad in japan - Exchange Student arrival in Japanexchange program in japan - Student from Brazil enjoying his time with Japanese Classmatesexchange program in japan - Exchange students having a traditional japanese dinnerHigh School Exchange program in Japan - International Students during orientation camp in Japanhigh school study abroad in japan - Student farewell partyhigh school exchange in japan - Japanese Studentsstudent exchange in Japan - Join our High School Program in Japan
  • study abroad Japan
  • age from 15 to 18,5 years old
  • Language Japanese
  • dates September to January or June, March to July or January
  • length Term, Semester, Academic Year
  • price from 1090000 JPY
High School Exchange in Japan : Description

Be an exchange student in Japan

Your Exchange Program in Japan with Nacel International.
During the high school exchange in Japan, international students will be hosted by a volunteer Japanese host family and will attend classes in a local Japanese high school. Japanese teachers will assist students in their integration process, because they are aware that exchange students contribute to the development of the cultural life of their school. Education has been and is still an important issue in the Japanese society: Japanese high schools expect exchange students to maintain high academic standards and to participate actively in the school life during their stay in Japan.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PROGRAM IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS FROM USA, UK and IRELAND. Students with a different mother tongue and citizenship than English can unfortunately not participate in this program. 
If you are not a native English speaker, consult us, we may have other available option for you in Japan! 
Discover our Japanese summer courses for high school students

What should I expect from my school year in Japan?

The Japanese educational system can be outlined as follows: 6 years in primary school, 3 years in junior high school, 3 years in senior high school and 4 years at University. The high school is called "Kotogakko", and 94% of students who have successfully passed the previous period called "Chugakko" keep on studying through higher education. Subjects are designed to last through 3 years. There are 2 kinds of programs: the general program (Language, Mathematics, etc...) and the professional program (Industry, Trade, etc...). Students wear a school uniform.

Students start their program in early September and finish it end of January (semester) or end of June (academic year). Students may also arrive late March and end their program end of July (semester) or end of January (academic year).

Study Abroad in Japan

The host families are chosen with great care and are proud to share their culture and daily life; generally speaking they are able to speak a little English. 

Graduation is not possible during your exchange program in Japan.

High School Exchange in Japan : Video
High School Exchange in Japan : Accommodation

High School Study abroad in Japan and live with a host family, half board on weekdays, full board on weekends.

High School Exchange in Japan : Procedures

Please request more information through the contact form.  

High School Exchange in Japan : Prices

High School exchange program in Japan

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PROGRAM IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS. Consult us if you have a different mother tongue.  

* Price in Japanese Yen per participant. Invoice is issued in US Dollars and the final amount will be determined based on the exchange rate of the day when the invoice is issued. 

Not included : Application Fees (65 EUR)

On offer: 



Price includes

  • Administration fees
  • Host school placement
  • Host family accommodation with half board on weekdays, full board on weekends
  • Airport pick-up and transfer on arrival and departure on requested dates
  • Support, assistance and 24-hour emergency phone number during the whole program.


Price does not include

  • International airfare
  • Travel insurance (luggage lost, flight delay etc.)
  • Visa, passport and medical exam fees
  • Local transport to and from school
  • Books and materials, school and sports uniforms, school excursions and trips, lunches on schooldays
  • Extra activities organized by the school
  • Supplement for airport pick up and transfers on other dates/hours than the ones requested
  • Extra language courses
  • Orientation camp
  • Transportation to orientation venue as well as meals during orientation
  • National Health Insurance
  • Personal expenses and pocket money
  • Medical, Liability and Emergency Repatriation Insurance
High School Exchange in Japan : Deadline
Apply at least 5 months before arrival.
High School Exchange in Japan : Eligibility

Students must be interviewed in their home country before being accepted for a High School exchange in Japan.
A minimum of 2 years of Japanese study and good academic results are required in order to be able to participate to this Japanese High School Program. The language skills must be sufficient to communicate in a school environment as well as in the family life. Because of the difficulty of the language, a strong motivation is essential.

High School Exchange in Japan : Testimonials

My name is Angela, I am from Romania and I have participated in the high-school one year program in Japan [when I was 15 years old]. […]Learning the language from scratch in Japan made me feel like I was born again. I had the chance to learn again not only a new language, but new feelings, new emotions. I decided that I had to stay for another year in order to fully accomplish my goals there. […] It was more like an experience of learning about people and understanding myself in a different environment. My host family helped me a lot in this process. After going over a few cultural shocks and misunderstandings, soon my host mother became my best friend, the person who would not only teach me about Japan, but about life as well.

(15)
 
 
 

“Hello! I am Nandinzul from Mongolia. My Japanese name is Nami-chan. I lived in Japan for about one year. My host family, school, and the local coordinator were the most important things to me. I had two older host sisters and one younger host brother in my family. In my family in Mongolia I also have two older sisters and one younger brother, so it was very normal and comfortable for me. Of course from the start my host family was kind and happy. I didn’t understand Japanese well, so I didn’t talk much with my host father and brother, and my host sister Nonchan was busy with college and my host sister Kacchan was in France. So every day I was asked many things, for example “how was school today”, Mongolia culture, or various things, my host mom though it was really important to speak Japanese. Also every day without realizing my Japanese gradually got better and now I can speak with my family normally. When my host sister returned from her yearlong in France, we could talk about our similar experiences. It was great! There was not a lot of difficulties between me and my host family. I did have one difficulty during my stay, I caught a bad cold. My host mom took me to the doctor and bought medicine for me. With together my host mom we have cooked together, we gone out to eat at many places (because I like meat), she’s dressed me up in a Kimono, and took me to the ocean. Through these things we steadily became closer. I am thankful for this time we spent together. Of course I don’t want to thank only my family, but also my host family’s relatives (grandma and grandpa) and the local coordinator. I am super lucky that I got to meet such nice and warm people.

My first day of school, I thought that this high school was wonderful. We wore uniforms and I was happy I could experience a real Japanese girl’s high school life. It was difficult to make friends but I was able to learn interesting things from my teachers, I joined a club (I played the clarinet), and joined the school festival. At the festival I participated in various ball sports and singing. Also, the Japanese my principle taught me was fun. I am happy I came to Japan and met everyone. I was able to meet exchange students from various countries. The twelve of us only met once every three months but from the beginning we were always together and seemed like we were always good friends. We improved our Japanese together and did our best. I have made a lot of friends and now I want to visit a lot of different countries. At first, I didn’t understand anything, but I thought it was important to be with everyone every hour, minute, and second.  So from then on I tried harder and harder to speak in order to become a diplomat. For this year, for helping me open up my future, to my host family, school, thank you so very much!”

 Nandinzul, from Mongolia

 
 
 

“From a year ago, my world has steadily become bigger. At first I was a selfish person who didn’t care able the feelings of others. Because I did not open my heart, I had a lot of difficult experiences.  There was also a time where I thought about returning home, but then I realized that this experience is not only my experience, so I decide to stay until the end. I decided this thanks to my host family and the local coordinators that are always by my side. Because my teachers and my schoolmates all watch over me, I have not really gotten home sick. I apologize because I think I am always being taken care of and causing the people around me trouble. Because of everyone I have met and all the experiences I have, I was able to grow up. I am very grateful for them. I returned home, but I will not say goodbye. I have made a family here, so someday I want to come back. This year has been an irreplaceable time and I will never forget it. I hope everyone the best. Thank you and take care!” Andra, from Romania  

 
 
 

It really was life changing for Guy and something he will never forget. He made so many friends and most importantly, he became a young man and grew up a lot and became even more resilient and determined to keep reaching for bigger and better things for himself.
He gained a big sense of self confidence. In Japan, he realized that it was up to him to stretch and make sure he made solid connections with people and he really did that with all 3 families he stayed with, and then gained the confidence to engage fully at school. So much so they asked him to be part of their new flyer to advertise the school to new students!

In addition, he met lots of kids from different countries through the program and now is excited to make plans once travel can resume to meet these, as well as his Japanese friends, in the future, either in Europe, the US or Japan. Not bad for age 16! I believe his mind was really opened and he blossomed. Even though he went there to improve his language skills, in his mind, he actually got a lot more from the program than he expected but it was better than we hoped for as his parents.

I know that these programs are invaluable for their cultural educational opportunities and for improving education and giving young people a really strong foundation.

(16)
 
 
 
Looking for an Advice?
Need Support?
Share with us your details and we will contact you shortly.
Nacel Educational Travel Japan
Inquire Here
xs
sm
md
lg