Classes Focused on Japanese for Daily Life
Japanese for Daily Life classes are available for foreign residents living, working, or studying in Tomakomai.
Our certified volunteer teachers will focus on helping students learn Japanese that is necessary to navigate living in Japan.
１．Class Time/Frequency：Classes will be held once or twice a week. Classes are available during Tomakomai City Hall’s standard operating hours (weekdays from 8:45 to 17:15).
※Class Time will be determined based on student and teacher availability.
※Class schedules will be decided on a month to month basis.
２．Location： Classes will be held either at the International Salon located on the 7th floor of Tomakomai City Hall OR at the Tomakomai Shimin Katsudou Center (苫小牧市民活動センター).
３．Eligible Students： Those who have not passed the JLPT N3 or acquired B1 proficiency in Japanese are eligible to take classes at the salon. A level check will be administered to prospective students after they apply in order to determine eligibility.
※Students will be considered “graduated” from the International Salon once they have achieved B1/N3 proficiency.
４．Class Intake Period/Class Start Times：New classes start four times a year in April, July, October, and January.
※If a prospective student applies between intake periods, they will need to wait until the start of the next set of classes to begin lessons.
５．Duration of Study：Students will be able to study at the International Salon for a maximum period of 1~2 years depending on their starting level.
６．Application Procedure：For those wishing to study at the International Salon, please fill in the Google Form below.
やさしいにほんご（Easy Japanese）
English
简体中文（Chinese）
Tiếng Việt（Vietnamese）
Bahasa Indonesia（Indonesian）
မြန်မာဘာသာ / ျမန္မာဘာသာ（Burmese）
नेपाली（Nepali）
ภาษาไทย（Thai）
Français（French）
※Our staff will contact you after reviewing your application, so please be sure to include an easy way to contact you on your application.
For questions regarding studying at the International Salon or for those wishing to take classes, please feel free to contact the Innovation Project Office at Tomakomai City Hall 📞
More information regarding classes will be provided once a student completes the level check and is deemed eligible to study at the International Salon.
Community/ Cultural Exchange Focused Japanese Language Events
For those who wish to study Japanese but have already attained N3/B1 proficiency, we offer culture focused Japanese language events.
The salon will recruit registered Japanese volunteers to speak with foreign residents at the event.
Once the details of an exchange event have been confirmed, we will post the information to the International Salon’s Official Line and Facebook.
Japanese Language Study Consultation Events
For those who are self-studying Japanese, we provide the opportunity to consult with Japanese teachers about how to best study the language.
Students of any level are welcome to participate in study consultation events.
※Students may consult teachers about the following topics during their consultations（Please note that study consultations are not classes）
・Study Materials（Textbooks/Resources）
・Concepts they have had trouble understanding during their self-study
・How to study Japanese
・Where to study Japanese
Once a study consultation event had been confirmed, we will post information about the event to the International Salon’s Official Line and Facebook.
Free Online Resources for Studying Japanese
For those who are unable to attend classes or for those who are waiting for classes to begin, there are several free online resources and applications that can be used to study Japanese at home. We have listed those resources by type/purpose below.
These resources are not created or regulated by Tomakomai City Hall. For questions regarding individual resources, please contact the provider of each resource directly.
Japanese Language Learning Platform
〇 Minato
Resources for Studying Hiragana, Katana, and Kanji
〇 Marugoto Plus Hiragana
〇 Marugoto Plus Katakana
〇 Hiragana Memory Hint➡ iPhone / Android
〇 Katakana Memory Hint➡ iPhone / Android
〇 Kanji Memory Hint➡ iPhone / Android
Online Courses
〇 Irodori Online
〇 Marugoto Online
Videos/Video Series for Studying Japanese
〇 TSUNAHIRO
〇 Easy Japanese(NHK WORLD-JAPAN)
〇 Activate Your Japanese(NHK WORLD-JAPAN)
