Help for a Trip to Japan?

Question:

okay, i'm a 15 year old english male, and i'm interested in going to Japan in 3-4 years and learning japanese, how would i go about this? and preferably it would be for 4-6 months, i've already started saving, how much money would i need for this? (£ or $) thankyou for any help you can give :)

and yes i know, 4-6 months isn't enough time to learn perfect japanese, it's an extremely complex language compared to my own, but it would certainly give me a good start to learning the language. thankyou again :)

Answer:

Preparation is essential. If you don't, you'll wound up like I did, being in front of the map of the Tokyo subway and wondering what to do when all was written in Japanese (it turned out ok, because around the corner, there was a map with names written in English alphabet).

So, get accustomed to Japanese, for a 15 year-old a great series to help you dive in is Japanese in Mangaland (see link).

Seeing how you are a student, I would try to go down the route of a student exchange program. These are programs that permit students to live 6 months to a year abroad. You would be living with a host family. This would help keep the cost of living in Japan low, help you get quickly up to speed on local customs, help you develop the language and help you see Japan as a local rather than a tourist (the two are VERY different).

If you try to go there as a tourist, give yourself more than 3-4 years. Things are super expensive there and you'll need a solid income to save enough to be there for more than a week or two.