Today’s Intrinsiq Client Focus article takes us far, to the exotic land of Japan. In fact, our guests on today’s blog are the fantastic Genki Japanese and Culture School (GenkiJACS).

How did the idea of GenkiJACS start?

GenkiJACS opened in 2004, after the school’s founder Rie Kirby had been studying English in the UK, and taught Japanese to her friends there, before getting her Japanese teacher certification and starting work as a Japanese language teacher in Japan. She worked at several Japanese language schools around Fukuoka City, but found that none of them were the perfect fit for the educational needs of the people she had taught in England. That is when decided to open her own Japanese language school! This was the birth of GenkiJACS.

Rie chose the name “Genki Japanese and Culture School” to represent how truly learning Japanese means not just learning the language, but also the culture – that is, not just what to say, but why to say it. In her own words, “I chose the Japanese word “Genki” to symbolize the energetic attitude and lively nature of our classes”. She opened the first GenkiJACS branch in early 2005 in Fukuoka City, where she had lived for most of her life.

One country, 4 locations

Nowadays, GenkiJACS is spread across Japan with four quality language centres in Fukoka, Tokyo, Kyoto and Nagoya.

Japanese is more than just a language, it is a culture and a way of life

Learning Japanese can be challenging for some people, but it largely depends on your language learning experience, your motivation, and your study habits. Some aspects of Japanese, such as the writing system and grammar, may seem complex and unfamiliar to speakers of non-Asian languages, but the language has a logical structure and can be mastered with dedicated study and practice.

GenkiJACS make sure that small-group classes are given both inside and outside of the classroom - students get to learn essential communication techniques in structured lessons with the teacher, then practice them in real-world situations.

Japan and the VISA situation

Most GenkiJACS students use a visa waiver to be able to study in Japan. In general, the longest one can stay without a special visa is 6 months out of a year (depending on their nationality). For more than 6 months, GenkiJACS  offer 1 year student visa courses in Nagoya and Fukuoka locations. 

If you would like to find out more about GenkiJACS you can do so here.