Challenge your understanding of Japan through full language and cultural immersion at one of Greenheart Travel’s language camps in Japan! We welcome all language levels, including beginners.

Summer 2024 Dates

Tokyo: 

• Availability from June 3rd to August 30th, 2024
• Minimum age: 16
• This location has reached full capacity for all June and July start dates.
• Availability for complete beginners in Tokyo is limited for Summer 2024. Please email travelapplications@greenheart.org to discuss your options if you are a complete beginner.

Kyoto:

• Availability from June 3rd to August 30th, 2024
• Minimum age: 14
• This location has reached full capacity for all June and July start dates.
• Availability for complete beginners in Kyoto is limited for Summer 2024. Please email travelapplications@greenheart.org to discuss your options if you are a complete beginner.

Fukuoka:

• Availability from July 1st to July 26th, 2024
• Complete beginners must start on July 1st or July 15th.
• Minimum age: 14
• This location has reached full capacity for all June and July start dates.

Special Notes:

• Students will fly in the day before their program start date and start language classes on Monday.
• The program ends on September 1, 2024. Please plan accordingly to the amount of weeks you want to participate.
• The minimum program length is 2 weeks for all locations.
• The maximum program length is 4 weeks for all locations.
• Please note programs fill up fast so if you are interested you should apply as soon as possible.
• Availability for each start date may differ depending on your current language level. Once you have submitted your application and completed a language assessment, Greenheart staff will either confirm your preferred start date or offer suitable alternatives based on your current language skills.

Determine your Level

Start dates are determined by language proficiency levels, please see below to determine what level you are.

Complete Beginner Student

You have never studied Japanese before. You do not know how to read any hiragana, however you must learn to read hiragana before your arrival! We will send you a study guide upon acceptance.

Low Beginner Student

If you are familiar with the concepts listed below, but do not understand all the concepts listed in the “intermediate beginner student” section, you would be considered a Low Beginner Student!

• How to read hiragana
• Daily greetings
• “X ha Y desu” sentence pattern
• How to make question sentences
• “[noun] no [noun]” phrase
• Numbers 1 – 10,000
• Saying the time
• Pointing words “ko”, “so”, “a”, “do”
• Negative sentences “ja nai desu”
• “dare no” ~noun

Intermediate Beginner Student

If you are familiar and know all the grammar/vocab concepts listed above AND below, you are considered an Intermediate Beginner Japanese student and you will be placed in a higher class.

• The particle “mo”
• The sentence ending particles “ne”, “yo”
• Verb conjugation
• Present tense verbs
• Particles
• Time reference
• Inviting friends to places (“~masenka?”)
• Word order
• The topic particle “ha”
• Frequency adverbs

Advanced Beginner Student

If you are familiar with all previously listed grammar concepts including the ones listed below, you are considered an Advanced Beginner Japanese student. You can begin on any start date you would like.

• Past tense verbs
• Past tense of “desu”
• Describing where things are
• “arimasu” / “imasu”
• Adjectives / adjective conjugation
• “suki na” / “karai na”
• “~mashou” / “~mashou ka”
• Counting
• “te” -form
• “~te kudasai”
• “~te mo ii desu”
• “~te ha ikemasen”

Want to study in Japan for longer than just a summer? Check out our High School Abroad Japan program!

2024 Program Costs

Fukuoka Program Cost:

• 2 Weeks: $3,110
• 3 Weeks: $4,060
• 4 Weeks: $5,010

Tokyo Program Cost:

• 2 Weeks: $3,920
• 3 Weeks: $5,030
• 4 Weeks: $6,140

Kyoto Program Cost: 

• 2 weeks: $3,670
• 3 weeks: $4,700
• 4 weeks: $5,740

Please note, all prices are listed in USD. 

If you are interested in a program that is longer than 4 weeks, please email travelapplications@greenheart.org.

Packaged into the Price:

• 20 hours of language classes per week
• Airport pickup and drop-off upon arrival and departure
• Host family accommodation
• 2 meals per day (Breakfast & Dinner)
• Comprehensive medical/accident insurance
• Track-specific cultural excursions & activities
• Half-day arrival orientation in Japan
• Online and on-site language level placement test
• Comprehensive program handbook with cross-cultural communication training and Japanese culture tips
• Certificate of completion at the end of the program for use on college applications
• Access to Greenheart Travel Facebook groups to connect with alumni and others on your start date ahead of your program.
• Greenheart Atlas Program 

Our Support and Services: 

• Extensive pre-departure advice and support your US-based program coordinator! They will be with you from your first inquiry, all the way through preparing to leave and your arrival in Japan.
• Support services from in-country staff upon arrival to Japan.
• Online pre-departure cultural and logistical orientation before you leave.
• 24-hour in-country and emergency support for the duration of the program, including 24-hour emergency phone numbers to reach a program manager at any time.

Additional Expenses to Budget for (Estimates):

• Daily lunch (nearby cafeteria available daily to students for approximately $5/day)
• Public transportation to and from school each day (varies depending on placement, approximately $5/day)
• Flight to and from Japan
• Spending money for souvenirs or gifts

Payment Details

• $300 Application Fee due by the program deadline to formally apply
• $300 Commitment Payment due after acceptance within 14 days to save your spot on a certain start date
• Remaining balance is due 8 weeks before departure to Japan

Worried about the program fee?

Our goal is to help make travel accessible to everyone and we are here to help when you are deciding if this experience is financially do-able. Each year we offer scholarships for high school study abroad students! We also have a guide to fundraising your program fee, and many high school students fundraise in their hometowns ahead of their program.

We also offer a discount to U.S. families that have hosted an exchange student with Greenheart Exchange.

Please inquire here if you have questions about the program fee, scholarships, or fundraising for your program.

All students live with carefully selected local host families. Prospective host families undergo a rigorous screening process. Participants can rest assured that only suitable host families will be selected. In order to qualify as a host family, the prospective hosts must:

• Successfully pass a criminal background check
• Undergo and pass an in-person interview with program staff
• Agree to and pass a home inspection

Due to the small size of Japanese homes, there is usually only one student placed per host family. Some families have larger homes and can accommodate two students. In this case, they will only share rooms with students of the same gender and will be closely supervised by their hosts. If you are applying with a friend and want to share a host family, we recommend applying early as those placements tend to fill up.

Having a Japanese host family will allow you to get to know the culture!

There are 12 skill levels at the language camp divided up into the following sections: complete beginner, beginner 1, beginner 2, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper intermediate and advanced. You will take a placement test before your program to determine your skill level, and appropriate language level placement, and an additional level test the first day of class.

Japanese Courses

• 20 hours of class a week (4 core classes per day in 2 hour blocks)
• Classes are taught by native Japanese teachers who specialize in teaching a foreign language
• Lively and informal small classes with no more than 8 students per class
• Japanese lessons focus on practical communication skills first, including grammar, speaking and listening
• Excursions & cultural activities included in program fee to get real-world practice
• Class hours work somewhat like a university in that, depending on the class students are placed in, they may have morning classes on some days and afternoon classes on other days. It is not possible to choose the time and the schedule for each week. The schedule gets released the week before.For example, morning classes are usually from 9:30-12:10 p.m. Afternoon classes are from 11:25-3:50 or 2:05-5:45 p.m.

Getting To/From School

Each day, all students will be responsible for commuting on their own from the host family’s home to the school using public transportation. This is one of the few times during the day when students will be unsupervised, but thankfully, the public transportation in Japan is very safe and we rarely see any major issues. Curious what the experience of riding public transit in Japan is like? Check out this blog with stories from our alumni!

The public transportation will either be a train or a bus or a combination of both. In Fukuoka and Kyoto, the average commute time is about 20-40 minutes one way (50-80 minutes during high enrollment periods), while in Tokyo the commute time is about 30-50 minutes one way. 

We provide students with comprehensive guides for riding public transportation.

Fukuoka School Location:

Tokyo School Location: Shinjuku Neighborhood

Kyoto School Location

Activities

During your time in Japan, you will take Japanese classes for 20 hours per week (usually 4 hours per day). The other time is either free time spent with the host family, or there are lots of planned activities for students as well.

Activities and excursions form an important part of the program.  Students will choose one of the following tracks for Kyoto and Tokyo:

• Traditional Japanese Culture
• Pop Culture
• Multi-Activity (a mixture of both traditional and pop culture)

For Fukuoka, all students are placed in the Multi-Activity Track.

Here is an example of some of the activities offered at our Fukuoka camp, but please remember these vary based on track, location, and week you are there:

Tuesday – Yamakasa Rehearsal Watching
Friday – Shakey’s (Pizza Party)
Weekend – Trip to Shikanoshima
Tuesday – Casual Conversation Lounge
Thursday – Movie Night – The Beast and the Boy
Wednesday – Mukashibanashi Lesson
Friday – Daijayama Dancing and Dragon Festival
Monthly – Volleyball Practice with Pharmacist Team

Other activities include kimono wrapping, visiting a manga school or soba noodle-making – depending on your chosen track. All of these activities are subject to change and rotate on a 4-week basis. If you go longer than 4 weeks, you will automatically be enrolled in a conversation course for your final week(s).

Most activities are free and if an activity requires an extra cost the student will be aware before they register for that event.

Students are picked up from the airport by either their host family or a language school representative and taken to their host family.

All start dates are listed as a Sunday, but students need to:

• For Fukuoka, students should arrive/depart at the Fukuoka International Airport.
  • Arrive in Japan on the Sunday start date between 8:00am and 8:00pm
  • Depart on the Sunday after their program ends after 12:00pm
• For Tokyo, students can arrive/depart at either Haneda Airport (HND) or Narita International Airport (NRT)
  • Arrive in Japan on the Sunday start date between 8:00am and 6:00pm
  • Depart on the Sunday after their program ends after 12:00pm
• For Kyoto, students can arrive/depart at either airport in the nearby city of Osaka – Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM) or Kansai International Airport (KIX).
  • Arrive in Japan on the Sunday start date between 8:00am and 6:00pm
  • Depart on the Sunday after their program ends after 12:00pm

Greenheart Travel has been sending teens to Japan for many years, and there are advantages of applying for this program through us:

• 33 years of experience with cultural exchange programs.
• Friendly, responsive, and professional support from your program manager.
• Connect with alumni and others on the program via our Greenheart Travel only Facebook forums, before you even leave!
• We try and make our program fees as inclusive as we can. We include things like medical insurance so you don’t run into any hidden fees down the line.
• Greenheart Atlas Program. The Greenheart Travel Atlas is a cultural training interactive guidebook alongside five videos where you will find three main topics covered: Personal/Professional Development, Cultural Understanding, & Environmental Awareness.
• Our alumni recommend us! GoOverseas.com Reviews // GoAbroad.com Reviews
• Hands-on support and personal attention every step of the way
• 24/7 emergency phone number to reach a staff member at any time
• Pre-departure “Culture Shock and Adjustment” Webinar before you leave
• Discounts for future Greenheart Travel programs
• We are a non-profit, mission-based organization
• Continued support throughout your time abroad

We also have some unique offerings to our Greenheart Travel students and alumni!

Greenheart Global Impact Grants (GIGs)

Greenheart GIG Grants are funds awarded to Greenheart Travel participants to use for community development projects in their host or home country after they return home. A GIG is the opportunity to create, improve, or maintain an impactful, community-focused project abroad or at home. Grant funds could be applied to supporting women’s cooperatives, schools, community centers, or health clinics, for example. Grant winners will be featured on our website, social media, and blog. You can see our past winners on our blog here.

Greenheart Alumni Program

We created the Greenheart Travel Alumni Program to provide resources and a community to support alumni in their advancement as global leaders, and a way to celebrate and reward our participants for being ambitious, inspiring catalysts of cultural exchange!

Junior Greenheart Global Leaders Conference

Each May Greenheart offers full-ride scholarships to around 10 teen alumni to attend our annual conference in Chicago. You can see more about what Jr. GGLC is and what you could do at the conference here.

You can get college credit for the work you complete during our in-person Teen Language Camp or online classes for absolute beginners.

How does it work?

1. If you decide you want to gain college credit for your program, email your Greenheart Travel point of contact after you’re accepted onto the program. We will add your request for an official transcript to your enrollment.
   • Tip: If you know where you might want to get credit, Greenheart recommends reaching out to your chosen university prior to participation to understand what their transfer credit policy is and what the likelihood is of successfully receiving transfer credit for your program.
2. Go on your program and learn as much as you can!
3. After you successfully complete your program an official transcript will be generated by an American university of record.
4. You will receive your official transcript via postal mail several weeks after the end of your program.
5. Once you have an official transcript in-hand, you can share it with your university and petition for transfer credit.
   • NOTE: Credit transfer policies vary at each university and each student is responsible for discussing the possibility for transfer credit with their home institution. Greenheart Travel is not involved in the credit transfer process.

Cost

The fee for having an official transcript generated for your program is $425.

Unofficial transcripts are available free-of-charge, but are less likely to be accepted by a university for transfer credit.

Committing to a language camp program can feel a bit daunting, but we are here every step of the way to make the application process as simple as possible. Below are the steps you’ll need to take to be accepted on a Greenheart Travel program.

1. Ensure Your Eligibility: The eligibility requirements, such as age or language proficiency, may be required for certain destinations.

2. Start Your Application Here. You will be sent more information as well as the link to our application portal to begin your formal application. You’ll be able to save your progress along the way.

3. Sign the Terms & Conditions: After you complete the first part of your application, you (and your parent(s) if you’re under 18) will be asked to read through and sign our Terms and Conditions which outline the requirements and policies of the program

4. Submit your application fee: You will need to submit your $300 application fee at this point in the process. This is required in order to reserve your spot on the program and is subtracted from your total program fee.

5. In-Depth Questionnaire: This is the most in-depth part of the application process as it helps us get to know you better. You will need to provide detailed information about yourself, why you want to go abroad, and what you hope to gain from your experience. You will also need to upload your passport.

6. Acceptance: Greenheart Travel will thoroughly review your application and will contact you within 1-2 weeks to confirm your acceptance. If we find something in your application that we have concerns about, we will let you know immediately. 95% of applicants are accepted on the program they apply for.

You’re Accepted – now what?

Your program manager will be in touch with you directly about your acceptance via email. At this point you will be required to submit a second $300 commitment payment that also goes towards the total amount (it’s not extra). This is your commitment to your start date and once we receive it is when details will start to be booked on your behalf.

You’ll then be prompted to log back into the online portal, where you’ll be required to take the Japanese language proficiency test to secure your spot in your desired start date. You can also download the program handbook which talks more about your program, supplemental information about dealing with culture shock, and our insurance program. We will also schedule an online pre-departure orientation to answer any lingering questions you may have. You can expect to receive your host family placement 1-2 weeks prior to your start date.

Have questions and want to chat with a program advisor? Set up a time here: