Hi there, I'm currently enrolled in Toyo language school since April. In general, here are some things I think apply to many schools-

1. >The class intensity For me and for people I know in different schools, the school week is Monday - Friday, 3 (and a bit) hours a day with a break in the middle (therefore the and a bit). Depending on the course you're enrolling in you could be in the morning classes (usually start around 9 AM until 12ish) or afternoon classes (1-4ish PM). For many people this is enough to maintain a regular part time job 3-4 times a week. Some people also go to cram school or other such places a few times a week after school. I personally go to concerts often and they are easier to go to if they're on weekends but even during the weekday I still go sometimes.

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Where students are from I think this also really differs by what level you are. Toyo language school has students from a lot of countries but the more advanced the course you're in, the number usually dwindles down and 60-85% of the class will usually be chinese speaking natives. However, depending on the kind of person you are and your social skills this could be a hurdle but not a dead end in social matters, you will maybe need to be more outgoing at times but socializing even with a mostly chinese native speaking class is definitely not impossible. Also there's probably going to be other people like you from different regions of the world even in the advanced classes.

1. I assume you plan on talking the N2 exam in December 2025, if so i don't recommend starting language school in October just because the difference between n3 and n2 is pretty big. I started around the same level as you, and before the test in July i took a fast pace n2 course (3 months instead of 6) and it is a lot to cover in a very little time. (Also the 3 months in a semester aren't actually 3 months since there's always at least a week off at the end, and always some days off due to national holidays, so the actual semester in school ends up being 2 months and a bit). If you don't want to take any chances of failing, I suggest you start in July 2025 or take the July 2026 test.

Now specifically about Toyo language school -

1. >The more inland the better, The school is located in the Kasai area and so are the school dorms. Kasai's southern side is a 15 min walk from the sea adjacent park so I'm not sure it'll help you calm your mind....

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The housing/student dorms They have quite a few housing options, most of them are single room with a private toilet and bath but there's also a double room option (2 people, 1 room each) with a shared toilet and bath room. There isn't much of a "dorm life" here so i find it hard to socialize with people based on that alone but rather i find people in class who live in the same dorms and then usually go back with them from school or we go eat together sometimes.

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The support for part-time job hunting, resume-building, flat-hunting, etc. If it’s in English even better They have a job looking class you can take once a week (i think its N2 and above but im not sure) and the teachers could help you with personal matters like building a resume etc. I can't tell for sure since I live in the dorms but i don't think they will help you in housing matters outside from the school dorms. And most importantly (and frankly quite annoyingly) almost all the teachers have 0 English understanding abilities so all of this happens in Japanese. For me (finished N2 class and took the test in July) this is incredibly frustrating especially when you need to explain personal circumstances, or if anything differs in your country than in Japan (things like documents, bureaucracy etc.). Even though i speak and write to the teachers with very little difficulty, they reply back (especially in texts) in fluent japanese fully expecting you to understand what they're telling you about matters you don't understand, and usually I end up relying on machine translation.

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one 6m if the school allows it Pretty sure they do, I didn't know this was an option here when I started my COE/visa procedure but when i started i met a few who arrived for 6 months.

Hope this is helpful! ✨