✦ How to start

From here to
your first lesson.

Four steps. You meet us and a teacher before you spend anything, and you can stop at any point along the way — including after you have paid.

  1. 01Talk to us
  2. 02Try a lesson
  3. 03Enrol
  4. 04Start

✿ The whole thing

Nothing happens that you have not agreed to.

Two of the four steps are free and the third is the one where anything is decided. We have written what each one involves rather than leaving you to find out by starting it.

01

Talk to us

A free video consultation

Tell us what brought you to Japanese, even if the answer is only that you are curious.

We listen, answer your questions, and work out roughly where you are. There is no test and nothing to prepare — knowing your own level is our job, not yours.

Nothing is decided on the call. You leave with a recommendation and no obligation to take it.

What it costs
Nothing
What you need
A camera, a microphone, and a browser
What you leave with
A recommended course, pace and class format
02

Try a lesson

A free trial lesson with a real teacher

Not a sales call. An actual one-to-one lesson, taught the way we teach.

You find out what a lesson with us is like before you spend anything — the teacher, the pace, and whether learning this way suits you.

You can skip this step. Some people know after the consultation; nobody has to take a lesson to enrol.

What it costs
Nothing
Who teaches it
A qualified Japanese-language teacher
Can I skip it
Yes — go straight to enrolling
03

Enrol

A start date, your papers, and payment

We agree when you begin, and send everything in writing before you pay.

You get a summary of the course and its terms, the enrolment document itself, and an invoice. Payment is due within 14 days and before your first lesson, by credit card, PayPal, Wise or bank transfer.

Enrolment is confirmed once payment reaches us. From the day your enrolment document arrives you have eight days to cancel and pay nothing at all.

How you can pay
Card, PayPal, Wise, bank transfer
When it is due
Within 14 days, before lesson one
Changing your mind
8 days, no charge
04

Start

Your account, your schedule, your first lesson

We set up your account and book your lessons around the week you actually have.

Your teacher is introduced before you meet, and your lessons are booked at times that fit your week rather than a fixed timetable you have to arrange your life around.

Then you start. Homework, feedback and progress checks are part of the course from the first week, not extras.

Where lessons happen
platform.nihongo.one, in your browser
What you need
A camera, a microphone, a steady connection
What is included
Lessons, practice, homework, feedback

✦ Or start somewhere else

The first step does not have to be a call.

Step one is a conversation because most people want one. If you would rather do something else first, any of these is a normal way to begin.

Just a question

Ask us something

Chat, LINE or WhatsApp, or send a message and we will write back. No booking, no call.

Contact us
Skip the talking

Go straight to a lesson

Book the free trial lesson without a consultation first. You can always talk to us afterwards.

Book a free trial lesson
Decide first

Read before you talk

Compare the two learning paths and see every price, then arrive at the call already knowing what you want.

Compare the paths

✿ If you change your mind

What it costs to stop.

Worth knowing before you decide rather than after. These are the rights Japanese law gives you for a course of this length and price, and nothing in our terms reduces them.

The full wording, including how to cancel and how refunds are returned, is on our Specified Commercial Transactions page.

Before you enrol
Nothing. The consultation and the trial lesson are free and carry no obligation.
Within 8 days of enrolling
Nothing. Cancel in writing within eight days of receiving your enrolment document and everything you have paid comes back, including for lessons already taken.
Before your first lesson
A cancellation charge of up to ¥15,000. The rest of the fee is refunded.
Part way through the course
You pay for the lessons you have had, plus the lower of ¥50,000 or 20% of the fee for the lessons remaining. Everything else is refunded.
If we cancel a lesson
We reschedule it. If we cannot, that lesson is refunded in full.

✦ A few useful answers

Before you book.

Do I need to know my Japanese level before I book?

No. Working out your level is part of the consultation, and there is no test. Foundation 150 begins at zero, so complete beginners need nothing at all.

Do I have to take the trial lesson?

No. It is there because a lesson tells you more than a conversation about lessons does, but you can enrol straight after the consultation, or without one.

When do I pay?

After you have spoken to us and chosen a course. The consultation and the trial lesson are free, and there is nothing to pay while you are deciding.

How can I pay?

Credit card, PayPal, Wise or bank transfer. Card and PayPal are charged in the currency shown at checkout; with Wise or a bank transfer, your own bank's fees are yours to pay.

What if I change my mind after enrolling?

You have eight days from receiving your enrolment document to cancel and pay nothing. After that you can still stop at any time, paying only for the lessons you have had plus a capped charge. The full terms are on our Specified Commercial Transactions page.

Can I start if I am not in Japan?

Yes. Lessons are online and taught by teachers in Japan, and our learners are in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and across Asia. Lesson times are agreed with you.

✿ Step one

Let’s talk it through.

A relaxed conversation about your goals, your schedule and your questions. No test, no pressure, no obligation.