If you’re raising your children in Australia or New Zealand and want them to keep their Japanese alive, you have an advantage most of the world doesn’t: you’re barely a time zone away from Japan. While families in the US juggle midnight classes, your child can join real, same-age kids living in Japan on an ordinary weekday afternoon — home from school, no Saturday commute. TOMODACHI JAPAN is the online Japanese school where Japanese grows through friendship.

The time zone is basically a gift

Sydney is just one hour ahead of Japan (two in the Australian summer); Auckland is three hours ahead. That means Japan’s after-school and evening classes fall right in your child’s afternoon and evening:

Beyond Saturday school

Australia and New Zealand have wonderful weekend Japanese schools — in Sydney alone, the JCS Japanese School runs classes for 380+ students each Saturday, alongside the long-running Sydney Saturday School of Japanese and the NSW Japanese School in Ashfield; Auckland has its own community school too. They’re valuable places. But they ask for your Saturday morning and a commute, they move at the Japanese national-curriculum pace, and — like weekend schools everywhere — they can teach Japanese without giving your child someone their own age to actually talk to in it.

TOMODACHI JAPAN is the missing piece: small groups with children living in Japan (from our sister school, NIJIN Academy, 800+ students), on a weekday afternoon, no driving. Whether your family speaks Japanese at home or is starting from scratch, classes are grouped by conversation level so every child lands with peers who match them — and Japanese grows because “I want to talk to my friend,” not because it’s homework. Use it instead of, or alongside, Saturday school.

Tuition & scholarships

How it compares

Option	Format	Typical price	Makes friends
1-on-1 tutor (italki / Preply)	One adult, one child, by appointment	A$15–40 / lesson	×
After-school tutoring (e.g. Kumon)	Worksheets, self-paced, not conversation	≈A$160 / subject / month	×
Weekend Japanese school	Saturday morning, commute, textbook-based	A$1,000–2,500 / year + fees	○ (once a week)
TOMODACHI JAPAN	Small group, unlimited, same kids in Japan	Flat monthly fee – see the free guide	◎ (peers living in Japan)

FAQ — for families in Australia & New Zealand

What time would classes be for us?

Japan’s weekday classes fall in your late afternoon and evening — Sydney is one hour ahead of Japan (two in summer), Auckland three. A child in Australia can join straight after school; New Zealand families do best with Japan’s afternoon slots. Weekend mornings in Japan are your late-morning/early-afternoon too.

Does daylight saving change things?

Japan doesn’t observe daylight saving, so during the Australian/NZ summer you move an hour further ahead — classes simply land a little earlier in your evening. We publish the full timetable for your city before launch.

Does my child need to speak Japanese already?

No. Classes are grouped by conversation level, so a beginner and a heritage speaker both start with peers at their stage. Quiet listening at first is welcome — friendship does the rest.

We move between Australia and Japan. Can we keep going?

Yes — that’s where online genuinely wins. Because it’s online, your child keeps the same friends whether you’re in Sydney, back in Japan, or posted somewhere new. For families who relocate, “friends you can see wherever you are” is a real source of stability.

Every HSC & VCE Japanese guide, in one place

These are written by teachers who stand in Japanese classrooms now, not by tutors who once studied the language. Start with your exam board.

VCE Japanese (Victoria)

• VCE Japanese oral exam: what the 15 minutes actually contain — the general conversation, then the Detailed Study discussion, part by part.
• Choosing a VCE Detailed Study subtopic — how to pick something you can still talk about in October.
• VCE Japanese scaling: what a raw 30 really becomes — the number families keep guessing at.
• The kanji VCE Japanese expects you to read — a working list, not the whole joyo set.

HSC Japanese Continuers (NSW)

• HSC Japanese Continuers oral exam: the ten-minute interview, explained — what markers listen for, in order.
• How to use HSC Japanese past papers without burning them — marking guidelines plus feedback, in the right sequence.
• A six-week plan for the HSC Japanese oral — week by week, from now to the exam room.
• HSC Japanese Continuers kanji: what to prioritise — the characters that keep appearing.

Choosing your course, and getting help

• Continuers, Beginners or Background Speakers? — eligibility is decided by your schooling history, not by how good you are.
• Do you actually need an HSC or VCE Japanese tutor? — an honest look at what tutoring fixes, plus what it cannot.
• From anime Japanese to exam Japanese — which habits earn marks, plus the ones that quietly lose them.

Japanese schools in your city

• Sydney — the Saturday schools, their entry requirements, plus what to do if none of them fit.
• Melbourne — MISJ, Victorian School of Languages, plus the VCE pathway.
• Perth — a small community school, so what happens when the levels do not match.
• Auckland — New Zealand’s supplementary school, term dates plus fees.