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12-18 months before departure

Choose your route

The route decides what exams, documents, budget, and timeline you need. Pick one main route and one backup route before going deeper.

Outline · being expandedEstimated time about 1 weeksContent verified on 2026-06-10

Breakdown

How to break this task down

Follow the checklist below and you won't miss anything important. You don't have to finish it all at once, but every item should be clearly answered within this stage.

  1. List your current education stage, Japanese level, budget, and target entry year.
  2. Compare the preparation load for each route.
  3. Choose a main route and a backup so later tasks do not conflict.

Next step

  • View the full roadmapPlace yourself in the right stage before opening tools and checklists.
  • Build your profileTurn your long-term background into reusable information for later tools.

University, professor, research and company data in one place for checking plans to study and work in Japan.

  • Pathways
  • All tools

Founder's picks

  • Find professors by research directionUse your research direction and profile to narrow the professors worth contacting.
  • Shape a research planShape the question, method and feasibility, then check the draft before submission.
  • Practice for graduate examsPractice by subject with exam-style drills and worked answers before test day.
  • Polish one ESFocus on one company and refine each ES answer from your profile and STAR stories.

Before Japan

  • Route planner
  • How to choose a language school
  • Undergrad school ladder
  • Pre-departure checklist

Research & outreach

  • Research direction
  • Statement of purpose
  • Professor outreach
  • Scholarship finder

Careers in Japan

  • Self-analysis
  • Company research
  • Job interview prep
  • Offer & residence steps

Data center

  • Data foundation overview
  • University data
  • Professor & researcher data
  • Company deep-dive library

Services

  • Exam dojo
  • Advisor desk
  • Living in Japan
  • Pricing
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Ryugaku Jinja provides decision support and data references. Confirm eligibility, application requirements, and final decisions against current official sources.

Data references: KAKEN · CiNii · researchmap · official university and institutional sites© 2026 Ryugaku Jinja