ABOUT: YOKOHAMA DESIGN COLLEGE

Yokohama Design College history starts back in 1948, when “Tobe Women’s Dressmaker’s School” was established. Approved by the government of Kanagawa in 1964, the college became the “Educational Corporation of Ishikawa Institute of Women’s Dressmaker’s School”.

In 2001 the school was renamed as the “Yokohama Design College“, and since then started to welcome international students to attend Japanese courses as well. The school offers Media Design, Manga (Japanese animation), International Communication and other courses.

In 2014 the school was approved by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as professional post-secondary educational institution.

LOCATION

Yokohama Design College is located in Nishi-ku Yokohama in Kanagawa, 1 minute walk from Tobe Station of Keihin Electric Express Line. 5 minute walk from Hiranumabashi station of Sotetsu Line and 7 minute walk from Takashimacho station of Yokohama City subway (Blue line). Yokohama is known for the excellent view of Minato Mirai. Minato means “harbor” in Japanese. It is very colorful at night especially with Yokohama Cosmo world. An amusement center which also lights up at night. Yokohama is also the location of the famous cup noodle museum and Shin Yokohama Ramen museum. 

FEATURES

1. Short and Long Term college preparation or language programs
2. Free examination preparation classes at College Preparation Course (take as many as you want!)
   1. EJU : Social studies, English, Physics, Mathematics
   2. Art University (and Graduate School) : Drawings, Color Construction, Making Portfolio
3. Optional classes (manga/illustration classes)
4. Various activities and culture classes
5. Ability to Use College Utilities
6. Career and further Education Support
7. Open Classes – exchange lessons with Japanese college students
8. Fun Environment, meet Japanese high school and college students

 COURSES 

Yokohama Design College provides Japanese language education for international students and offers several types of courses.

1. Japanese Language Course (Beginner ~ Advanced levels)
2. College Preparatory Course (Beginner ~ Proficiency levels)
3. Short-Term Course (1~3 months, or up to 6 months depending on visa)
4. Private One-on-One course (10 lesson package)

1. JAPANESE LANGUAGE COURSE

Japanese Language Courses are for students, with or without kanji background, who would like to improve their overall Japanese language proficiency level and learn conversational and written Japanese for daily life and professional purposes. This course is divided into 5 levels, from N5 (Beginner) to N1 (Advanced).

In addition to regular classes, students can choose from various options, such as manga seminars, career support, preparation for study abroad exam, classes to prepare for an Art University, etc.

Class for Students with Kanji Background

Class for Students with Non-Kanji Background

Class for Non-Kanji Background Students

2. COLLEGE PREPARATORY COURSE

This is a long-term college preparation program for students who plan to prepare for studying at Japanese Universities, Specialized Schools or Postgraduate Programs. In this course students will learn all four basics skills, such as “reading”, “writing”, “speaking” and “listening” to be prepared for using the language for academic purposes and in a daily and work environments.

Here is a simple chart that shows language proficiency by levels and what you can expect by finishing each level. If you are a manga fan, you can also see what level you need to achieve in order to understand your favorite manga.

LOCATION MAP