Teach English in Japan.
Everything you need to know about the Placement Program — the job, the money, the visa, and how to apply. Jump to any section, or just scroll.
Already certified?
Your paid teaching job
in Japan.
A weekend culture trip in your first months, and a guaranteed job at a public school or Eikaiwa.
There are two routes to Japan.
Your 120-hour TEFL, TESOL or CELTA (or a B.Ed) is your ticket in — straight to your paid placement, with a weekend culture trip in your first months.
A culture and language week in Japan, then a 120-hour in-class TESOL course with real practice teaching in a local school — then your paid placement.
Same schools, same salary, same guaranteed job — the difference is whether you need the teaching qualification first. Not sure which fits? We'll help you choose at your interview.
"Feel the fear and do it anyway."
TEFL Heaven started when I invited myself on a girl's flight to Bangkok. She said yes — and seventeen years later we've sent more than 3,000 teachers abroad, and it's still a family business.
Japan is the one people pick for the life itself — the trains, the food, the seasons. A year here changes how you see everything.
Seventeen years of putting people on planes.
"Over 17 years we've placed more than 3,000 English teachers in classrooms from Bangkok to Buenos Aires." A family business, still run by the person who started it.
The country everyone means when they say "someday".
$1,400–$1,900 a month, a guaranteed job, and weekends in the most photographed country on earth. Teachers here save $150–$400+ a month — and at public schools a car is nearly free to rent, with a fuel stipend on top.
A weekend that makes Japan yours.
- A weekend culture trip— in your first months in Japan
- Accommodation included
- A welcome meal— with the people you’ll know for years
- Excursions— the Japan you came for, shared
- Then it’s your year— in a guaranteed paid job
Already certified means already close. Your 120-hour TEFL, TESOL or CELTA (or a B.Ed) is your ticket in — send it with your application.
Public school or Eikaiwa. Your pick.
Monday–Friday, 8:00–17:00, weekends off. Classes of 25–30 with a Japanese co-teacher. 10 paid vacation days plus about 16 national holidays — and a nearly-free rental car (about JPY 10,000 a month, fuel stipend included). Fall 2026 is closed — we’re placing for Spring 2027 now, and applications close October 2026.
5–15 kids, you teach alone — some adult classes too. Schools are open 10:00–22:00, so you'll work some weekends and get 2 days off a week (not always together).
Kids aged 4–18, English only. 40-hour weeks with 25–35 teaching. Placements anywhere in Japan — often smaller towns, so don't bank on Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto. The towns are where the real Japan lives.
Enough to live it — and save.
Matched to your school’s hiring.
Public schools hire 7–12 months ahead — the earlier you sign up, the better your options.
Private language schools hire to their own calendars — we’ll confirm your window at your interview.
Sign up at least 5 months before you want to start — 6–7 is better. Move your date free with 35+ days’ notice.
Two payments. Months apart.
Your place is held and the work starts — placement prep and visa guidance.
Invoiced well ahead. Nothing else falls due after this.
$695 + $1,002 = $1,697 — the whole price. The deposit is part of it, never extra on top.
And the program can pay you back. $200 every time someone books through your affiliate link — free place on our Digital Marketing Program.
What your fee covers.
- A guaranteed paid teaching job— at a public school or Eikaiwa
- Lifetime placement guarantee— it covers South Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam — as long as you’re eligible for that program
- A weekend culture trip— accommodation, welcome meal and excursions in your first months
- 40-hour Japanese culture course— plus an online beginner Japanese course
- CV, video and interview help— including a mock interview
- Full visa guidance— through the Certificate of Eligibility, step by step
- Housing from your school, or help finding it
- Trip coordinator— and a 24/7 support line
- Free place on our Digital Marketing Program — earn $200 per booking through your affiliate link, plus paid content work
Not included: flights, medical insurance, visa fees, long-term rent (landlords often want 1–2 months up front), food, fun and daily transport. Bring travel insurance for your first 6 weeks — your school's health insurance takes over after that.
You arrive with friends already made.
- You go as a group — you train together, explore together, and walk into week one already knowing people
- Proper in-person training — real classrooms and real students before your first paid lesson, with trainers who taught here themselves
- Support the whole way — a team that answers before you fly, while you train, and long after you’re placed
Most people sign up alone. Nobody finishes alone — the group you train with becomes your first circle of friends in the country.
Bring enough to reach your first paycheck.
It covers your set-up costs — rent up front, deposits — and your living costs until your first paycheck. You don't spend it all — most of it stays yours. It's a cushion, not a fee.
We're telling you this early on purpose. If that number isn't realistic right now, you should know today — not after you've paid.
Japan checks everything twice.
- Aged 21 – 35. Over 35? It’s case-by-case to 59 — you’ll need a teaching or education degree plus experience, a driving licence, and to be open to any location (public-school roles only).
- Applying with a partner or friend? You can’t be placed together — you’d teach in different areas of Japan.
- A Bachelor's degree— any subject
- Citizen of the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ or South Africa— South Africans are welcome on this route
- A 120-hour TEFL / TESOL / CELTA— accredited and in hand (a B.Ed also counts)
- Clean police check— no older than 6 months
- No partners, kids or pets— this program doesn't allow them
Visible tattoos aren't allowed — nothing on the face, neck, behind the ears or near your wrists. Religious dress may be okay case by case if you can drive and are flexible on location. May need a TB test, and sometimes random drug tests.
The work visa, step by step.
Japan is magic — and strict.
- Visible tattoos are a no. Nothing on the face, neck, behind the ears or within 10cm of your wrist — tattoos are taboo in Japan.
- You probably won't get Tokyo. Placements are often in smaller towns — cheaper, friendlier, and more Japanese than the postcard cities.
- Health checks are real. Expect a possible TB test and sometimes random drug tests. One honest heads-up: Japan is strict on some medical and mental-health conditions. If anything applies to you, tell us before you book — we check with the schools for free, before you pay anything.
- Sign up 5+ months ahead — 6–7 is better, and public-school roles are filled 7–12 months out.
- Fall public-school starts begin on a 6-month first contract, renewed each March for the new school year.
- We place you into one quality job offer. We don’t shop you around endlessly, and that’s on purpose.
- Change of plans? Your date moves free with 35+ days’ notice — inside 35 days a $550 change fee applies. All payments for the program are non-refundable.
We'd rather you knew all of this today than at the embassy.
Reviews — in their words. ★★★★★
"My AEON interview was basically all about classroom experience and how I handled discipline in an Asian school context. Having taught in Bangkok for a year meant I could answer those questions with real stories, not hypotheticals. It's a different quality of answer and they know it."
"Rural Japan sounds daunting but it was the best possible introduction. My Board of Education was incredibly supportive, my colleagues helped me navigate everything from the city hall registration to finding a dentist. The quiet, the nature, the actual Japan — I wouldn't trade it."
"TEFL Heaven appealed to me most because they answer you so quick, that was a big plus to me. I had tons of questions and I feel like they go out of their way to help you and also that they really understand your situation."
More video and written reviews — from our alumni, on teflheaven.com.
Your free place on our Digital Marketing Program.
You’re going to post about this anyway — this pays you for it.
- Full marketing training — courses, workshops, live sessions
- A Digital Marketing Certificate when you finish
- A private group and a monthly mastermind
Plenty of our teachers are still earning from this years after they came home.
Three steps to your classroom.
- Apply online — five minutes
- Video call interview — thirty minutes, everything answered honestly
- Accepted? Book your place — the $695 deposit holds it and the work starts
From there it’s guided the whole way — visa help, placement prep and your countdown to fly-out.
Start my application →The short answers.
Yes — a Bachelor's, any subject. Other nationalities can sometimes join public-school roles: 12 years of English schooling, a driving licence, and an approved country.
Yes, if it’s an accredited 120-hour certificate. A Bachelor of Education also counts.
$1,697 total: $695 books it, the remaining $1,002 is due 90 days before you fly.
Some schools provide housing; if not, we help you find it. Rent runs $350–$550, and landlords often want 1–2 months up front.
Public = daytime, team-teaching, weekends off, nearly-free car. Eikaiwa = small classes, evenings, some weekends. We'll match you.
Your date moves free with 35+ days’ notice — inside 35 days a $550 change fee applies. All payments for the program are non-refundable.
Apply now. Talk to us.
Decide after.
Apply, then talk to us — the interview is where it becomes real — your start date, your school type, your route in.