Hajimemashite!
Hello One and All, I'm Sukotto,
(Heh or in English, Scott)
And this is my First Post Here! ^_^

Youtube is a beautiful thing, my interest in japan brought me to youtube and youtube brought me here!
I'll be in a lot from now on I suppose given the following context of this thread.

I'm currently Enrolled in a University for Digital Arts. I'm drawing ever closer to my Bachelor degree to be a Video Game Artist. (Concept Artist to be Specific )

For many years I've been very interested and sympathetic for Japanese Culture.
And as my trade suggest Japanese video game's. (Otaku Much? )

So

After years of bluffing to my friends about it.
after my graduation from this University.
I'm Enrolling in an Institute for Japanese Language and Culture Classes.
And theres no better way to Learn a Language than from within a controlled Immersive Environment.
Or at least that's how I wish to learn it. I've Also made financial preparations to accommodate my stay there, which will be 12 months give or take depending on my Student Visa, of which currently I'm in the process of achieving.


Now It's all about my location, and Institute or University of Enrollment!

I'm Aiming For a Tokyo Location, I'm rather adept with Large cities when it comes to... Eh not getting lost. And I'm comfortable with complex sub way transport. I also feel like the English subtitles on most important locations and advertisements Will be helpful me for my first few months of Learning the language and my surroundings. But most importantly, I'll be a Certified Concept artist by the time I'm in Japan, and Theres no reason i can't shake my business stick around and look for some freelance work. ( I'd work for free honestly, that's how you get your foot in the door, Internship is Key.)

However if not in the city itself
nearby city's that I could easily commute to Tokyo from, would be equally Ideal.

And this all goes down 14 months from This Post, for this wayward adventurer.
I'm Far too Excited Already...
Now Let's bring this Thread to A Conclusion.

I'm hoping people will respond to this thread with their experiences of Learning Japanese in Japan.
Perhaps details about your location while visiting, or around where you live in Japan, or where you attended What Locations and schools are known or popular for Language Training?
And, But not limited to people who share Similar plans to mine
And to those who intend to or are interested in:

[u][b]learning Japanese in japan.[/b[/u]]

Arigato For Reading This, Long, but mildly interesting post~
And an advanced thanks to all of your Potential Reply Posts~

~Sukotto

Frankly, the Japanese population in "country"towns is several million!

I lived in Kobe (4 million) and Himeji (2.5 million)

Even Sendai had 1 million people !

Tokyo has 14 million people and can take some getting used to. Particularly for a westerner.

Suggest you would be able to study and live cheaply in Osaka or kyoto .

In tokyo you sometimes have to decide whether you want to eat or have a roof over your head...both may not be an option if you have limited funds for a year stay.

Also look into recycle shops in Japan for everything from clothes, mobile phone, washing machine, kitchen appliances....they will save you a packet!

Good luck

Ohayo Gozaimashita Sukotto! I really hope you achieve your goal and get to have your stay in Japan! I would definitely suggest to find someone in Japan beforehand who would be willing to help you learn Japanese,and you could most likely teach them some english as well.
As c8lor suggested, finding a more rural area to stay in would be better. Begin to form friendships with the people there, and so they will know you day to day. There will be a greater chance of you attaining a well paying job in a big city, but the cost of things will be much less in small towns/cities.
I really hope this will help in some way!

This is awesome for people who want to study Japanese in Japan!!!
http://www.englishfriendlyjapan.com/go-go-nihon-live-study-japanese-japan