Tuition for Maplopo is ¥12,000 for individuals. Learners who complete the course within one year with an overall achievement score of 80% or higher receive a cash back rebate of ¥20,000 (company sponsored learners receive a cash back bonus of ¥10,000).

Companies enrolling employees can purchase bundles at the rate of ¥420,000 for a minimum of seven seats.

More information about Maplopo pricing can be found on our pricing page.

Because we offer extensive opportunities to test out the course (videos from the entire first section on YouTube, numerous worksheets on the site as well as on LinkedIn, and the Maplopo podcast) there are no refunds offered once you enroll in any given Maplopo season. If you’re not yet sure of whether or not Maplopo is right for you, please check out these materials first.

If you’re currently enrolled in Japanese language classes (or  completed language studies within a semester prior to enrolling with Maplopo), you may be eligible to enroll under our education partner program.

The partner program for educators and students offers a completion bonus to any student enrolled at an accredited college or university anywhere in the world who completes all requisite coursework for the entire course within one year and with an overall achievement score of 80% or better.

Visit the Maplopo Partners page for more information. Have your favorite faculty member or language lab manager reach out to us from using the form on that page.

All prices are listed in Japanese Yen. Originally, enrollments were handled in U.S. Dollars, however, given the performance of the yen as of late, we decided to price in our local currency to make the course more affordable to those living in Japan.

If you live outside Japan, you’ll recognize this provides you with a wonderful opportunity to enroll in an advanced Japanese language course within blended, immersive learning at a price point you will not find anywhere else.

The conversion to your currency happens as a natural part of the transaction once you enroll. 

For individuals:

Learners who complete a Season are provided a discount on additional seasons, however, outside these offerings there are no additional discounts or trials.

If you are a college or university student currently enrolled in Japanese classes (or have taken classes as recently as a semester prior to enrolling with us), please refer your favorite professor to our Maplopo Partners page.

There, they can reach out to enquire about our Educators program which offers a completion bonus to students who finish the course. All students meeting the requirements of enrollment in coursework at any accredited college or university anywhere in the world are eligible for the program.

For teams: 

Businesses purchasing seats for multiple users are provided with a significant discount on individual pricing. We are interested in developing relationships with firms interested in empowering the growth of their employees, and are willing to do so at rates that are affordable to make that happen at scale. If that sounds like you, please reach out.

We interface with Stripe for all payments, so we accept all the major ones: American Express, China UnionPay (CUP), Discover & Diners, Japan Credit Bureau (JCB), Mastercard and Visa, Alipay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, WeChat Pay, Bancontact (Belgium), EPS (Austria), giropay (Germany), iDEAL (the Netherlands), Przelewy24 (Poland), etc.

First, Maplopo is for readers. We attract learners who love to read all sorts of material, from manga and magazines, to poetry, literature, contemporary fiction, and non-fiction. At the core of what we do is help students learn the language through story. So… our biggest audience is those who love story.

When it comes to the specifics of language, we find Maplopo works best for intermediate and advanced learners of Japanese. Those learners of the language who have a basic grasp of grammar, but need and want more—and in that same set of students—those who recognize they want structure that helps them understand the language in a fashion they cannot find in a classroom.

Some of those enrolled with Maplopo enjoy taking the JLPT and have already passed the N3 or N2… even the N1, but many more students have never taken the exam and are studying Japanese with different personal and professional goals in mind.

A good number of those enrolled with us are translators (or aspiring translators) of Japanese, and enroll largely because they want to learn more about the art and craft of translating. Those students want to tap into one of the most unique parts of Maplopo… us as translators.

Many more enroll to refresh or build upon a near fluency they feel could use improvement. Such students often live and work in Japan, and have been here for many years. Or, they lived in Japan at one time, but now live elsewhere and don’t want to lose what they worked so hard to acquire. They find communicating at work and around town fairly routine, but often just that. These students come to us to learn more deeply what the language is about… the nuance of grammar expressions they may only know on the surface, and to add depth and breadth to their vocabulary.

Maplopo learners also come to us from around the world, in all age groups and with many different personal interests and drivers. We’ve welcomed students from America, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Vietnam… from where do you hail?!

Some things are, and some things aren’t.

Each Season of Maplopo runs just as if you were in an in-person classroom. So, in similiar fashion, learning modules are dripped out every two to three days until the season is complete. We’ve designed the course this way to keep learners progressing at natural intervals, and to ensure the material you learn is absorbed as richly as possible.

Right out of the gate, you do get access to all the resources in Section ONE, however, and you can view that list of materials as well as the entire course layout by viewing the Maplopo syllabus.

Additionally, if you’d like to download a sample of our Japanese Anki decks, you can grab them on the tour page.

If you can read in English, and understand spoken American English, you should be in good shape. Our videos and worksheet materials do have spoken and written Japanese, but the entire course is taught in English. Each of our videos is also manually subtitled in English.

We have non-native English speakers from Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, Spain and Vietnam in Maplopo who are performing as well (and often better!) than those who grew up speaking English as a first language.  The trick is having a good grasp of English.

There are no deadlines whatsoever within the course. You have “forever-access” to it, and all the time in the world to complete it. Once you enroll, the course is dripped out to you steadily every two or three days.

We’ve designed the course with a host of pedagogical practices in mind, and we move you forward in a way that helps you feel excited about your progress so you complete the course in a reasonable amount of time, and so your learning sticks. But, life does get in the way of progress sometimes, and because of that, your access to the course is yours. Hang with us and the Japanese language as you see fit!

If questions pop up, we are in the private Discord server to help you, and other students are there as well with any questions you may have.  Of course, we’re always reachable via email as well.

Additionally, we now offer 20 personally reviewed Japanese writing assignments, as well as seven live group sessions using Google Meet. We field a lot of questions via email and in these sessions.

Nowhere else will you find this sort of opportunity to engage with Japanese literature translators and language teachers at this sort of price point. Nowhere.