A lot of people said you could make a lot of money teaching english in Japan, especially if you work freelance. And after a couple of months of trying to balance a couple of part-time jobs and a couple of private students, I think I'm starting to understand that statement.

Which is not to say that I'm making a lot of money. Dammit.

Your average Conversational English School charges somewhere in the neigborhood of $80 an hour for conversation lessons. I have no idea about alll the annual fees, renewal costs, or any of the other ways they jack up the price on students. And they do jack up those prices. For example, many schools use textbooks published by outside companies. You could buy those books at a bookstore (and depending on the book, that'll set you back something like $40 or $50 for a book and CD combo), but most schools require that students buy the book from the school, which tacks on what I'll presume is a handling fee of $110. Yeah, you read that right. For the priviledge of having them provide the book, the price jumps over 200%. Learning English is not for the faint of wallet.

Some of this has to do with the fact that full-time, foreign workers are required to be paid a certain amount based on the type of visa they have. That's a cost that these businesses have to recoup. But some of it is just charging whatever the market will bear. I have to go now so I can teach a private lesson, but next time I'll get to the breakdowns on that little racket, and see just what the deal is with making that long green.

Or not, as the case may be...