Studied Japanese in Kyoto for a year. Quit my job and turned down offers to continue working, which was the correct decision. I took it because I was feeling bu

Studied Japanese in Kyoto for a year. Quit my job and turned down offers to continue working, which was the correct decision. I took it because I was feeling burnout but also because I was 27 and felt like language school had a time limit to fully enjoy it (you can go later of course, but socialising becomes harder, and I was able to join university clubs at that age). Positive benefits: learned Japanese, massively improved social skills (met more new people than the last 10 years), chance to redo university as I sort of wasted it. Got into a relationship. Had all kinds of new experiences. Hung out almost exclusively with Japanese people although getting to know people from Thailand, Taiwan, Russia etc. using Japanese as a common language was also fun. Negative: lonely at times, I didn't work on personal projects as much as I wanted (felt like a waste), went back to my old job instead of trying to look for a new one in Japan. So yeah, I really recommend language school, working holiday, etc. if you don't have any grand plans for your sabbatical. Be prepared that you might not work on any big projects and you might be too lazy to find a job after. But I can't imagine not having done it now. It'll always be a part of me.