The University of Tokyo vs Kyoto University: Admission, Deadlines, Fees Compared

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Tokyo and Kyoto are Japan's two oldest and most internationally known national universities, and both are changing how they admit English speaking undergraduates. Tokyo's Programs in English at Komaba closed after its September 2026 intake, and from September 2027 it opens the new College of Design, its first fully English-taught undergraduate faculty in about 70 years; standard tuition is JPY 642,960 a year and it asks for IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL 80. Kyoto's main English route is Kyoto iUP, a 4.5 year programme combining a six month Japanese preparatory course with four years of degree study, admitting once a year for an October start; tuition is JPY 535,800 a year and it asks for IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL 90, a higher bar than Tokyo's. Tokyo's new route is only opening from 2027, so current applicants have a narrower window than at Kyoto's established iUP. Neither publishes an acceptance rate here. Check each university's own admissions page for which of these English tracks is currently open for application.