diff --git a/bin/lib/check_reqs.js b/bin/lib/check_reqs.js
index 40f3ade3..af619385 100644
--- a/bin/lib/check_reqs.js
+++ b/bin/lib/check_reqs.js
@@ -100,7 +100,8 @@ module.exports.check_java = function() {
                     });
                 } else {
                     // See if we can derive it from javac's location.
-                    var maybeJavaHome = path.dirname(path.dirname(javacPath));
+                    // fs.realpathSync is require on Ubuntu, which symplinks from /usr/bin -> JDK
+                    var maybeJavaHome = path.dirname(path.dirname(fs.realpathSync(javacPath)));
                     if (fs.existsSync(path.join(maybeJavaHome, 'lib', 'tools.jar'))) {
                         process.env['JAVA_HOME'] = maybeJavaHome;
                     } else {