Moving to Japan (Help!)

[Apparition]

I'm starting this thread to help myself and others who are struggling in life yet want to move to Japan for a new life. I have practically nothing (no family, money, or education higher than a G.E.D.), but still have a burning desire do ditch American life and move to Japan making a living any way possible. I'm in dire need of setting priorities straight and need help doing this. Certainly there must be someone here who has experience and can provide relevant information to guide me/us on what seems like a difficult and stressful journey (well, in the beginning at least). That being said, rich elitists who claim it is impossible to succeed without a graduate degree or a fancy program like JET are not needed here unless you have actual honest and helpful information, and are not just showing off and being a dick like most tend to do. It absolutely is possible, and there is a multitude of teaching jobs that don't require a degree at all. In fact, many don't even require any Japanese language skill. Keep in mind the goal is to make a living. To make enough to stay in one place with a roof over your head and food in the fridge, not to be a fancy yuppie.

The beginning stages are not so clear and I'm having trouble deciding which order to do them in. The way I see it, there is 5 major steps:

• Passport
• Visa
• Guarantor
• Job
• Apartment

The passport is obviously the easiest part. You just go to your post office and order it there (pay a fee, take a pic, wait for it in the mail). I think they're good for a few years.

Visa is tricky and I'm quite a bit lost with this. This is where the country makes things difficult for you to get in. There are various types of visa's which permit you to do various things while you're in that particular country. And if knowing which visa to apply for isn't tricky enough, there's a chance you may be rejected. From what I know, they don't last very long, and if your time runs out while in Japan and you fail to renew your visa, you will be forced to go back home. That is all I know about this, and I have no idea which visa I should apply for or what (if any) the requirements are. I heard they actually check how much money you have in the bank.

A guarantor can more tricky than the visa, or for some it may be the easiest part. Basically it is just someone (a Japanese person IN Japan) who 'guarantees' you (or they) will keep your ass in line and obey the laws, and they will also help you in any financial crisis. Basically, you become their responsibility. Apparently most (but NOT all) apartments require you have a guarantor. Some apartments offer a guarantor service which you pay for in rent, and I think some jobs offer guarantors as well. But is a guarantor required to obtain a visa?

There are tons of sketchy sites on the net for job searching. I happened to have found one long ago that I like a lot and am more than likely to use to find a job. My problem is knowing when exactly to apply. It looks like they will not hire you unless the interview is in person. But will they even consider your application if you're not in Japan yet?

Apartments don't actually seem so hard in my opinion. Sure Tokyo is big and expensive, but there are plenty of apartments in the area for as low as 50k yen (and cheaper if you're lucky). There are websites for foreigners that help obtaining cheap apartments. I suggest 'couchsurfing' while job hunting till you have money for an apartment. There are tons of people doing this in Japan and my friends love it (and it's free).

So, I think the main issue is having these steps in the proper order and when to act. I have a series of questions I really need answered. Hopefully someone out there can help with these~

• I want to get affordable plain tickets, so I'm likely to order way in advance. I have my own apartment now, but should I get rid of it before going?
• And if I do that, what if I don't find a job before my visa expires and have to come back?
• Should I spend the extra cash on a round trip ticket, or go ballsout with a one way and save a few hundred?
• What if my attempt to renew my visa fails?
• What if I don't have any money left to come back?
• How far in advance should I apply for jobs?
• What's the deal with bank accounts?

Any useful response to this post is so greatly appreciated. Lets work together to sort this out for me and all others who want to pursue a life in Japan.

Yeah this might be poorly laid out. I typed it as the thoughts came ::shrugs:: :redface: .Thanks for reading.

 

[hitozumarabu]

You're planning to do something that I want to do too, live (even for a while) in Japan.
But you have to know that Japan is a very expensive country: house, food, etc. So I don't what to say when you mention that you have "practically nothing"; google "supermarket japan" or something like that to have an idea about prices.

Also, if you don't know japanese, at least try to learn some useful phrases when you're going to buy stuff, take the subway, etc. ;)

Good luck!

 

[orisa]

Sorry I'm going to be a bad guy here.

If you are finding American life 'hard' then you will not find anymore happiness in Japan. What you are trying to achieve here is simply a wet dream. "Stressful" is an understatement. It's essentially a suicide.

For one, having "practically nothing" is already a fatal problem. People who want to move to Japan (especially to main areas like Tokyo) put in years of planning and mass amount of resources, not to mention having people network within the country before they start their lives there. My dad spent 5 years planning his move to Japan, then when I was born he moved and even then he had to spent 3 years working 3 minimum wage part time jobs while studying to acquire enough resources and record to bring me and my mom over (and that's not even Tokyo, it was in Nagasaki where housing was one of the cheapest). Oh, and you also need a guarantor to enter the country if you plan to reside there. You'll basically have to find a pure Japanese person to be your scapegoat, and at your current state, that's also a wet dream.

Japan's economy is not getting any better, and due to many nature related disasters that's happened to the country they are on the edge. In that terrible state, if you think they'll hire a foreigner on visa over a Japanese citizen you'd be kidding yourself. Japan is WAY less tolerant towards foreigners than North American is. You will receive no support from the government, you will always be the last priority, and nobody will be there to help you if you make a wrong move. One way ticket without resources to any country is a very risky move, but one to Japan is simply in a different league. It's not like Canada where you can land in a motor boat, apply for a refugee status and receive funding from the government. It's like trying to land in a wooden boat full of holes, and even after you somehow manage to land you'd be walking a path of needles, hot lava, and booby traps every step of the way on bare feet.

Again, sorry if I'm raining on your parade but I'm saying this for your own good. If you have such a strong desire to live in Japan, then please, PLEASE make full of your American life first. Reason people don't just take their bags and move to Japan is because it needs years of planning and plenty of resources. "Starting with nothing" is not an option, and from what I can see in your post you are worried about what will happen if you fail. You will literally wither and die.

You are underestimating life in Japan. It's not all flowers and unicorns. So please, don't just ditch your current life and make your life here worth living before considering this move.

 

[Animaksiat]

voting for orisa too...
i agree with him, i lived for a few years back then...
it's a very harsh country for foreigners, they... kinda racist. even if you do manage to enter japan and live in there
how about the job? you do need to work in there. japan doesn't allow foreigner enters their country for just staying without work (different case if you're tourist that's gonna sightseeing)

okay, next case... after you find a job, you need to pay taxes which i'd say, expensive.
for details you can go here

qouting orisa again, japan is really not to be under-estimated. even if you take place like aomori where everything is cheap. but still how could you manage, if the people are not quite friendly towards foreigners

 

[Apparition]

Some responses from people who read my entire post would be nice.

Cheers.

 

[shinnmoso]

I'll do my best with the few questions you've asked:

• For the plane tickets, if you're seriously thinking about settling there, get a one way ticket. You're better off to get a new ticket when you want to return to your home country.
• For your apartment, why not keep it and rent it out? You might get a little extra cash :)
• For the Visa question... all I can say is good luck. I guess talking to the embassy on why your renewal failed would help your next renewal.
• If you ran out of money to return to your home country, I guess ask your friend or family to lend you some for a one way ticket back to your home country, and work there instead.
• I think you can only get a work Visa if you are hired, so I guess apply when you're ready
• Can't help you with that :(

Hope that helps!

 

[Apparition]

@Shinnmoso Thanks!

My thoughts exactly on the one way ticket thing! I could always have a friend wire me some money if I happen to run out while I'm there. They will fly me back if need be. The apartment thing didn't even cross my mind! I may actually be able to do that. As for visa's, jobs that hire foreigners seem to hire people on quite a few different kind of visa's, not only the working visa, which is cool. Also, you are allowed to change visa's when renewing. But still I don't know which is best to start out with. I could start with something that I'm assuming is simple such as a tourist visa, establish job connections, and then switch to a working visa later. That'll probably do.

 

[Tessu]

Mmm, I've lived in other places by myself for a while...

I also have some japanese friends and life is not exactly what you expect. Id say your best shot is to go as prepared as possible. Like Shin said, rent out your current apartment (if owned), to have some extra cash at all times. Learn basic japanese before going. Knowing a couple of things makes a huge difference. Most of the hardest tasks we find ourselves in our daily life can be overcomed if you never give up, of course lets be real.

Set your goals and psych up, because it's never easy... It takes time to adapt to a new culture, try to enjoy at the same time. Tickets aren't that much of a problem, the thing is; the ride to japan is very long. Prices are somewhat high, just monitor them when they drop the price in low traveling seasons, you might get lucky. Also with visa issues the best thing to do, contact the Japanese embassy, they surely have most of the information you might need.

Japan is WAY less tolerant towards foreigners than North American is.

My friends agreed with this. Japanese people are tight when dealing with foreigners.

Depression is a big issue too. Making friends is not really easy, sadly all people keep stereotypes around the world, being a united states of american citizen is one of the worst stereotypes IMO. Back when I was in Belgium, most exchange students that came from the USA were isolated by other exchange students from all the countries. You'll feel depress, life is not easy, you barely have someone to talk to, culture is rathar unpleasant to a certain point, language will give you headaches, holidays aren't the same... all packed in with loneliness makes a nice pill call homesickness.

 

[shinnmoso]

I really don't want to type this, but I seriously think you should think twice before immigrating to Japan.

Without higher education, it would be extremely hard for you to find work when you're competing with truck loads of local Japanese with most of them holding either a undergraduate degree or something similar. If people having higher qualifications and they can't find work, I doubt that people with lower education can be any more successful.

Please do consider taking higher education first, such as studying in a community college or a university. When you have a undergraduate degree, sign up for the JET program (Teaching English) to have a "feel" of how Japanese life is like.

I'm not trying to steer you away from life in Japan (heck, I'm hoping to do the same during uni life with study abroad), but please do think twice and take orisa's advice seriously before permanently immigrating to Japan.

 

[Apparition]

Oh? So we're still not reading carefully? Delete the thread. This is clearly the wrong place for this.

 

[WsE]

I like how people who try to give sincere advice are completely disregarded. Just because they don't give you the exact answers you want.

 

[hitozumarabu]

Oh? So we're still not reading carefully? Delete the thread. This is clearly the wrong place for this.

If you're determined to live in Japan maybe you should specify that you only wanted advice about the subjects you mentioned from people that are living now there.
Most of the responses you got here were advices about how hard is to live in Japan for foreigners but no one said "don't go", I'm sure that all (including me) wish you the best in your decision and future plans :)

 

[orisa]

You know what, do what you will. Pursue whatever it is that you watched in anime or read in manga. But just know that even "having a roof and food in the fridge" is a fancy talk.

But what do I care. I don't know you and there's no reason for me to be stopping someone with some colorful imaginary dreams about Japan. Have fun.

 

[Cocona]

This thread needs to be closed now...

 

[Tessu]

*Ninja squad arrives*

PS: Apparition, reality is not that fun.