Moving to Japan: What would it take?

Cincher

Cincher

Active member
So this is just an idea I've been tossing around, and definitely wouldn't be something I'd do until I've finished my education, but I think it would be cool to live in Japan for a time...maybe for a season, maybe a year, maybe for life; who knows. All depends how well I can adapt, and if I get homesick.

So basically, I'm looking for a rough cost of what it might take to move there.

I have no problem with learning the language (doing it right now!), even though some say it's not necessary, I feel learning how to read/write/converse in the language is anything but a hindrance.

I'd never live in Tokyo, northern Japan/Hokkaido would be my target area. Some small(er) city for sure...

Employment wise I'd probably be looking for something related to auto mechanics, which I figure would not be hard to find employment in that trade.
 
My cousin moved to Japan and she said the first year was by far the worst because it is so incredibly expensive to use your american dollars and convert it all into yen. You'd think that because the value of yen is lower things would be cheaper, but the price in yen is massively inflated to compensate. Once she got a job, she started to make a realistic amount of money in comparison to the cost and it all normalized.
 
Apparently it's impossible to fit in. No matter how long you stay there the locals see you as a tourist. If you learn japanese and ask them a question in japanese, they'll respond in English (if they know it). This may only apply to some parts though.

Source: A friend moved to Tokyo because his job demanded it. Could've stayed, came back two years later.
 
12975697:*DUMBCAN* said:
Apparently it's impossible to fit in. No matter how long you stay there the locals see you as a tourist. If you learn japanese and ask them a question in japanese, they'll respond in English (if they know it). This may only apply to some parts though.

Source: A friend moved to Tokyo because his job demanded it. Could've stayed, came back two years later.
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See, from what I've heard, that rings truest with regards to Tokyo but it might also be true for any major city, I can't say for certain. People who don't live in Tokyo have said that when you go into rural Japan you either pick up on the language or suffer.

It's a respect thing to me; I come to your country, I should try to learn your language.
 
12975697:*DUMBCAN* said:
Apparently it's impossible to fit in. No matter how long you stay there the locals see you as a tourist. If you learn japanese and ask them a question in japanese, they'll respond in English (if they know it). This may only apply to some parts though.

Source: A friend moved to Tokyo because his job demanded it. Could've stayed, came back two years later.
Click to expand...

See, from what I've heard, that rings truest with regards to Tokyo but it might also be true for any major city, I can't say for certain. People who don't live in Tokyo have said that when you go into rural Japan you either pick up on the language or suffer.

It's a respect thing to me; I come to your country, I should try to learn your language.
 
12975697:*DUMBCAN* said:
Apparently it's impossible to fit in. No matter how long you stay there the locals see you as a tourist. If you learn japanese and ask them a question in japanese, they'll respond in English (if they know it). This may only apply to some parts though.

Source: A friend moved to Tokyo because his job demanded it. Could've stayed, came back two years later.
Click to expand...

See, from what I've heard, that rings truest with regards to Tokyo but it might also be true for any major city, I can't say for certain. People who don't live in Tokyo have said that when you go into rural Japan you either pick up on the language or suffer.

It's a respect thing to me; I come to your country, I should try to learn your language.
 
12975789:shr@gler said:
They are racist! Yet extremely polite about it!
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this

Think about where you want to live in Japan then you will get a much more accurate cost.

But the major expenses

flying over

renting or owning a place to live (In places Japanese real estate is very inflated so be warned)

food

Another thing to think about is how much money do you live on in the U.S.

Threads for personal gain
 
12975789:shr@gler said:
They are racist! Yet extremely polite about it!
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Really now...that kind of sucks

12975799:MountainDil said:
Think about where you want to live in Japan then you will get a much more accurate cost.

But the major expenses

flying over

renting or owning a place to live (In places Japanese real estate is very inflated so be warned)

food

Another thing to think about is how much money do you live on in the U.S.

Threads for personal gain
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warning, I'll have to look into real estate in target cities. The target cities will depend on the local ski resorts and what terrain they offer. I'll also need to calculate my monthly living expenses too. But basically, the initial moving cost could be the price of a nice car; $5-7000.

The more I think about it, the more it sounds like a hard task to do . It's one thing to move across the country, but a completely different thing to hop across an ocean. I'm content living in Canada, but of course I'd be happier if I was a little closer to - or living in - BC. Maybe I should take a trip there first before I decide.

Oh, and sorry about the triple post, my internet was being weird.
 
12975684:Gnartron said:
Boof as much sushi as you can
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Anyone who likes to boof things is a friend of mine.

Also OP. I know for a fact it will take a passport and about $3.50

If you can get a job delivering sushi, get a nice car, and spend your off time drifting and racing in the mountains.
 
12976360:theabortionator said:
Anyone who likes to boof things is a friend of mine.

Also OP. I know for a fact it will take a passport and about $3.50

If you can get a job delivering sushi, get a nice car, and spend your off time drifting and racing in the mountains.
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That word... I don't know what it means...unless Urban Dictionary is correct in describing it as anally inserting drugs...

Obviously, but aint givin you no damn tree fiddy!

Nah bro, I'd work in one of them tuner shops, buy a Nissan Pulsar GTI-R (4WD SR20 FTW), and wipe the floor with the local scrubs that race the mountain passes.

12976379:TheBigApple said:
Expect to spend $15,000 for a winter.
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Is this from your experience, your friend's experience, or did you pull that number out your ass? And is that with or without skiing? If I need to skip a season to get settled in and save ￥, then that's fine by me.
 
12976427:Cincher said:
That word... I don't know what it means...unless Urban Dictionary is correct in describing it as anally inserting drugs...

Obviously, but aint givin you no damn tree fiddy!

Nah bro, I'd work in one of them tuner shops, buy a Nissan Pulsar GTI-R (4WD SR20 FTW), and wipe the floor with the local scrubs that race the mountain passes.
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Yes! That is correct. Boofing things get's a bad wrap. Almost everything is better when boofed.

And also meant tofu. SOmebody said sushi and I typed that instead
 
I bet it's expensive as fuck.

Definitely have heard that they're racist and polite about it. I recall the head of a japanese robotics company saying they want to make sufficient androids so they can replace foreign workers with robots.
 
12976690:a_pla5tic_bag said:
Definitely have heard that they're racist and polite about it.
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that is not possible, you can't be a polite racist.

kinda like you can't be a retarded genius, it just doesn't work
 
You should do it man. Going with a friend might make it easier. Being frugal isn't easy but just the pow you'll be shredding day in, day out! Traveling when you're at this age is the best time to do it!
 
One of my teachers lived in Tokyo for 5 years after college, he said he loved it. Although it was a long time ago, for him he stuck out like a sore thumb being a fully red haired stocky 25 year old, but everybody treated him like they would any other local once he made some friends. He explained he went with no knowledge of the language and brought an english-japanese dictionary on the place + the money in his pockets. Not sure what he did for work, but for him total emersion taught him the language within the first few months.
 
First thing you need to do is look into visas. You can't just move somewhere and start working. To work in japan, you're likely going to need a job lined up ahead of time, or have someone sponsoring you for your visa. If you aren't working I believe you can get a 90 day visitor visa. Thats your first step, look into the visa situation. I've had a handful of friends work winters there and it looks incredible. They're all instructors or ski guides that had jobs/visa's lined up through work.

Something I've always wanted to do, but as I currently go back and forth to NZ it makes it very difficult to get a visa to another foreign country. Use google, get on the american/japanese immigration site. Read up. Good luck.
 
12977225:m3mike02 said:
First thing you need to do is look into visas. You can't just move somewhere and start working. To work in japan, you're likely going to need a job lined up ahead of time, or have someone sponsoring you for your visa. If you aren't working I believe you can get a 90 day visitor visa. Thats your first step, look into the visa situation. I've had a handful of friends work winters there and it looks incredible. They're all instructors or ski guides that had jobs/visa's lined up through work.

Something I've always wanted to do, but as I currently go back and forth to NZ it makes it very difficult to get a visa to another foreign country. Use google, get on the american/japanese immigration site. Read up. Good luck.
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You're right, as I looked into it, the only jobs available to gaijin are jobs a Japanese person can't do (teach English) and jobs a Japanese person won't do (dirty, dangerous and low paying). I don't have a bachelor's degree and also no interest in teaching English; What I do have is my CSIA lvl 1 cert, with plans to upgrade to lvl. 2. It's all a matter of affording a trip to a western resort to take the course since CSIA does not offer a level 2 course anywhere remotely local to Manitoba.

However, I can't really make a sustainable career out of such a seasonal job (unless I travelled abroad), which is why I'm wanting to become an automotive technician. But unless I possess some specialist skill/knowledge, there's literally zero chance a Japanese employer would choose me over literally any other skilled local tradesmen.Maybe my best bet would be to study at a Japanese trade school...?
 
OP I'm assuming you've visited Japan already right? If not, that would be my first port of call.

Like someone already said, first obstacle is the visa issue. Your best bet it to already have a job lined up before you try to move as it's likely then that your employer will help some with relocation/accommodation costs.

I relocated from the UK to the Middle East. It cost in the region of $12k to ship all our stuff (inc all furniture etc), flights, rental deposit on a place to live, hire a car, pay for the first month's insurance, food, bills etc. If you have nothing to ship, then I'd say you need around $6k to cover the move inc flights, accommodation etc and everything you need for the first month or so.

But your main concern right now should be your visa as without that, a move is impossible.
 
12977995:BoogieWoman said:
OP I'm assuming you've visited Japan already right? If not, that would be my first port of call.

Like someone already said, first obstacle is the visa issue. Your best bet it to already have a job lined up before you try to move as it's likely then that your employer will help some with relocation/accommodation costs.

I relocated from the UK to the Middle East. It cost in the region of $12k to ship all our stuff (inc all furniture etc), flights, rental deposit on a place to live, hire a car, pay for the first month's insurance, food, bills etc. If you have nothing to ship, then I'd say you need around $6k to cover the move inc flights, accommodation etc and everything you need for the first month or so.

But your main concern right now should be your visa as without that, a move is impossible.
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No, I haven't and it's certainly on my long term goal list.

I see, that's certainly a big cost. I don't have a house full of stuff I'd have to move, but there is a fair bit. Given Japan's excellent transit system, I can certainly go without a car for quite some time.

This seems to be the consistent theme, I just need to figure out which visa would be best....

12978014:InfiniteSteeze said:
Accessories: dildo, chopsticks, Pokemon, sushi
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no; those are practically free; maybe for the plane ride; I'd prefer okonomiyaki.

12978014:InfiniteSteeze said:
Necessities: Fluency in Mandarin, Cash money, anime porn, Tokyo drift soundtrack
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あなた愚おろかだ。　I'm going to Japan not China; damn straight I need dat ￥; my laptop is ready; what I really need is hardstyle or kawaii-core.
 
12975721:Cincher said:
See, from what I've heard, that rings truest with regards to Tokyo but it might also be true for any major city, I can't say for certain. People who don't live in Tokyo have said that when you go into rural Japan you either pick up on the language or suffer.

It's a respect thing to me; I come to your country, I should try to learn your language.
Click to expand...

the only thing i hear about the people of Japan is from car blogs, and whenever they visit shops or hang out with the Japanese guys blogs always say how friendly everyone is, but that could just be the drifting scene
 
Go see for yourself. Ski school is your way in. I'm sure some people you work/worked with have been, and your supervisors could surely point you in the right direction. It doesn't cost THAT much. Haven't looked at flights to Japan, but I'd imagine it wouldn't be more than 1500-2000 round trip. Take another 1000 or so for a deposit on a place and random getting started money. Take an extra 1000 if you want a car.

From what I understand a lot of the more popular ski areas are just like any other ski town, most people speak english and there are tons of foreigners. Do your winter skiing, after you finish work, allow yourself extra time to travel and see the country. Your best bet, if your dead set on moving there permanently is to shack up with a japanese girl. Only way to find out is to go, and see where things take you. One day I'll find a way to spend a winter there.. some of the most consistent pow skiing anywhere.

good luck
 
I've been living up in Hokkaido for the past four years. I teach English, and it's a decent (and easy) job. I earn well, live in a nice place and can afford to ski, travel and save.

If you don't have a uni/college degree, then getting a visa is going to be difficult. Can you get a years working holiday visa as a US citizen? If you can, that'd be a good way of getting yourself out here and maybe getting yourself a job. Although you'd need excellent Japanese for most things, unless you were specifically hired in a tourist job with English speakers - ski instructor, or resort jobs etc.

Living here really isn't that expensive outside of the large cities. Some things are more expensive, but the Yen has devalued alot in the last year so if you're coming with US Dollars, then they'll go alot further than they would have 18 months ago. You can live very frugally if you want to, but you might not be able to travel and experience everything you'd want. If you want any more info, drop me a message.
 
Apologies, I'd assumed you're American, but I see you mentioned Canada. I'm pretty sure Canadians can get a working holiday visa if you're under 30.

It would, I imagine, be very tough to work in the automotive industry without fluent Japanese. (Even though most car terms in Japanese come from English!) You might be able to get friendly with independent garages/tuners etc, who could give you experience or an internship, but working officially for money would be quite unlikely.

You could adopt a long term view and try to get a job with a Japanese car manufacturer in your own country, with a view to an overseas placement to Japan in the future?
 
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OP
 
About the language part I spent two weeks in Tokyo without speaking a word of Japanese. But that won't work for a long amount of time. But on a side not I felt like a G when I was buying stuff that was like 1200 yen.
 
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