Looking for help and advice

[JapanFanMan]

Could someone please help me !! I have very recently returned from a month long trip to Japan and i fell in love with it . I was literally heartbroken when i had to leave and now i'm home i would like more information with regards to living in Japan. I don't have a degree to get some high powered job over there,i'm just a humble fitness instructor from the north west. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Mike Cash]

Unfortunately, in general you need a degree for even the most low-powered job. Either that or a Japanese spouse. There are exceptions, however, so you might wish to scour the following for a loophole:

http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/

[JapanFanMan]

Thanx for the link Mike,i'll sit down with that site tonight when i get home . I'd be grateful if you could set me straight on any information i find .

[PopCulturePooka]

Hmm, you're british?
You could maybe get a working holiday visa or whatever it is and do part time with nova. Try poking around www.teachinjapan.com

[JapanFanMan]

Hi again, finding the time to do some research on moving to Japan has been rather difficult over the last few days, because i've been working every hour i could to help pay for our trip to Tokyo : ) I have uncovered quite a lot of information now though on Teaching foreign languages abroad, the qualifications needed,pay, visa etc. Would you be able tell me about the viability of Teaching as a ways and means of aquiring a visa ?
Thanks in advance Paul

[Mike Cash]

I know nothing about the working holiday thing, so take that into account when reading the rest of this post.

Being willing/able to teach English isn't a prerequisite for a visa to teach. Being eligible for a visa to work is a prerequisite for teaching English. It all hinges on your eligibility for a working visa. In most cases that means having a college degree. English schools by and large don't care what your degree is in. It could be engineering or basket weaving; they don't care just so long as your fill the bill on the visa requirements.

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Tokyo Employment Service Center for Foreigners
http://www.tfemploy.go.jp/index_en.html

A foreign finding employment net
http://www.tsubasainc.net/index.html

[misa.j]

You could look into finding a job as a fitness instructor at Japanese health clubs.
Unfortunatelly, I didn't find a site that could be useful at the moment, but I know there are many foreign club members, especially in metropolitan area like Tokyo, and you might not need a college degree for that.

Just a thought.

[JapanFanMan]

Thanks again for all the help ! It's genuinely appreciated ! Whilst i was in Tokyo i visited the Golds gym in Harajuku and spoke with an American instructor there about obtaining a visa to work. He mentioned some of the fitness instructors at the gym had physiology degrees, i can't compete with that ! :) To be quite honest i'd take just about any job whatsoever if they'd let me in , i've always wanted to go to Japan , ever since i was about 10 11 years old. 15 years later, to go there and find out it was everything you wanted it to be and then some was a hell of a thing .

[Mike Cash]

I have a friend who does work as a fitness instructor. I believe he is, like myself, without a degree. PM me your e-mail address and I'll forward it to him and ask if he wouldn't mind answering questions from you about it. He can be a cantankerous cuss, so no guarantees.