toyko fun or not

[potatoe]

konnichiwa,

im gonna be going to tokyo, im gonna take a year
out of college to go to tokyo for a couple of
months with my best mate and if we like it we might move here. i just wanted should i not go college for a year and go to tokyo.

[jeisan]

yuh take a year off if ya want.
though actually living in japan will most likely require you to have a degree beforehand, as you usually need at least a BA in anything to get a work visa.

[potatoe]

Originally Posted by jeisan

yuh take a year off if ya want.
though actually living in japan will most likely require you to have a degree beforehand, as you usually need at least a BA in anything to get a work visa.

could u please give me a low down on how to earn money in tokyo and getting a permit

[potatoe]

whats the best price an
average person like me can look forward to paying for an hotel

[jeisan]

take a gander here: http://www.jref.com/practical alot more info than i could give and quicker too.

[budd]

there's an accomodation thread somewhere around here too... admin links to it all the time... okay, here it is:

[Citizen]

You don't NEED a 4 year degree to work there. I'm just getting a working holiday visa, which is only vaild for one year but you can renew it every year if you want. I think the only country that's really uptight about the 4 year degree thing is S.Korea.

[jeisan]

yeah but you're canadian, the working holiday only applies to some countries' citizens of which the US isnt one of them. its like japan, canada, australia, belgium, netherlands, sweden, maybe brazil and probably several more european contries but those will have to be checked induvidually. i really wish the US would join that group, i wanna be able to working holiday all over the place....

[budd]

that's up to the u.s., they have to extend the courtesy as well.
kinda of doubt it with those new fingerprinting visa procedures though...

[jet_dee]

The guy's from England, like me. So you're thinking of taking a GAP? Cool, I'm doing the same thing, already got my placement lined up with 6 months at a Red Cross Hospital.
You say you and a friend are just thinking of going there for a few months? Hmm, that would be ok in any other country, but I think for Japan you will find it quite difficult to survive by just flying in and looking for work while spending all your remaining money.

Charities like Project Trust, and Gap Activity Projects are good, they will set you up with a year, and six months, respectively, either teaching English or working in hospitals/care homes. They can be competitive though, and for this year at least, I "think" that they're closed now, though I might be wrong.
If you really want to just go and hike through Japan, try reading up a lot. There's the link to the Jref practical section above, and I've found Lonely Planet's Japan guide to be great, it details EVERYTHING, even what jobs foreigners can get there.

It seems as an Englishman you'll find jobs to be few and far between without a degree, because of the effects of the recession meaning Japanese discriminate against non-japanese when choosing who to pick for a job. Bar work is something, but work visa's don't allow for it. i'm gonna spend the second half of my year there trying to find a job, at least until money issues force me to return home.

[Angel Casado]

Its cool

[Maciamo]

Originally Posted by jeisan

yeah but you're canadian, the working holiday only applies to some countries' citizens of which the US isnt one of them. its like japan, canada, australia, belgium, netherlands, sweden, maybe brazil and probably several more european contries but those will have to be checked induvidually. i really wish the US would join that group, i wanna be able to working holiday all over the place....

There is no way all these countries have the working-holiday visa agreement with Japan. The only countries that have it are : the UK, France Germany, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada (and maybe Hong Kong ?). That's all. Basically they are letting out smaller European countries, eventhough a Japanese coing to France or Germany with a working holiday visa can stay in all the Schengen area (11 countries), as the visas are now the same. It's like saying that Japanese can go to the US with that visa (anywhere), but only American from California, Texas and New York could go to Japan with the same visa. That's just an example to illustrate how other Europeans must feel.

[Maciamo]

Originally Posted by jet_dee

It seems as an Englishman you'll find jobs to be few and far between without a degree, because of the effects of the recession meaning Japanese discriminate against non-japanese when choosing who to pick for a job. Bar work is something, but work visa's don't allow for it.

I disagree with that. Teaching English is almost "reserved" to foreigners (mostly native speakers) and it is very easy to get a teaching job, as long as you stay in the same area (if you plan to stay 1 year in Tokyo). You should definitely apply for the working -holiday visa (wel in advance if possible, as numbers are limited).

[jet_dee]

Really? Hmm. Would it be difficult to move to Tokyo and apply for an English teaching job, after having spent 6 months in another part of Honshu? I'm wondering what I could possibly do to stay in Japan for the second half of my Gap year, as opposed to flying back home and just lounging around in my parent's house for half a year, before starting university.

[Maciamo]

Originally Posted by jet_dee

I'm wondering what I could possibly do to stay in Japan for the second half of my Gap year, as opposed to flying back home and just lounging around in my parent's house for half a year, before starting university.

There is not just Japan. You could travel around South East Asia, Australia or India. Japan is a very expensive to travel (especially transportation, and the JR pass cannot be bought with a one-year visa). The best bet would be to travel a few days/weeks around Japan, then work in Tokyo, and if you are bored (don't think it will happen, but possible), you can still go to the other countries I mentioned.

[jeisan]

Originally Posted by Maciamo

There is no way all these countries have the working-holiday visa agreement with Japan. The only countries that have it are : the UK, France Germany, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada (and maybe Hong Kong ?).

yeah you're right, just those 7, HK isn't included. i was thinking it was a more structured, singular group of certain countires, instead of it differing from country to country, like each countries working holiday allowances would be the same as the others.
while japan's agreement is with 7 countries, canada's is with 13, and australia has 17. for some reason i figured theyd all be the same.

[jet_dee]

Originally Posted by Maciamo

There is not just Japan. You could travel around South East Asia, Australia or India. Japan is a very expensive to travel (especially transportation, and the JR pass cannot be bought with a one-year visa). The best bet would be to travel a few days/weeks around Japan, then work in Tokyo, and if you are bored (don't think it will happen, but possible), you can still go to the other countries I mentioned.

Mmm, yeah. I know about the JR pass. That sucks, because for my first six months there, I'm more or less confined to my host town/city. I am interested in spending the final six months in Tokyo, as opposed to anywhere else in Japan, but I would like to spend a little time in Seoul and HK too, I just reckoned on those being even more expensive than simply staying in Tokyo (what with travel costs, and the fact that I know a little Japanese but no Korean or Cantonese, not that cantonese is necessary in HK nowadays). Southeast Asia doesn't quite interest me (been to Malaysia and Singapore, seen family there, cool countries, but I want to go places I've not seen before). And heh, I'm Indian, but at this point in my life I've got no interest in visiting India, I'm all for Far-east asia.