I think you've got a solid plan man <^_^>m keep plugging away at it; it takes guts to go for your dreams. If I can help ya somehow, lemee know!
A Warrior's Friend: ID 335212 - Help Infernal save Valkyrie from Battle Maiden.
Above Mars Part 1: The Wellington: ID 159769 - Save Mars by destroying a monstrous battleship from the inside!
>.> My DA page, where I attempt to art.
Move to New York instead! If you can make it there you can make it anywhere! :P
Hehe ok only kidding. But yeah it will be a pretty big deal to get up and move to Japan.... Good Luck!!!!!!!!
Good luck to you! 
And remember to watch "Lost in Translation". 
Ouch... I just saw this on Digg this morning...
http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/29/bi...ment-in-tokyo/
Good luck!!!! 
There are a lot of resources out there to help you, particularly if you want to teach. Most of the teaching programs are only one or two years in duration, but it opens the possibility of a permanent position. They do help you get a work visa, though.
Japan has pretty strict immigration rules, and you WILL need a visa, which usually means having a job that is willing to sponsor you. Your best bet would be to find a program that cuts through that red tape for you. They'll also help you with those little annoying things like finding housing and opening a bank account (which can both be INFURIATING).
I have a friend teaching English over there right now, I'll ask her what program she's using.
Best of luck--I'm told they can be warm and welcoming in many respects by people who've lived there.
Only advice, apply for passport immediately, wait times are as much as a year lately.
Best of luck, and enjoy your time there! That's one place I've wanted to visit, so have fun for me!
My Deviant Art page link-link
CoH/V Fan Videos
I hear the jet program is "the one" to do if you want to teach english over there.
Mew
First of all, good luck! I was fortunate enough to spend the summer of 2005 in Japan. Wonderful place. I really want to go back sometime.
[ QUOTE ]
I'm looking into various options, such as teaching English in Japan. I've still got a lot of research to do, but now that I'm serious about this I've got to cover every angle and make sure I've got all the information I need to do this right. I've taken the first step already and ordered the Japanese Rosetta Stone, costing me about $400 USD for both the basic and advanced sets. I could have started with the basic and picked up the advanced later, but I save myself $100 picking them both up together.
[/ QUOTE ]
Teaching yourself Japanese is difficult. That's just a simple thing to say. I suggest you go to the nearest large university/college and post a notice on any community bulletin you can that you are interested in learning the language. You may get lucky and find a student willing to tutor you (or at least serve as a study partner for themselves).
[ QUOTE ]
Next I'm thinking of finding some sites online where I can get in touch with actual people from Japan and become pen pals or such and make a few connections in Japan itself so that I have people who can help me become familiar with everything in Japan should I need the help. I'm a little more than nervous about this part, but I'd rather have some connections over there in Japan than having to go it all alone.
[/ QUOTE ]
A good resource for you, should you go to the Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe), is the Kansai Time Out. It's a "gaijin magazine" aimed at serving the very sizable foreigner population. There should be a number of similar publications for the Kanto area (Tokyo, Yokohama, etc), but I didn't spend much time there.
Also, I'll give any suggestions/advice I can, but my general info is a bit rusty. PM me any questions and I'll see if I can help you out.
[ QUOTE ]
There are other things to look into, like passports. Do I need any special things like a work visa or any such things? I'll be looking into citizenship as well. So much to do. I hope I can get all the information I need. It's too bad that there isn't anyone in Penticton I can ask for help with this research. All of my support systems have let me down repeatedly in the past and I've basically cut ties with them.
[/ QUOTE ]
Japan has very strict immigration laws. You will need a work visa to be there, so that means you will need an employer willing to sponsor you.
One note though: Japanese Immigration officials frown on foreigners coming over to look for work. Don't bring printed resumes and the such. Store those digitally on a jump-drive or bring a laptop and use one of the many copy-centers to print out what you need, when you need it.
I urge you to explore the JET Programme. It's a governmentally-sponsored teaching exchange program. Anyone with a bachelor's degree, under 40 years old and willing to learn more about Japan/deepen their interest is able to enroll. If selected, you'll spend one year teaching English to Junior High/High School students. You'll have the option to re-enroll for up to three more years though.
Head of TRICK, the all Trick Arrow and Traps SG
Part of the Repeat Offenders
Still waiting for his Official BackAlleyBrawler No-Prize
The Mistry of Foreign Affairs is a good place to dig up some of the information on visas.
Japan isn't the easiest place to move to, by far. Despite becoming a more "open" country, there is still a lot of resistance to foreigners. 
Teaching English always seems like the easiest way to get over there, if you have a Bachelor's degree at least.
Ok, well my RosettaStone Level 1 & 2 Japanese just showed up at my doorstep. Wish me luck!
<@_@> Good luck man! <^,^> Glad your stuff arrived!!
A Warrior's Friend: ID 335212 - Help Infernal save Valkyrie from Battle Maiden.
Above Mars Part 1: The Wellington: ID 159769 - Save Mars by destroying a monstrous battleship from the inside!
>.> My DA page, where I attempt to art.
I had to pay an extra $35 CAN at the door (C.O.D.) in GST (Government Sales Tax) before they would even hand it over. My poor credit card! It's a good thing payday is tomorrow!
<O.@> Yikes!
A Warrior's Friend: ID 335212 - Help Infernal save Valkyrie from Battle Maiden.
Above Mars Part 1: The Wellington: ID 159769 - Save Mars by destroying a monstrous battleship from the inside!
>.> My DA page, where I attempt to art.
I spent a total of four years living/working in Japan. The first time was from 1992 to 1994. The second was 1997 to 1999. So it's been a while since I was there and it's possible that things have changed a lot, but I doubt it.
First of all, JET was very unpopular with the foreigners over there at the time for 2 reasons:
1. You went where JET decided to place you. So if they needed you to go freeze your butt off in Aomori, so be it.
2. They took care of the essentials in terms of getting your work visa and setting you up with somewhere to live, but they also paid considerably less.
When I did it, the general way English teachers got set up there is by entering the country on a 30 day tourist visa. You tell immigration its a vacation. Then check the job ads in a magazine like Kansai Time Out to see who is hiring (probably one of the big schools like Nova or ECC)
You go on an interview. If you get hired, you start working illegally while your work visa is being processed. The company will pay you with a "loan" that you never actually pay back. When you're visa is ready, you leave the country to go to an outside consulate to pick it up....most of the people flew to Seoul to pick it up. You went, you got it, you came back in to the country and then everything was gravy. It's a very nervewracking process but if you want to make more money and have more control with regards to where you live (particularly if you want to live in Kyoto or Tokyo) then its more than worth it.
There are other circumstances as well. If you have some sort non-tourist style visa (eg. as the dependent of someone with a work visa) you may be able to change your visa to a work visa without leaving the country. I did the second time I was there.
If you go non-JET, you'll need to make you're own living arrangements. A lot of Japanese landlords have gaijin houses that cater to foreigners. It's ok but you're living with a bunch of post college types sharing a kitchen, bathrooms, etc.
If you get your own apartment, you'll probably need some savings for key money (a one-time non refundable bribe to get the apartment basically).
It's obviously good to study Japanese, but I'd focus on things like counting, buying things, asking directions first and foremost. Learn hiragana and katakana asap so that you can read the signs for trains, busses, etc
www.battlewraith.deviantart.com
Here's the story of a semi-typical JET...(it's basically the journal of a guy that spent 3 years as a JET...technically, it's completed since he already finished the 3 years but he decided to stay in Japan afterwards...anyways, it's hilarious)...try to read it from the beginning. It's worth every word.
http://www.gaijinsmash.net/archives.phtml
NOVA (an agency/employer) just collapsed leaving thousands of teachers out of work. So, if I were you, I'd hunt for discussion forums relating to living/working in Japan to find out how the current situation is.
Good luck though, I moved to Korea 6 years ago and have yet to go back to the Great White North.
(QR)
Grats on getting your stuff, Story. Boo on having to shell out more just to get them to hand it over though. Get semi-used to that idea though. Like BattleWraith mentioned, there's the whole keymoney issue of housing in Japan.
JET's a little better nowadays. They still send you wherever, but they at least ask you where you'd like to go. If there's an opening in the spot you requested, they'll try to fit you in. If not... well, you may end up in the middle of nowhere.
If you do go for a private school route, do be sure to not only use the forums, but also talk to current and former teachers there. There were a few schools that were notorious for making their teachers work longer and longer hours while still paying them base rates.
Head of TRICK, the all Trick Arrow and Traps SG
Part of the Repeat Offenders
Still waiting for his Official BackAlleyBrawler No-Prize
So much to think about. I've been told different things by different people locally and I'm going to have to do the research myself to find out what is what. I may have to bite the bullet and try finishing my Grade 12 online through a legitimate source (one where the graduation diploma means something) and see what I need aside from that.
If only the school system hadn't wasted so much of my time putting me into various schooling situations after promising to provide me with the support I needed to complete the schooling under my then current circumstances before then turning about face and telling me that such services were never available to begin with. I've since avoided going back to complete my Grade 12 because of that.
Because of my situation I didn't think that I'd ever actually need it because I didn't see myself escaping my current situation whether I completed it or not. Now things have reached the point where I have to get out of my current situation or end up hospitalized again, or worse.
I chose Japan as it is the source of all the things that have given me happiness and hope that I can continue on with my life throughout the years.
Someone told me that I may be able to take a proficiency test if I didn't have my Grade 12, but based on what others have said I am very skeptical. I really hope that there is a path to success here. I don't like the feeling that I've been painted into a corner with no way out.
I wish I had a better support network in place here to help me out through this (I guess I could say that I have no real support network at all), but I'm stuck having to do this all pretty much on my own. It scares the hell out of me. I'm terrified of asking for help too as I've been let down so many times in the past. It sucks not being able to trust others.
[ QUOTE ]
It's taken me a while to reach this point, but I've decided that I'm going to be moving to Japan sometime in the future. No more dreaming about it. I'm going to take the next step and actually do it. Something in my life needs to change or I'll be stuck in this limbo I'm currently in forever. It's going to be one hell of a big step for me, but as scary as that is even more frightening is the thought of not being able to go.
I'm looking into various options, such as teaching English in Japan. I've still got a lot of research to do, but now that I'm serious about this I've got to cover every angle and make sure I've got all the information I need to do this right. I've taken the first step already and ordered the Japanese Rosetta Stone, costing me about $400 USD for both the basic and advanced sets. I could have started with the basic and picked up the advanced later, but I save myself $100 picking them both up together.
Next I'm thinking of finding some sites online where I can get in touch with actual people from Japan and become pen pals or such and make a few connections in Japan itself so that I have people who can help me become familiar with everything in Japan should I need the help. I'm a little more than nervous about this part, but I'd rather have some connections over there in Japan than having to go it all alone.
There are other things to look into, like passports. Do I need any special things like a work visa or any such things? I'll be looking into citizenship as well. So much to do. I hope I can get all the information I need. It's too bad that there isn't anyone in Penticton I can ask for help with this research. All of my support systems have let me down repeatedly in the past and I've basically cut ties with them.
The one thing I'm not going to do is rush into this blindly, dashing forward blissfully ignorant in my excitement. I've done that a few to many times in the past. If there had been supports in place in those instances I might have been able to make it through those situations regardless of my errors, but that wasn't the case. Since I'll be going this pretty much alone I know that I'll have to take the utmost care to make sure I do everything right.
Wish me luck everyone!
[/ QUOTE ]
Interesting enough, I plan on moving to Japan sometime in the future. My buddy that plays this game also lives in Japan and I might stay with him if he has extra room and if he'll allow it.
You also mentioned Rosetta Stone and telling how costly it was. I was doing some research on programs where you can learn Japanese and none of them looked pleasing enough. So I thank you for mentioning Rosetta Stone.
My friend says a plane ticket for Japan will roughly be around $800. Sounds a lot, but with a job I have, I can earn that in about a month if I manage to work for seven or more hours for four days each week.
Wish both of us luck then? Because I will be moving to Japan, and staying there for the rest of my life.
Also, if you like, we can help each other.
I have 2 co-workers who plan on moving to Japan. They plan on saving up about $20,000 to $50,000 CAN and plan on working as hosts at one of the clubs somewhere in the Osaka district. I'm not sure how realistic their plans are compared to mine though. They'll be 18 and 19 when they do plan to head on over. I'm still trying to decide if I want to go along with them or wait for my own plans to formulate. Looking into the education level thing might be a deciding factor. I'm also curious as to whether having a viable online business might help things out as well. I have something planned, but we'll have to see how that plan goes.
I'd appreciate as much help as I can get, and I'll give as much as I can as well. As for all the programs for teaching Japanese that I looked at RosettaStone does appear to be the best. Even still I may start hanging out at one of the Japanese restaurants in town to practice my Japanese once I've learned a decent amount. I'll let you know about my experiences with the program and my progress with the language as time goes by.
I think my initial nervousness is beginning to fade away now and a sort of a serious drive for success is setting in.
$20,000 to $50,000? I wasn't planning on saving up for that much, but if I did it'll be another four to five years before I move to Japan, and I don't want to move to the place when I'm older. I want to do it while I'm young.
I'm 19 now, after reading your post in reply to mine, I've been thinking about new things now. Should I stop going to college and get a full-time job to save up enough money to move to Japan without worrying too much about money problems? And then go to school in Japan so I can get an education there? Or should I still go to school, and then afterwards, save up and then move? I really can't decide which is the better decision.
$5000 CAN is about what you'd need to stay for a month. Not counting all the extra costs to find a place if you don't already have something set up. You'll need to live there for 5 years before you can become a citizen and you need citizenship to attend their public schooling system. From what I understand anyway.
I live in the United States, so I don't know how much $5000 there would be here.
Five years is a long time to be considered a citizen of Japan, but for me, it'll be worth the wait.
Also, I don't plan on staying in Japan for a month, but for the rest of my life. I may come back a few times for Christmas, but that's probably about it. Ever since I took Japanse I in high school, I wanted to live in Japan because the class watched videos and a few movies about Japan.
It's taken me a while to reach this point, but I've decided that I'm going to be moving to Japan sometime in the future. No more dreaming about it. I'm going to take the next step and actually do it. Something in my life needs to change or I'll be stuck in this limbo I'm currently in forever. It's going to be one hell of a big step for me, but as scary as that is even more frightening is the thought of not being able to go.
I'm looking into various options, such as teaching English in Japan. I've still got a lot of research to do, but now that I'm serious about this I've got to cover every angle and make sure I've got all the information I need to do this right. I've taken the first step already and ordered the Japanese Rosetta Stone, costing me about $400 USD for both the basic and advanced sets. I could have started with the basic and picked up the advanced later, but I save myself $100 picking them both up together.
Next I'm thinking of finding some sites online where I can get in touch with actual people from Japan and become pen pals or such and make a few connections in Japan itself so that I have people who can help me become familiar with everything in Japan should I need the help. I'm a little more than nervous about this part, but I'd rather have some connections over there in Japan than having to go it all alone.
There are other things to look into, like passports. Do I need any special things like a work visa or any such things? I'll be looking into citizenship as well. So much to do. I hope I can get all the information I need. It's too bad that there isn't anyone in Penticton I can ask for help with this research. All of my support systems have let me down repeatedly in the past and I've basically cut ties with them.
The one thing I'm not going to do is rush into this blindly, dashing forward blissfully ignorant in my excitement. I've done that a few to many times in the past. If there had been supports in place in those instances I might have been able to make it through those situations regardless of my errors, but that wasn't the case. Since I'll be going this pretty much alone I know that I'll have to take the utmost care to make sure I do everything right.
Wish me luck everyone!