Come to Japan on tourist Visa, then look?

[Papa-Lazarou]

Apologies for any going over old ground.
I am 28 years old and have a decent career in IT and a BSc (Hons) degree.
I have decided next year to go on a career break (because frankly i am bored to fucking death with IT Management) and see a bit more of Japan.


Normally i would just apply for English teaching gigs here in the UK going through the normal process, HOWEVER i will be living in Thailand from Feb-April/May next year doing some contract work/training, so thats pretty much out of the question

I was then hoping to fly direct from Bangkok to Tokyo and attempt to pick up a teaching gig there.

1) Is this legal? can you change your VISA mid visit from tourist to working (with a sponsor)?

2) Is this advisable? Do company's prefer to recruit from outside Japan? or inside (saving them air fare, surley)?

3) Are there enough reasonably paid vacancies in Tokyo to be almost guaranteed something within a couple of weeks? (Only interested in Tokyo/Yokohama)

4) Which companies do you reccommend and where should i look for jobs? (Not interested in NOVA, really)

Thanx

EDIT: I am not really looking to make a career/get rich out of it. I just want to see more of Japan, improve my Japanese etc

Cheers

[GomiGirl]

What is your nationality?? As long as you are not from the US you can get a working holiday visa (apply now and then activate it when you arrive)

If you are a US citizen, then you can change your visa while you are here with an appropriate sponsor.

Check the multitude of job boards around for opportunities.

[Mulboyne]

Have you considered a working holiday visa?

http://www.jawhm.or.jp/eng/index.html

(link courtesy of GomiGirl)

[Papa-Lazarou]

Thanks guys, i am from UK, i would love a Working Holiday Visa. In fact it is ideal for me.
As with all things that "ideal".....

Alas i am 28 now and will be 29 when i arrive in Japan and the provisions for UK residents are
"be aged between eighteen (18) and twenty-five (25) years both inclusive at the time of application for the said visa, except in those cases where the competent authorities of the Government of Japan agree to extend the limitation of age up to thirty (30) years"

The nice people* from the Japanese consulate said it was very rare for anyone over 25 to be granted a VISA


*Actually, they weren't very nice at all....

[Charles]

Do company's prefer to recruit from outside Japan? or inside (saving them air fare, surley)?

They recruit everywhere. I got solicted for an English teaching job during a flight to Japan. I mean, right inside the airplane, in the middle of the flight.

The nice people* from the Japanese consulate said it was very rare for anyone over 25 to be granted a VISA


*Actually, they weren't very nice at all....

Try a different consulate (if there IS another). Some are more liberal than others.

[Greji]

I got solicted for an English teaching job during a flight to Japan. I mean, right inside the airplane, in the middle of the flight.

Ahh, that didn't occur in, or around the toilet, did it? A lot of people favor that approach for some reason or another.

[FG Lurker]

When I got my first WHV in 1993 I applied together with someone who was 27 or 28 at the time. She had to write a letter explaining why she wanted one even though she was over the 25yo cutoff, but she didn't have any problems otherwise.

The system may have changed of course, but my understanding at the time was that the number of visas is decided bilaterally. If (for example) 1,000 Japanese can get WHV for the UK then 1,000 UK residents can get them for Japan. Generally though there are a LOT more Japanese who want to go to the UK/Canada/Australia etc than there are people from those countries who want to go to Japan. This means that the quotas are usually exceeded for Japanese applicants but not for Canadians etc. I was told that because of this Japanese over 25 almost never get WHV but residents of other countries often can. Also, I had two WHV to Japan, whereas for a Japanese person it would be very tough to get two WHV for Canada.

I don't think it would hurt to apply. One thing to keep in mind though is that you have to use the visa within a certain amount of time after getting it. Might be six months, but maybe a year...? Can't remember anymore.

[nullpointer]

Ahh, that didn't occur in, or around the toilet, did it?

I can't stop thinking of bad jokes about teaching english, taking a shit and various permutations of the two.

[Charles]

Ahh, that didn't occur in, or around the toilet, did it? A lot of people favor that approach for some reason or another.

Sort of. My seat was in the smoking section a few rows up from the toilets. Everyone from the front nonsmoking section came back towards the bathrooms to smoke, oh man was it thick with smoke, I thought I'd die from lack of oxygen. Even if it was still available, and even if I still was a heavy smoker, I would never EVER sit in a smoking section on a transoceanic flight again.

Anyway, there was an empty aisle seat next to me which was very popular, people constantly grabbed it so they could use the armrest ashtray. A woman sat down and saw me reading the Asahi Shimbun so she struck up a conversation, and invited me to teach English. I was on my way to school in Hokkaido, and after that I had another year of college to finish in the US, so I declined.

[Papa-Lazarou]

When I got my first WHV in 1993 I applied together with someone who was 27 or 28 at the time. She had to write a letter explaining why she wanted one even though she was over the 25yo cutoff, but she didn't have any problems otherwise.

The system may have changed of course, but my understanding at the time was that the number of visas is decided bilaterally. If (for example) 1,000 Japanese can get WHV for the UK then 1,000 UK residents can get them for Japan. Generally though there are a LOT more Japanese who want to go to the UK/Canada/Australia etc than there are people from those countries who want to go to Japan. This means that the quotas are usually exceeded for Japanese applicants but not for Canadians etc. I was told that because of this Japanese over 25 almost never get WHV but residents of other countries often can. Also, I had two WHV to Japan, whereas for a Japanese person it would be very tough to get two WHV for Canada.

I don't think it would hurt to apply. One thing to keep in mind though is that you have to use the visa within a certain amount of time after getting it. Might be six months, but maybe a year...? Can't remember anymore.

1 year for UK, 6 months for everycuntelse.

Why do we have different rules to everyone else? its like this with everything.

Are they punishing us for our actions in the 18 century, still?

[Mulboyne]

The UK is only a recent addition to the WHV programme (since 2001). I didn't even realize there was one until GomiGirl put me straight. Britain has done fairly well out of Japan links so I wonder whether the delay was on the British side. The British Exchange Teaching Programme (BET) started as early as 1978 and, when it merged with the Fulbright Program in 1987, JET was born.

[Papa-Lazarou]

EDIT

[FG Lurker]

Take out all references to work. It is a "working" holiday visa, but you are not supposed to be coming to Japan with the plan of working. You don't need to say that you won't work while here, just not the best thing to mention that you intend to.

I would also mention some specific festivals/events that you "want to go and see". Some big ones like Gion in Kyoto, Awa Odori in Tokushima, and the Sapporo Snow Festival would be good. Mention the dates and locations. This sort of thing shows that you have specific reasons you want to be in Japan, that you have been thinking about it, and also why you need more than just a 3 month tourist visa that anyone can get.

[Papa-Lazarou]

EDIT

[FG Lurker]

I'd take out the bit that is left with work in it, and you also might want to change your "hokkaido to kyushu" bit to "hokkaido to okinawa" to match with your desire to visit okinawa too.

Then just work it over a few times on a couple of different days and you should have a very smooth letter to include with your application.

[Papa-Lazarou]

Cheers, how long did any successful applicants out there make their essay?
A page and a half of A4 seems reasonable, no?

[cstaylor]

I wish to see Japan in Winter, Spring and Summer, so I would requite a 6 month working holiday visa rather than a 3 month tourist visa.

Is that a typo? Through what insanity have you decided to suffer through a summer in Japan? Perhaps you could rephrase it, "I desire suffering through relentless heat, pouring rain, deadly winds, and horrendous floods. Plus I want to go a penis matsuri in the boondocks with BB."

[Papa-Lazarou]

Is that a typo? Through what insanity have you decided to suffer through a summer in Japan? Perhaps you could rephrase it, "I desire suffering through relentless heat, pouring rain, deadly winds, and horrendous floods. Plus I want to go a penis matsuri in the boondocks with BB."

Having lived for 3 months in Tokyo June-Aug, ive never seen what all the fuss was about, having said that i lived in Thailand and Singapore just before that and the heat didnt bother me then either.

[vitellus]

I hope it doesn't seem like I'm hijacking this topic but I have a related question and I'm not sure it's worth a new topic. I'm in a similar situation as papa-lazarou - i'm 28, i'm taking a break from my career and I'm going to Japan for several months to learn japanese, sight-seeing, looking for a job, etc...except that I can only stay there for 3 months on a tourist visa as my country does not have a WHV agreement with Japan...

I have and read that one can pop over to South Korea for a few days, then come back to Japan and get a new 3 month tourist visa but I'm not sure whether this is still currently possible and what happens to you if the immigration officials refuse to let you back into Japan...do you need to hang around in the airport till you get a flight back home, or what?

[maraboutslim]

There have been some Gaijin who went to Japan to take a break from their career in their home country, taught English for a while, realized how terrible it is, then got offered jobs in their original career field in Japan and decided to stay. I know at least one FG regular poster followed this pattern. It might happen to you...

[Papa-Lazarou]

There have been some Gaijin who went to Japan to take a break from their career in their home country, taught English for a while, realized how terrible it is, then got offered jobs in their original career field in Japan and decided to stay. I know at least one FG regular poster followed this pattern. It might happen to you...

This is very broadly my plan, also

[Papa-Lazarou]

Can anyone here tell me how they "proved" they had the necessary funds when applying for a working holiday visa?

Would a print-out of my online balance be acceptable?

Did anyone have to provide any additional proof of anything?

Cheers

[FG Lurker]

Can anyone here tell me how they "proved" they had the necessary funds when applying for a working holiday visa?

Would a print-out of my online balance be acceptable?

Did anyone have to provide any additional proof of anything?

Cheers

I took travelers cheques with me to the consulate.

[Papa-Lazarou]

Does anyone know if i could apply to the Japanese consulate in Bangkok for my WH Visa?

I am from UK, but moving to Bangkok very shortly. In case i cant sort things out in time before i leave could it be done in Thailand? (Im thinking...probably not)

but worth asking

[FG Lurker]

Does anyone know if i could apply to the Japanese consulate in Bangkok for my WH Visa?

I am from UK, but moving to Bangkok very shortly. In case i cant sort things out in time before i leave could it be done in Thailand? (Im thinking...probably not)

but worth asking

I don't think this is possible, but it would be worth calling the consulate near you now and asking.

[Papa-Lazarou]

I did, they were about as useful as all consulate staff are around the world.

They didnt know, and werent prepared to find out either.

Nice people..........

[FG Lurker]

I did, they were about as useful as all consulate staff are around the world.

They didnt know, and werent prepared to find out either.

Nice people..........

Then I would call the consulate/embassy in Bangkok and ask them... As it is a major destination for people traveling they have problaby been asked before...

[Papa-Lazarou]

This is what happened the last time i went into the Japanese embassy in Bangkok to enquire about VISA's.

"Excuse me, ca....."

"This is the Japanese embassy sir, the American embassy can be found on Wireless Road"

"Yes i know, i am British, but i would like to know abou..."

"The British embassy can also be found on wireless road"

"Yes i know, but i am applying for a visa to..."

"I think the British embassy would be blah blah blah"

This went on for about 5 minutes so i gave up and went to Soi Cowboy to get a blowjob.

happy days

[Greji]

...This went on for about 5 minutes so i gave up and went to Soi Cowboy to get a blowjob.

Now that beats most Working Holidays!

[Papa-Lazarou]

Now that beats most Working Holidays!

Ah but they are free in Shibuya!