living in japan

[californiaguy]

hey all, i joined the site about a month or two ago, and while i look at it everyday because i think its a good place to get news and info about japan, i havent posted anything. so heres my first one. just a few questions from one gaijin to another if you would like to share.

i live in california, my wife is from japan. if we were to move to japan, is it hard for an american guy to find work? im young ( 25) and we have 2 kids. all of her family is in japan. i think the nagano area. were there any big shockers that you discovered once you became submersed? oh also, i visited japan for about a week last year but i dont think thats enough time to really learn anything or get any real info. any general advice?

thanks !

[Blah Pete]

The economy sucks here now so finding a job is difficult for anyone, let alone someone who can't speak the language. Think about what kind of job you could do in California if you can't speak English (other than Spanish).
About the only job you can get unless you have a needed specialty is English teacher at a private school and they don't pay well.
I moved back to San Francisco area this year after 18 years in japan and have to say the job prospects are better in the US now.

[Yokohammer]

If you're thinking of just coming in cold without established work prospects I'd say it's a bad time to make the move.

If you're employed and getting by where you are at the moment I think it'd be wise to wait a bit and see where the economy goes.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I have to agree with BP and Yoko. The job market here right now sucks and there's even a lot of competition for low-paying English teaching jobs. Besides, even if you want to be a professional teacher, teaching English in Japan is a dead end. My advice is stay home and don't let the wife talk you into it. Even if things do pick up in the future I still say don't come unless you have a decent job lined up beforehand.

[Greji]

any general advice?

thanks !

I think the guys have pretty well summed up the present work conditions. It's pretty tight at the moment. But, you did not mention if you have any special work qualifications and/or experience. That could possibly help.

The big thing that you're probably facing, is that your wife is getting heavy pressure (real, or perceived) from the family to get the "grand" kids over here. So, she is going to want to travel. But, you have to get your ducks in a line first. I am guessing, but the assumption would be that you will be boarding with her family until you can find work and/or otherwise get on your feet. That's okay as far as it goes, but with it comes becoming subservient to the "hosts," which can go south in a flash for an fg.

If you do, or do not have J-language skills, you need to get on that yesterday if not sooner. Depending on your job skills, J-language may be the difference in getting employed or not. You mentioned the wife was from Nagano (Nakano?). That can also make a difference, one can have you down town where the job action is better, or the other can have you out in the country where eikaiwa might be the only available option. I do know guys that have worked in restaurants, ramenyas and the like out in the countryside, who made out because of their fg "uniqueness (read no other fg in 100 klicks), so it isn't totally impossible.

As most of the fgs on the board can tell you, it is not an easy thing to do to relocate to Japan, but it is doable. Just do a lot of planning and get the family to come up with info about fgs in their local area, as to whether they are being employed, or lynched at nightfall. It could be helpful to know that!

Good Luck

[omae mona]

i live in california, my wife is from japan. if we were to move to japan, is it hard for an american guy to find work? im young ( 25) and we have 2 kids. all of her family is in japan. i think the nagano area.

The way you write that makes it sound like you have never been to Japan to visit her family. Is that right?

[Takechanpoo]

hey all, i joined the site about a month or two ago, and while i look at it everyday because i think its a good place to get news and info about japan, i havent posted anything. so heres my first one. just a few questions from one gaijin to another if you would like to share.

i live in california, my wife is from japan. if we were to move to japan, is it hard for an american guy to find work? im young ( 25) and we have 2 kids. all of her family is in japan. i think the nagano area. were there any big shockers that you discovered once you became submersed? oh also, i visited japan for about a week last year but i dont think thats enough time to really learn anything or get any real info. any general advice?

thanks !

Japan is a kingdom of nihility and a graveyard of human.
Never come to Japan and ignore your family-in-law.
Japan is a good country as long as you see it from far separated places.
This is a sincere advice from one intelligent Japanese, not from a patriotic one.
Remember that

[californiaguy]

hey guys, thanks everyone for the advice. seems like the economy is as bad as it is here ( san jose, ca) and even harder because i dont speak japanese besides a few words. ive only been to japan once for about a week last year which is not enough time to learn anything. i would like to stay here if at all possible and not make the move. thanks again to everyone for taking the time to give advice, i really do appreciate it !

[Yosh]

[james]

My wife wants us to move to Japan after our child is born. This thread fills me with apprehension, I can speak a little Japanese but need to go back to school for at least a year. I have job skills in film and animation which are being put to good use here in my hometown. I've heard the horror stories about the soul sucking job known as english teacher and I dont think I'll ever be able to bring myself to do it. Can anyone share any POSITIVE experience they've had in moving to and working in Japan? Right now I'm thinking suicide might be a palatable alternative...

gonna chime in here and agree that if you've got a job over there with skills being put to good use and are making ends meet, you're best to stay where you're at, especially if you don't speak japanese. even with good japanese, an employer isn't likely to choose you over a comparably qualified local unless you bring something to the table that they can't find here.

i'll be honest in saying my opinion is biased as i'm now trying to get out. i've been here for a while (though nowhere near as long as some on the board) running my own english schools in the middle of nowhere, shimane. though in my case i wouldn't say it was completely soul-sucking since i don't answer to anyone and don't mind what i do. while i make ok money and have had some good times, it is without a single doubt a complete and absolute dead-end career-wise and a gaping resume hole which becomes increasingly difficult to escape from the longer you are here.

that said, it's not a bad place by any means and there is a quality of life and experiences to be had here which really can be good but there will aslo be a good deal of bullshit to adjust to. much of this bullshit your wife will not perceive as being such, having grown up here, and it can become a point of contention and the basis for marital discord.

do yourself a favour, have a heart-to-heart with your wife. lay everything out on the table, discuss (lack of) job prospects, what you are and aren't willing to do (ie engrish teaching), her job prospects etc. if, despite the advice given here, you do end up leaning towards coming, have an exit plan in place before coming over.

not trying to sound disgruntled. while i'm not that old, i am rapidly approaching my best-before date, quite homesick of late and in desperate need to gtfo.

[FG Lurker]

Can anyone share any POSITIVE experience they've had in moving to and working in Japan?

Sure.

I arrived here about 17 years ago with wide eyes and no fucking clue. Nowhere to live, no language skills, and no job. Found a gaijin house, then a job at a large eikaiwa, and later moved to an apartment. Continued down that road for a couple of years but it was clearly a dead-end so I went to Japanese language school full time for 1.5 years. After that I moved back into IT which was my field prior to coming to Japan.

Stayed in IT until mid-2008 when I quit an IT management position to focus full time on my export business. The last couple of years have been very, very difficult but I'm still kicking (famous last words perhaps...)

The above is of course the condensed version, there were many difficult times and a huge number of hours spent busting my ass to get to where I wanted to be.

For your own situation, how things work out for you will depend on quite a few factors. First though you need to choose where you live very, very carefully. The Japanese countryside can be quite beautiful but from a gaijin career opportunity perspective it's pretty much suicidal. If your wife is from somewhere rural do NOT move there! The place where you will have the most opportunity is Tokyo, and though I have no desire to live there myself (I'm in Osaka) it is where I would suggest you go.

Of course just being in Tokyo is not going to guarantee you any sort of success, but being in rural Japan pretty much limits you to teaching, running a web-based business, or doing remote contract work with clients outside Japan. Yes, there are a few exceptions to this rule but that's what they are -- exceptions to the rule. Japanese are leaving rural Japan in droves because there is no opportunity there even for them.

Apart from location, having the following is important IMO:

1. Having reasonable Japanese skills. The better your Japanese the more of an asset it is. (As with anything there is a point where diminishing returns kick in. You don't need "perfect" Japanese, you just need to be quite good. Level 2 JLPT and good verbal fluency is probably a good point to aim for.)
2. Having a good set of marketable job skills.
3. Some sort of "angle" that sets you apart from locally available talent.

Just my 2yen worth of random thoughts. To add to that, a word of caution:

Speaking in very broad terms, I have found that Japanese women who want to live outside Japan really don't want to move back to Japan. The ones who want to move back to Japan don't want to leave again once they get here. If your wife really wants to move back here you may have a very tough time getting her to move back to Canada if things don't work out well for your career here. Just something to keep in mind.