I live in Japan!

[GTJ]

Originally Posted by tokyo88

can i join volunteer work in Japan
i want to teach English or do any thing can be a volunteer Job
just i want to go there without paying a lot of money

There are plenty of volunteer opportunities. People would love to learn English, especially since people like me have to charge money to teach English because we need to pay the rent, buy food, live, etc. You know, silly stuff like that.

Of course you would need to be a native speaker for that. But yes, you can volunteer. No, it won't lower your costs of living. In fact, if you only volunteer, you will run out of money VERY vast. So have fun!

@jwfort: Just go to college. Don't rob yourself of that just because you're impatient and you think you love Japan. If your'e THAT excited, just go on a trip there for a few weeks during the summer between high school and college.

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by 180sx

how would i go about getting my drivers licence in japan?

also, whats the deal on owning and operating an older car, like years 1992-2000? isnt there like a special tax you have to pay on an older car?
this is a big factor for me because my main interest in japan is the motorsports scene! lets get excite/hype!

First, you have to be 20 years old or older to get a Japan drivers license. If you don't have a valid license from another country which you have had for a period of time, and which was valid when you obtained your passport/visa, then you'll need to go to a Japanese driving school.

Driving schools in Japan suck. They are difficult and expensive, and it takes around 3 months of classes and training. The cost is about 300,000 yen ($3000).

The driving test is difficult. You'll be tested on things like inspecting the car before you get into it, locking your door, setting your mirrors, and using the mirrors before opening the door. You'll have to navigate a tight driving course, and deal with Japanese driving officers who often love to fail foreigners just because they are foreign.

I'm not sure what the road tax is on older cars, but the Japanese government offers a 250,000 yen incentive to trade your old car in for a new one if it is more than 13 years old.

I've thought of bringing my 06 GTO to Japan, but with it's 6 liter engine, the road tax alone is more than $100 a month.

Japanese high schools are a different world from high schools in America. Between classes and club activities (everyone is a member of one club or another), you may find yourself going to school 7 days a week. On many days you may not get home from school until after 7pm. The students clean the school at the end of the day, not the janitors. As a teacher, I have to supervise a club activity, and I often don't get home until 9pm.

Other than the uniforms and language, I know of nothing in Japanese schools which genuinely resemble anime/manga.

[spicytuna]

Originally Posted by jwfort

The problem is I don't want to wait until after college to go. I'm impatent. And looking for a job in japan seems super difficult without any college background. I know there are some jobs that will hire you without college and just start teaching you while your working in the job. but it all seems difficult. but i want it more than anything in my life. So any words of advice for someone like me?

The problem is that you're looking at college as an obstacle when it's actually the key factor in terms of future success.

Japan won't go anywhere! You're still 15 years old. I'm old enough to be your father and I'm finally planning on moving to Japan in a year or two.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

First, you have to be 20 years old or older to get a Japan drivers license. If you don't have a valid license from another country which you have had for a period of time, and which was valid when you obtained your passport/visa, then you'll need to go to a Japanese driving school.

Is the 20 a foreigner thing? Because Japanese can get their license at 18. (16 for scooter type thing.)

The driving test is difficult. You'll be tested on things like inspecting the car before you get into it, locking your door, setting your mirrors, and using the mirrors before opening the door. You'll have to navigate a tight driving course, and deal with Japanese driving officers who often love to fail foreigners just because they are foreign.

I`ll agree that the test is difficult - or rather detailed would be a better way to term it... But I beg to differ on failing foreigners just because they`re foreign. Think more like "Failing foreigners because they didn`t go to driving school so screw up on the details in the test even if they`ve been driving for years in another country..."
Japanese people fail incredibly often too. There were people in my group to take the test who had taken it 6+ times - all Japanese. They really check the details, and no matter how great a driver you - from the eyes of the tester - if you can`t be bothered to do the detailed stuff on your driving test you can`t be trusted to do the more important stuff on the road when no one is watching. So you fail.

I'm not sure what the road tax is on older cars, but the Japanese government offers a 250,000 yen incentive to trade your old car in for a new one if it is more than 13 years old.

Tax is set on engine size, emissions, weight, and physical size. The older the car, in general, the higher the emissions and weight. There are various tax brackets based on these.
The bigger cost will probably be the yearly emissions and engine/body checks you`ll have to go through. They can be outrageous the older the car is to keep it qualified for the road. Our car is 7 years old, and is now virtually worthless due to this - and the costs are stacking up so it is almost cheaper for us to invest in a new car (which we have on order now).

Other than the uniforms and language, I know of nothing in Japanese schools which genuinely resemble anime/manga.

Really? I`ve found that a lot of anime are pretty darned accurate when it comes to school life - if you realize they remove all the long and boring parts. (As they`re long and boring.) It ends up being a sort of compilation of all the fun and memorable parts of high school - which are a very small percentage.

[zeox]

Originally Posted by zeox

first, I just want to thank Nyororin for answering the houndreds of questions in this thread. you are amazing.

now, on to my question(s)!
I've been slowly but surely (read: incredibly slowly) studying japanese for the past year now and it has come to a point where i feel i won't progress unless i either take a class at school (which i can't :S ) or just surround myself with japanese things and people for a while. So it has come to the point where i'm seriously thinking about flying to japan and staying there for 2-3 months. So, naturally, I have some questions on how all this would work.
1.
Where can i stay for 2-3 months? god knows I can't afford to stay at a hotel that long :S
2.
How am I supposed to make friends there? is this somehting I should do beforehand? in that case, how?
3.
Where do you guys suggest I stay if I decide to do this?

Those are the questions I can think of right now
oh, I don't know if it matters but I am 23

I'm quoting this since everyone seemed to miss it :P. if you can't answer, that's fine

[SSJup81]

Originally Posted by zeox

Where can i stay for 2-3 months? god knows I can't afford to stay at a hotel that long :S

I guess you could stay at a hostel with a tourist visa or something like that. I don't think those are as expensive as hotels.

2.
How am I supposed to make friends there? is this somehting I should do beforehand? in that case, how?

Probably would be best to just make friends beforehand since, to me, 2 - 3 months isn't much time at all. You could probably make some online. Lang-8 - Multi-lingual language learning and language exchange might be helpful. You can find people to speak with for practicing different languages. Maybe one of the people you come across might become friends with you. I've made a couple of friends through mixi (a Japanese blogging site, sorta), but I've always been weary about meeting people online unless I've been talking to them for a long time, so I can guarantee that I wouldn't be meeting anyone from that anytime soon, even if I was going to Japan tomorrow. lol

3.
Where do you guys suggest I stay if I decide to do this?

I guess you mean "where in Japan, right? Either way, I don't have enough knowledge to answer this (aside from a rural area), but I will say this. To really "get the language" better, I feel that one would need to stay longer than just two or three months. I feel you would need way more than that. Maybe a year or two at a minimum.

[b0ud0ir]

Hello everybody,

I am french and I plan to come to Japan next year. I already came for studies during one year (2006-2007) in Osaka, at Momoyama Gakuin University. If everything is working well, I will graduate in Communication & Multimedia quite soon. I expect to find a job in the animation sector.

I wonder if any of you would have any tips or ideas for a foreigner like me who want to work in Japan within the animation sector ?

Thanks in advance for the time you will spend on my wondering.

[nick149]

hey look my mom said that if i find a good job there (in japan) she will think about it....so my question is....is there anyone who knows about a 'well' paid job in japan which doesnt need a bachelors degree or be a native english speaker and without experience needed and who can sponsor for the visa like a journalist or secretary or teacher in kindergarden (without exp needed) or something like that??? i know my question is a bit silly and maybe childish but please reply to me!!!i d like my dream to come true u know like the most of u!!!!

[Fujipan]

Originally Posted by jwfort

ok i have question. but first i think it's awesome that you went to japan with nothing and are still living there today. its kool. and its a lot like my problem. See I have this goal in 2 and half years I will be graduating high school, and I would like to someone start my life in japan very soon after I graduate. I will have had 4 years of japanese and more counting the books and advanced learning I've done on my own. The problem is I don't want to wait until after college to go. I'm impatent. And looking for a job in japan seems super difficult without any college background. I know there are some jobs that will hire you without college and just start teaching you while your working in the job. but it all seems difficult. but i want it more than anything in my life. So any words of advice for someone like me?

If you're impatient, then just visit Japan on a tourist visa. You can stay for up to 3 months and it's easy.

But to move to Japan right after high school with no real qualifications is nearly impossible. And 4 years of high school Japanese doesn't amount to much, it counts as only a year of college Japanese or level 4 of the JLPT which is not worth anything.

Visit Japan as a tourist and stay with a host family if you can. Then go to college, test into the second year Japanese class your freshmen and go on an exchange program in your sophomore year. When you come back from a year abroad your Japanese should be beyond the fourth year level by your junior year if you studied hard so you can jump into the fifth year if they have it. Take the JLPT level 1 your senior year and now you have a college degree, JLPT level 1 certificate, and study abroad experience so you'll be more qualified for work in Japan.

[SSJup81]

Originally Posted by nick149

hey look my mom said that if i find a good job there (in japan) she will think about it....so my question is....is there anyone who knows about a 'well' paid job in japan which doesnt need a bachelors degree or be a native english speaker and without experience needed and who can sponsor for the visa like a journalist or secretary or teacher in kindergarden (without exp needed) or something like that??? i know my question is a bit silly and maybe childish but please reply to me!!!i d like my dream to come true u know like the most of u!!!!

Let's think about this logically. Could one do that in one's home country? Find a "well paid job" which doesn't require one to have some type of a degree? For the most part "no", unless you're the child of a person who owns a company or carries a lot of weight.

Anyway, for the most part, a degree is mostly for Visa purposes. You can get around that by having a certain amount of years in a specific field, but you still have to find a company willing to sponsor you for you to go over.

A job as a journalist or a secretary, in Japan, I doubt a native English speaker would excel there since I'm pretty 100% certain that a very high level of Japanese language skills would be needed since you'd need to have to speak with the actual Japanese people there, especially if working as a secretary. As for the journalist...maybe a job with an international paper might do, but who knows. Just research that one.

Now, for a Kindergarten teacher, I doubt you'd even find a place willing to give one a job for that even in your home country unless you had some experience with young children and if it's to teach English, usually a TESOL Certification or some type of certification for teaching English as a second language is needed.

You could look on international job sites to see what some of the requirements are for some jobs. Gaijinpot is a good place to start, and I just came across an ad for a Kindergarten teacher too.

https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/index/vie...t/job_id/31866

I also came across another old ad for an Assistant Kindergarten Teacher.

https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/index/vie...ct/job_id/3946

Pretty much most of what I said above, applies there. Experience is a must.