I live in Japan!

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Jamaru

Hi can i ask you these qusetions :
1. Are there any Black people in Japan and If yes how would they be treated
2. How did you get work in Japan and how did you get started
3.Is being an English Teacher a good way to start and to get money
4. I am black how will i be treated in Japan Normal or differently
Thank You

Answer to 1 and 4, you will be treated normally, you may get a few stares but thats about it.

2. Check the thread that said "Graduate from college if you want to live in Japan

3. Yup, a good start, but not well paid

[SSJup81]

Originally Posted by godwine

3. Yup, a good start, but not well paid

But it is enough to live off of, right?

[godwine]

Originally Posted by SSJup81

But it is enough to live off of, right?

I would think so, there are enough people that teach in Japan and teaching is their only income, so I am sure its enough to live off of

[samurai007]

As a JET, you get about $36,000 per year, tax free in both the US and Japan. I was able to save and bring home $25,000 in 2 years.

[ishck09]

I didnt mean to judge kyoto as depressing.
Im just saying, it looked depressing in this one picture, im not saying it is so pls dont get so defensive.

anyways, is it easy to get a job as a JET? cause i wouldnt mind xD

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by ishck09

I didnt mean to judge kyoto as depressing.
Im just saying, it looked depressing in this one picture, im not saying it is so pls dont get so defensive.

anyways, is it easy to get a job as a JET? cause i wouldnt mind xD

About 25% of applicants are selected each year from around the world. There are over 5000 JETs each year teaching in Japan.

[Kai13]

Does the JET program open any doors? After graduation, if I don't find a job in japan I think I'll apply to it (or go to China =_=)

[imiss]

Wow... that took a while...

Took me 4 days of reading, few hours a day, but I finally managed to read through this whole thread - all 2 years of it. First of all thank you everyone who replied and posted here (Nyororin especially) - all your posts answered any and all questions I had concerning visas, working, education, getting citizenship etc... Thanks a lot.

But now just one single question I have... When in United States you can apply for a green (permanent resident) card and with it, live permanently in US while being allowed to do anything you want etc... Does something like that exist in Japan or is becoming a citizen the only way to stay permanently?

Thanks,
imiss

[rina26]

Originally Posted by imiss

Wow... that took a while...

Took me 4 days of reading, few hours a day, but I finally managed to read through this whole thread - all 2 years of it. First of all thank you everyone who replied and posted here (Nyororin especially) - all your posts answered any and all questions I had concerning visas, working, education, getting citizenship etc... Thanks a lot.

But now just one single question I have... When in United States you can apply for a green (permanent resident) card and with it, live permanently in US while being allowed to do anything you want etc... Does something like that exist in Japan or is becoming a citizen the only way to stay permanently?

Thanks,
imiss

After 5-10 years of staying with a proper visa, you can apply for permanent residency. Or you could just stay permanently with a proper visa every year.

[imiss]

Originally Posted by rina26

After 5-10 years of staying with a proper visa, you can apply for permanent residency. Or you could just stay permanently with a proper visa every year.

Wonderful, thanks alot for answering my question -- btw, does that mean x number of years total or all at once?


But yeah, anyways, I'm completely ready to go to Japan. I want to go to Tokyo this year from mid-September to mid-December. I have money in hand etc, now all I'm looking for is a place to stay. I would prefer it if I could do something like homestay but w/o having to go through a school that organizes it - I mean even if I end up paying the same for it, why not let the host have the money rather then the school.

Is there a place that I could look? Maybe some people on these forums which have empty rooms which they're willing to rent out for a few month?

Also, from what I read in this thread there are plenty of free, or near free classes all around Tokyo where you can learn some (atleast basic) Japanese... So if I'm staying with someone, would be extremely helpful if they could point me in the right direction to find such classes, I would attend them every day if I could...

...I've been trying to learn Japanese for years now from books different programs etc, all useless, other then some basic words and phrases, without having native speakers to talk to, next to impossible learning something like that. Same applies when I was learning english for 2 year before moving to US when I was 8 (19 now). In those 2 years didn't learn anything whereas I was able to start speaking pretty well within 6 month of just living here...

Anyways, if someone could point me in the right direction concerning finding a place to stay for 3 month, please let me know...