[killyoself]

Ok,

I've lived in Tokyo for 6 years and met 10,000's of Tokyo natives. Ask any of them, and they'll probably agree that most Tokyoites are rather cold. Countless times i've seen people who were in need of help and i've watched 100's of people just walk by. Anyway, that's not my argument.

Yeah, if you want to get a degree, learn Japanese, find a job, a place to live, study the culture, work out every last detail before you come here, then do it.

Fact is, neither me nor any of my friends did all that, some even came here without a degree and found teaching jobs (not illegal if you get someone to sponsor you, so enough already with the 'laws are to be disobeyed' etc...etc...bs)

If you're an uncreative, unimaginative individual who has lived in a small town all your life with your parents and live in a fantasy world with Chinpokomon, then I would strongly advise you to follow all of the steps above. If, like my friends and I, you're a quick-witted, on-the-ball, resourceful person who can easily adapt to different environments, then I beg to differ that it's essential/necessary/recommended to take all these steps and you should probably just take the plunge.

After all, if you're just trying to find companies/schools/modelling agencies etc...to sponsor you, then what's the worst that can happen? The answer is you wouldn't find a sponsor and you'd run out of money/your tourist visa would expire, and you'd have to come home. Hardly a 'life ruining' experience IMO, actually it could be quite the opposite. Does no one here believe in taking chances? Believe in learning by your mistakes? Obviously not. Sure, you can go through life the safest possible route, that would be a very 'Japanese' thing to do. But is it necessarily the best route? For me- no.