well japanese do speak fast, but to them the is the normal pace. just like english speaker , to japanese they speak really fast , but for us that is just a normal pace.

anime is a good way to practice your listening skill. but be warn that lots of format use in anime are considered rude on daily basis. So just learn proper japanese, and if you ask locals to speak to you slowly , they would gladly do it, so don't be afraid to say/request to speak slowly and properly.

you will get use to it, after a living in Japan :D
well good luck on your japanese studies

How do you plan to move to Japan permanently? Do you have a bachelor's degree?

Eventually I plan to take a course where I can teach English to Japanese. What I'm wondering is, is a bachelor degree required for that (a four year degree). If it's from a four year online course that is reputable (not a "phony" degree) would they accept that?

The bachelor's degree has to be from a reputable college or university.

I realize this; but I'm asking if they'll accept an online degree if it's from a reputable online college course or online university course.

Also, I don't plan to teach English as 2nd language forever (it's not going to be a permanent career for me; basically until we get "settled" in Japan). How would I change my work visa to a different career field?

There's no "online university course" that's going to help you that much. Getting a proper bachelor's degree means attending an accredited university and majoring in a subject. Aside from your major courses, you have to take a variety of courses that involve sciences, humanities, social studies, English, and so on. It's called general education requirements (GER). There are bachelor's degrees you can supposedly earn on the internet, but I've never seen any that involve learning Japanese or teaching English to Japanese students.

Any school you attend must be recognized and accredited by one of the regional accreditation organizations on this page (if you're in the US) -> Regional accreditation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A bachelor's degree that comes from somewhere else is not necessarily considered 100% legit.

My advice is to attend a real university that offers Japanese classes. You can major in TESL and minor in Japanese or something like that. It depends where you live and what universities are in your area. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with online courses, but they aren't going to be that practical if you're intending on moving to Japan. Besides, attending a university for 4 years will be a lot more fun and engaging than sitting at a computer screen for four years.

Yeah loads of fun. Except all I plan to do is earn a bachelor's degree so I can teach English to Japanese students. The rest of the stuff would be superfluous to me, because I'm not going to be teaching various subjects; I'm only going to be teaching one.

You still need to take classes you don't care for to complete your general education requirements. That's just part of college life. You can get a bachelor's degree in any field and teach in Japan.

That's stupid. Why should you have to take classes that don't pertain to what career you're going to be in? By this I mean, why should you take classes where you're not going to use the material that was taught to you, because it's not relevant to the career field you're in? That's bereacraucy.

That's what you call the education system. Undergrad is taking both subject related and unrelated to your field. After that you can take the Graduate studies to further enhance your skill in your field. If your still not satisfied then there is always the Doctorate degree.:vsign:

Getting a working visa in Japan is not easy. A degree is a MUST.

If I may ask how do you plan on staying long or get settled in Japan?
Even if you marry a Japanese national, the maximum for spousal visa is 3 years ( or maximum for all types of long term visa is 3 years ), you need to live in Japan for 5 years before you can apply for naturalization or citizenship. And being married to a Japanese does give a 100% assurance that they will grant you a citizenship.

If you are not married to a local, you need to live in Japan for at least 10years before you can apply for a permanent residency. I am not sure about how long it takes to apply for citizenship in this case.

You said you wish to transfer to a different field after you get "settled". Unless there is a company that will hire you, you won't be able to change your visa status. Depending on your field , you will need to apply for a COE or Certificate of Employment, and believe me its not easy to get this.

Also if you want to have a more legal advice on this, there are support groups all over japan who gives legal advice to foreign residents. It would be better if you consult with them .

Good luck.