I'm planning to go to Japan in February, but the plan has come along a bit suddenly and I don't have much time to prepare. My girlfriend lives in Tokyo, and I'm looking to go for 12-months and probably do English teaching or some other non-job, but maybe the situation will change while I'm there. I have a comp science degree, N1 and CELTA if that makes any difference.

I'm 27 and meet all the requirements for the Working Holiday Scheme for UK citizens and there are plenty of spaces left. My CV sucks though, because I've mainly done part-time jobs for the last few years as a result of some carpal tunnel issues that have started to clear up recently. It seems like mentioning staying with a girlfriend is a good way to get a rejection, so I'm worried about the personal history/itinerary stuff.

I've been reading a few sites, but it all seems a bit uncertain with lots of "if you say this or that you'll get rejected." Should I just make up some stuff about exploring Tokyo with an eye on moving to Kansai or somewhere later on? Would mentioning friends and a desire to develop my spoken Japanese etc be a good idea? Is finding a job in Tokyo going to be a nightmare?

I don't really have a lot of time, so I need to try to nail the application first time and hope for the best... Any tips or words of wisdom would be appreciated. The embassy is closed until the 4th, so I need to try and prepare everything by then.

i've never lived or worked in japan, but i wanted to get the ball rolling. i hope you get some good advice. there is probably some stuff if you do a forum search, but these questions' answers tend to go simultaneously in opposite directions: some people saying you'll be fine and others saying no no the japanese will never tolerate your resume.
nonetheless, you have to go right? soon, and unexpectedly, right? sounds good so far. if you knew more in advance you'd spend too much time planning. yeah, i guess i'm not helping, because i'd want to get my resume perfect also, but just take a deep breath and jump in, the water's warm! j/k the water's really ***** cold, why do you think i haven't gotten out? i'm afraid of stepping into the frigid air in the time between getting out and reaching my towel. ganbatte javizy! i think you'll have a great time no matter what happens.

Are you asking for advice about the working holiday visa?

@tashippy
I have to apply next week no matter what, so I guess I have nothing to lose. Or everything to lose. I'm not sure, but I'll do my best.

Crispy Wrote:Are you asking for advice about the working holiday visa?

Yeah. You need a sponsor for the working visa, so that's not looking like an option. It's just looking like a minefield at the moment, since there are three A4 pages (personal history, itinerary, reasons for going) worth of chances to blow the opportunity.

I got my working visa last week and it was the easiest thing I've probably ever done. Easier than people on the internet even made out.

Just do a CV, I worked in a small town all my life--no degree. While I've set up my own businesses and worked managerial a few positions I don't think it matters. A lot of jobs on that CV are also me working summer jobs.

Reason for going, I just wrote my sister used to watch anime and my grandparents were stationed in Japan during the war so had lots of stuff from them so it was always interesting to me. A load of bollocks really, I hate anime. Then I threw in that I wanted to learn the language better and see what it's like working out there. I probably wrote 5 lines.

Itinerary was total bullshit, I just said I wanted to go to Tokyo, hang with friends who might help me get work. Then I wanted to go to Hiroshima and see the stuff I never got the chance to last time I visited there. Finally I wanted to go to Osaka and check out the shopping district. Again, it was like 5 lines (3 paragraphs, "Jan - May" etc.)

As far as money, I've lived in the US for the past three years, all my money is in dollars, they couldn't care less. I was like "should be enough" and the woman at the desk said "Yeah, it should be fine" and that was it. She just wanted to know why it was not in pounds, that was all she asked.

I expected an actual interview but the reality was, you go to reception, she tells you to go through the glass door, you press the bottom button on the ticket machine and wait until your number is called (this seriously took me less than 2 minutes). When you're called just hand in your papers, she read my reason for wanting to go and laughed, then asked about the money. She took my passport and that was it. She then wrote on a piece of paper how much it cost for the visa (£23) and told me "It'll be ready next Friday" (7 Days). I wasn't in the building longer than 10 minutes and she told me I had the visa before it had even been reviewed, if there were any problems "we can call you".
7 days later I picked it up (although you could buy an envelope from the post office and have them send it for you instead) and I'll be heading out next year some time.

I have no degree, work a freelance job right now and have no N1 or certificate proving my level of Japanese. If I can do it I see no reason why you couldn't.

*EDIT* If you're worried about it I will happily email you what I wrote for my application, I'm certain you won't need my advice though haha.

Thanks for the story. That's pretty reassuring. I was planning to write something similar, but I was worried about the level of detail they'd want about where I'll be staying and such. Hopefully I get the same woman you saw

If you only want 1year you could just take an overnight vacation to hong kong every three months (the length of the tourist visa) and when you reenter the country they give you a new three month visa... I know a girl that did that and worked lots of baito jobs that just paid cash. Her jpnese was horrible too...

Yeah you'll be fine, not much detail needed at all and the girl I got worked booth #1 both times I went so fingers crossed

Well, with the Working Holiday Visa you already bring your own visa which is an advantage!
You definitely can find a job as an English teacher.
I don't know if that's what you want to do but a lot of people use this as a first step.

Big cities like Tokyo or Osaka definitely have more job offers for foreigners, but for developing your Japanese skills and learning more about Japanese culture I suggest to live in the Japanese countryside. You can do that if you work as a teacher.

Having been to all 47 prefectures in Japan I would prefer the Kinki (Kansai) region myself.
I don't know if you have been to Japan before, but how about visiting first and then decide?

You might also be interested in:
How I made it to Japan
Dreaming of a life in Japan - The reality

I got the visa in the end just like Crispy described. I did a 12-line reason for going and about 16-lines for the itinerary in a "story" format like the one by the user StuartForbes in this thread. The guy at the counter said the docs looked fine and explained how to collect the visa. When I went back, I was just asked for the money and given my passport back. Less than two weeks until I go now.

chochajin Wrote:Well, with the Working Holiday Visa you already bring your own visa which is an advantage!
You definitely can find a job as an English teacher.
I don't know if that's what you want to do but a lot of people use this as a first step.

Big cities like Tokyo or Osaka definitely have more job offers for foreigners, but for developing your Japanese skills and learning more about Japanese culture I suggest to live in the Japanese countryside. You can do that if you work as a teacher.

Having been to all 47 prefectures in Japan I would prefer the Kinki (Kansai) region myself.
I don't know if you have been to Japan before, but how about visiting first and then decide?

You might also be interested in:
How I made it to Japan
Dreaming of a life in Japan - The reality

How did you visit all 47 prefectures?
Did you go on bus or weekend trips? Was it just part of your job?

Thank you.

chamcham Wrote:How did you visit all 47 prefectures?
Did you go on bus or weekend trips? Was it just part of your job?

No, it has nothing to do with my job.
I've been in Japan for 5 years now and since moving here I became addicted to traveling within the country.
I never had a lot of vacation, but whenever I could I went somewhere.
Mostly it was just during a one week spring vacation, a one week summer vacation and a one week winter vacation and sometimes a few weekend trips.

I travelled by bus, train, car, bicycle, ferry, airplane, monorail, ropeway, tram, etc.

It never was a goal of mine, but some time around last year somebody asked me how many prefectures I've been to and I noticed that it was a number over 30. I figured I could as well visit the few prefectures that are still missing and so I did.

There still are lots of places I want to see, though.

I'm hoping to bring Japan a bit closer to other people with my blog.
I try to introduce less-known sightseeing spots as well such as Cat Island for example.
And I also went to Ishinomaki (one of the cities that got severely damaged by the tsunami) - trying to show the people out there that it's not dangerous to go there and how beautiful the Tohoku region is.

Japan has so many interesting things to offer. It never really gets boring. At least not for me.