How to EASE your way into Japan

The Tokyo skyline at dusk as seen from a friend's place in Toyosu. 

Japan can be an amazing country to live and work in. Food quality is exceptionally high (mention French food awards), petty crimes like theft and litter are virtually non-existant, virtually everywhere is sparklingly new and clean, the health care is solid, and (with a few exceptions) pretty much everyone you meet is polite in the extreme.

At the same time though, it's also quite expensive, mainly written in Japanese, and for people who want to live and work here, but have no job connections, hard to get your footing in. As a function of this, I've had a lot of people contacting me asking what exactly is the best way to get here and stay for a while, and for all of those folks, (and the ones to come) this blog entry is for you.

The following is the best way to come here systematically, get to doing what you want, and get established with a minimum of wasted time or struggle. It is based both all the things I've done right (and more importantly done wrong) and also off of the experiences of all of the friends I've had that have stayed here for a while. Hope you find it helpful.

STEP 1: Start saving before you go

The fact of the matter is, as great as it is, Japan is expensive. And pay checks usually only come once a month. As such, even if you find a job right off the bat, if you arrive at the middle or end of the month, you may still have to wait two months before you receive a full paycheck. As such, having at least $1500 - $3000 to be able to ride on for your first month or two can make things exceedingly easier.

STEP 2: Educate Yourself on the Culture

If you have never lived in a foreign country before, even if it is save, clean and logistically easy to figure out, if you don't take the time to learn and understand the culture there, you can still run into all kinds of trouble. In Japan, most people are quite understanding that foreigners may not know anything about their culture (most are even surprised if you can use chopsticks) but even so, being completely culturally ignorant of how they think and see things can put them off, and cause them to ever so quietly (and politely) distance themselves from you. Conversely, if you are one of the people who is trying to learn their language and understand their culture, usually, they will love you to death...despite other shortcomings.

As such, before you come, it is a good idea to take the time to pick up a book or two on the basics of the language, and on understanding the culture. Even if you only have time to read up on one of the two topics, you will find it increases your friend-making-ability exponentially, and when the times get hard, your local Japanese friends are often the greatest resource you have.

STEP 3: Apply to English Teaching companies that recruit abroad

For those with an established job connection, or those who are experts in your field and as such are being flown in, you can skip over this part. Japanese hospitality is amazing, and you can expect to be treated very well.

For the rest of us however, who have no such connections, (or may not even have any real world job experience yet) by far the easiest way to come here is as an English teacher. While the JET program may be hard to get into, most companies hiring English teachers for Japan only require a college degree...and not even a teaching related one at that. Companies such as Aeon or Geos, or any of the myriad of others that recruit for junior high school and high schools (such as Interact) will fly you in, set you up with a place to say, get you to work as soon as you arrive, help you get a phone and generally let you choose where you want to be. They also have a ton of English speaking staff who are comfortable with foreigners and experienced in dealing with the kinds of problems they have. More than anything however, I feel that this is important because it gives you the opportunity to really explore working and living here without having to burn through all your savings to do it. In fact, even if you aren't satisfied with life here, if you play your cards right save, and finish out your contract, you can leave with quite a lot more money than you came with.
Furthermore, once you find that thing you really want to do, you can network in the field, learn about the industry, and start figuring out how to work your way into it while still earning and saving money....and while you have a visa. The downside? Most of these companies want at least a one year commitment. Personally, I came over through Aeon, and had a helluva great time working there. In fact, the only reason I didn't renew my contract for another year was because I found other things I wanted to do. Within my training group (the people who came over at the same time as me), about 50% of us renewed our contracts to stay on with the company longer.

STEP 4: Join a language school

The next thing you can do to help smooth over your journey into a Japan is joining a Japanese language school. While this may sound expensive, in actuality, it doesn't have to be. Every ward of Tokyo (there are twenty-three in total) offers it's residents free Japanese classes that run a few times a week. As it is only taught by volunteers, the quality of the teaching may not be something to stop the presses over, but hey it's free. Especially in the early stages, these are more than enough to get you started. From there, depending on what you want you do with yourself or which job field you wanna go for, you can decide whether or not you want to join a formal Japanese language school. Although depending on what you want to do, joining a school and studying full or part-time may not be really necessary, I've yet to meet a single person who's ever regretted it. The better your Japanese, the better your chances are of getting any job, as well as understanding the culture, the people and what's going on in general. Among the people who were the most frustrated, and angry (and ignorant of why things work the way they do here) it was always the people who didn't speak the language well.

While following these four steps, may not guarantee you a perfect life in Japan, I can guarantee that they will substantially improve the quality of it...and better your chances of doing what you really want to do there. If you are unsure as to whether or not Japan is really for you, I still think that the English conversation school route is the best way to go to find out...simply because you can make and save money in the process. If the one-year commitment seems too long for you, then you there are of course other ways. Westgate for example recruits for 3-4 month contracts, but requires a bit of teaching experience. Programs like Volunteers for Peace can also be a great way to come here for 2 weeks to a month, but they will require you to pay for your own flight over and of some of your expenses.
If you do decide to come however, I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that Japan is a country where things are generally done carefully, meticulously, ...and slowly. As such, aside from vacationing here, if you really want to enjoy life here without teaching English, it might take a minute to make that happen. Such is the same with going anywhere (particularly big cities) though, I guess. Great opportunities usually take time to find. As long as you keep that in mind however, you can not just enjoy reaching your goal, but the process of getting there as well.