Big in Japan

Flynn

Anybody here done or heard of anyone doing the Working holiday in Japan?
I tried a search but it brought back nothing.. i think the visa is only available with a year or two? What kind of work would one be doing in japan without the language. it seems strange that its the only one in a non-english speaking country.. also cost of living must be high?

Any ideas?

dory

Flynn wrote: »

it seems strange that its the only one in a non-english speaking country..

I don't understand this sentence. What do you mean?

And, when I looked into it, you needed a degree of any type before you'd be given a working visa for Japan. Yup, cost of living is high, if you taught English though you'd make enough to live on.
The JET program is meant to be great, but you'd be applying late 09 to go summer of 2010.

keane2097

Anybody have any experience of that JET Programme? It sounds like an interesting experience...

mac123

i have a friend whos been working in japan for the last 2 years, he doesnt have a degree. the whv is one year as far as i know. the jap embassys website has all the info on it, just google it!

Flynn

cool thanks i'll google that.. what's he working as?

and to Dory the WHV's we have available are Canada, NZ, Oz, (recently USA?) as far as i know and then Japan which is non-english speaking

pierrot

I did the WHV in Japan last year. All the details and application forms are on the website of the embassy. You want any specifics just ask.
The work you'll get is either bar work or english teaching. Maybe not so much now because Japan's been hit badly economically. Accommodation is the most difficult part i would say. Deposits and stuff are expensive. As for the cost of living, it's cheaper than Dublin. By far.

nakagawa

I used to live in Japan for 5 years (not on WHV but through my school etc.). Cost of living is varied - you can live very cheaply but you can also live like a queen! I guess the whv people do it rough enough. Best bet for accommodation to get started are what you call the "Gaijin Houses". Check out SAKURA HOUSE for these. They have a few in Tokyo and other parts too. My brother stayed in one of these for his 6 months (he did whv too). Re jobs - difficult to earn a lot of money without the language - you're limited to English Teaching or Bar Work. If you're a girl you could do hostessing......which is really just acting as a companion to Japanese men. Non sexual but in a way is a bit sleezy. i never did it but had lots of friends who did (one even married one of the guys she met)!!!

There's a Japanese travel company based in Dublin who have lots of info on Japan - JAPAN IRELAND TRAVEL (google them). Also, the embassy in Dublin, Monster.ie, the Metropolis Magazine (English mag in Tokyo aimed at "gaijin (foreigners living there)" and the Japan Times always advertise jobs so take a look at these to see the type of jobs that are out there at the minute.

It is not very popular with the IRish going to Japan but it's very popular with Japanese comign here (mainly to learn English). Try to learn a bit of Japanese before you go..... and read up on the culture a bit - it can be a bit of a shock but utterly enjoyable!

Hope this is of help.

Flynn

thanks alot for that. i've checked out the embassy and found that a degree is needed for the JET programme (as i expected!) and as i don't have one i'd be limited to working in a bar which i wouldnt be against but i don't know if i'd land on my feet ya know.. hmmmm.. what to do...

mac123

Flynn wrote: »

cool thanks i'll google that.. what's he working as?

and to Dory the WHV's we have available are Canada, NZ, Oz, (recently USA?) as far as i know and then Japan which is non-english speaking

he was working in car exports for a while, hes teaching english now though as far as i know!