Job Discussion Forums

[Joe Thanks]

Hi,

I am tempted to fly over to Japan and - going cold - look for work. I'd start off with Honshu but am keen to hear people's opinions regarding Hokkaido and Kyushu too.

What times of the year are the worst to go looking for work, and what regions offer the most difficult chances to find a job: cold.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

PS: Oh - for the record: I'm a Uni grad with teaching experience in Taiwan and South Korea: all ages. I'm looking to start off with an eiakaiwa (sic?). Dunno if anybody would ask but I'm trying to beat the question by providing the info first hand. I am looking for full time and sponsorship - so that might have been asked and I'm offering that info as well. Cheers!

[shmooj]

Well if you're not quick and you want to go job hunting in Hokkaido it will have to be cold. It started snowing there last week.

Japan is a deceptive place. It doesn't look it but it is big and, if you want to scout around it will cost you. This isn't Taiwan or Korea and travel is exorbitant. You will need a lot of dosh to not only get around but get a bed.

Some questions that spring to mind:
Where are you now?
How will you get your working visa status?
Which eikaiwa, there are millions?
Where exactly do you want to be?
Can you afford to come cold?
Why are you tempted to come to Japan?

... and that's just for starters.

Watching this forum over the last month I've been on it, I've noticed that posts very similar to yours come up all the time. I'd suggest you have a search back through the last months looking for the same old info that people have given out before.

I've yet to see anyone actually take the advice so painstakingly given and report back that they actually used it though. Maybe you'll buck the trend

[Glenski]

Snow up here? Where? Our temps are still well above zero all over the island. First snowfall is usually November (at least, in Sapporo where I live).

Joe Thanks,
Thank you for providing some background on yourself. No need to apologize; it's well needed and saves time.

I would have to say avoid Okinawa for work. With the military there, a lot of private jobs are taken by spouses of the military staff. And, I have been in contact with someone who has lived here for 14 years, and he says he was looking for work this year but found the opportunities very limited.

Obviously, the smaller towns will have fewer opportunities for work no matter what part of Japan you visit. However, they do afford the better chance to immerse yourself in the language. Isolation will be the biggest negative factor if you find a job there, so prepare yourself mentally if nothing else.

I've been in Sapporo since 1998. There are jobs posted for other parts of Hokkaido, but I've seen only a couple that post regularly, so I assume that those places lose teachers just as regularly (about every 3-6 months). Sapporo has about 2 million people, and there are plenty of eikaiwas here, including major and minor ones. You will have to contend with long snowy winters (5 months, 6 meters), and the temps get down to about -15C in Sapporo (-20 to -30C in the northernmost regions). For some, this is unbearable; for me, it's a pleasant reminder of my hometown, and I'm not affected by the temps.

Worst times of the year to look for work are during the major holiday seasons (Golden Week, Obon, and New Year's) as well as December on the whole. Since academic schools start their terms in April, there is a huge flurry of ads in late February and March. Eikaiwas, however, hire practically any time of year.

[homersimpson]

Outside of Fukuoka, there are not a lot of job opportunities in Kyushu. Occasionally I come across some, but not too often. The best bet (outside of Fukuoka) to find a job in Kyushu would be to apply to NOVA, AEON, or GEOS and specifically request one of the other prefectures in Kyushu. I do recall seeing an ad on eltnews.com for a kindergarten in Miyazaki, which was quite a surprise. I don't remember the name, but you could check out the website to see if it's still listed.

[homersimpson]

Here's that site for the kindergarten in Miyazaki: http://www.uni.gr.jp/eng/index.html

[Sherri]

How about coming to Japan lukewarm? What I mean is, do your homework as much as possible before you go. Posting here is a good start!

Check the ads and contact potential employers. Let them know when you will be in their area and try to get some interviews lined up before you get here. Make sure you are easy to contact, get a cell phone when you arrive and let employers know your number when you get here.
Good luck

[shmooj]

[Joe Thanks]

I appreciate all of you taking the time to offer insight and positive feedback.

Hopefully our paths will cross and tea/beer/coffee is on me!

Cheers,

Joe

[Joe Thanks]

Hi Shmooj,

In your first response you aked: "Some questions that spring to mind:
Where are you now?
How will you get your working visa status?
Which eikaiwa, there are millions?
Where exactly do you want to be?
Can you afford to come cold?
Why are you tempted to come to Japan?"

Well, I am in the states right now, as for the working visa status - I'm hoping to get sponsorship there. Trying from abroad has me empty-handed. I'm trying to avoid the �big three" because most of them don't interview close to home, and if I did spend the money to do their interviews (total in travel, gas money, hotel for the time there, food) I'd have half of the flight to Japan covered, less hassles and probably better odds at getting the work in-country (judging by how many people get turned away from the big 3). So, competing with about several hundred other interested teachers from abroad makes it hard. A LOT of the adverts I see on the net are for part-time or want folks within the country. Some won�t hire within the country and because of that I kinda don�t trust them. Some hire only within the country and again most of those don�t� sponsor visas. So, I amtempted to go door-to-door and mail box to mailbox and email to email box and do it all from within Japan. I can hop over for interviews if people are interested and I can get the Monday edition of the JT for prospects.

Which school? Well, whichever seems on the up-and-up and will sponsor the visa and offers the right pay and whatnot. I have experience teaching all ages and the only thing I�d opt away from is teaching straight business English. That�s a part I need to build up more experience in rather than to jump completely into it.

Points against me: I�m 30, 6ft3 and 40pounds, and I don�t have blonde hair. Oh � and that I�d need sponsorship. So, I have no set cram school � just one that will sponsor, offer me the minimum per month and that won�t work me to death. I figure my first year will be getting familiarized with the place and learning the ropes, so year 2 would offer me more of a �head� to think from and go for broke. I�ve taught in many countries and I�ve learned to take it a step at a time: get my foot in the door first. I really enjoy the times I�ve been in Japan and know all too well that the intimidating factor is the living expenses. Starting cold there will have me surviving on credit cards and what I�ve got saved until I find the gig, a pad and have worked a full month. So, I�m not picky but I am not out to jump into a bad situation either.

Where I�d like to be is near a large city. I don�t have to be living or working in it, but close enough for day trips and weekends. I�ve been to Tokyo and Fukuoka and Kumamoto and want to check out Sapporo, so I�m not picky. Wherever I can pay my bills and get steady, legal work and sponsorship is priority. After I�ve got a fix on things then I can move on from there if I have to. Take it as it comes and remain flexible: that�s my mantra.
I can and can�t afford to come cold. I can�t in terms of savings, but I have credit to work from and then can pay off. This does not bother me as I always pay my CC�s and have spotless records on them.

Why Japan? Well, I really enjoy myself there. I like the pace of life and enjoy the opportunities I�ve had to immerse myself in its pop culture and its history. I�m well aware of its dark side (read: insularity, sham Diet, bosozoku, folks that make Shintaro Ishihara look like Abby Hoffman! I know it and deal with it, so that�s no biggie) but also enjoy the onsen, its regional cuisine, its landscapes, its urban centers, and being in the thick of it. I�ve live overseas for long periods of time (usually 2 and a half year stints) and have been to very inhospitable places (Korea) and very dangerous capitalistic developing hot pots where human life doesn�t mean much yet money does (Taiwan during its SARS outbreak, its animalistic traffic where hit-and-runs are daily and commonplace). Each time I�d vacation in Japan because it was stable enough for me. I also found a lot of things I�d like to continue to explore in terms of hobbies (manga, chambara eiga and gida-geki no eiga, sumo, collecting sentai stuff, checking out Tokyo�s underground punk scene, doing the onsen regularly, and first and foremost � improving my Japanese) � all first hand. I�m not getting younger and would like to do this while I am still young!

One big, trivial goal there is to follow the seasonal, sumo basho first-hand, as much as I can afford to (with time and financial constraints considered). Yeah � geeky stuff but I dig it.

Anyway, onto the rest of your post�
I. e. Nagoya: I've never been there but would like to check it out, be it for work or personal experience. I hear a lot of good things about it from Japanese and gaijin, so it is a possibility. The main thing is cheap, monthly accommodations.

My plan, as it stands - is to go to Japan and look for work cold. The main thing is a base of operations. I�d need a place to stay: safe, secure, affordable and near mass transit. I�d prefer not to share a room and want to be able to store my stuff (digital video camera, clothes, etc.) while I am pounding the pavement during the day. It could take one week to two months � but I need to have a place I can rent for at lest a month and work from. Any recommendations in Nagoya?

So, once I have a place to sleep, shower, sh#t, shave, and safely store my stuff, I need a phone. Do they have a system similar to the
�Tracphone� in the states? You buy the phone and buy these cards, input the data and you have so many minutes to use and receive . Do they have this in Japan? Since I wouldn�t have a visa when I get there nor a permanent residence � is it possible to get one of these (Taiwan had just started selling them in convenience stores when I had left)? If so, then I could really pound he pavement and be in touch with prospective employers easily.

Net access? The last time I was in Japan I didn�t see a ton of opportunities to use the net. I read somewhere on this forum that there are chains of them. What can you tell me about that?

I�d need to check email daily and if the place I stay at doesn�t offer net access I�d need to figure out what to do.

The other thing is a rail/subway pass. Are there tourist discounts? Since I�d be arriving as a tourist maybe I could invest in some of those things and use them to my advantage. If you have any �heads up� to share they would be appreciated.

So, companero � Nagoya is a possibility. I didn�t expect anyone to offer job info, but thanks! I am, however, interested in advice on hitting the ground, �running,� so to speak.

I am open to hearing more about Nagoya if you�ve got the time to talk it up. You can private message me if you don�t want to waste bandwidth here.


Muchas gracias,

Joe

[shmooj]

No... it's better done here where it's accessible to others in the future I guess.

I don't know of accommodation in nagoya. It's a sad fact that because I live here I know less of the accommodation here than anywhere else I7ve been. Sorry I can't help you.

If you like Sumo, Nagoya hosts a basho each summer. My wife went last summer. Check our website for pics if you want.
www.johnandsheena.co.uk

Credit cards: I'm not sure about this but you might find some of the bigger expenses will have to be cash. I seriously doubt (can anyone confirm this) that you would be able to pay deposits on an apartment on a credit card. Despite having a valid card and an impeccable credit rating, I was turned down buying a computer on a card. Once bitten...

Don't have a mobile phone so can't advise on that...

Net access has gone ballistic in the last couple of years. ADSL is all over the place around Nagoya and there are internet cafes a plenty. Local libraries can also be good places to get net access for free.

If you came to Nagoya you'd be wasting your money on a railpass as the ones tourists get are for JR and lots of lines round here are either JR or Kintetsu or Meitetsu. Also, the distances are so small you'd hardly justify it's expense. There are a ton of places within 30mins express train ride from Nagoya where you could hunt for work. Check out a good map and you'll see what I mean.

The Nagoya International Center is a great source for contacts and I think jobs too. You can also pick up the Chubu Weekly and Nagoya Calendar there - two publications which list jobs locally I think. Visit their English website at
http://www.nic-nagoya.or.jp/english/Frame_e.htm
and view in particular their Nagoya Footsteps data online which will tell you a lot about living here.

I'm not trying to sell Nagoya to you. It is fairly boring but it is smaller scale than other super-cities and people do tend to be happy here with few complaints.

Hope that helps

[Joe Thanks]

Quote:

shmooj wrote: No... it's better done here where it's accessible to others in the future I guess. Good point. Quote: I don't know of accommodation in nagoya. It's a sad fact that because I live here I know less of the accommodation here than anywhere else I7ve been. Sorry I can't help you. It's more to research, thanks though. Quote: If you like Sumo, Nagoya hosts a basho each summer. My wife went last summer. Check our website for pics if you want. www.johnandsheena.co.uk Cool. Will check it out with the other links in a bit. Thanks! Quote: Credit cards: I'm not sure about this but you might find some of the bigger expenses will have to be cash. I seriously doubt (can anyone confirm this) that you would be able to pay deposits on an apartment on a credit card. Despite having a valid card and an impeccable credit rating, I was turned down buying a computer on a card. Once bitten... I was thinking more of using them for cash advances; in particular before I go. Quote: Don't have a mobile phone so can't advise on that... It's something I'll offer up to thepeanut gallery in a future post, I suppose. Quote: Net access has gone ballistic in the last couple of years. ADSL is all over the place around Nagoya and there are internet cafes a plenty. Local libraries can also be good places to get net access for free. Cool. This is good to know. Quote: I'm not trying to sell Nagoya to you. It is fairly boring but it is smaller scale than other super-cities and people do tend to be happy here with few complaints. Well, it offers up more options - which is a great thing. Thanks again for taking the time to help. Quote: Hope that helps

It sure did! I've got some pages bookmarked and once I get some rest (8 hours of jamming has me dog tired) I've got some readin' to do,

Cheers,

Joe

[sutekigaijin]

Hey Joe Thanks,
While the urban areas tend to have many many more jobs to apply for, they are also way more competitive than the rural ones. Just some advice. You might apply for 30 jobs in Tokyo and get zero replies. However, if you apply to 30 jobs in rural places, chances are you will be getting your share of replies. Also, a majority of the jobs that are advertised in Japan on this forum and others are the rural ones. This is because they are more difficult to fill for the employers and they need more advertising. The urban jobs tend to get filled before most people even hear about them or a lot of times before they even hit the Japan Times Monday edition.

Hope this helps in your focus.

SG

[Joe Thanks]