Job Discussion Forums

[jaganath69]

First of all, is 330 000 yen a month a reasonable salary? Is 30 000 enough for a small apartment. Finally, does anyone know if Japan offers visas for dependent spouses of non-Japanese nationality? Thanks in advance.

[Apsara]

Yes, 330,000 a month is a very reasonable salary to support one person. 30,000 yen a month where? That amount won't get you a closet in Tokyo, but you might get a small apartment for 30,000 yen in a more rural area.

If one non-Japanese spouse has been sponsored for a working visa, the other can get a dependent's visa, then apply for permission to work limited part-time hours.

If one of the couple is Japanese, the spouse can then get a spouse visa and do whatever kind of work he or she is offered.

Is this for a job in Tochigi prefecture by any chance? I have seen somebody asking about the same conditions on another site.

[markle]

[jaganath69]

[Glenski]

If you had read the FAQs you might have seen that the regular entry level salary is 250,000 or slightly less these days (except for the JET programme, which is 300,000). So, your salary is larger than normal for starters.

30,000 for a small apartment? Sounds like something you COULD fit in your pocket, as was mentioned earlier! At that price, you are probably talking about a 1-room place, and it will be far too tiny for 2 people to survive. It also sounds like something in a very rural area. so it will likely be an older place.

[Apsara]

Depends where in Tochigi, but it is a rural prefecture to the north of Tokyo, 60- 90 mins by train from the centre of Tokyo. Nikko, a world heritage site, is in Tochigi, along with a lot of hot springs. Quibby84 who sometimes posts here lives in Ashikaga in Tochigi I believe.

Searching real estate ads for small cities in Tochigi shows that you can get a 1K (small 2 room apartment) for under 30,000 yen, and if you double that (still very cheap by Tokyo standards) you can get a 2DK which is quite a decent size apartment, although as Glenski says, probably in an older building, and may be a long walk from a station. To compare, my husband and I live in a new 1DK 3 mins from the station in a relatively central suburb of Tokyo, and we pay 113,000 yen per month.

What do they say about helping with key money? To move into an apartment in many parts of Japan you often have to pay up to 5 months rent in advance, much of which you will never see again.

[Quibby84]

I do live in Tochigi and it is very beautiful...not TOOOO terribly expensive, at least not as expensive as Tokyo.
You can ask me more questions about Tochigi if you want..