Job Discussion Forums

[flydragonfly]

Hello,

My husband and I are looking to move to Japan in the next 3-6 months. I have just started applying to schools and know that it can take some time to land a job with visa sponsorship. My sister and her family live in Tokyo, so I also have the option of moving to Japan with a place to live until I can get a job.

I have an M.A. in English with 2 years TAing experience at my university (we have a large international student population, as well as a large 1.5 generation Vietnamese population). My husband does not have a B.A. I have been looking into getting him in on the dependent visa, and maybe he can do private lessons.

My husband is a carpenter, and my sister said something about how that might be an asset when applying for jobs. I know that many elementary and secondary schools push extracurricular activities. Does anyone know if woodworking would be one of those?

He is pretty good at making furniture, boats, etc. Does anyone know if there are any woodshops where he might be able to rent workshop time and tools? I know this may be more likely in a rural setting than in Tokyo.

I'm just wondering if this would at all be a possibility while we are in Japan. It is not necessary that he continue woodwork while we are there, but it would be a nice addition to our income/way of life.

Any advice, ideas, or input is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance,

Sarah

[Glenski]

Yes, secondary schools have shop class. Don't know how much the kids are into it, and your husband would not be able to teach or assist unless he knew plenty of Japanese. Never heard of anyone doing that.

Can he arrange to have tools shipped here? Might be easier than buying or renting them here. He'd have to learn how to say the names of the various tools in Japanese to say what he wanted, anyway. Side work like that might be nice, but of course he'd have to prove himself to the local population.

[mc]

[guest of Japan]

There's no way a school would hire someone who doesn't speak Japanese to supervise students use tools. It's a huge safety issue.

As for side work, there may be some handyman who might take him on under the table, but as he can get a visa to work as a carpenter, options are limited.

[Glenski]

[guest of Japan]

Yeah, I meant can't. You're right about the dependent visa giving some flexibility, but it limits potential income. Personally, if I were him I'd try to find a traditional Japanese furniture make and try to serve an apprenticeship. He might be able to make a bit of money, but he'd also have a very specialized and lucrative skill to take back home. It sounds hard to pull off, but I've met people here in Boston who have done this in sword making, sake distilling and ikebana.

[G Cthulhu]

I'd say the bigger problem would be that he wouldn't have a clue how to do the majority of Japanese carpentry. The methods and standards are very different from what he's (probably) used to. To be honest, without the background in the trade in Japan and the language skills needed, he may not be qualified for much more than site labouring.

[flydragonfly]

Thanks for all the advice!!! I figured the language barrier would be one of the biggest hindrances. We may look into it once we get over there, but we probably won't be relying on that as a big source of income.

Thanks again,

Sarah

[Glenski]

[wyoming777]

When I lived in Hyogo there was a crew from Washington that would come over to build western style houses, there were American painters too. I dont know the name of the company that did it, but I knew one of the carpenters and I know he was well paid for the time he was there. It wouldnt be steady work, but if there are still companies that bring crews in from the US, it would be worth trying to search them out, especially if he s familiar with framing or trim. Note that his power tools will run slowly in Japan, as it is 100v not 110v as in the US, so it may be best to leave 'em in the states. Good luck.