Job Discussion Forums

[Allie Bally]

Hello, I have currently been teaching for the past 2 years in South America (Peru & Ecuador). I have adopted a dog, and am going to get married at the end of the year. After that I am thinking would like to teach in Japan.
-I read the immigration stuff about dogs and it seems quite difficult. Does anyone have experience with this?
-Also my fiance is Peruvian and there is a very large Peruvian expat population in Japan. Does anyone know where? Does anyone know what kind of work he could get there? Will the visa be hard for him to get?
-I am not so interested in living in a large city does anyone have recommendations about where to live?
Thanks so much!

[Allie Bally]

*been teaching.

[MotherF]

I lived in Japan almost 15 years ago, so this info may be very out of date.
I speak Spanish and am a big Latinophile so I was very pleased to find the Peruvian community in Japan. This was in the Osaka-Kobe region. There were at least three Peruvian restuarants, salsa dance clubs, and even a couple of hours of Spanish radio programming a day.
I never dealt with them and visas or anything like that--and actually most of them were decendents of Japanese who immigrated to Peru after WWII. And I was under the impression they actually had to be in order to be eligible for a working visa in Japan. But I could be wrong, or that could have changed in the mean time. Most of them did manual labor in factories or worked in the service industry. Lots of them cleaned offices over night.
There was some demand to teach Spanish--infact I taught one Spanish class while I was there--but with a BA in Spanish I was considered qualified, while a native speaker with no university studies was not considered qualified. (Their rules, not mine.)
I think the most important question is What kind of work can he do anywhere? What are his skills? What does he enjoy? How much English does he speak and how good is he at picking up languages?
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY--What's his take on moving to Japan? Is this something you both want to do, or is it something you are talking him into?

In terms of the city, I actually lived just outside of Osaka, in a town in the state of Nara called Ikoma. It sort of combined the aspects of country life with the convience of city life. I really enjoyed that. There are several other small towns just outside of cities, that are good options for work, while still being livable for a small town girl.

Personally, I don't think a South American dog would be very happy in Japan--as it would mean a vast change in lifestyle. Unless your dog is already comfortable staying inside 22 hours a day and staying on leash for the other 2. If it were me, (I have a Mexican dog) I would try to find a temporary or permenant new home for your dog.

BTW if you see a mistake in your post after posting it, you can use the edit button at the top right corner of your post to fix it.

[Glenski]

[Allie Bally]

@MotherF
Thanks for all the info. I really appreciate it. I don't understand why would the dog have to be in the house 22 hours a day? I am not a big city person so it is possible to get a job in the "campo"? Where we would both be happier?

Yes as far as the Peruvian goes, I am quite sure he would not what to work in a factory or do any cleaning. He definitely thinks he is above that. He studied hotel management and bar tending at Le Cordon Bleu (I dunno some apparently prestigious) gastronomy university. So maybe it would be possible for him to do something in terms of that? I am happy there is a large Peruvian population. Yes I am trying to talk him into it. I am a bit tired of Peru, and so sick of being poor!!!!

[Allie Bally]

@Glenski Nope sorry the dog is not disposable. There must be some kind of middle ground!? She is a medium sized dog about 15 kilos. That is ok I can pay extra for her.

[Glenski]

Hotel management will still usually require a fairly high level of Japanese language skills (speaking/reading/writing). How are his?

You also seemed to avoid answering the question about what his own feelings are about the move itself. Could you elaborate?

A dog that big will not be accepted into most apartments. Houses are not a typical option for renters. Please keep this in mind. I like dogs, but this is a reality in Japan. You may have to pay 1,000-5,000 yen more in rent per month, plus a month's extra deposit. Beware of people saying that "Japan is a pet-friendly country", and get them to pin down what they mean.

1. Japanese people like pets, but most that are kept are small ones.
2. Landlords vary on what they allow. Most say no pets at all, and those that allow pets seem to want only small ones. Sometimes only cats or only dogs, but almost always small ones.
3. If a Japanese person had a medium-sized or large dog, ask whether they live in a house or apartment.

And, please be more careful about spelling my name, ok?

[OneJoelFifty]

[Apsara]

[mitsui]

I have two dogs. I had to pay an extra month of a deposit due to the dogs. Having pets is a pain here. I left the mansion where I used to live since I got harassed for not holding the dogs in the apartment complex, including the parking lot.

I live in a house now and people leave me alone.

As far as I know, there is a quarantine period for pets. I think it is for a couple weeks.

As for Spanish, well, it is not easy to get a job due to demand, but it is possible. I know a Costa Rican who did get a teaching job
but it took time. He does not have a MA, so that made it tougher.

I know a Peruvian who works for a TV station. He is good at Japanese and English, so that helps a lot.
If you have a specific question, I can let him know.

I know a Spaniard who is forced to teach English because that is all the work he could get.

I would say Catholic churches are a good place to network, if Spanish is your first language.

[Cool Teacher]

[Cool Teacher]

[Glenski]

[MotherF]

For those of us who have been around for a long time--Allie's story may seem vagely familiar--one we all saw play out before and we all know how it ended. And IMHO it ended that way because of that issue--if one member of a couple is devoted to the moving around the world life style the other might be okay for a few years but will eventually want to be somewhere where they can live a life they have a roll in creating. It's pretty easy for native English speakers or people with a high level of English (say B2 or higher) to move to a country whose language they don't speak. (Allie didn't say how is English was, if it was great, I would think she's have said so.) But if you don't speak English or speak very little English, moving to a country where you don't know a word of the language and can't even decifer signs because they don't use the Roman alphabet can be very difficult. One partner is happy, persuing her/his career. The other is home and more or less helpless do to linguistic barriors. THIS IS CENTRAL to Allies future. And She needs to think long and hard about it.

And back to the dog. People who truely love dogs, will make choices that allow the dog to be happiest, even if that does not make them happiest. I lived in the countryside in Japan and I've been in the Peruvian countryside. Houses in the two are vastly different. I lived in a traditional house in Japan it didn't even have modern plumbing! You know how big the yard was? about two feet deep by three feet long. Japanese villages cluster houses together. There were no parks where a dog could run free. I gave private lessons in some people homes, one of them had an Akita in a tiny little yard like that--the dog wasn't happy and it got two walks a day, but it was never ever off lease. A Peruvian dog may have never been on leash. Finding a good home for the dog is not the same as getting rid of it. Especially if you are thinking of Japan as a year or two thing. I would suggest leaving it with someone in your fianc�'s extended family.

[Pitarou]

Don't come to Japan if you love your dog. You're most unlikely to be able to give it a good life on an English teacher's salary. You'll struggle even to find a place to live.

Japan is not a good place for dogs. The Japanese keep them as pets, but they have no idea how to treat them. I can't bear the sight of most pet shops here -- the puppies eat their own shit out of boredom and frustration.