Question:

Luwyn writes in: Hi, I hope you can help direct me to some Chihuahua breeders in Japan as their websites are incredibly difficult to find online! Is there a Japanese Kennel Club, or a national Chihuahua Club? Thanks very much!

Answer:

Hi Luwyn. Sorry but I lost contact with the breeder that gave us the gift of Lulu. The breeder lives in the country side about 8 hours from my town and I haven’t seen her since. I know she doesn’t have a website. I hope you can track one down! Be prepared to spend a lot to get a genuine Chihuahua in Japan along with the paperwork. You could always import one from your country, but then you’d have to teach her Japanese.

Attack of the Japanese Chihuahua! Watch out!

Walking downtown I saw a vendor selling Takoyaki on a stick for 200 yen. I thought wow! I could really use some takoyaki right about now! And I decided to grab some of these tasty octopus treats at a great value! It’s strange to have a piece of wood go through the takoyaki because there’s supposed to be some octopus in the middle. The presentation and the vendor’s friendliness helped secure the sale. The value was good, but it turned out the food wasn’t.  So I’ll be sticking to the freshly made takoyaki in a box for now on. Take a look at the difference. The 2nd picture is from a summer festival.

Takoyaki on a stick with what I'd consider great presentation and a lot of mayo!

Fresh takoyaki in a box at a Japanese summer festival

The Q&A section of my blog is kind of new. People like my “contact me” link on the blog! Every month I get asked some questions and many tend to be similar so I thought I’d share a few along with my answers.

Note: I don’t teach English and I don’t work for a Japanese company so I was hesitant to answer this. But I figured… what the hell… so my answers below are based on what I know and have learned from others, not from experience. Another post, Americans working in Japan, might be of interest to you.

Question Part 1:

Zac writes in – I’m 20 years old and I want to teach English in Japan. My family has done it in SE Asia for years. My question is what do I need to do? I know being an American you have to have a bachelor’s degree go do work of any kind. Sorry for the vague question.

Answer Part 1:

Hi Zac. Without a 4 year degree your options seem limited, but it’s still possible to teach English. I know a guy that has a 2 year degree who taught English for years at a variety of smaller companies and made a decent living. He came to Japan without any work lined up and found work within the first month. He stayed for a few years, but then returned to his home country so I can’t ask him any questions about it. Also there’s the idea of doing private lessons at a cafe or at people’s houses, but you need to look into the legality of that yourself. It’s going to take a lot of searching to the work you’re looking without a degree, but with persistence you might find exactly what you’re looking for.

Teaching English in Japan

(photo from flickr)

Question Part 2:

Steve, thank you very much for the info it did help a lot, but i was under the idea that you had to have a 4 year degree to apply for work visa of any kind?

Answer Part 2:

You need an employer that will give you a work visa. I’m not sure about the 4 year degree requirement but as I said, the guy I knew only had a 2 year degree. If you go on a tourist visa (90 days I think), then find a job that will give you a tourist visa, you just need to ask if you can change your visa status or else you leave the country for a day and come back on the new visa. I don’t teach English so I’m not sure on all of the details. I did see this online…

To get a work visa you need:

• a valid passport;
• an application form;
• one passport-size photo; and
• a certificate of eligibility issued by the Japanese Immigration Bureau (your employer must apply for the certificate).

More info that might help you
mofa.go.jp – Visa types in Japan
ESL employment – teaching English in Japan (requirements, etc)
How to teach English in Japan + many useful links

Maybe my friend got the work visa because of his experience of teaching abroad already. You might look into teaching English in Korea as well. Busan (or Pusan) is a popular spot, and for $200-300 you can take a round trip ferry to visit Japan to get your sushi on.

Here’s an interesting quote from Gaijin Pot – (Living, working or visiting Japan? Not without a visa!)

You normally need to show that you have a relevant college degree to be able to apply for a working visa. However if you can show that you have a certain number of years relevant work experience you are also eligible to apply. You can also be eligible if you have a degree from another higher, relevant educational institution. Each visa and industry has different requirements.

A lot of sites contradict each other. But I think it’s possible.

More links to help you on your journey to information:
Yahoo Answers – Advice on getting a Japanese work visa without degree?
Japan Guide – Teaching in Japan Without a Degree
Yahoo Answers – is an online bachelor’s degree good enough for a work visa?
Yahoo Answers – Entry-level job opportunities in Japan?
3yen.com – Is a bachelors degree necessary to teach in Japan?
thunderguy.com – Japan visa types
JapanForum.com – jobs in Japan question about requirements etc
Escape Artist – Living in Japan

Also as Cornelius pointed out in the comments, it’s possible to self sponsor your own work visa. Here are some sites to check out about self sponsoring a Japanese visa. A page from Gaijin Pot says:

Self-sponsorship is very possible: especially if you are already living in Japan and have steady work. A self-sponsored visa falls under the working visa category and you will therefore need to show that all requirements for a working visa is met. You will have to show that you are guaranteed the minimum income required to support yourself in Japan. For example, contracts from 3 companies promising you payment may be required. Free consultations are available at immigration offices in Japan and will they help you prepare the necessary documentation. Self-sponsorship may require some leg work and extra paper work but might be the best solutions for you!

Also with a self sponsored visa you’re going to need to prove that you have large savings or steady income that is good enough to pay for your living expenses. Here are a few links about self sponsored visa in Japan:
tokyo.japantimes.co.jp – The definitive guide to Visa and Immigration in Japan - Check out the section “Self-sponsorship and Investor/Business Manager status”
jiosu.com – Work for yourself by self sponsoring your visa
ESL Cafe – self sponsored visa
Gaijin Pot Forums – Self sponsorship Japanese visa
Self sponsored visa application in Japan – successful!

Good luck with your quest to move to Japan!

Here are some links I found pretty cool and wanted to pass along.

Here’s some cool rice paddy art. Way better than crop circles!

Some advice on studying Japanese. In the end, it’s all about what works best for you.

JPop group Perfume appeared live the other day, but what’s cool is they have a new single coming out in August.

The ANA Gundum plane looks a little boring. Maybe they’ll make a flashier design in the future.

Narita Sky is here! Get from Narita airport to Tokyo in 36 minutes (or your pizza is free!)

Make a hotel reservation in Japanese with this handy step by step guide.

Question:

Leah writes in – Am writing a short piece for Telegraph Expat on the new skype iphone/ipod app and wondered if you’d be interested in commenting on it, as an expat user? Would be good to know whether it’s been useful for you and your expat friends, and what you think of it!

Answer:

Sure I’ll tell you my thoughts on it. I think Skype for the iPhone is great! An iPhone/iPod is small enough to take anywhere, so now It’s easier than ever for me to Skype or call abroad. I use it daily when I’m on the go. My only complaint is that I haven’t been able to listen to any Skype voicemail on my iPhone.

Skype message about iPhone 3G mobile subscription

On a side note – Skype will be requiring a subscription in the future to use it on the cell phone network (3G) on the iPhone. I don’t like the idea of this since I already have a regular skype subscription with a phone number, but I use it frequently so depending on the price I might subscribe. It should still be free to skype to skype calling when you’re connected to a wifi hotspot.

The other day a huge tuna was caught off Japan and was sold for 3.2 million yen (36,700 dollars). That’s a hefty price tag, running around 7200 yen per kg. It was caught near the Nagasaki prefecture which is below Fukuoka and Saga prefectures. Here’s a quote (and picture) from the article (Google News).

A monster tuna caught off Japan turned heads at a Tokyo fish market Friday, where the 445 kilogram (981 pound) bluefin — the biggest caught here since 1986 — sold for 3.2 million yen (36,700 dollars).

“Many of the people who work at the market have never seen a tuna that big,” said an official of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which runs the Tsukiji fish market, the world’s biggest seafood market.

I’ve been to a few fish markets, including ones in other countries, but I’ve never been to the Tsukiji fish market. Apparently visitors are allowed to check out the market between 5am-6am while some auctioning is still going on. I heard it’s an interesting experience and it looks pretty impressive. Here are some photos from the market that I found on Flickr: The entrance, items for sale, a lot of fish, tentacles, and some large fish for sale. You can read more about the market here.

How do you get a job in Japan besides teaching English? What are wages and working conditions like for Americans and other foreigners living and working in Japan? These are a few questions I’m often asked. To help people out on their journey to living and working in Japan, Cornelius from Life in Japanimation wrote an interesting post regarding U.S. Government jobs in Japan.

He talks a little about the application process, hiring process, some visa info, and links to a great resource NAFjobs.org

If you want to learn more about government jobs in Japan, check out his post “Jobs in Japan”!

I’ve been following a blog called Channel-Ai for a quite some time. It has a lot of great information about the latest Jpop releases, translated interviews, news, and reviews. If you’re interested in learning more about Japanese Pop you should check out the site!

The first time I fell asleep on the train I was surrounded by mountains! There are no mountains on the train line near where I live so I knew I fell asleep. The good thing is I can hop off at a stop, cross over, and catch the train back at no extra charge because they don’t take your ticket until you leave the train station. I’ve always wondered what would happens if a person falls asleep on a Shinkansen (bullet train) and Sibylle Ito answered that over at her blog. Another interesting post at her blog is  Japanese manners: Info from an expert where she interviews an experienced trainer for Japanese culture/manner.

Falling asleep on a train

(image source here)

People like my “contact me” link on the blog! Every month I get asked some questions. A lot tend to be the same questions so I thought I’d share a few along with my answers. Here’s the first one. If you have more to add, feel free to do so in the comment section.

Question:

Andrew wrote in – Man, this blog is great, I think I’ve read every post! Found this today, and I love it. Going to Japan has been my dream since I was like 10, and I love sites like this that detail personal experiences! It’s great to hear about your time in Japan and really adds realism to the dream

Was it expensive moving there? I’m 19 and living in the UK, and I currently have no idea what I’m doing with life :O I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever get to go (I need a better Job!) But your blog gives me hope my friend ^^ Keep up the good work!

Answer:

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you enjoy the posts that I’ve made. It was expensive to move to Japan because I had to sell everything I owned in the U.S. The other alternative would be storage (monthly fee) or keep stuff at my parents house (they wouldn’t like that). On top of that I had to have money to move into a new place. This included damage deposit that I would not get back, 1st months rent, last months rent, and money for setting up things like internet, electric, cell phone, and not to mention the $1400 plane ticket. I don’t remember clearly but I’d say a rough estimate of the first month cost around $8000-10000 USD, but this is for two people. If you budget well and are a minimalist, and if you had a job lined up, you could spend $3000-5000 USD depending on where you live. Then your monthly budget would be between $1000-2000 before including food. These figures are just estimates so you’d really have to break everything down to match your own personal tastes. But I have some friends that are English teachers making about $1600-2000 USD a month and they’re able to live in a decent place, have a cell phone, internet, and some have cable TV. So it is possible. Just remember that the apartments are very very tiny compared to Western style living.

If you move to Japan you should considering getting a job in advance. If you’re just doing some soul searching then you might consider going to Japan on an extended vacation instead of moving right away. One way to keep things affordable is to make some friends on www.couchsurfing.com and stay at somebody’s place for free.

Good luck with everything!

(I got the photo in this post from flickr)