r/movingtojapan • u/Lina0116 • 2d ago
General What is it like?
So, I'm a producer and project manager for advertisement and e-commerce. Been in this industry for almost 10 years. I do have a BA.
Been living all over the world for the past 13 years, and relatively recently I settled in the Netherlands. This past year my industry hasn't been doing great and have meen having a hard time in general when suddenly the travel bug hit me again. The same one that had made me move and live in different countries; and for some reason this time it got it's sights in Japan.
So, lately I've been thinking about life, my career, what I want to do... I don't even know where I'm going or if I should keep on doing whar I'm doing so I wanted to learn of other people's perspectives.
What got you into Japan? What was the thing that made you say "this is the place I want to be at"? Did you move with the career you already have or did you flipped your life completely to do something completely new? I've seen some people say that they left everything and moved to Japan without a concrete plan or to start from scratch but I'm sceptical about that, I don't really think that's possible, unless specific conditions are met? Maybe I'm wrong?
How did you do that? How hard was it? Did you already speak Japanese or did you learn it there?
I'm married, my husband is a barista, so what I was thinking is that probably I would have to find a job and get him on a spousal visa? Maybe not and it would be easier for him to get a job? Maybe there are other ways? We're both European, btw, I know a lot of the times nationality matters to make things easier or harder.
I would really like to try living there at least a year, really immerse myself in general. See what it's really like. I like being able to say that I lived in X or Y country, especially when I bump into people from those places in another country. I love the experience of being somewhere else.
Anything you can tell me about your experiences and what you know would be amazing!
Just a note before anyone comes at me (because I've seen it happen a lot whenever someone says that they want to move to another country) I am not actively trying to move at this precise moment, I'm currently not taking any steps towards it or started any processes yet. It's something that came to mind, I started pondering it and thought maybe... therefore I decided to ask those who have been able to do it. I don't like just jumping at something without an actual plan behind it, otherwise it's just a recipe for disaster.
12
u/dalkyr82 Permanent Resident 2d ago
Before you dive too deep into the "should I move to Japan?" rabbit hole, you should probably take a step back and ask a more important question: "Can I move to Japan?"
You don't want to fix your sights on making the move, getting your hopes up, and making it a life goal only for the whole thing to come tumbling down due to things like job availability or language requirements.
And "language requirements" is going to be a big thing in your particular field. English (and other language) penetration is very low in Japan. The vast majority of Japanese people unsurprisingly speak exclusively Japanese. That means that working in Japan-targeted advertising requires high levels of Japanese fluency. It would also require extensive experience with Japanese advertising styles, which are... Unique.
It's a hard industry for foreigners to break into.
If your main goal is just to live in the country for a short while your best bet is the Working Holiday visa, assuming you're A) 30 or younger and B) from a country that has a WHV agreement with Japan.
3
u/beginswithanx Resident (Work) 2d ago
Japan is a country like any other, there are good points and bad points, lovely people, and total jerks, beautiful places, and ugly places.
Your experience of living in Japan (like any other place), will also vary wildly depending on your personal circumstances. For example, someone working for a large MNC tech company making a high salary with all sorts of benefits will have a VERY different experience of “Japan” compared to someone teaching English at an eikaiwa for low wages and in stressful conditions. Someone who is married to a Japanese spouse is going to have a very different experience than someone who is either single or part of a foreigner couple.
I already spoke Japanese (it was already part of my job) before I moved, and I moved for a good job opportunity that furthered my career (good pay, career advancement, etc). I would not have moved otherwise, as even though Japan is lovely, a terrible job can make you miserable, regardless of what country it’s in. Especially if you’re thinking long term. I had already lived in Japan in my 20s for a couple years as a student, and while I really enjoyed my time, I had ZERO plans of moving back to Japan. But the job offer was really good.
Note that if you move on a work visa, your spouse can only get a dependent visa (spouse visa is for spouses of Japanese nationals). Dependent visa restricts them to 28 hours of work per week, which can be a dealbreaker for some as it makes it hard for them to find a real career.
1
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What is it like?
So, I'm a producer and project manager for advertisement and e-commerce. Been in this industry for almost 10 years. I do have a BA.
Been living all over the world for the past 13 years, and relatively recently I settled in the Netherlands. This past year my industry hasn't been doing great and have meen having a hard time in general when suddenly the travel bug hit me again. The same one that had made me move and live in different countries; and for some reason this time it got it's sights in Japan.
So, lately I've been thinking about life, my career, what I want to do... I don't even know where I'm going or if I should keep on doing whar I'm doing so I wanted to learn of other people's perspectives.
What got you into Japan? What was the thing that made you say "this is the place I want to be at"? Did you move with the career you already have or did you flipped your life completely to do something completely new? I've seen some people say that they left everything and moved to Japan without a concrete plan or to start from scratch but I'm sceptical about that, I don't really think that's possible, unless specific conditions are met? Maybe I'm wrong?
How did you do that? How hard was it? Did you already speak Japanese or did you learn it there?
I'm married, my husband is a barista, so what I was thinking is that probably I would have to find a job and get him on a spousal visa? Maybe not and it would be easier for him to get a job? Maybe there are other ways? We're both European, btw, I know a lot of the times nationality matters to make things easier or harder.
I would really like to try living there at least a year, really immerse myself in general. See what it's really like. I like being able to say that I lived in X or Y country, especially when I bump into people from those places in another country. I love the experience of being somewhere else.
Anything you can tell me about your experiences and what you know would be amazing!
Just a note before anyone comes at me (because I've seen it happen a lot whenever someone says that they want to move to another country) I am not actively trying to move at this precise moment, I'm currently not taking any steps towards it or started any processes yet. It's something that came to mind, I started pondering it and thought maybe... therefore I decided to ask those who have been able to do it. I don't like just jumping at something without an actual plan behind it, otherwise it's just a recipe for disaster.
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1
u/i_own_5_cats 2d ago
long story short you need a real plan and probably japanese skills unless you go the english teacher or big multinational route if your industry is already shaky in europe it’ll be rougher in japan visas are tied to proper jobs and jobs are a pain to get anywhere now
7
u/Flat-Cut-1133 2d ago
I can’t answer everything but you can’t get a spousal visa as neither of you are a Japanese national. In your case for work it would be significantly harder to find a job in that specific field, you also need a jlpt 2 minimum or N1 to even get your foot in the door unless you target English speaking companies (not really knowledgable on if it exists in Japan for your work type). If your husband doesn’t have a BA etc. then he’d need to go to a senmo gakko? something like that and study a specific course or get a bachelors. < research more about that as there’s pros and cons to each route
You can experience Japan on a WHV and that allows you to work in Japan part time? And experience the culture basically - so I’d suggest you and/or your husband do a WHV for a year to see if it’s something you can accustom yourself too and be in long term
Side tip: you should do some research on if you’d be able to land a job in your specific field and how competitive it is before you think about moving. As lots of English speaking jobs have serious competition