Life in Japan

To those of you reading this that are not aware that I have actually lived in Japan, now you know! Japan is not a first time experience for me so I already have a very good idea of what to expect.

About my time in Japan, here is a quick summary/recap.

I went in 2004 to 2005 to Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan (日本新潟県新潟市）. I went with the Rotary International Youth Exchange Program. During my time there I lived with 4 different host families (all with children but not all or any children were necessarily living with them at the time) - the Watabe's, the Kinoshita's, the Miyakawa's (I think? ;_;) and the Satou's. I had very different experiences at each one of them but all provided a unique look on the culture of Japanese family life and customs/traditions! I also attended Tokyo Gakkan Niigata High School (private) and my home-room teacher was Mrs. Sakaue. Mrs. Sakaue (or Sakaue-sensei) was the English teacher, she was extremely helpful and kind to me and I miss her and wish I could meet my old friends/host families etc again when I do return to Japan.

PROOF!

                                                        Osaka Castle, Osaka, Japan (2005?)

When I was living in Japan I made numerous friends that I miss very much and would love to hang out with again someday!

Also, during my time as a student at Tokyo Gakkan Niigata H.S.  I joined the 筝曲部（そうきょくぶ） "soukyoku-bu" or the Koto club.The Koto is a 13-stringed instrument much like a harp, but on the floor, so it's commonly known as a "floor harp."

A nice Japanese lady (Masayo Ishigure) wearing a Kimono and playing the Koto. 

From Wikipedia. 

Now, as I'm sure some readers are aware that in Japanese middle schools and above uniforms 制服（せいふく）"seifuku"　are required. I, myself, being a high school girl 女子高生（じょしこうせい）"joshi-kousei" I also had to wear a uniform. Pictured below are the current uniforms worn by Tokyo Gakkan students (my version was the year before they upgraded to more...conservative attire). 

Aren't they cute?

In Japanese schools it's the teachers who change classrooms 90% of the time. The exceptions were art, shodo (calligraphy), gym and home economics. Gakkan also didn't have a cafeteria, like most high schools, so our parents (my host parents) made a bentou lunch for us every day! 

 

A deluxe bentou. 

More about bentou at Wikipedia.

Getting a Job in Japan

For those who dream of living and working in Japan as I have this is how I managed to snag a job in Japan. However, before you decide to pack your bags and buy one-way ticket to Japan these are some requirements you MUST meet in order to even be considered for a job in Japan.

1) Have at LEAST a Bachelors degree.
 Anything less and no one will give you a second look, so finish up that degree you've been putting off! 
2) Have NO criminal record.
Aside from minor traffic violations.
3) Be willing to move anywhere in Japan.
You may not get that cushy job in Tokyo, but hey, you'll be in JAPAN!
4) Know SOME Japanese.
Even if your plan is to teach English for the rest of your life there, knowing basic Japanese will get you so much more respect from the locals and you'll understand more of what's going on around you, plus you're living in Japan, speak Japanese!
5) Be willing to get TEFL certified.
I'm not certified but it doesn't hurt to be as some jobs do require it, others teach you how to teach English which is what my company is going to do.

In order for me to get the job with JT (JoyTalk) I had to fill out an application and had a skype interview with a very nice Australian gentleman who asked me if I was willing to live anywhere in Japan (including the sticks/small towns) and I said anywhere is fine! He asked me if I would be willing to sing a children's song for him (since I'll be teaching little Japanese children songs) and I did, though I'm a terrible singer. We spoke in Japanese for a little while and I expressed my desire to use Japanese in the job if at all possible and then after about an hour of that the interview was over. I was so incredibly nervous!

Anyways, I interviewed on June 3rd or so and it was the middle of July already before I heard anything back from them so I basically gave up! Lo and behold just as I had given up I got an email from the nice Australian guy (name withheld) and he said he was busy finding a position that was "right" for me. I gladly accepted and am now waiting for enough money for the plane ticket to depart August 31st!

Right now I'm waiting for my "Certificate of Eligibility" to go through which for some reason the Japanese government requires BEFORE the actual visa (but getting the CoE is not a guarantee of getting the visa...oh bureaucracy... how I loathe you). In order to get the CoE one must submit a scanned image of their actual degree (the diploma), their passport with signature, signed contract and I think that's it. I also sent a copy of transcripts just in case, though that's not required. Your employer will take care of submitting all the paperwork so you just have to sit back and wait 3-4 weeks. Once they get it, I think they'll be sending it to me. Then I will print out a copy of the visa application, fill it out, put my passport and the CoE in an envelope along with the visa application, wait a week (?) get my passport back with the visa attached in most likely GIANT sticker form and a week or 2 later I'll be in the airport ready to get groped by the TSA! Then if they don't find my boobs or butt suspicious then I'll hop on a plane for a 16 hour (total) ride to Japan! Then I'll face questioning and fingering-I mean, fingerprinting by the Japanese immigration officials and they'll look at my visa, at me, back at my visa, me again, smile and say "welcome to Japan" or something.

Willing to go through all that? Then you too can possibly get a job teaching English in Japan!

Countdown to Japan

Hello everyone!

This is my first post detailing the process it takes to
1) get a job in Japan
2) get a visa once you get a job in Japan
3) (afford) a plane ticket for Japan
4) get an apartment in Japan
5) get food in Japan
6) make sense of Japanese laws and customs
7) make Japanese friends
8) learn Japanese
9) how to have fun in Japan
10) how to deal with culture shock/home sickness

I intend to leave for Japan by August 31st but I won't have enough money for a ticket until the 1st of August, so let's hope the really cheap prices don't go up before I have enough for the ticket!