Ask HN: Possible Ways to Move to Japan?
What are some possible ways to move to Japan within the next 6 months.
I'm a Senior QA Engineer with experience in Gaming, Ecommerce domain. I'm open to different roles too.
https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/long/index.html
What visa you might qualify for will depend on multiple factors, including your citizenship, which you didn’t mention.
Americans I know who have lived in Japan went as teachers, job arranged in advance. One married a Japanese citizen.
Otherwise you could find job openings in Japan from where you are since many of them offer to relocate you. Don't go into gaming.
Bear in mind that the Japanese economy is entering its endgame, heading towards bankruptcy. The next 5-10 years are going to be ROUGH. Make a point of converting your yen to dollars or euros as soon as you get them (the Japanese banks will try to impede you). A Wise account might be helpful.
For tech, your best bets are Tokyo (everything), Osaka (everything-lite), and Nagoya (mostly industrial and automotive stuff). For Nagoya, the best areas to live in are Yagoto, Kakuozan, and Motoyama. If you buy property, understand that real estate in Japan always goes down because nobody likes "old" buildings.
What's the reasoning behind this statement?
> For tech, your best bets are Tokyo (everything), Osaka (everything-lite), and Nagoya (mostly industrial and automotive stuff).
What about Kyoto?
Kyoto is a half an hour train ride from Osaka.
Kyoto is a third-rate city. If you can find stuff there, great, but there's not much selection.
It's just I've seen a lot of nerdy types sort of romanticize this vision of Japan that they have. From what I've seen, a lot of people who make this sort of move have this idea that going there will solve some of their problems, but end up in an even worse situation.
Immigration will let you in when they will, no matter what route you try, and it might take longer than that for a myriad different reasons.
Also, do you actually know anything about the country other than what you've seen from outside or experienced visiting for business or a holiday ? In my several decades living in Japan I've seen again and again foreigners hitting a number of walls that were always there and will always be there and getting out swearing never to come back again.
Do you speak the language ? Otherwise you'll be in a bubble.
Are you prepared for living with the constant threat of natural disasters, typhoons, quakes ? ( Forget any lucrative ideas about "property" and "real estate" ... )
And let's not get into the work environment you're going to be in.
Finally, consider that unless you become Japanese ( good luck with that ), you will always be a 'guest', and that's the best case scenario, because you can be unceremoniously told to leave right now, or be prevented from returning if overseas -- as the pandemic has proved, when even "permanent residents" were separated from their homes, jobs, and families with no clue when they would be able to resume their lives, if ever.
If none of this gives you pause, start by trying to transfer temporarily from an overseas company with offices in Japan and see how it goes. Most people I know who did that went back home after a couple of years, but some stayed.
Edit : I assume you're a man. If you are a woman, then I'll just straight up say, better think of Singapore or Taiwan instead.