Ideas on how to move to japan?

Hello. I have been wanting to move to japan for a while now, but I understand that it will take me a while. I am 18, finished high school with a diploma,and currently working to get a part time/full time employment. Now the question is, what can I do to actually start my plans to move to japan. I was hoping to go to a community collage and then do an exchange program to Japan so i can get a feel for what it will be like. Of course, i'll be going in to get a bachelor's degree, though I'm not sure in what yet. Either way, my goal is to move into japan with citizenship there. I am not in a major rush, though like the saying goes, life is short and I want to enjoy it there. Any suggestions on what I can do?

Why do you wish to move to Japan? If you've never been there, how can you know you wish to move and gain citizenship there? I surely hope it's not because you like the pop culture or anime or that life where you live isn't to your liking, because those aren't serious reasons to leave one country to go to another.

That said, you need a collEge degree to obtain a work visa. Since you live in the US and are most likely American, you cannot get a Working Holiday Visa, so your visa options are: Working, Student, or Spouse. There are others, but they are more complicated.

Once you get your Bachelors Degree (in whatever), you can apply to companies in Japan and if you are accepted, they will sponsor your visa. As a student, studying Japanese in Japan, you can apply for a student visa, but you must pay all your tuition up front and have proof you can live there while studying-you can work part-time to defray the cost of living there. And the spouse visa doesn't need any more said other than getting married to a Japanese national.

I apologize if I sound harsh. It's that this subject has been asked so many times and I see people not searching before asking that it does get old.

I think it is a good idea to study abroad in Japan through your college/university before making your plans to live here. A lot of people come over and realize it is not what they expected.

What you can do now, besides working hard to get into a college/uni that has an exchange program with a school in Japan is to study Japanese language and culture. Read blogs of people who live here, news articles on what is going on, etc. You have time to do "homework" so to speak to prepare for living here.

You want to get Japanese citizenship when you've never been to Japan? That's absurd, sorry to say. I also hope it's not because of anime/manga influence like a lot of people of your age.

^^ I apologize if I sounded harsh as well. Hope you do more research on this mattter. Doing some kind of an exchange program like you said is a good idea to get a feel for the country, but you need to have a clear goal imo.

Don't worry about citizenship just yet. In all likelihood, you'll be better off keeping your US citizenship and then going for something like Permanent Residency in the future instead. For now just concentrate on getting your bachelors degree and try studying abroad to see if you really like living in Japan.

Hi guys. Thanks for the comments, and no it's not the anime xD. Though the culture is nice, and it was what got me interested. And as for the "not visiting" bit, that's why i want to do a transfer program to see what it is like. I dont exactly want to "visit" japan for a short time because it doesnt exactly get me involved in the culture. So of course, I will most likely visit first. Also as i stated, I dont plan on this to take place in all of 5 years. I understand that it will take a long time, but while i am focusing on my short term goals (school, degrees, language), I would also i like to know how to get to my long term goal which is to have residency in japan. I have done plenty of research in it and I have several japanese friends (that are citizens of japan) so I get the benefit to understand what it's like to an extent.

As far as the degree goes.. i just dont want to be the normal foreigner that goes to Japan to teach English. I want to have a unique job. I'm just slightly confused on the process of what goes on between getting the bachelor's and gaining permanent residency in japan.

I want to have a unique job.

Sounds good. Unique jobs are, well, unique so it'd be hard to generalize. Do you have any interests in terms of career options? Either figure those out and then see what's available in Japan, or figure out what's available in Japan and then plan with that goal in mind.

I'm just slightly confused on the process of what goes on between getting the bachelor's and gaining permanent residency in japan.

Once you have your degree you can get a job and a work visa. Then after ten years of residency you can apply for permanent residency. Certain actions along the way can speed up the process, such as getting married to a Japanese National.

Job interests... Well I love media! I did some cinematography before, as well as photography, though that was all in my spare time. I dont really want to work in big business like working in an office doing accounting.. I'm not sure how much that narrows it down.

Going to Japan to teach English is the "normal foreigner" thing because many jobs require a higher degree of Japanese than many are willing or able to acquire, and it gives you the chance to live in Japan for a short amount of time.

If you want to pursue non-English teaching jobs such as something like cinematography, start learning Japanese NOW. It will only help.