Moving to Japan?

I am a young adult in Ireland, hoping to do more with my life and I have always wanted to move to Japan. Of course, I do not wish to move permanently and only for a temporary amount of time and I will do so with a family member.

I looked at a few forum posts and they weren't all that helpful and none of the people asking are Irish and are mostly all teenagers.

I don't expect to get up, leave my hometown behind and move to Japan as soon as possible - I would like to know what are the right steps to take for living there?

The easiest way for you would be to come as an English teacher, although you need a bachelor's degree for that (it can be in any field, doesn't have to be teaching). No need to speak Japanese. Search for "eikaiwa". Although, I warn you, work conditions for eikaiwa employees are not always the best.

Once you are here, if you like teaching you can keep doing that, or look for a different job.

An other possibility is to come as a student and either study Japanese or an English program at a Japanese university.
Both of these options permit some part time work but you obviously also need money to pay the school.

Have you looked if WHV are available for Irish nationals?

Also you say you�fd be moving with a family member. What is going to be his/her visa?

Enjoy planning your life in Japan!

It all depends on what qualifications you have and what your goals in Japan are.

You want something less than 3 months just to briefly experience life in Japan?
- Get on a plane and come with a tourist visa. Bring your own savings.

Want something longer (like a year or so) but don't really care about settling down here and making a successful career?
- Not sure if available for your country, but you may want to explore WHV.

Want to stay longer, and career is still not a big concern?
- English teaching. Apply from abroad to different schools or to JET. Not an expert in the topic, but plenty of resources online. You need a degree though....
- Get enrolled in a japanese language school. Of course you need to pay for the school and have the savings to support yourself during this time. Maybe there are some scholarships available?

If you have some marketable skills (engineering, computer science, etc.) and a desire for a decent and more stable job, but don't speak good japanese....
- Try luck with foreign IT companies. The usual process is still true: apply to job, send resume, get an interview, do well, get a job offer, get the corresponding visa, move.
- Internships are an option too, but don't expect decent pay (about 10k jpy a month).

If on top of all that, you speak japanese at N2-1 level? then...
- Plenty of opportunities for you. Go to your favorite recruiting company (hays, rw, jac, etc.) and apply to the job you like.

As for your family member, is he/she your husband/wife? If yes, your family member can be in Japan as your dependent (except in the WHV case). If it's not the case, I'm not sure he/she might be able to be with you for the full duration of your stay, unless he/she travels in and out of Japan every time the tourist visa expires.