Moving to Japan

Hello, I'm 27 years old and live in the US. I want to live in Japan for around 2 years. I make my income from making videos and taking pictures and would love to do so in Japan for a while. I dont see many people that talk about wanting to come to Japan when they already have a job so I'm curious as to what the process is and what kind of Visa you can get.

It depends on the reason for coming to Japan. There is work visa, student/researcher visa, spouse visa, investor visa.... etc. What do you want to do during your stay in Japan?

If you want to work, at first you need to receive an offer of employment from a company here. And maybe you will ask because it's common in your field of work, but there is no visa for freelancers. However, I know some companies that will accept to sponsor your visa and pay you a minimum base salary, and let you do freelance work for them and others.

1. There is no Youtuber visa in Japan.
2. USA also don't have specific visa for Youtubers.
3. Wanting to make videos and taking pictures is not a valid reason to get a visa for an extended stay. The USA have exactly the same approach.
4. You need a real job with a real company in Japan to get a work visa. "Remote job visa" don't exist either.

@OP

You need to find a company who can sponsor you. Without that it would be impossible to enter Japan.
As a tourist visa you can enter and take videos and pictures, but this is only for max 3 months.

What kind of companies sponsor freelance work? My reason for going is I'be been obsessed with the idea since I was about 12 years old. I would honestly move and stay in Japan forever if I thought it possible, but I believe a couple years would be the best bet. If I dont get a work visa, what about a student visa? I could go back to college to study the Japanese language.

Do you have a college degree ? Are you a US citizen?
Then maybe the best and easiest way is to be an English 'teacher'.
Or come on student visa and study Japanese at language school.
Then in your free time you can make videos or take pictures.

Dream to live in Japan, coming to Japan on holiday and staying in Japan are totally different things.
Be prepare to get your Japan dream crush..

What kind of companies sponsor freelance work?
I think I clearly mentioned in my post that there is no visa for freelancers, and i said it because i saw the question coming... do you read our replies with attention? You must be in a company's payroll to be able to be sponsored for a visa. As I said, some companies in the video and photo editing business will accept to sponsor you and add you to their pay roll for a very low base salary, and let you do the rest of your money from freelance work to either them or others.

what about a student visa? I could go back to college to study the Japanese language.
I also mentioned there is student visa....

Sorry to annoy you all with my dream, thank you for the replies. I'll be going on a student visa.

I do not know why you have to react the way you do.
You are asking a question and people react.

You are 27 years you mention so at least you should conduct some research by yourself.
That you go for a student visa or working visa does not matter, the matter is that you know which direction you want to go. Because having a student visa means you need to find a study which will be often a private university. If you are still a student maybe you can do exchange program.

Student visa is probably the easiest visa to get. You need to find a language school, apply and then pay. But be warned they do check attendance every day and you can have only a few late/missed days per year. So you cannot get a student visa and just show up at a school sporadically. It�fs for people that really want to learn Japanese. If that is you and you have the money (and proof there of ) to pay for 2 years rent, life and school fees this is great. A student visa allows you a part time job, but I don�ft know about freelancing. It might also be tricky to say that you will have enough money because you plan to freelance during your stay.
Probably the school can advise you how to word the visa application (or an immigration lawyer)

Enjoy studying Japanese!

>>>there is no visa for freelancers<<<
That is not actually true - technically the descriptions of the different "Status of Residence" have different names, but being a freelancer is allowed. People doing freelance work can and do get visas, normally under an artist, journalist or even business manager category. However, as part of the application you need to be able prove to immigration that you have enough contracts with purchases of your work to demonstrate that you can sustain work work/life in the country.

To OP, yes, it is possible, but is isn't easy.

To OP, yes, it is possible, but is isn't easy.

alright, my mistake. i was mostly thinking of those "fake" freelancers that call themselves so because they have a macbook and know a few tricks in photoshop. for this type of freelancer there is no type of visa. i guess the message was that you just don't come and stay in japan without showing a good motive and a good plan to support yourself. freelancers tend to believe this is possible here.