Hand tattoos and work in Japan

Hi! My wife and I are putting together a five year plan to move to Japan from Australia. We have both got tattoo sleeves which finish at our knuckles. Having been to japan and read about its general negativity about tattoos we were wondering if finding work/being able to live in japan is going to be impossible? We know (and also don�ft care for) onsens and gyms and those types of things won�ft let us in, but we want to live permanently in Japan and we�fre wondering how we might go finding work?

TIA for your responses, they are very appreciated.

More specifics needed. What line of work are you getting into? Obviously it matters a whole lot less if you're immigrating to Japan as an investor to run your own business and be self-employed than it would if you were just going to work in a supermarket.

Many of my friends in Japan (both Japanese and non-Japanese) are heavily tattooed. I know people who work in bars, clothes shops, as designers, all of whom have visible tattoos. Anyone who tells you you can't work in Japan if you have visible tattoos is either misinformed/ignorant, or lying because they don't like tattoos. That's a fact. It could potentially make finding work a whole lot more difficult though depending on what you want to do. From my own experience, many of my friends have got work through existing connections, working for friends of friends, etc. (also nobody I know makes particularly good money, something to consider). If you know people then that's going to be a big advantage as while just rolling up at an interview with hand tats is not guaranteed failure, there's a high chance of it. I have to imagine it would be really difficult to convince somewhere like an English school or a supermarket to hire you.

Just the fact that they are on your hands makes it a whole lot more difficult. I am also heavily tattooed, but everything on my body can be hidden simply by wearing long sleeves. This makes everything 1,000% easier, as the problem with Japan isn't tattoos, it's the people who see them.

Also there is a decent (and growing) number of onsen that you can visit with tattoos. Your choices will be more limited, but speaking from experience you can go to onsen all the time, no problem, as long as you do a little bit of homework. I can't speak for gyms since I've never been to one, I work out at home and in public parks which is obviously no problem with tattoos.

It will not be impossible to find a job, but your tattoos are likely to make it more challenging, especially in fields of work where you will be in touch with customers. Overall, however, your professional skills and experience and the question whether such skills are needed in Japan will be the bigger factor in deciding whether you can find in Japan or not than your hand tattoos.

Japan is a very diverse country with a huge population and a wide array of different companies (including companies run by foreigners). Some will never think to hire tattooed people (or foreigners in general), while others have no problem with it.

To come to Japan you need to have the correct visa.
Unless you have no correct visa you cannot stay longer than 90 days.

Working with tattoo is in general not really plausible but it depends on the work you will find.
If you start your own business you need to have also the correct visa.

No idea what visa you come to Japan.

Visa is irrelevant to whether or not tattoos affect one's ability to find work.

Visa is relevant to work. Getting work is depend on the company is willing to hire someone with tattoo.

It�fs pretty irrelevant to the question that was asked but ok.

G'day, mate.
Not impossible but you certainly have made life more difficult for youselves.
Can we get some more info? What sort of work are you thinking of? Are you planning to live in city or country? Why do you think you want to live in Japan permanently? Do you plan on learning Japanese? Are you cashed up,
Visa is the biggest hurdle. You need one to live in Japan? Type of visa determines whether you can work. With tattoos I can't see you being an office worker or English teacher at a big chain. I'm guessing that's not what you had in mind.
If you were to buy a small business such as an English school or bar or the tattoo shop then that solves work and visa problem.
If you live in country you can buy a place for well under $100 000 and do whatever you want. Still need a visa though!
With more info we might be abke to comecup with bbetter ideas.
Cheers, Ric

If you live in country you can buy a place for well under $100 000 and do whatever you want.

If you mean "countryside", yes, but within the very limited job opportunities in the countryside.

...by do whatever you want i meant be self employed /self sufficient in some way. Whether it be teaching or making something