Trying for a life in Japan

Well, first the facts:
I live in Australia and my grandmother is Japanese.
Im 18, with a (yr12) Higher Schooling Certificate.
I have a certificate 2 in Hospitality, and something like 2 years experience in cafe. Im currently working for an international Design Studio as a graphic artist - which i may have to toss aside to do this.
I also limited work experience (but with a perfect referral) in a preschool.
I have a certificate in peer support and also began some volunteer work in the State Emergency Services in Australia.
I took Japanese as a subject for 2 years in highschool - i pick it up fast but i wasnt taught much.
I have relatives and aquaintences in Japan who have offered a place for me to stay for up to a year, while working, and a friends father manages a gaijin bar there in case i desperately need someone to fall back to..
And now my father just offered to give me a hand in buying me a ticket to Japan in November to give me a 'kickstart into life' because im not very worldwise and i need to get out of my safe parent-protected bubble.

I have always really really wanted to go to Japan and after some consideration i want to aim for one of those Ancestor Visa things.

Problem is i dont really have anyone to give me feedback, aside from my family - so thats why im here..

Helphelphelphelp
Am i doing something really stupid?
Have i got any chance of getting a job? I'd love to do teaching but i keep reading that i need a 3-4 year uni degree. Im willing to try enrol in a distance-ed course, and i've looked up that theres some teaching courses that are like.. 60hours (to get a certificate and i figure anything would help, right?)
I considered bar work, but apparently its a pretty sleazy scene and i dont know what the legal Alcohol Service age etc is over there.

Any constructive advice/assistance would be much appreciated

Not sure about the "ancestor" visa, but some peole have been sucessful if their immiedate family members was Japanese ie Mom or Dad, however I'm not sure if grandpartents classify.

Lets pretend you didn't qualifty for that type of visa.

You can go to Japan on a Working Holiday Visa for up to one year.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2350.html

For a full work visa you will need a bachelors degree.

However you have to question why you want to move and live in Japan. From what I am reading you seem to have a lot going for you in Austrailia, why abandon everything to start over from square one again?

Do you speak Japanese at a fluent level? (another point in finding a job other than teaching english).

Young boy:

My son (he speaks native english, japanese and spanish) went to Japan 5 months ago,he is japanese and doesn`t find a job yet. (He is also and engineer 5 year College degree)....

So if you want to learn the language is OK but with your experience and your age, darling you are lost. Go to Japan, stay with your family, learn the language but what about "culture shock" and money?

Maybe your family will help you with some part time work somewhere.
About visas go to the Japanese Embassy, they will help you, and you are a sansei = 3rd generation, so that will help and indeed since you are Autralian you can go to Japan on a Working Holiday Visa for up to one year.
About work you are not qualified for being a teacher but you can have pocket money talking with kids your age.
Good luck!!

- If you want to experience living in Japan, I think trying with the Working Holiday Visa for one year, staying at your relatives and everything, would be fine. But you will still stay under the protection of your relatives, I hope you realize that: a 'kickstart into life' because im not very worldwise and i need to get out of my safe parent-protected bubble.

- If you want to go further and find other jobs in Japan, for *visa* purposes, you would need a college degree or 5 - 10 years' working experience in a certain field. In terms of *employment* opportunities, look at your experiences so far and think if employer in Japan would find you more attractive as an employee over other Japanese candidates? I think now may be a time for your to concentrate on acquiring more knowledge and experiences :)

- I am not sure if anything as "ancestor visa" exists, considering that you are a grandchild of a Japanese, not a child. If your parents were still Japanese nationals and reported your birth to the Japanese authorities, you will be a Japanese national, but if your parents are Australians and had nothing to do with the Japanese authorities any more, it might not work, meaning, you will be eligible for the Working Holiday Visa (max. one year) but not anything longer.

- Considering the above, I think it would give you an interesting year if you did the Working Holiday Visa thing, to see Japan, to see where your grandparent come from, and to travel around in Japan while being able to do some work to help you with the traveling experience (which is the purpose of this category of visa). But after that, maybe it is good to go to college in Australia and find later opportunities for longer-term stay in Japan, if you want to. On the other hand, if you are giving up some emerging career in Australia now to go to Japan, I would advise you to consider that carefully. It might be wiser to complete your current studies and then consider what you want to do in life :)

Despite everyones sound advice, I decided to go to japan anyway.

Its been almost a year and ive had a wonderful, lifechanging time.
Ive met the most AMAZING people and had really good luck. I got some jobs quite easily, picked up a bit of japanese, came out of my shell and also lost 10 kilos. Im having a bit of money trouble toward the end, because people want me to work with them for several years, not just until my visa expires. But thats all. I wish i had come to sapporo and got into these jobs earlier.

I have to go home soon (u_u)
I dont want to leave. I wish I had a degree so I could stay and get a job here long term. Im so genki here compared to how I was at home.
Coming to Japan is one of the best things thats ever happened to me, and im SO glad I did it.

When I get back to australia im gonna try to blitz my way through a uni degree so I can come back for another round, or maybe go check out another country and work overseas somewhere else for a while. But I definitely feel like I want to come back here some day.
Chiba and Tokyo were fun, but im now in Hokkaido and everyone here is a bit slower paced and relaxed and friendly. Sapporo is beautiful.

I used to think I was doing ok, but i know ive become a lot more rounded and grounded. A lot more relaxed and comfortable with myself. Ive worked out a bit more direction in life, and I also cringe at what I used to wear. Oh. Dear. GOD.
haha.
I put almost all of that down to getting more experience~ thanks to traveling.
Im really glad I came.

Takase,
It was refreshing to hear that you decided to go for it and that being in Japan was a life-changing experience for you. Many, many young people write to this forum asking how they can go to Japan to live, without having a degree or any practical ideas of how they are going to get by, and there are a group of nasty, opinionated people who enjoy responding in the most negative fashion telling these kids that they don't have a chance in hell of succeeding and they shouldn't even think of going to Japan without a university degree. That isn't exactly what happened in your case (the people who responded were very kind in comparison to some of the posts you see here), but it does happen.

What I always figure is that if these young people really want to go to Japan, even if their notions are total fantasy, then they should go and find out what happens. It might not turn out as they expected, but they will learn and grow from it.

It was so refreshing to hear of your experience. I'm happy that it turned out well and that you are glad you came! Thanks for your post.

Thank you for doing this in the first place! I have been finishing up a degree, because everyone has told me that it is something that I have to have to move to Japan. I will finish it since I am so far into it now, but it is nice to know that I could have gone with out it. I think that maybe with my degree, as you see, I will get to stay longer that just a year. Plus, I think the only way I can work in Japan from the US is with a college degree, from what I have been told.
I am so glad that you had a wonderful experience there!! It makes me want to try and work faster at this degree so I can just go!!!!

Well Uma if you actually read many people don't have Universities Degrees can't go in the first place (because Japan doesn't have a working holiday visa agreement) or if they don't have a visa and the country they are in has a working holiday visa agreemtn they can go.

And if you continue to read, the poster said he has to leave Japan, which I assume his working holiday visa runs out, returns to his home country, to get a degree then gets a working visa to come back.

So Uma, in the end, He' still needs a College Degree!!! To get a work visa, and thats what he plans to do when he returns, Good for You, education is important and now you got some experience it should be easier on your return.

Elayne, if you are a US National you need a Degree to get a work visa. So you need a degree anyways to go as a US National. If you didn't you can't get the visa.

If someone like the poster is Australian, Canadian, British etc, they can get a Working Holiday Visa without a degree to work in Japan, but once the WHV runs out, to get a Real working Visa, they need a Degree.

I just came across this thread and must say that it is refreshing to read. It's really nice to read about folks to take action on their word, even if they're a little unsure at first...

As for myself, I'm also thinking about doing something similar. I'm 24 yrs old, have a bachelor's degree, and I'm also thinking about heading to Japan just to experience that lifestyle. Luckily for me, I'm an American but I also just received a new Japanese passport this summer so that will hopefully create some employment opportunities for me while I'm there.

You have both passports?

Thats good, as you don't have to bother with Visas to begin with, you can try as much as you want and never have to worry about visa issues since you are a Japanese Citizen ( of course make sure the Japanese Authorities never see your US passport).

I am happy to here everything worked out for you.

V/r,
John