Carpentry, Japan

Hi my names josh im currently doing my carpentry apprenticeship in australia i have about 3 months till im qualified and would then like to travel to and work in japan.

im having a hard time getting information on carpenters in japan, so if anyone could answer any of the following questions id really appreciate it.

is the carpentry industry big in japan?

wages as a carpenter in japan?

domestic vs commercial work in japan?
(i would really like to do domestic houses if possible so any extra info would be great. is there many houses being built in areas of japan? or is it rare do most people live in apartments? skyscrapers? etc)

thx again anything you know would really help even if its not an answer to the above questions

Josh

I don't know much about the carpentry industry in Japan, however, if you want to work as a carpenter in Japan, you will be expected to know how to use Japanese wood tools!!!

For example, have you ever used a Japanese saw?? It cuts on the "pull" stroke, unlike western saws which cut on the "push" stroke. I have a couple back in Australia (I live in Yokohama at the moment though)
Wood planes are also used on the pull stroke.

one amazing thing about Japan is the number of private homes that are found all over the place and , even in major towns, not far from downtown. Many are steel frame prefabricated homes (check www.toyotahome.co.jp/
click on the 3rd line in the second column-under the photo of a guy- to see a choice of actual homes then click on each home photo for details).
besides these homes a lot of modern and traditional style homes with a wood frame can be found all over the country. They even build Western style log houses.
check this site: www.kinokuniya.co.jp/english/
somewhere in this site click on USA. stores for exemple. at the end of the home page- in Japanese- about the USA or other countries there are e-mail addresses for each store. e-mail them asking for titles of monthly magazines on wood houses, especially traditionnal ones.. and if you can buy a couple (they are expensive but worth the price)
luckily for me I can get these mags here in North America..