Going to Japan - The Very first step?

Hey folks, I've always been very interested in the Japanese culture and Japan as a whole. I'd really like to set foot into Japan one day...not just to visit, but to live in Japan at least for a bit. I'm an Asian, and had stayed in Asia for about 18 years of my life, but currently I'm living in Canada. I love the presence of the people around me, it is just a whole lot different than where I came from. However, there is still the ethnicity and racial barrier, it just doesn't feel as "belonging" if you get what I mean. Also, please note that I'm not implying that people discriminate or was I illy treated, it's just one of those "white guy in Asia | Asian in western country" kind of thing. If I was born and brought up in a western country, I'd probably be less affected but this kind of mentality. Regardless, that's not quite what I'm here to say today.

I'm interested in knowing what was the first step you took to getting into Japan. More importantly, where can I meet more Japanese? I'm the "online-kind-of-guy" and to me, meeting people online seems to be the very primary means of knowing people. What'd be a good place to search for Japanese friends besides the classified section? Thanks in advance.

If you have no plans for college in the immediate future and you're a Canadian citizen, then you could get the Working Holiday Visa.

Well I should have mentioned that I have a 4 year Bac Degree and don't plan to further my studies as I don't actually ''use'' it in my real life. So I'm pretty much done with studying as far as I am concerned. I work for myself as a photographer and I do mostly weddings...which happens to be quite lucrative especially during spring-fall. After that, I'm usually a free man and I'd love to do something elsewhere. I'd like to know where I could meet people before I actually consider going to Japan. Contacts are important. Also, I haven't actually done any reasearch yet, but if anybody could fill me in on the average salary of ''teaching English in japan'' would be greatly appreciated.

The average salary for a teacher at an English conversation school is 250k yen per month.

What's wrong with the classified section? If you can't read Japanese, I think the classified section on this site is a good place to look.

If that 18 years of living in Asia wasn't in Japan then that doesn't help much.

I meet Chinese people who moved to Japan for school or business and found it totally confusing and different.

You wish to meet Japanese people, do you speak, read, and write Japanese fluently?

Getting a job an is important first step to getting into Japan. Get any job there, move there, that is your ticket in to developing new contacts resources, learn the language if you want to move out of language teaching, but you'll still be up against discrimination. Not a true feeling of "being" when the only jobs you can really get are jobs that the Japanese themselves are not really well equipped to handle themselves (eg Language teaching or IT jobs.) Japan has no shortage of photographers.

I don't know what your ethnicity is, but going to Japan as a non-Japanese person will be putting you up for discrimination. Going there to get a sense of belonging would be a bad idea. If you plan to live in Japan for a while, you will most likely experience discrimination and realize that you are different, and will never truly "fit in". At least in Canada there is a sense of equality and you can find people of all types there, including your own.

Just rethink your motives a little bit before you take such a huge step.

Racism against other Asians in Japan is quite common (Chinese and North Koreans in particular) and is something to think about. Doesn't mean you can't have a good time, it just means you should keep that in mind especially if you want to enter the Japanese workforce or buy housing.

I'm Chinese, but I'm not China-Chinese/Taiwanese. I don't speak Japanese but I am studying it intensively. I'm not quite aware of the level of discrimination in Japan against other Asians, my aunt had stayed in Japan for over 10 years and she did blend in without any known issues.

250万円 seems incredibly little..an average photographer makes that much from just one wedding shoot.

Damian,
I sincerely hope that you can live your dream to live in Japan but being Asian there will not be necessarily be the ticket. I am a Caucasian Canadian but born and raised in Europe. I don't feel that I REALLY BELONG here and being told more than once by managers in various workplaces that I wasn't white because I was European didn't help. Even colleagues of mine, born and educated in the UK or Ireland were not readily accepted. The good thing about all that is that colleagues from visible minorities, after hearing the manager treat me as he treat them, saw me as a "brother" so to speak. My partner of many years is Asian by the way.
The interesting thing is that whenever I go back to my birth country, even thought it is practically every year, people know that I am a foreigner and I DO feel foreign there. Actually I feel that I am always on a holiday wherever I am!

It is undeniable that ones appearance (ethnicity/racial appearance) plays a great deal of a role in how others view of you.

If you don't look like you are of a particularly, identifiable, race/ethnicity....it may be even more difficult to avoid any potential discrimination as you are always different in every way.

I've took the liberty to read about foreigners living experience in Japan and I have a pretty good idea of how white and colored people are being treated there. The kind of treatment is not unforeseeable, and I bet a white person in China would have had experienced this sort of treatment somewhat, but perhaps less blatantly.

What I am hoping is that my ethnicity would give me a better chance in blending into the community. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

Like I've said, my aunt had stayed in Japan for over 10 years, didn't head any particular complain about being discriminated. I've also had several friends went to Japan as exchange-students and also didn't quite hear anything negative from them besides being treated nicely. Although I should say that they were all of Chinese ethnicity and only went to Nagoya. However, due to their short living experience in Japan, I'm only taking what they say with as pinch of salt.

I don't expect to be moving to Japan any time soon, not until I can speak Japanese at least. So there's much time to study about the country. It's never too early to start researching.

Also, there's nothing wrong with the Classified section, I was just wondering if there are more places that perhaps I could meet some Japanese people who speaks English or interested in Language exchange.

You got the numbers a little mixed up. 250k yen is 25万円, which isn't much like you said. It's about 2300 CAD. It's enough for a recent college graduate to enjoy Japan for a year or two.

Unlike some of the other posters, I think you might feel more of a "belonging" here in Japan. You're an Asian in North America, so you already know how it feels to be a foreigner in a foreign land. You'll definitely blend in more easily here. You'll still be a foreigner, but at least you won't be "spotted" so easily.

What type of discrimination are you concerned about?

What I am hoping is that my ethnicity would give me a better chance in blending into the community. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

You can look the part, but if aren't Japanese you will never have a full sense of belonging.

For example take Zainichi Koreans in Japan.

They are Ethnic Koreans who live in Japan, many 3rd generations were born and grew up in Japan, all they know is Japan and speak Japanese, not Korean. In any other sense of the word they are Japanese, however they are still required to carry "foreign/Alien registration cards" with them.

However to note a Japan is about to revise the Alien Registration system, and from what I read Zainichi Koreans and other "Special Permanent residents" do not have to carry them anymore. Though they have no proposed what it will be replaced with.

Many use pass names, Japanese names they use in public or when working.

Now I'm not saying Japan is a bad place or anything.

According to your post, you're looking for a sense of belonging and away from the barrier of ethnicity and race, then you should try another country like Taiwan (which is really advancing, they recently opened a brand new bullet train line using Shinkansen technology), might be the place to be.

In any other sense of the word they are Japanese, however they are still required to carry "foreign/Alien registration cards" with them.

They also have the option of acquiring the Japanese citizenship. But many choose not to get the Japanese citizenship due to national pride issues.

yes, 250kyen is ２５万円, which is 2000+cad/usd as you said, and that's what I had in mind. No idea how did an extra 0 went in there.

The thing about us non-native ethnicity people is that there is always not going to be a perfect sense of belonging anywhere. In terms of communicating in Chinese or how much of a Chinese I am, lol, I can communicate with Hong Kong folks the best, following with Taiwanese, and Southern-Chinese. Mainland Chinese is a no-no as they couldn't understand my accent. But ultimately, I have no problems with communicating in English, aside from maybe talking to some British/Irish where I often have to listen twice to get what they say. In fact, English has been my primary spoken language for some time now. Regardless, I don't really want to be in any of those countries. Something about Japan appeals me a lot.

Regarding discrimination, I'm just concerned about if I'd get treated like some others had:

- ignored/frowned upon
- being viewed as a criminal
- and etc etc

I thought carrying a foreign card isn't really a big deal, as long as you are not constantly being asked to show it. I've been asked to show my COSTCO card! and I was the only one that was asked to show it among all the many people entering COSTCO at that time.

Using a different name isn't a big deal, I don't use my real name anyway. It helps people to identify you easier and you'd look less different than others. (that's the main purpose of a name isn't it?) If an employer can't pronounce your name, you're resume will automatically be thrown away in most cases...nevermind equal rights of employment or whatever legislation that fights against discrimination, employers can always give reasons to consider a person to be less competent that the others. One major catch in human resource economics.

A simple change/addition of the first name could help alleviate all these potential problems.

What is your citizenship? (whats written on your passport?)

If you're not from a native english speaking country you'll have to "proove" to a language school that you're just as good as any other native english speaker. Its an extra step you have to take, now of course living in Canada and going to school there should be proof enough, but it puts you just a tad lower on the hiring scale vs someone who is a "native" english speaker.

Right, wrong, thats how it is.

I'm a Malaysian, awaiting my Canada Permanent Residence approval which is due within next 2-3 months. Then I have about 2 more years to live before I could apply to becoming a citizen.

There appears to be extensive information about teaching English in Japan, and I intend to find out more about it. Is there some sort of ELPT, equivalent of JLPT, tests that would help non-native English speaker even out the playing field? (IELTS/TOEFL scores or such?)

TBH, It's naive to think that native English speaker = naturally good in English although it helps narrow down the scope.

While native speakers may not always be the best teachers, native speakers are what the majority of employers here require.

Immigration also requires you to have at least 12 years of schooling in the language that you wish to teach (i.e. English was the language all your subjects were taught in) to give you a working visa for that job.

You may consider this way of thinking "naive", but unfortunately that's just how it is.

250,000 yen per month isn't a lot, you are right. It's a relatively unskilled, entry-level job, and the bubble economy is long over. Luckily the tax rate is only 5%.

If you have qualifications and experience in IT or finance then you may be able to get a job with a foreign company, and those fields pay a lot better.

Yes it is definitely somewhat naive but it is not incomprehensible why there'd be such a "requirement". I had been English educated since kindergarten. If I remember correctly from a casual conversation with a Japanese friend a while ago, English is taught at around 中学？

I don't have a degree in Finance, it is a Bac Commerce Degree and I major in Accounting...that's Finance's next best friend. (although my Finance and Accounting profs had always labeled the opposite as rivals)

I don't plan to be a salaryman btw, but if TESL is the most common thing to get into Japan, then I'd go along with it until I can move on further.

Did you get your degree in Canada? With a Canadian passport and a Canadian degree, I don't think the native English speaker requirement will be an issue with immigrations. I doubt they'll ask for report cards from grade school.

Passport is Malaysia. PR doesn't get Canada Passport, only citizen does. Both my grade 12 and degree are Canadian.