I want to move to Japan and I'm only 14

Hi! Although I'm only 14 I really really want to move in Japan because I love everything there. What should I do? My parents say that they can only afford the ticket to Japan so I don't have the money to rent an apartment or anything.I don't know japanese too well(learned a little by watching anime and listening some j-rock and j-pop). I don't want to move there only I want to go to high school there--maybe I can make my parents pay for it---And I want to hire at some shop or something to earn a few money for making a living there...soo PLEASE help me and reply!! And please as soon as possible! Thanks ^-^Ooh.. By the way I'm from Romania..If that helps a little...

Manga Freak, as a 14 year old you cannot rent a room by yourself in Japan, nor can you work at a part-time job. There is also no visa for you to attend school and live here independently, and really 14 is not old enough to be living by yourself, or even 16.

Just to point out, you may think you love everything about Japan, but if you haven't been here how can you know that? Do you know about the very crowded trains, tiny apartments, the noise, the long working hours, the severe pressure put on Japanese students to study to pass exams? Life here is not very much like it is in manga or anime I'm afraid.

Your best option is to look into coming on a student exchange- do they have Rotary student exchange scholarships in Romania for example, or something similar? If so, then you may be able to come for a year while you are still in high school. Otherwise you should be thinking about coming here to study when you are a university student- start saving now as it's quite expensive.

Not going to happen. What even makes you think this will be a good idea?

not necessarily impossible, but doing it on your own is certainly out of the question unless you are in certain situations such as having relatives in Japan. I have met many 14 yr old exchange students in Japan, but they all came over on exchange programs and lived with host families. It just isn't possible (legally) otherwise.

There are a number of exchange programs available to attend high school in Japan, and I'd suggest seeking out one of those. Sira suggested Rotary Club which is a great idea, except that they don't let you choose your destination country. Definitely check out your local Rotary chapter though, they may be able to help you.

Have you ever thought the things on the other side? I mean, how well you know Japanese Culture? Also negative things? I wanted to move Japan once and I did it, but I was 21yrs. I had read about these negative things also. If you�Lre moving, are you sure you can live there? Do you think it is easy to find job as foreigner if you don�Lt speak Japanese? And you�Lve also visa problems and Japanese law may cover the same things as in your country. And women are unfortunately on the 2nd stage. Japan is bit a Men�Ls world. I recommend you to use exchange student thing. And remember, school terms may cost you some. It�Ls not always like everything is great there and everybody are happy - there are highest suicides in the world. Sorry, but I recommend you to read about other things, not just manga,

Ok...but can I stay at someone at there like a host family or something..I do not have relatives there.I only have some friends but I didn't ask them yet..I don't think they can help me with that...I don't want to live alone but I can't with my parents because they have work and can't live the country because of that...And I checked a few sites with student exchange option and I'll show my parent maybe they'll agree..Although I would like to stay in high school and graduate there so like 3-4 years

i say give it up not going to happen unless your parnets are rich...move there when your 20yrs old or something...or student exchange prog. other then that...forget about it...muhahahaha

It sounds as if you're being a bit naive about this. Saying that your parents can't go because they have work and stuff, you surely can't expect them to just pick up and move to a different country for you.

For now why not try and learn much more Japanese so that when you finish High School you can try to go to a Japanese university instead. At that time you will be able to live on your own or with room mates who are also going to university. If you wait until this time you'll be older, more independant, with better Japanese and a much better grasp of reality.

Do an exchange. Get your grades up, and do an exchange. Also quit being silly, you're not going to live in Japan as 14 year old without support. Also Japan is not the anime country you think it is, there are plenty of normal people there.

I'm sorry to tell you right now that this is just a dream. If you have NO money to start off in your own country, how can you expect to live in another country? Life in Japan isn't like the manga and anime's I'm afraid. The students in High School work extremely hard in school and study mostly in their spare time. Classes go 6 out of 7 days a week, and you have to transport yourself to school no matter what kind of weather is outside.
You can not move there and expect to get a job. First off, no one hires 14 year olds anywhere. Second, you would need a working visa, which is a long process, and pricey at that.
I am also 14 and planning on moving to Japan in the future, possibly at 20 or 19. I myself am going to do the foreign exchange student program in my junior year for a whole academic year in Japanese schools.
I would suggest that you read up on EVERYTHING about Japan before you consider doing anything there. But if you're still considering it then be prepared to live in a very small living space, be forced into crowded stations, and high prices.

I'm sorry if this ruined your dream.. but it's the truth.

Look, honestly, I can tell by your name that you want to get away from the real world. However, moving to Japan doesn't get you anywhere...except the real world! Anime is a cartoon, not reality. And does it make sense to live by yourself at 14? And the fact that you can't even speak the language. If you actually moved there, I would suspect you would asl your parents for help right away. You do not have enough experience to live your own life. Sorry.

You know what? i think its cool that you would wanna move their, ive wanted to since i was 12, but id advise thinking it through very carefully. Try and learn as much as you can about the culture, and try saving up as much money as you can as possible. maybe 14 is a little to young, i know it must be a bummer to hear that repeatedly. But maybe when your 16 you should try. But never give up on a dream.

My good friend here in United States take in Japanese highschool students through an exchange student program. In return some American students 15-18 get to go to Japan and stay for several months.

I think some kind of Exchange Student program may work for you.

I love your enthusiasm. I notice that most of the previous posts were not encouraging. I agree that it is difficult. But why is it not difficult for a 15 year old Japanese to come to United States?

Chad

Chad, nobody is saying that it would be difficult for Manga Freak to come on the same sort of exchange programme as you mentioned. What she/he suggested was coming to live here alone and work part time while studying at high school- an entirely different situation. Do you think a 15 year old should come here and live alone?

I agree with most of what was said. I too did an exchange student program but as some have said, I had no choice about where to go and was already 19. I was sent to Finland and it was a great experience. 2 things I don't agree with is when some of you guys think that the kid will be freaked out by tiny apartments and big crowds on transit, in the streets etc.. He is European for crying out loud and while some people do have big apartments (my parents rented one that was 250 m2, not including the bedroom for the maids and a couple of storage rooms) as a student I rented a tiny place on the 5th floor without an elevator. I didn't think it was bad at all as most other students were in the same boat. As for crowds in the streets, trains, trams, buses.. I grew up with these in Europe, way before I came to Japan. As a matter of fact this is why I feel so much at home in Japan, unlike in North America where all I see is too much wasted space.

To Red Frog: No one here is saying that Manga Freak will in fact be freaked out or scared by Japan's negative sides. It seems that the majority are just assuming that Manga Freak has a delusion of Japan that is far from the truth judging by his/her thought that you can just up and leave your own country to live, learn, and work in Japan. It does not work like that. While some were more rude than others, I think the point everyone was trying to get across was that Manga Freak should do more research before jumping in and saying he/she wants to move to Japan - especially as such a young age.

From my experience it seems that a lot of teenagers and even young adults believe Japan to be the land of anime and crazy fashion. There is A LOT more to Japan than just cartoons and clothes. There are thousands of years worth of culture, I just wish they would explore more of it.

I think the some of the rudeness in posts (not just to this question, but on many other questions within the forum as well) comes from people not doing research AT ALL. This is such a broad question that if you simply typed "moving in Japan", "living in Japan", or "working in Japan" onto Google you could find out so much stuff! You would read about student exchange programs (which I think would be the best bet for you Manga Freak), universities, teaching programs, etc. Yet no one does this. They post such broad questions on here hoping that we do the research for them.

I am all for posting questions and giving answers, but all I wish is that people would do some research on their own.

Manga Freak,

Best time for you to go to Japan as a exchange student is when you are about 16 or 17 years old high school student . By then you will have much better understanding about Japan and should be that much better in speaking/writing/reading Japanese. And you will have enough money saved, won't you?

It's very true Japan isn't like depicted in mangas. Mangas are cartoons - made up story. And you want to see the REAL Japan don't you?

You may not realize but Japan is 1-1/2 time larger than Romania but Japan have 4 times the population - can you guess how many people live in Tokyo areas? I know Bucharest has about 1,200,000 people with very wide streets and large buildings that stretches from one side of street corner to other corner - how about 13,000,000 people living in Bucharest?! Do I hear you say "O My God!"

Maybe I am more qualified than most to advise you about going to Japan from a foreign country... I was a exchange student from U.S.A. to Japan at 13, 15 & 17 years old. First time with my father's brother family - second time with my mom's family, & third time with my grandmother's sister family. Another words I had a home to live in and a family that cared about me.

Do you have a relative in Japan? If you don't then the student exchange program will be perfect for you. Here are infos:

http://www.twoworldsunited.com/japan.html
http://tokyo.mae.ro/index.php?lang=en&id=16296
http://www8.cao.go.jp/youth/kouryu/h14/index/romania-album-e.html

The opening poster hasn't responded since then!

I know some people who post questions here, then completely forget about the website.

:(

It's true that Manga Freak didn't write since her first post, but I'm glad that so many people have answered the question.

If there are other people with a genuine interest in Japan, they will be happy to find so many posts here, I'm sure of that.

Even if this girl didn't take a second look, others will do. I hate to search for an answer via Internet (must not only be Japan related) only to find out my question has already been asked by someone else yet nobody bothered to answer.

~~~
For any 14-year old who wants to go to Japan: Take your time and learn Japanese, I want to gain Japanese citizenship one day and I'm now 17 years old, don't have anything but a High School Diploma, average grades, no understanding of the language and so on. SERIOUSLY, if I had known back then I would have made better use of my time -.-

And you can get some japanese friends, try to polish your skills as much as possible. Find out about good universities and find people who will apply for the same as you. Find out about culture, too. Japanese don't expect you to know about it, so asking is ok. Oh, and if you can't go to Japan with a university degree (maybe that not what you want) I barely know about this, but I heard people were sent to Japan by their companies. Maybe that gives you a hunch what you want.