Part time job in Tokyo

I'm planning on staying in Tokyo for 4.5 months on a work-holiday visa. I've been studying Japanese for awhile now, and I've been to Tokyo 2 times, but I can never get completely fluent and that's why I decided to go there for the summer.

Do I have a chance at finding a part time job? And what kind of part time jobs can I find? I'm not looking to teach English because the goal of me finding a job is so that I can force myself to speak and listen to Japanese. I'm not going to aim for something like 2000 yen/hr (altho if I can find it I don't mind) so just tell me what's out there for me.

I can speak casual Japanese..my accent's not too huge from what I've been told. My vocab is my weak point. I can't do the keigo at 100 mph that the Japanese people do.. but I think since I have a base it's not impossible.

Thanks!

How about working at a hotel reception desk in large city�@where demands are higher no? I see many non-Japanese receptionists working at hotel now days.

How would I find those jobs though? Just go in and ask if they're hiring?

If you're going to work at the Japanese front desk you better speak Japanese and keigo pretty darn well.

However behind the scenes, cleaning staff etc might be another option.

Yeah pretty much you can ask.
But you have to remember Japan is in a recession right now, so pretty much everyone is hurting, many Japanese out of work are looking for work as well. Even language teaching is tough these days, but the truth is, you probably have a better chance at that then getting a part-time job doing something else in these tiring times.

Depending on your speaking ability and how social and serious you can behave, you might be able to get a job as a waiter at a cafe or restaurant.

Ethnic restaurants tend to hire those of that ethnicity, so try to find a place that serves food from your country. Job ad magazines are available in Japanese, and information on foreign food restaurants are available in foreign languages for potential customers.

I'm Chinese. Does that mean I have to commute all the way to Yokohama for its Chinatown or Odaiba for its little Hong Kong lol

If you got a job in those places (little hong kong is more like a themed mall then it is a town like chinatown in Yokohama) yes you would have to commute.

But there are many Chinese restaurants spread throught tokyo in many areas, not all the chinese restaurants in Japan are in Chinatown. If you speak Japanese enough then you could probably get a job in a convenience store, I knew many Chinese who worked in them.

But again, the job market is very tough now, so many Japanese people are going for any job they can get as well, so you're up with a lot of other competition.
Wish you the best of luck, Its hard for everyone now.

Pathoz, there are way more Chinese people working in Chinese restaurants in my little neighborhood than there are in Odaiba.

Alright, so I guess I'll just have to roam around seeing if anyone's hiring. If I actually had to commute to Odaiba that'd be nearly impossible because I'll be living in Saitama! So that's a relief.

You'll need a proper visa before anyone can hire you.

you said you're from canada so I am assuming you can speak english fluently without (or with only a little) accent.

why do you want to waste your time in restaurants? just teach english. you'll barely make enough to eat if you work at a chinese restaurant somewhere, and you'll be taken advantage of by pretty much everyone since you don't speak that much japanese and you have no contacts here.

teach english and secure yourself an easy 1500-2500 yen per hour job.

Kato, OP mentions they will have a Working Holiday Visa.

I also recommend if you can English teaching because the pay is higher then restaurant waiters (eg 1000yen vs 2-3 x more as a teacher).

finding a job is so that I can force myself to speak and listen to Japanese.

Kind of pointless getting a job using your chinese skills then?

Okay, well let's say that I have no choice and teaching English is the best way to go. Where would I look for that? Obviously I can't teach (ALT/JET etc) since I'm not in Japan for that long and I don't have a diploma, which means I can only tutor. I heard of one-on-one tutorings like GABA but I heard they only want people who have a diploma. Anybody know of places that accept people like me?

I'm Japanese and speak Japanese fluently, so I can't speak in behalf of others, but by watching friends from overseas, I sense that waiting tables is a better way to learn Japanese than to teach English. I wonder what others think.