Living or Vacation?

Hi, my name is Rin and I'm Canadian/Chinese. I'm currently in 10th grade right now and I want to go to Japan in a couple of years. Probably like, 3-4 years?

If I want to study and live there for a long period of time, is it possible? Like, I'm going there basically a year after graduating high school and won't have any degrees in Uni/College. I want to know about how to be able to pay for tuition, rent, transportation etc. I'm still an amateur in Japanese. I can read hirigana, katakana and understand basic Japanese, but having some trouble with Kanji.

Or is it a better idea to just go there for vacation for a short period of time (say less than 6 months). Can that make it easier for a newcomer in the country? I'm worried about transportation because I won't be able to go to any other places without knowing directions and I don't want to follow a tour guide since there's "curfew" or a specific time to go and to stop.

I also don't understand the thing about Visa. Is Visa really required in Japan?

Please help me out as much as possible. Thank You.

If you are interested in studying the Japanese language (attending a full-time language school) in Japan, you can apply for and enrol in such a school in Japan. They have one-year or two-year courses that prepare you to the Japanese language proficiency level to be able to pursue studies in a university in Japan, if you are interested. Of course you (or your parents) will need to be able to pay all tuition, accommodation, living expenses, etc. for/during your study.

When you come for studying at a language school or a university, you apply for pre-college or college student visa; visa is like a permit for foreigners to be able to stay in Japan for a long-term, so, yes, for something like one year, two years, etc., you definitely need a visa status. I (=Japanese) can travel to Canada without any visa beforehand, but if I wanted to "live" there, I need to apply for some kind of visa to stay in Canada too.

Are you Canadian? Then you can come to Japan as a tourist (Temporary Visitor Status) to just do sightseeing and travel around Japan. Also Canadians are eligible for Working Holiday Visa status, where you can come and travel extensively (up to either 6 months or one year, I forgot which), while doing some short-term casual work to help earn some pocket money to help with your travel expenses.

About transportation - just like you get a guidebook and maps when you travel to a new city within your own country that you are not familiar with, you prepare to come visit Japan :)

Rin, just look at the section marked A-Z at the very top of this forum. It has everything you need to know about Japan. Check the section on transportation to get an idea of what is where in Japan. You can fin all sorts of info on how to go from here to there in that section and later can plan your itinerary and check timetables on various sites (like www.hyperdia.com). It is easy really.
You can also ask about visas on the internet but also from people you know in Canada that came from another country as immigrants to Canada. You can't decide yourself that you will move to a country and stay there for so many months or years... THAT country will decide before hand if they allow you to do that and, if they do, will give you a visa. This is the same thing if you want to study in Japan. The Japanese embassy in Canada -or a Japanese consulate in your town if there is one -will study your file and give you a student visa (obviously you have to check Japanese universities or ..before hand). As a Canadian citizen just visiting Japan for a short while it is much easier: You just go there and upon landing will get a temporary visa good for 90 days max.

Thank you for helping me. Is there anything else I should know about traveling or moving?

I'm really grateful to everyone.

Rin, there are a million things you should know about travelling or moving, but we can't tell you everything here. Once you have some concrete plans, come back with some specific questions (after checking around to make sure they haven't already been answered), and we will be happy to help you out.

If possible, I would recommend you take a short trip (2 weeks?) first to make sure Japan is what you thought it would be.
Then, go to college in Canada. During your sophmore or junior year, get into a student exchange program and go to Japan to study for a year. My sister went to Japan for year while in college (attended Kansai Gaidai (spelling?) in Osaka. She really enjoyed the experience. I think you will as well. (kinda weird that 16 years later I met & married a Japanese woman from Osaka!)
After you graduate college in Canada, then you can consider moving to Japan to work. This seems like the most logical and realistic path to take.

Rin, do you have HK Passport? Chinese passport? Canadian Passport? Dual-national? Let us know. :)

Thank you everyone for the help. Um, the advice about taking a visit first is probably a good idea. I've been thinking a lot about what to do if I do go there and how would I live there if I don't even know how to take care of myself that much yet.

The VISA thing is still sort of confusing too. But I'll get through that somehow. Probably get my cousins to explain. My cousin recommends me to go there in 3 years instead so I can earn enough money.

I'm from Canada so I have a Canadian passport. That's basically all I know.