Jobs in the Tourism Industry

Hi. I would like to know if anyone is aware of job opportunities in Japan in or related to the tourism industry, such as translation, guides, etc.

Everyone keeps saying, ''If you do JET, you can find these types of jobs while you are there.'' but they always assume that you will get into JET. That's not a guarantee, though, and I'd like to know other options.

I have a university degree and such, and my Japanese abilities are decent. (I know ''decent'' is a subjective term, but if you know of opportunities that require ''fluency'' or something, please just list them. I can always sort out which are beyond my level and which are okay, if I need to.)

Anyways, I am basically just curious about job opportunities beyond JET, but I do have an interest in the tourism industry.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

Maybe you could work at one of the international chain hotels in your city, then get a transfer to Japan when there's an opening. However, the hotel business is doing poorly in Japan right now.

Whatever the industry, translation and tour-guiding requires experience, but if you can prove that you are bilingual, tough and patient, it is not at all impossible to be hired by hotels and other service related jobs aimed for tourists. At hotels for example, you will typically start as a bellboy/girl and move your way up. But keep in mind that almost all tourism industry jobs are very tough, physically, mentally and financially.

As for becoming a tour guide, you need to know about the country you are guiding (culture, history, geography, names of plants etc.) even more than you should be able to speak the language.

I have heard that there is quite a difficult exam on the topics Uco mentions that you must pass to become a registered tour guide here. Many Japanese people fail it even though they have grown up here.

I assume Sira is talking about the official Guide-interpreters of JNTO.
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/arrange/essential/guideservice.html

Of course, you can still work as a tour guide without being the official guide of JNTO, but still, guiding people professionally isn't really an easy job and you do get a lot of difficult questions asked by the people you are guiding.

Hi,
Actually I acquired the tour guide license a few years ago and had been working as a guide for about two years. Unfortunately because of this global economic crisis, the job oppotunities have been scarce for guides these days. But if you still hope to be a guide in Japan, you can study for the exam even in your country and take the exam at the nearest exam station. In terms of the foreign language exam., it is getting more and more advantageous to foreign candidates because you can just take 1st Eiken where you don't need to use Japanese.
I took a special government English exam for tourism as well as Eiken. Good luck and hope you can find a tourism-related job in Japan.

You need to have passed this exam in order to work as paid tour guide/guide interpreter in Japan. Many people do not seem to be aware of this, I have read in the newspapers.

We have been facing a lot of problems with non-licensed guides from abroad, guiding actively in Japan. They don't seem to know it is prohibited to guide for money without this national lisence.

I double-checked the JNTO and various official websites and I suppose AK and Iizuka-san are correct by suggesting that it is illegal to work as a paid tourism guide interpreter. I am sorry for my previous misinterpretation.

(I just wonder since when it was illegal and what are the definitions of "paid" or "tourism" as I knew several people including myself who did this without having taken the exam.)

Hi,
In reply to Uco, if you guide tourists without charge as a volunteer guide, then that's no problem. Or if you are just interpreting for someone on business, that's O.K too. But non-lisenced guides or tour conductors without the guide lisence cannot guide foreign visitors (ex.explaining about Japan and Japanese people such as the history, politics, economy, customs, culture, etc.), because the guides are regarded as grass-roots diplomats for the national benefits.

Thank you, Iizuka-san. That was what I assumed, and I know quite a few people who were hired by companies to do that. Good to know it's illegal, at least today.

So, this test does not require much Japanese language ability?
-What sorts of things are on the test then?
-Is it just a seasonal test, like JLPT? When and where can you take it?

Thanks

Damien, as far as I know this test is in Japanese and therefore requires that you can read and speak Japanese fluently. I can't imagine working as a guide in Japan without being able to speak and read Japanese at a high level- how would you liaise with people in transport and accommodation and make arrangements for the people on the tour?

To tell you the truth, there is not a huge demand for non-Japanese in any kind of tourism job here. As a basic guide when looking for jobs in Japan, generally if the job can be done by a Japanese person, employers are unlikely to go to the trouble of sponsoring a visa for a non-Japanese (lots of paperwork).

If you come here as a student (meaning there are no restrictions on what kind of work you can do), you might find part time work in the hospitality industry, and that might lead on to future opportunities.

I have been here 11 years, and apart from the working holiday-type jobs in ski resorts etc (I worked at a ski resort myself for 3 months on first arriving in Japan), I don't recall seeing a lot of jobs in tourism, if an fact any, posted in the English language papers and websites

Sira: Yes, that's what I was thinking. A comment above confused me, so that's why I wanted to double-check.

Do you just teach English then? I will still look into the tourism industry, but what kind of job do you have? What kind do you usually see (aside from engineering jobs that require a degree that I do not have, because I know it is easier to find a job in Japan for engineers).

Hi again,
Well, the guide exams include a foreign language test(written and oral). If you take the 1st Eiken test for the written test, then you don't have to use Japanese language. But if you want to take the tour guide foreign language test set up by the government instead of the Eiken, you will need a good translation skill. You then will have to take an oral test, and other sheet exams for subjects including Japanese geography, history, and other wide-range of subjects. Those are written in Japanese.
But you can study and take the exams abroad too. If you have the guide license, then you can visit Japan with your clients(tourists) as a guide from your country. Then, you can actually guide at any sightseeing spots within this country.
Unfortunately, lots of Japanese tour guides cannot find jobs at the moment.
Good luck!!