Massage Therapist wants to move

Unlike most of the other posts I have been reading I am not a 14 year old with hopes of moving to Japan. I'm 23 and feel a little hopeless.
I have friends in the military moving to Japan this coming summer and have offered me a place to stay. Only being able to speak survival japanese and the fact that I never went to university seems to limit my visa abilities. I'm a massage therapist and have my certification but that doesn't qualify me for much seeing as how I was informed that Japan doesn't require you to be licensed. I live in the U.S. but love to move around and have always thought of Japan as the ultimate destination. I'm ready to leave the U.S.!

Any information or comments are greatly welcomed.



-Nichole

With a limited viable job skills, without the degree, and not fluent in language spells only as a tourist.

People without degrees don't have too many options. One is to become a full time student, but this takes a lot of money for the fees and living costs. Another is to be married to a Japanese national, obviously not something likely to happen soon in your case. Ten years experience in the field you wish to work in and the offer of a job can qualify you for a work visa if you don't have a degree- also not applicable in your case.

Most countries require that you have a certain level of education or have skills that are in demand before they will issue you a working visa, so it seems that your only option would be to go to college and get a degree. There is definitely no shortage of Japanese massage therapists here- I know lots.

Also beware of thinking Japan is the ultimate destination- living here as a foreigner comes with quite a few difficulties and stresses of its own and might not be what you expected at all. If you have the chance do come over and spend a few weeks at least as a tourist, just see what it's like here on a day to day basis before you make any big decisions.

To be frank, in regards to your position as it pertains to visa possibilities, you're in the same boat as the aforementioned 14 year old (as you're already aware).

As mentioned by Sira, visit for a few weeks and see what it really is like here. In my own personal opinion, having lived in Japan for three years at around your age, Japan can be quite unforgiving to foreigners, especially with limited Japanese and little employment background.

I do really well in my profession and there is no way to get a degree in massage unless I go into physical therapy which then has limits. Canada is the only country that offers a masters program in massage. It is frustrating that someone with a business degree they will never utilize has more options then me. I know dozens of college people who are living off loans and their parents money while having no idea what they are going to school for. I've been focused on massage for over four years!
Ugh- sorry.

On topic- I've lived all over the U.S. and really like to move to places to get a feel for them. I can't justify spending the money to visit a place when I have free room and board with nothing holding me to this location.

Does this plan sounds viable at all? Working with an international hotel, like Hilton and maybe being transferred over there? It seems like a stretch but it was suggested by a friend. If anyone has any info on an undertaking like that, let me know.

Thank you all for your help! I'm taking all your feedback into consideration and find most of it really helpful!

The intra-company transfer visa may be an option, although it is probably a long shot. The majority of tourists/hotel guests in Japan are Japanese (domestic tourism far outweighs international tourism), so you would need a very high level of Japanese before a company would send you to Japan to work in a hotel. Again, Japan has plenty of experienced massage therapists (shiatsu in particular) and doesn't really need to import them.

I'm afraid I don't understand the part where you said you "can't justify spending the money to visit a place"- do you mean that you don't want to just visit Japan first? If so, then ok, but since your chances of being able to come here to work are fairly low, it might be worth just coming as a tourist some time.

Sira wrote "Also beware of thinking Japan is the ultimate destination- living here as a foreigner comes with quite a few difficulties and stresses of its own and might not be what you expected at all. If you have the chance do come over and spend a few weeks at least as a tourist, just see what it's like here on a day to day basis before you make any big decisions."
she is absolutely right but replace Japan by Canada, Germany, France etc. etc. and the above observations apply.
I, along with many other educated people, had a heck of a time getting a 1/2 decent job in Canada, even though we spoke both of its languages and had valuable skills..
Don't give up on Japan but be realistic and try to get an education that help you come here.