Sorry, I can’t help - my user name tells the truth, I’m in Hokkaido and to get up here in the summer would take 70% of your money just for the ticket.
Seriously, that tiny amount of money worries me too…
To reiterate, my parents will be able to loan me enough money so I don’t starve to death. I can pay this money back whether I return home or not. They won’t be able to loan me enough money to just bum around and rent an apartment, but food they can do. Thanks everyone for your concern though. It’s certainly going to be a challenge.
Also, that 200$ is how much money I will make if I work on the house at my current 4 hours a day average. I’m trying to exceed that, but between the everyday thunderstorms and the 95+ degree heat, it’s hard to work more than 4 hours per day.
I’m going to upload my resumes in this thread. I’ve found plenty of sites to post them too but I guess the reason I haven’t uploaded them yet is because I’m afraid they need fixing up. I’d hate to spend days uploading and applying to jobs only to find my resumes are shit.
Sorry I didn’t join in earlier, Auto, I just got your PM.
While I wish you good luck, I have to agree with TokyoPlayer and Sleel. Getting started can be pretty expensive. I’ve got four under one roof right now, so I’m afraid I don’t have any spare room at my place.
If you do make a go of it, one place to look for housing it with a guest house (sometimes also called gaijin houses) that rent single rooms fairly cheaply. Metropolis has a few listed at the moment, ranging from 35,000-110,000/month, with and without deposits. There are also a lot of backpacker hostels around the Minami Senju / San’ya area (which used to be day laborer housing) that charge up to 90,000/month for friendly but minimalist accommodations. (no deposit, but payment in advance).
The Nova implosion last year left a huge glut of English teachers, so for the time being it’s an employers market. Unfortunately, being a new arrival and needing someone to sponsor a visa will put you at a disadvantage compared to an applicant with all of that settled.
(btw, does the camp job provide a visa, or are you just doing that as a tourist? If you have a visa and just need to switch the sponsorship, that’s a lot easier than starting from scratch - no need to leave the country and do any heavy paperwork for that).
Any fast food jobs or anything that even pays minimum wage?
No, he says that he’s not coming over on a working visa unless he finds someone to sponsor him.
What job would hire somebody for a month only? Is that what temp jobs are?
My English resume, in plain text format. I tried to upload it to my BC website… didn’t work.
One thing I’ll say right off the bat is that the objective statement sounds cheesy, but I think it has the right mix of genki and humility for the Japanese market. I’m very likely to be wrong.
OBJECTIVE I love Japan, and I love talking with people. Although I have little work experience,
I will try my best and persevere with diligence and passion.
EDUCATION Boston College, College of Arts and Sciences Chestnut Hill, MA
B.A. in Psychology. GPA 3.2/4.0 May 19th, 2008
Relevant Coursework: Elementary Japanese I and II, Intermediate Japanese I and II, Nihon no Kokoro I, Linguistics of Japanese, Psycholinguistics, Social Psychology
RELEVANT Boston College Japan Club Chestnut Hill, MA
EXPERIENCE Officer in Charge of Language and Culture Table Sept. 2005 – May 2008
??Organized weekly discussions
??Danced Sooran Bushi, rolled sushi, and exhibited karate at the Spring Festival
??Advertised at local schools on behalf of the Japan Club
Boston College Karate Club Chestnut Hill, MA
Blue Belt Sept. 2005 – May 2008
? Engaged in two hour long practices three times a week
? Received first place in team kata in the fall tournament of 2005
Best Buddies Chestnut Hill, MA
College Buddy Sept. 2007 – May 2008
??Mentored a special needs Boston College worker
??Organized bi-weekly lunches
??Participated in large group meetings once a month
Time spent Abroad Japan
Tourist Jan. 2006, June – Aug. 2006, June 2007
??Explored and learned about Japanese culture and language
??Visited Tokyo, Kamakura,Yokohama, Yokosuka, Isehara, Nikko, Ise, Nara, Osaka, Kyoto, and Shizuoka
WORK Kata Thai Sushi Winter Park, FL
HISTORY Assistant Sushi Chef Jan. 2007 – March. 2007
? Prepared high-quality sushi rice
? Managed and maintained ingredient bins
? Rolled makizushi
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Washington, D.C.
Online Division Intern Sept. 2004 – Dec. 2004
?? Authored blog articles
? Managed and organized e-mails
Japanese version:
希望の動機
日本大好き。音楽が大好き。職務経験は多くありませんが、この熱意で一生懸命がんばりたいと思います。
学歴
02.09 Boston College, College of Arts and Sciencesに入学
2008.05 心理学学士修了。GPA 3.2/4.0
主要な科目：基礎日本語ⅠⅡ、中級日本語ⅠⅡ、日本の心Ⅰ、日本語言語学、
心理言語学、社会心理学
クラブ活動
2002.09 – 2003.12 Boston College マーチングバンド
ボストンカレッジマーチングバンド。Tenor Saxophone。一週間に六時間から九時 間ぐらいを練習。サッカー試合、パレードなどで演奏。
2005.09 – 2008.05 Boston College 日本文化クラブ
クラブ幹部として、メンバー募集及び、週一回の週間日本語勉強会の組織を担当。
大学の春祭りで、ソーラン節を踊ったり、空手を表演したりするうえ、寿司の調理も担当。
2007.09 – 2008.05 College Buddy Best Buddies
地元で働いている精神障害者の方と交流、二週間一回で食事、懇談、月一回でグループミーティング。
職暦
2007.01 – 2007.03 Kata Thai Sushi（Winter Park, FL）
炊飯の用意、材料の準備及び巻き寿司の調理など。
2004.09 – 2004.12 民主党下議選キャンペーン
ブログ文章の作成、及びメールの応答など。
日本滞在
2006.01, 2006.06-08, 2007.06
これまで日本を三回旅行、東京、鎌倉、横浜、伊勢原、日光、伊勢、奈良、大阪、京都、静岡などを訪問。
ETA: just getting too old
大丈夫。 (No worries).
Not wanting to sound bitchy - but this - is dangerous. I have my own English school and take it VERY seriously, as do most of the small to medium schools out there. With this one comment you have dropped right off my radar for hiring, nor would I pass your name to anyone in the Tokyo area.
As someone else has said upthread, there is a glut of teachers right now, and schools more than ever are able to pick and choose their staff.
As a small school one teacher with the wrong attitude could ruin my business, and unless a prospective teacher can convince me of their absolute dedication to their job, they won’t be hired.
The Gaijin world is surprisingly small - be careful what you say to whom, as your reputation will go before you.
(I know you don’t really want to teach English, but you have to pretend that you do, at least.)
Yes, you are right HB. See, the thing is, I don’t not want to teach English… It’s just that I’ve heard so many horror stories of well-meaning Gaijin’s going to Japan and getting treated by English teaching chains like some sort of American dancing monkey that I have a hard time getting excited about it.
Actually, I like teaching. I’ve never done it professionally, but I think I’d be good at it. I guess I’m just feeling kinda down and pessimistic lately.
Like the others said, seek out a gaijin house or similar for a place to live. Probably the only places that won’t require key money （礼金） as well as damage deposit. You might still need to find someone to be your guarantor （保証人） though. Hopefully not, but if that’s the case, that’s going to be a major difficulty since you need someone in Japan who is willing to take personal responsibility for your debts if you can’t pay.
A visa is possibly going to be a problem. There are a lot of places now that want you to have a proper visa already, and will not sponsor you if you don’t. Like the others said, there is a glut of foreigners looking for work since Nova collapsed, and businesses can afford to be a bit choosy. There are quite a few people with experience and time left on their Instructor visas that schools can recruit in preference to a guy fresh off the plane.
Non-teaching jobs in particular are almost impossible to find unless you have qualifications already, and even then you’re usually one of about 200 people applying for the job. Believe me, if a halfway decent non-teaching job was available, I would have been on it like a terrier on a rat. I’ve been trying to get out of the countryside for a while, and have been seriously looking, with family contacts and every other means I can think of, for over a year. Obviously I’m being more choosy than you can afford to be, but even so, the market for foreigners is not good.
Ideally, you should have interviews set up during either your temp job, or for immediately after you get done with that. That means you need to start getting things set up now. Get your resume on Gaijinpot.com or similar job sites. Sign up for the job notifications at the Japan Times, although those are less useful since they’re often aimed at bilingual foreigners or native Japanese. Read the boards at BigDaikon for job search tips and warnings. Post there for people who might be able to give you local advice. Warning, though, they’re less likely to be diplomatic than we are about your plans. Don flame-retardant gear before posting.
You could try applying through one of the ALT placement firms like Interac, but be careful. Check with the BigDaikon guys about any firms you are considering. I know one to avoid is RCS. I had a friend who worked for them for a while and it was…not good. The business seemed to be circling the toilet at the time.
I know you said your girlfriend is in China, but would she be able to help you out with arranging things?
Hey everyone. Thanks again for all the advice and support.
I did a lot of research the past few days, and I’ve found a TEFL online certification website that claimed the amazing capability of arranging job placement in Japan (or 12 other countries). Thinking it was too good to be true, I checked another website which said that, unlike most, this TEFL site was legit. The two websites I just mentioned are All About Teaching English in Japan and i-to-i TEFL.
I talked to my parents about this, and they said it was a great idea and that they would help fund it. Of course, taking this TEFL option means delaying my long-term residency in Japan by at least 6 months… I can wait 6 months, but the girlfriend is not going to be happy, nor will I. Might even be the end of our relationship 
So, I am continuing the job search, but I think I will keep this is a definite Plan B. I need to spend a lot more time and energy on my lack of funds issue for the month of August. A little bit of good news is that I remembered my old collection of MtG cards could be sold for at least 100-200$. I found a gaijin house that’s 500$ per month. Also, my 10-day job provides a free lunch; that would be my meal of the day.
Buckle your seatbelts folks, this just might work out.
Check out Gaba. I’ve heard generally good things about them. Was recently reminded of them by a friend who’s going to be staying here after a stint of post-grad study at Keio. Of course, as a consequence they might be a bit harder to get a position with, but it can’t hurt to try.
OK. So, I thought it over and last week came to the conclusion that y’all are right. There’s no way I could manage in Japan for more than a month. Even if I somehow could, I’d be miserable.
So, I’ll come back to Orlando on the 28th. I’ll work and save up money. I’ll take that 100 hour TEFL class that also provides job placement. I’ll also be able to take the official Japanese Language Proficiency Test in December. Maybe even take the GMAT.
My girlfriend was upset for a day or two, but we’re both in agreement now.
As for August, I should be alright. I found a gaijin house that is in the same town as my job, so I can walk to work. My job provides a free lunch, and they will reimburse me for the round-trip train ticket to the airport. My girlfriend will visit for a week. My parents will also loan me some money, so I will again be in debt to them when I get back… joy… I’m looking for short-term private tutoring clients in Tokyo for nights and weekends to reduce what I will owe my parents. So far pursuing some leads from Tokyo Craigslist.
So, I’ll be in Koganei, which is 12 stops from Shinjuku on the Chuo Line. Hope to see some of you Japan Dopers then! Thanks for all your help m(-)m (bowing, not a butt)
I understand your disappointment but I really think you are doing the right thing!
No matter how short this trip is, it is a good stepping stone to a permanent job in the fairly near future. Use the time you are here for networking and you never know what contacts and possibilities you’ll be going home with!
Good luck and have a great time with your girlfriend when she comes over!