This is true (well, actually the last thing one would probably want to do in Japan is be caught carrying a few pounds of pot. For this stuff they’d probably just tell you to get out and don’t do it again), although the whole “be caught” part is far less likely with English teachers than it is with factory workers or other professions. Basically, you’re not taking a Japanese person’s job and you’re not committing a crime, so it’s pretty low priority as far as the authorities are concerned.
To be honest, I don’t feel too wholeheartedly supportive of the entire trip, but if he’s going to do it, this is one way to earn money for the unexpected costs that will inevitably crop up. It’s not legal, but the risks and penalties are relatively low. The people I know who got caught did so after they received their work visas and made the necessary overseas trip to pick it up. The customs agents, seeing that they’d just been in Japan before, would ask what they’d been doing here, to which they’d cheerfully respond, “teaching!” :smack: Back home they went, minus a visa.
Has the visa rule changed that much in the last 10 years? It used to be required to either have the appropriate work/residence visa or proof of onward transportation out of Japan to be permitted to land there.
Don’t underestimate how expensive it can be to do anything in Japan. I lived in southern California before moving here, where a domestic beer in a bar could run $4, and I still got hit with sticker shock. Things are roughly twice as expensive as California prices, which are often almost double midwest prices. A couple of drinks and a handful of dishes in an izakaya (pub/bar with food) usually costs more than ¥2,000 a person, and izakaya prices are not considered expensive at all. Even being frugal it’s easy to blow way more money than you thought possible just by going sightseeing and having a couple of meals out.
If you want to travel around to other parts of Japan, I suggest getting a Japan Rail pass. Even the short-term ones can pay for themselves pretty quickly if you do any long-distance travel.
I also think that you’d be better off with a shorter trip. You’ll get to go more places and do more stuff on the same budget.