Hi, I could do with some tax advice in Japan (freelancer with UK LTD). Anyone working with any tax advisors who understand about UK and Japanese tax, ideally English speaking ?

nwrjhttvlvzs what kind of visa did you use?

Just bought tickets arriving 1 SEP…so I assume 2 SEP?

No but I’d like more info about it too (so I’m commenting to get notified if someone adds something)

oyvbenfxheh Cool, I’ve been in Osaka for over 6 months 🙂

I'm not there :) it must have copied this info my nomad list profile. I shall update it.

Any suggestions for co-working spaces in Kyoto?

If only it was the same 😞

Why do you like japan over SK?

Be aware that my experiences were different between the two countries. In Japan I was just a tourist, while in SK I went as a language student and I had to deal with more shit regarding government/banks/etc than in Japan. The only thing I had to do in Japan was to request my visa extension because of Covid and it was a very smooth process.

I think people is way more welcoming in Japan than in South Korea, and the nature is also more beautiful in Japan, but there are beautiful spots in both places. I like drinking alone, going to a bar (I usually like to find a good one and be a regular) and just talk to people, and this is more common in Japan than in SK. People in SK, in my experience, worry a lot about what other people might think. And my feeling was that SK is a more materialistic society than Japan. Money and status is very important in SK. And finally, ramen, I love having ramen places open at night after going for drinks 🙂 In SK you have cheese tonkatsu though, and delivery 24h, and that’s very nice too.

Interesting, thanks for your description 🙂

Lived for one year in Japan, Osaka & Hiroshima. I can't say about SK but money, social status are so important to the vast majority of Japanese people... Despite Honne & Tatemae ( public & private shelves ) which almost drove me crazy. I was also shocked at how so many people experience loneliness

Curious, how is dating in those two countries? Comparable to SEA?

I don’t know about SEA. In Japan and SK, if you find people that speak English, which are usually those that at some point lived abroad, being a foreigner makes you interesting and helps a bit.

A lot of these points are completely valid about sk, but the one thing I'll say (as Korean American who visited many times over the years) is that meeting English speaking Koreans, going out alone etc were / will be a lot easier with covid restrictions lifted

Hi guys, any good site to find accommodation in Niseko? Thinking ski season in Jan-Mar next year…

Try WWOOFing?

Thank you! I’ll find something 👍

seeing that japan not planning to reopen its border anytime soon, i'm thinking if i should get a student visa, anyone have experience signing up on study. gaijinpot .com?

```I haven't done it personally, but I used to live there. I'd contact a school you are interested in and have them tell you what your options are. It is likely that you have to get a "Certificate of Elligibility", which is like a pre-approval for the VISA. Some schools may be seasonal so you'll have to time your move around their calendar.```
I tried posting some links, but I am apparently "too new". So google for:
Study (Student) - 在アメリカ合衆国日本国大使館

And a link near the top has US embassy information in English.

Browsed Reddit yesterday. Tons of study-visa questions there. Most applicants said the process takes about 6 months. The minimum course needed to get a visa seems to be a 32wks full-time. So you could aim for Sept/Oct. Expect lots of paperwork towards your local embassy, a Japanese visa office and the school. For ex proof of income for the duration, a bank statement of $14k USD, prebooking the first few months of an apartment, which then requires key-money, etc.

Tbh, I read enough to make me patient again for a regular reopening 😅

🛬 vhihduwmv just arrived in 🗼 Tokyo, #japan

Are ESL teachers allowed in Japan yet? Saw a couple job postings say outside applicants will be considered. But I'm not sure if this is even allowed.

Btw any news as too when season passes will be available? I’m also thinking of kicking it in Niseko for a few months in Winter

I've used Go! Go! Nihon in the past. They were pretty good!

They made some new announcements today about opening up. A quick google should give you the latest info

About time

I’m going to miss having a peaceful life not being overrun by tourists lol

Hi everyone! I’m looking into the Startup visa, and I was wondering if any of you applied for it with success? How was the experience, how you did it (i.e. the site for that visa in Osaka is all in Japanese), if it is possible to hire somebody in Japan (layer, accountant, i don’t know) that can do all the paperwork for you?

I think your chances of being approved for this visa type just on the basis of being a freelancer are slim, particularly if you have no Japanese clients lined up. If you do succeed, you'll likely be required to form a company structure, pay yourself a salary out of that structure, and file taxes for your company as well as for yourself. There are also lots of gotchas where you can end up, for instance, having to pay corporate taxes on the 5 mil you sunk into your own company.

If you are ok with settling down for the duration, you're much better off finding an IT job working for an existing company in Japan. For IT, you will likely be granted a 5 year visa without the need to show 5 million yen. Your employer also brings their creditworthiness to the table and this makes finding an apartment much easier. It's a much better deal than the startup visa, if you can accept the 9-5 office job aspect. When I lived in Japan, there were foreign companies that operated internally in English. They had trouble finding English speaking IT/SW Engineers in Japan, which made it a viable option for expats.

If things don't work out, your visa does not terminate - you're able to stay in Japan and take additional jobs within the field (so staying with IT work). Those new jobs could be contract work for Japanese companies. Or just keep "looking" for 4 years.

I lived there for 10 years, but as an employee not a DN. I had one friend do a startup. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Thanks a lot for your insights. Yeah, I concluded that the Startup visa is not ideal. In any case I would apply directly for the Business Manager visa once I had the 5 million yen.

About finding a job there and having a company sponsoring my visa I find it difficult because, afaik I'd need a university degree, which I dont. If I am mistaken on this point please let me know.

Also, the 9 to 5 job in an office is something I don't want. It took me quite some time to find the balance I have now, so I don't think going back to that would be a good idea. However I guess there must be companies in Japan that allow flexible time and remote work as well.

Hmm yeah getting sponsored without a degree is very difficult, and it's immigration's hangup, not the company's. I know there used to be online "degrees" if you want to roll the dice with buying one of those. There is also a "working holiday" visa that is much more flexible, if you are from a reciprocal country.

Getting a flexible/remote job is going to be very tough as well. It's worth looking, but be thinking of plan B. If you have steady remote client work as it is, why not just go as a tourist? You'd have 90 days to get a feel for Japan. Join as many Japan foreigner/startup FB groups as you can. Go to Bitcoin meetups and Startup meetups. Networking that way will be your best shot at the kind of job you describe. Then you apply for the work visa and do a run to Taiwan or the like, just like Thailand but you reenter with employment permission. But do try to enjoy the 90 days just in case nothing suits you.

For more traditional jobs, sounds like you'd prefer small/interesting companies and not big corporations. The small companies are also probably better at/more willing to figure something out on the degree issue.

I tried posting links and I got automodded. So google for:

Gaijinpot and MetropolisJapan. That second one is like an online Japan magazine in English. Both have classifieds/jobs sections, or could be a place to work for directly.

Google careercross, which is a broad job site in Japan that tends to have the smaller companies.

And don't forget, if you decide to suck it up and get the 9-5, the Visa isn't tied to the job. If a company has something they only need 6 months on, maybe you can offer to pay for the Visa lawyer/process and in 6 months everyone is happy.

Thanks a lot again for sharing all of this!

I’ve lived in Japan for 6 months when covid started, that’s why my determination to get residence there. I really liked the country. I have been investigating a bit more and depending on the company I could get a visa as a high skilled worker (I’m short 10 points but if the company has public funding or works on some innovative tech or something like that, it adds the extra 10 points).

Anyway, it seems like at the end of the day, the more doable way for me to get the residence is to apply for a Business Manager visa (not that it’s going to be easy, but it seems the only possibility besides the high skilled worker visa with some companies).

I will probably visit again this year as a tourist as soon as they open the borders, and try to get the residence next year. It is definitely good to know that the worker visa is not tied to the job though, I thought the opposite was true.

Thanks again for all your insights!

👍 good luck - I loved living there, hope you find something that works

Hi. I am Japanese.
The company I work for hires a lot of foreigners as the company’s policy.
It’s called Rakuten which is like Japanese Amazon.
If I remember correctly, one of the foreign worker told me that he found his job at linkedIn.
I hope this info helps you.

Thanks a lot UQ2KWD5JQ! I’ll have a look and see if they have some interesting opening 🙂

I hope it’ll help you and maybe we will become co-workers.:wink:
If you have any other help, feel free to ask me.

yeah, no...

Yeah I don't expect Japan to really open up fast, there is no internal pressure to open up and there is already backlash against the current plans

All i know is i hope they dont go back to the countless discount tour buses that were swarming all the temples and sites

Hello 🙂 I will go to Japan next week and do an internship in Tokyo for 3 months. As I am aware there are still no tourists coming in. How is the situation when travelling, are many places closed, or could they stay open with just Japanese visitors? Also if anybody is living in Tokyo, I would be happy to meet some nice people :)!

They lifted most of the restrictions. So welcome to Tokyo.

They will 100% do this. Those companies are all owned by orgs with connections

🛬 ikxajqqw just arrived in 🗼 Tokyo, #japan

🛬 tsomzzg just arrived in 🗼 Tokyo, #japan

Good news! Japan will start accepting foreigners on the 10th of June! (just package-tour tourists for now) www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-26/japan-set-to-allow-some-foreign-tourists-from-june-reports-say|https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-26/japan-set-to-allow-some-foreign-tourists-from-june-reports-say

A little late in replying but this place was awesome when I was there pre-pandemic

Garden Lab

Thanks rkycfxl !

Anyone making guesses as to when they open to those of us who aren't interested in packaged guided tours?
My own guess is late Aug / early Sept

Perhaps we could find a touroperator crazy enough to make a tour package for nomads 😌

nedrnavtym unlikely given the tour guides are really COVID "nannies" to make sure tourist don't misbehave... (According to what I've read)

I'm moving to Japan at the end of July - not gonna lie, was looking forward to the half empty flight on the way there...

There are also 3 categories depending on the country from where you arrive. Only if it's on the blue list you can enter.

🛬 jamtsuqxk just arrived in 🗼 Tokyo, #japan

Hi! I'm not there but from friends that live in Japan it seems things are mostly open with domestic tourists. I have lots of friends that have travelled all around the country taking advantage of the reduced crowds. I think you'll have a great time!

These tours are a joke 😂

🛬 jgjztxm just arrived in 🗼 Tokyo, #japan

Anyone know how to get into Japan without a tour?

It seems only tour can get into Japan at this moment and could not find when they will ease the conditions.

education or work visa

A lot of people are guessing they'll open up pretty soon after the July elections

ild

Possibly, depends on who gets their way. People who make their money on tourism want it re-opened but people who don’t make money on tourism aren’t all that bothered, and people who both live in tourism places but don’t make their money on tourism have found their day to day lives being much nicer for the last couple of years.

Me too.. Been waiting a long time 😞

I can imagine us all meeting in the first airplane to Japan after they open the borders

well then we could just organize a group tour and go now

they’re all guided group tours through government sanctioned tour guide groups so far

Or marry me rolling_on_the_floor_laughingrolling_on_the_floor_laughing

Waiting a long time too... 😞