Hello everyone, I am excited to say that I accepted an offer as a snowsports instructor this season in Japan. I have read the wiki and got a fair idea of what documents I needed to gather but I have specific questions that I need to ask your stance on. Before I begin, I want to deeply thank you for the fantastic guidance you have given me in the past. So far, it has been accurate and ever so helpful.
So, a little summary first. This company that is in Nagano offered an hourly rate of 3600¥ per hour which is honestly a fair bit less than what I made in my own private school. However, the Nagano ski season is longer and I will get to work almost every day, making more money in the end. Additionally, they offered the opportunity to train me for their summer activities like kayaking and mountaineering, so I could be working a wage of around 5,5 – 6,5M¥/year.
Here comes the tricky part. The “summer training” takes 2 months. During this time, I won’t generate any income, making my first year pretty tough financially.
And on top of that, I have a wife and a child. The first months will be emotionally difficult since I will be split from my family but this happens every winter season anyways. So nothing new there.
Having my little family move with me the first year seems a bit difficult, right? At least financially. I hope you could give me some advice on the things we can do to make this work.
Fortunately, my wife is a licensed Canadian English teacher and looking into a TEFL. The question is here:
While I am getting my training, can she get a visa that allows her to work? Should she also try to apply for a sponsored visa of some sort? My visa is a sponsored Skilled Labor – Sports Instructor visa and if I understood this correctly, this visa is not applicable for teachers, correct? What options do we have here?
I might leave this question a bit too open ended but I will gladly add information and answer questions if needed.
Thank you again
6 comments
Is this 3600 yen per hour a 40 hour a week gig, or are you going to be sitting around the lift waiting for somebody who might want to take you up on your offer to teach them how to ski?
As for your wife getting a gig teaching English, that’s pretty iffy considering you’re going to be up in the Japanese alps. Nobody cares about her credentials, and even fewer care about her experience. She could get a visa if she could get a full-time job at some established eikaiwa outlet, but we’re not talking Tokyo. We’re talking Hakuba, Nozawa, or Sugadaira. These are small villages that cater to tourists during the winter months. I’m going to guess there aren’t going to be all that many tourists hoping to keep up with their English while also spending a few days skiing on their holiday.
Going to assume the answer is yes, as she’s a licensed teacher. But just for formalities, Does your wife have a degree?
If yes, she can get a work visa once she finds a job with a Japanese employer. She’s likely going to need to come on a dependent visa first though (which enables up to 28 hours work per week). Unless she can sort a job with a Japanese employer before you come to Japan?
You say you’ve accepted the job for “this season” – does that mean you’re starting this season and going to keep doing it indefinitely, or that you’re just doing one season? If you’re only here for a year, I think it would be best to just assume you’re going to be the only income. Getting a teaching job in rural areas is hard enough without also being unable to commit to even a full year.
¥5.5M a year doing seasonal winter and summer work in Japan?
Yeh…..nope.
The snowboarding in Nagano is so fun, if youre going to be working at Shiga Kogen it is the largest resort in Japan- it felt like a Vermont mountain. Still beautiful and fun. The powder is better than Washington or Cali’s in my opinion!!
Check around Yamanochi or Yudanaka for a teaching position. There’s the Nagano-Dentetsu Line that could possibly go through a town where an ALT or English tutor is needed. Not sure if you’ll have a mode a transportation!
I teach snowboarding in Tahoe and teaching snowboarding or skiing in Japan is so different! When I was at Shiga Kogen on a long ski trip, everyday I saw the coach/teacher had probably 20+ kids, all wearing, (what could have been school issued?) the same. exact. jacket. This would have tripped me up at first. So if you’re used to teaching less than 10 people at a time, be prepared for that jump and more importantly have fun and goodluck!!!!
Wow. Good luck. Been thru some lean times in Japan myself…at one point living in an apt. with my wife with no shower/bath. Sento every night for us. Later, took my kids to Hakuba every year for skiing. Great place. Sorry I can’t offer any advice but I can offer my wish for your successful stay in Japan.