planning to move at the end of the year; easiest/less risky path?

After finishing my masters (“Japan studies”/kind of useless) and after being to a language school twice, with last visit being 5 years ago in Kyoto, I do plan to go back in Japan and settle down for good, that is find a full-time job. Location: Osaka.

I know the language well enough (around N1 level) but don’t have much in terms of job experience or specific skills. (mainly worked in tourism and customer service, not for very long)

I’ve been looking for language schools, starting date of the semester being October 2023, for 6 months courses. Since I’m understanding that once there, and with the school help, it’s easier to find a full-time job after you student visa expires, or even to go from baito/part-time to full-time in the same place, if possible. Whereas, getting hired from overseas, is significantly harder. (Right now I’m trying that, and also looking for schools)

However it feels like Osaka doesn’t have many schools that allow less than one year courses (afaik). The one I found told me that I wouldnt get a student visa if I studied there for only 6 months, so I was wondering, if I go there for a 3 months course, you guys think it’s feasible to find a job in those 3 months, and go from toursit visa > work visa? Or this is too risky? In the sense that I might end up without a job after the 3 months and basically ending up going back to my country.

Doing a one year course is honestly too long, expensive and I don’t really need it. Ideally I’d like to be working asap. And currently can’t find any decent school giving me a student visa for a 6 months course, in Osaka.

And if I wanna work and live in Osaka, it’d be difficult, I think, to go to school in eg. Kyoto or Tokyo and then trying to find a baito or job in Osaka. Maybe possibile to do Kyoto > Osaka, but not easy and time-consuming even for the commute alone, I reckon.

Should I just “settle” for another city? Or just hope in being hired from overseas directly.

2 comments
  1. >Since I’m understanding that once there, and with the school help, it’s easier to find a full-time job after you student visa expires

    This only really applies to university students who engage in Japanese style 就活.

    >Whereas, getting hired from overseas, is significantly harder.

    Assuming you are qualified for a given position, this really isn’t the case.

    >or even to go from baito/part-time to full-time in the same place, if possible

    Most baito aren’t positions that would be eligible for work visa sponsorship regardless if you went full-time.

    >toursit visa > work visa?

    Not possible to do in-country. You’d have to leave after you’ve received your COE and apply for your visa in your country of residence.

    >In the sense that I might end up without a job after the 3 months and basically ending up going back to my country.

    If you can’t find a job overseas, you probably won’t stumble into one here.

    >but not easy and time-consuming even for the commute alone, I reckon.

    It not only wouldn’t be easy but it would be a pretty silly thing to do, in my opinion.

    >Or just hope in being hired from overseas directly.

    In your case, the latter makes more sense. But this is just my two cents.

  2. This may sound really rude, but I feel you need a reality check. What qualifications do you have? What job skills? What kind of job do you want to do? What kind of jobs have you been applying for? Have you taken at least N2?

    It’s really easy to say you want to move and live in Japan forever, but you need to figure out what you are trying to do. No company is going to pick you up because you can speak Japanese and want to live in Japan. It’s a very big risk for a company to hire a foreigner and bring them to Japan. So you need to prove your worth.

    My advice is figure out what kind of work you want to do, acquire the necessary skills and qualifications for said work, take at least N2 if you haven’t, and start making yourself a marketable employee. You may need to bite the bullet and get some work experience in your home country first and make the move to Japan after

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