Hey! I am a graphic designer who has been considering working options while staying in Japan.
Just to give you a bit of context here:
I want to go to Japan (2024 or 2025 depending on when I will be ready) and live there for around 6 months to a year. While I am there, for sure I will need to be maintaining a source of income to support my living. In order to do so, I’ve been considering a few options after consulting people I know. One would be to apply to a North American company that allows me to work remotely anywhere in the world. Second option would be to work for a Japanese company that hires foreigners. The main reason that I want to go to Japan is that I would like to widen my horizon as a creative and I am attracted to the design thinking and visual as well as traditional culture in Japan. This may not be necessarily reflected/felt in a work environment but I’d like to immerse myself in it in many other ways, such as taking an occasional class in traditional handicrafts and creating artwork or designs whilst being inspired. I’d love to have this opportunity while I am in my 20/30s, to leave an interesting print in my life 😄. So, if anyone wonders, I am not going there to pursue a more prosperous career, I will only be staying there temporarily before heading back to where I live.
Now, about myself. I am from Canada and I’ve been working as a graphic designer approaching 5 years in Toronto and my current position is Senior Graphic Designer. I’ve been studying Japanese for a couple of years now working towards fluency. I am hoping to get my N2 before I embark. Finally, my question here is… if anyone of you have experience working as a graphic designer while staying in Japan, what options are viable? Also open to other creative titles…
Many thanks,
Bobogi
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Japan: Graphic Designer**
Hey! I am a graphic designer who has been considering working options while staying in Japan.
Just to give you a bit of context here:
I want to go to Japan (2024 or 2025 depending on when I will be ready) and live there for around 6 months to a year. While I am there, for sure I will need to be maintaining a source of income to support my living. In order to do so, I’ve been considering a few options after consulting people I know. One would be to apply to a North American company that allows me to work remotely anywhere in the world. Second option would be to work for a Japanese company that hires foreigners. The main reason that I want to go to Japan is that I would like to widen my horizon as a creative and I am attracted to the design thinking and visual as well as traditional culture in Japan. This may not be necessarily reflected/felt in a work environment but I’d like to immerse myself in it in many other ways, such as taking an occasional class in traditional handicrafts and creating artwork or designs whilst being inspired. I’d love to have this opportunity while I am in my 20/30s, to leave an interesting print in my life 😄. So, if anyone wonders, I am not going there to pursue a more prosperous career, I will only be staying there temporarily before heading back to where I live.
Now, about myself. I am from Canada and I’ve been working as a graphic designer approaching 5 years in Toronto and my current position is Senior Graphic Designer. I’ve been studying Japanese for a couple of years now working towards fluency. I am hoping to get my N2 before I embark. Finally, my question here is… if anyone of you have experience working as a graphic designer while staying in Japan, what options are viable? Also open to other creative titles…
Many thanks,
Bobogi
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Fundamentally it’s about visas. If you just travel there, you will get a tourist visa. It is illegal for you to work on a tourist visa.
Japan does not have a visa type for people who are not employed by a company in Japan. There are plans to make one (https://www.fragomen.com/insights/japan-immigration-changes-favorable-to-digital-nomads-forthcoming.html) but afaik it has not come out yet.
As a Canadian, you may be a good candidate for a working holiday visa. You need to be under 30 when you apply, but it allows you to visit and travel, work, etc., fairly freely for a year. I believe it also allows you to work remotely for a company outside Japan, but as you alluded that company would explicitly need to allow working from out of country, and there may be tax implications to figure out.