Sanity check before moving to japan in 3 years 2026

5 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Sanity check before moving to japan in 3 years 2026**

   hi r/movingtojapan like the title states, I’m planning to move to japan in 3 years whether its for work, graduate study or language study

   Here is my basic information

   * Indonesian Male
   * Turning 27 y.o in September (will be 30 y.o when i move)
   * BA in Business Management (2018)
   * 6 years of working experience in Music Business
   * **Zero** Japanese language skills as of today
   * Money saved about $10000 (should be $30000 at minimum in 2026)

   i always had the desire to move/study abroad to japan since i was in middle school, but it always sits in the back of my mind ever since because i was preoccupied with living and working. but the desire grew exponentially after i visited japan few weeks ago and stayed about few weeks for business trip and sightseeing.

   since i have about 3 years to prepare, these are steps towards my plan to move

   **1st** step is to learn Japanese while working. i could squeeze 1 to 2 hour on weekdays to study every day, I’m targeting at minimum JLPT N3 within 3 years sounds reasonable (probably N2 but by a long shot) . depending how well my JLPT results i got 3 options :

   1. Finding a job or internship opening, because i have been in japan for business trip before. i have made some connections with Japanese company i have worked with (big and well known company in japan) so i will try to get in touch for job or internship opening.
   2. Graduate study, only if i reach my JLPT target and no job or internship. its not ideal but at the very least i could get better credentials to find a job
   3. Japanese language school while doing part time work, is the last resort if i fail to reach my JLPT target and in addition no job or internship.

   **2nd** step depending which result from the options above, either i got employed or accepted into graduate or language study, then ill apply for the appropriate visa

   **3rd** step … move?

   side note, i want to explain a little bit of my job in **Music Business**. Simply put is that i manage hundreds of thousand music catalog of a ***really high*** profile artist on Youtube, Spotify, Facebook, Tik Tok. basically digital service provider involving music worldwide, including processing multiple gigabytes of royalties report (SQL, Python, Tableau) so a bit of IT work there.

   so that’s it, i hope r/movingtojapan can give me advice to solidify my plan and point out which part i should improve, thanks

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2. Tbh the major thing you should focus on in the next 3 years is spending at least a year total there. How you break that time up is up to you, but I highly recommend it.

   You’re coming off the honeymoon period ( I don’t blame you, Japan fucking rules) and haven’t even scratched the surface of this country.

   I’ve spent about 4 years over the course of 8 years in Japan. Maxing out my 90 day visa as often as I could.

   If you’re really serious about this, I would definitely get as much time as possible under your belt as well as learning the language.

3. >6 years of working experience in Music Business

   Zero Japanese language skills as of today

   With zero Japanese (or even the amount you’ll pick up in 3 years of studying) you’re not going to be working in the music industry.

4. > Simply put is that i manage hundreds of thousand music catalog (some are a really high profile artist) on Youtube, Spotify, Facebook, Tik Tok. basically digital service provider involving music worldwide, including processing multiple gigabytes of royalties report (SQL, Python, Tableau) so a bit of IT work there.

   There are Japanese people who can do that for a much lower salary than what’s needed to support a foreigner to come here on a visa.

   That is the standard you have to judge yourself by: What can you do that locals can’t?

5. I mean anything is possible …

   The Japanese music market basically exists in an alternate dimension where they occasionally interact with the rest of the music market (little Top 40 and a bunch of Kpop) but otherwise just exists.

   Additionally Japanese social media use is on an alternate wavelength from the rest of the World.

   Different people have to climb different molehills to get to Japan, you are honestly going to be climbing a pretty tall one. It’s not at all impossible, but just understand it might be much more difficult than other people’s. I do know some other SEA people in the Music Industry, but many are **part Japanese** and/or speak REALLY good Japanese. I’ve never seen evidence of sponsorships for non-talent, though that doesn’t actually mean anything.