I plan on moving to Osaka, Japan in January for about a year to immerse myself in the language during my gap year. While I’m there, I’d like to find a part time job so I can support myself during that time. I’ll most likely end up getting a job at a local coffee shop or Starbucks as that is the only thing I have experience in. The only issue is I have 3 face piercings (that I got recently) and 8 ear piercings. I know Japan tends to consider piercings and such unprofessional but I was hoping that places like coffee shops would be a bit more lenient?
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This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Finiding a Job with piercings?**
I plan on moving to Osaka, Japan in January for about a year to immerse myself in the language during my gap year. While I’m there, I’d like to find a part time job so I can support myself during that time. I’ll most likely end up getting a job at a local coffee shop or Starbucks as that is the only thing I have experience in. The only issue is I have 3 face piercings (that I got recently) and 8 ear piercings. I know Japan tends to consider piercings and such unprofessional but I was hoping that places like coffee shops would be a bit more lenient?
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Real quick what visa will you be on?
Most coffee shops no.. starbucks maybe? The staff at the starbucks i go to tend to have died hair. The ear piercings are probably more okay than the face piercings though, those will likely be an issue.
“Uniforms” and dress codes, even of the most intrusive kind, are big in Japan, down to the hair cut, or even the colour of school-girl’s undies. It’s one of these things that we don’t need to understand, but just live with and shrug it off.
IMHO, the job hunting will be way harder for you if you wear your piercings. Not impossible, though. If you need a reliable additional income, it may be better to take them off while you’re here. You’ll be more marketable, even more so in customer-facing roles like in a coffee shop.
And welcome to Japan!
Most places, no. You’re effectively going to make it such that the only places that will take you will be small alternative places, not anything corporate.
Starbucks I would still say no. I can count the number of alt-looking people I’ve ever seen staffing a Starbucks (or Tullys, or Doutor, or Excelsior, or) on half of half of one hand.
In general, companies will not mind you having had piercings. They *will* mind you deviating from whatever they consider to be their brand image while representing the company, and from everything I see for the coffee shop chains, it’s clean-cut fresh-faced hot young people.
You’ll likely have better luck with a local coffee shop if you can make friends with the owner, but this doesn’t so much remove the problem as it re-scopes it from big company policy to whatever that owner is comfortable with.
Having said all of that: I hope you find something. Please post back with how it goes, for people in a similar predicament.
For part time work, places are getting more desperate for workers , especially convenience stores .. employees with colored hair … tattoos..
even a few that can’t speak Japanese…
you should be ok
Your ear piercings will be fine- I see people (tho overwhelming girls) with Swiss cheese ears all the time. Face piercings will be hard but not impossible