I’m a white female living in the UK (I say this bc I know lots of companies will treat you differently because of race) and hope to teach English in Tokyo, as my boyfriend lives there and I would live with him.
Most of the major companies seem to make you sign a contract and then reveal your placement, meaning I could end up anywhere.
Is there a way to guarantee that I would be at least within two hours of Tokyo? Like could I say I’m willing to be flexible with my start date as long as I’m placed in Tokyo? Would some companies give me priority in choosing a location because of my situation?
Alternatively, are there any companies where you apply specifically for one location?
Basically I don’t want to sign a contract and then end up having to live far from Tokyo for a year.
Thank you in advance for the help.
15 comments
As an ALT? No.
For eikaiwa, you can apply to small schools that only have locations in Tokyo.
You have some options.
You can apply for jobs and inform them of your circumstances. If you’re lucky one will stick. You don’t live in Japan, have a COE, or active visa I’m guessing? It will be difficult to secure a job in Tokyo under these circumstances. You have no leverage. And Tokyo is the most popular location for foreign teachers. Large city, thriving nightlife, central Japan access to other regions.
Alternatively, you could… smudge the truth. Just smudge it. Tell them you have a residence in Tokyo (your bf’s house). If they believe you’re currently in Japan it makes you a more appealing prospect.
And, in the event they try to place you outside of Tokyo, you can simply… not work for them. Once you have your COE and visa it’s yours. You’re not required to work for the company that sponsored them. Just inform the visa department and start looking for work in Tokyo. You’ll have the advantage of an active visa and being in Japan. Those two things make it *much* easier to find a job.
Applying to smaller companies that operate specifically in Kanto area or within Tokyo might be your best bet – although harder to get a job with those from outside Japan. But with a big national chain, odds are high that even if you request Tokyo you might be placed further out. Your boyfriend having an apartment that you could live in would be an incentive for a smaller company too as then they wouldn’t have to help you find a place to live.
Don’t move to cities/countries just for a “boyfriend”. Move because you want to.
Request one of the relatively close prefectures like Gunma or Shizuoka to get into Japan, then once you’re there just start applying to eikaiwas in Tokyo and change jobs and move. That’s what most do.
One possible solution, but it is a bit risky is, apply for an ALT job, tell them where you want to live
They always give out placements super late, so they are scrambling, and if they place you somewhere that is not where you requested
Just call them and say, I requested this place for family reasons, so I quit/can no longer accept the offer
​
I did exactly that, and they called me the next morning and gave me a new placement in a completely different part of the country (exactly where I wanted to go)
It is risky though, there is some chance they’ll, oh ok, fuck off then
For eikaiwa, you best choose the region like Kanto but EVERYONE wants to be placed in Tokyo so it’s not likely you will get Tokyo. I got placed in tsuchiura, ibaraki. Not my ideal but after my contract is up, I got an ALT job in Tokyo teaching at Ota-ku schools. So even if you get placed in a not so ideal area, you can move after your contract is up.
Find out if your city/state/province whatever has a sister city relationship with a Kanto region counterpart and apply to the JET Programme. It’s a possibility but not a guarantee to get a JET Programme placement in a sister city or prefecture.
Alternatively, come over as a language student at a school in the Kanto region, your pick, and work part-time.
There are lots of commercial language schools in and around Tokyo. Pay is on the low side, and you may need to teach ages from 3yrs old to 90 yr old retirees. To name a few of the larger chain schools: GABA, Berlitz, Aeon, ECC, Benesse, etc. And there are a countless number of ‘one classroom’ schools started by enterprising foreigners all over the place. If you want something near your boyfriend, search for the name of the town/city and 英会話 (English conversation).
I don’t see a lot of comments mentioning housing. A lot of these companies include housing terms in their contracts. Ive heard you can fight them on the legality of this, but since many people are desperate to come to japan, putting up a fight will probably make the company move on to other applicants. I heard of one company forcing a teacher to have a company apartment even though he was coming to Japan to be with his wife. He didnt live in it, but still had to pay the rent for an empty apartment while he lived with his wife somewhere else. Just so you know.
If you do JET and are married to someone in Japan, you can request to be in a given area. An unmarried ALT anywhere, no.
And unless you already have a visa and live in Japan, most eikaiwa in Tokyo will reject you. You can keep an eye out for postings from private schools, direct hire, or eikaiwa specifically in Tokyo but those are popular positions and you’ll be fighting against hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have “similar” situations to you.
Request go be near Tokyo and hope for the best. I requested to be near my then GF’s home town and I got placed about an hour and a half train ride away. We were able to see each other on weekends.
If you are a very strong candidate and also not arrogant then I can see your interviewer putting in a word for you
Those companies are vultures and they don’t care about you at all. You can request whatever you want but they will most likely just put you wherever they want.
Have you asked your boyfriend about it? He should be in a very good position to help you find a place unless he is fresh off the boat or something.
I agree with others about, “are you sure you want to move for a guy?” It’s very stressful living in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. I have seen it work out very well for couples, and very very poorly.