Hi guys, so I’m (95% confirmed) pretty sure I’ll be off to Japan next year doing my post-graduate research with the MEXT scholarship, starting in April. There are a million questions I have but have but some are stuck into my mind and would like some guidance.
1) I’ll have a monthly stipend amount of 143,000 yen to cover my living expenses (from the gov); now im married and my wife will come over with me after a couple of months. What percentage would you recommend I split towards accommodation/ rent? I will be on the outskirts of Tokyo, around Tachikawa.
2) Does anyone have any experience with importing pets from Australia ? I have a Shiba Inu and Cat we would bring across (aware of the restrictions with accomodation). As harsh as it is, we are aware we may have to leave the cat with a friend whilst I finish my studies, but does anyone have advice from Australia?
3) Any good moving companies from AUS to Japan people recommend? Im a musician and academic so I have a bunch of books and musical equipment which is vital to my research so looking for a good shipping company.
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4) Any good immigration/ visa lawyers for Japan located around Sydney, Australia? My wife would be coming on a dependant visa which is the recommended way by the Japanese Embassy, so we just wanted to safe-guard this by potentially hiring a specialist to ensure we don’t run into any issue.
Thanks guys! Also, completely aware that the monthly costs and rent with a partner and a pet is extremely hard to secure; but I already have some strong friends in Japan and Professors backing my move across. Japan is where I need to go to finish my post-graduate research as I am a academic specialising in contemporary Japanese Music and this has been a really strong 2-3 year plan that I’ve carried out. So don’t roast, lol.
2 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Moving to Japan with MEXT Scholarship – Bunch of Questions from Australia**
Hi guys, so I’m (95% confirmed) pretty sure I’ll be off to Japan next year doing my post-graduate research with the MEXT scholarship, starting in April. There are a million questions I have but have but some are stuck into my mind and would like some guidance.
1) I’ll have a monthly stipend amount of 143,000 yen to cover my living expenses (from the gov); now im married and my wife will come over with me after a couple of months. What percentage would you recommend I split towards accommodation/ rent? I will be on the outskirts of Tokyo, around Tachikawa.
2) Does anyone have any experience with importing pets from Australia ? I have a Shiba Inu and Cat we would bring across (aware of the restrictions with accomodation). As harsh as it is, we are aware we may have to leave the cat with a friend whilst I finish my studies, but does anyone have advice from Australia?
3) Any good moving companies from AUS to Japan people recommend? Im a musician and academic so I have a bunch of books and musical equipment which is vital to my research so looking for a good shipping company.
​
4) Any good immigration/ visa lawyers for Japan located around Sydney, Australia? My wife would be coming on a dependant visa which is the recommended way by the Japanese Embassy, so we just wanted to safe-guard this by potentially hiring a specialist to ensure we don’t run into any issue.
Thanks guys! Also, completely aware that the monthly costs and rent with a partner and a pet is extremely hard to secure; but I already have some strong friends in Japan and Professors backing my move across. Japan is where I need to go to finish my post-graduate research as I am a academic specialising in contemporary Japanese Music and this has been a really strong 2-3 year plan that I’ve carried out. So don’t roast, lol.
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To address point 2, we do have a [Wiki on bringing over your pets](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/wiki/pets). There’s a bit of Australia-specific information as well.