Thoughts on my current situation?

9 comments

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

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   **Thoughts on my current situation?**

   I’ll try and keep this short, what would be a better option for me? Go to Japan for 3 months(I believe that’s the max for the visitor permit) or attend language school for 6-12 months? I have enough funds to cover a year. Eventually I’d like to secure a role as a software engineer in Japan but I’d like to think of this as a trial run. Would I be able to find short term rentals as a foreigner ? I know it’s a little tough from what I heard.

   Another side question in case anyone has experience with this – I have a few tattoos none of which are visible. I was planning on getting one more behind my ear. Something small. I know as a foreigner, we get a little more leeway. But how bad would this impact “life in japan”? Would I just have to cover it all the time?

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2. There are short term rentals, they are just seperate from “real apartments”. If you look for “monthly mansion” or “share house” you will find them easily.

   I wouldn’t get a tattoo you can’t hide before coming to Japan.

3. 1. I have tattoos, fairly extensively that I can easily cover. I would advise NOT getting a tattoo that you can’t cover up – especially on your face/head/neck. Isn’t this sort of a taboo in western culture too, or have I been in Japan too long?

   2. Visiting here before deciding you want to live here is a great idea, but keep in mind, it will not give you a real taste of what it is like. You’ll be treated like a visitor, not a resident. Those two experiences can be quite different.

   3. I think language school is a complete waste of time and money if you are a beginner (just a personal opinion). If you are already, say N3, you can benefit from immersion a bit.

   4. Can’t help you with accommodations.

4. If you decided to stay and work in Japan, it might be nice to have some language school under your belt. I don’t know if a one year break for a language school would negatively impact your job search. I also feel like one year would be ideal to go through the honey moon phase, crash, and stabilize. I didn’t do that. I came for one month, three months, and now coming up on ten years. I didn’t really get hit with any culture shock after I moved here. YMMV

   Ill also second not getting a visible tattoo. Wait until you move here and judge for yourself. If you really want it, you could get more ink while you’re living here.

5. >I’d like to secure a role as a software engineer in Japan

   *Judging from your [posting history…](https://www.reddit.com/r/wgu_devs/comments/10fn4v5/future_or_current_swe_students_around_25_years_old/)*

   Coming to Japan with a fresh SWE bachelor’s degree, limited experience, without Japanese is less than ideal for searching for a job in Japan (although a few are/were available). Going to language school for 6~12 months at this critical period your career is going to degrade your engineering skills (and you won’t be able to get your Japanese level to N1 or N2 so quickly.

   1. Get a solid 3+ years experience

   2. Study Japanese as well as you can in your free-time while getting real experience.

   3. Then look for a real job in Japan or *maybe* go to grad school in Japan **if** you can find a program that really fits your career goals.

6. 1. But how bad would this impact “life in japan”? Would I just have to cover it all the time?

   You don’t have to cover it “all the time”. Most people don’t care about your tattoo. I have one too, and I didn’t even cover it when I went to language school.

   However, if you plan to work in a white-collar environment in the future, avoid getting a visible tattoo, just like in any other country. Also, you might be refused entry to some onsens because of your tattoo. Personally, I don’t have a problem with that as I only go to an onsen about once a year, and I always research beforehand if they allow tattoos or not.

7. You can go to Japan as a tourist but it won’t help you get a job in Japan.

   I would personally avoid language school as that would put a gap in your professional career and do more harm in your chances at getting a job as an SE compared to the language benefits. Try to study as much as you can on your own.

   There are guest houses which are short term and pretty lenient.

   While there is some acceptance in tattoos now, you should steer clear of hands forearms, neck and head tattoos.

8. As long as tattoos are invisible nobody cares. Get one on your head and that’s it, can write yourself down in Japan. Like it or not, people will judge.

9. Is this because you’ve been seeing “must be resident in Japan” job postings?

   As for tattooing your head, it would probably be wiser to avoid that. Tattoo body parts that can be more easily concealed.