Nippon75

Hi there,

I am going to Japan mid September on a working holiday visa. I am conflicted as to where to reside when I am there. I have been to Japan before only for a short time and really loved it. I know most people that go to Japan live in Tokyo or Osaka. Has anyone ever lived in Fukuoka or a smaller city. I would love to know your personal experience and what you loved about living where you did...

Thanks

Nipponman

KimJapan

We have lived in Kanazawa for 11 years. Very nice small city. Much, much less expensive in terms of living expenses than the bigger cities. We rent a 7 room (3 bedrooms, kitchen, 3 more rooms, 2 toilet rooms, 1 bathroom) with parking, 10 minutes walk to downtown, for what it costs to rent a 1K apartment (standing room only kitchen plus 1 other room) in Tokyo.

There is a small group of young foreigners here who tend to hang out in a few bars, but we don't tend to join them as we are 40 and have an almost 9-year-old daughter.

We have a lot of friends, mostly Japanese, and our daughter attends public elementary school. She was born here, so the language is no problem for her.

Jobs...on a working holiday visa, you can expect to find work at an eikawa (English school). Pay in Kanazawa is similar to elsewhere...full-time with benefits ¥250,000 - ¥280,000/month with benefits like pension and insurance. A full-time real school position would pay slightly more, and a full-time umiversity position more than that. Part-time work pays between ¥2000/hr - ¥10,000/hour, sometimes more. Without proper qualifications and only a working holiday visa, I wouldn't expect you'd get much more than ¥4000/hour. Part-time work does not include any benefits at all, so you'd need to be sure you had health insurance that would cover you in Japan.

KimJapan

One other thing.

I noticed you say mid-September you would arrive in Japan. It's not a good time to be looking for work. While there are always some positions you can find, mid-September is the middle of a year. The educational and business year in Japan begins in April and the bulk of hiring, both full and part time, is done in February and March. In late August, some (but only a few) people end up not coming back to their jobs and leave a slot open...but those slots tend to be snatched up quickly by someone who is dying to leave a crap job and heard about it way before the boss did even, and the others are often taken over by someone already working in a place who has been just eeking out a living on a part-timer's salary and is hungry for more classes. Same thing anywhere in Japan, big city, small city. The advantage of a big city is that there are just plain more jobs...but there are also just plain that many more foreigners competing for them.

mrwunrfl

I dream of owning a Starbucks in Fukuoka and having a place to live there part time and the rest of the time in the U.S. It is a good sized city but not a megacity like Tokyo. The airport there is an important one with several international destinations. Fukuoka has a nice domed stadium to house their pro baseball team. Fukuoka is also where you can attend the Kyushu Bassho - grand sumo tournament in November. Lots of hot springs nearby. I've visited there three times, and only for a few days total, but I liked what I saw.

KimJapan

I'll go in on you with the Starbucks...you provide the financial backing, because we haven't got much money and get we'll provide the legal way for that business to open here...the visa, or lack of. Simple enough to get the franchise from Starbucks though. Got 3 within 10 minutes walk of each other right in downtown Kanazawa, with more in the shopping malls.

mrwunrfl

Ok, sounds good. It would be just west of Hakata station. Then another one in Hawks Town. Then take over the one at Hakata station and one in Tenjin. An empire.