[blimp]

here i am again, apparently i liked this forum better than i thought.

i am happy to see that i am not the only one thinking tenchu is a wee bit off.

now, on to ur questions even though anrakushi has given very good tips.
what will help u on paper is to try to emphasise ur south african background (do u have citizenship?). this will help u get through the first obstacle when contacting any language schools, it will also be a help for the school when they sponsor u for a visa. the golden rule concerning visa is that the farther u get from a big city, the easier it is to get a visa, not saying that u can't get a visa in tokyo with ur background.

TEFL and similar certificates (it's all about certificates here) are good to have if u want to try for some of the more respectable language schools. again as i think anrakushi mentioned it is in no way required.

hyogo-ken and nature, yes it is a good place. look toward the sea of japan and u will find mountains and snow in the winter. while the season is shorter and the resorts not as big as the ones in nagano or niigata, there is still plenty of snow. hachi-kita kougen is fairly well known in kansai region.

hopefully this is some help even though some is just repeation from what anrakushi has already said. oh, and yes u can come here without a visa, but u might have to leave the country to actually get the visa (a two or three day trip to south korea).

good luck!