[queuebert]

Hah, that's a sudden and intriguing offer. I'm not sure how serious you were about it or if you have any say in the decision, but in any event, going out in April is too early as I have a number of matters to attend to on the home front before I can go enjoy a couple years out in Japan.

I'll be heading out to Japan in early May, primarily for vacation, but I'm also going to do some research on the cultural activities visa application. I realize that ALTing has its own set of rewards, and someday I definitely intend to try that, but if I can manage a cultural studies application, that will allow me to help my family out while I'm living abroad. That's why I really hope to do that a few years before I begin ALTing.

A friend of mine who is ALTing in Hiroshima told me that he ran into someone staying out there under this visa type and she was just doing ikebana a few hours a week. So I know it's possible to get out there on such terms. But apparently, not a lot of info is on the web about this visa (that I could find, at least) so I'll be sure to post whatever discoveries I come across in case it helps someone else down the line.