[Hatredcopter]

Sorry, I misread that you were from Canada, which means you can live in Japan without holding 4-year degrees.

You'll need to look into Working Holiday Visas, they're your ticket to living in Japan, at least for a year or two.

I'm afraid I don't know about cooking apprenticeships..., however I'd be more worried about your language skills. Are you fluent in Japanese? You'll have a heck of a time working there (outside of English education) without the language skills.