[Sangetsu]

Why Japan? I wouldn't necessarily rate Japan as an upgrade from America. Honestly, there are probably far more Japanese who would want to live in America than Americans who want to live in Japan.

Once again (as this topic has been gone over several times), the reality of Japan is often much different from the expectation. I know many people who have come to Japan to get the experience of living and working here, and most return home after one year. A few die-hards stick it out for longer, but I wonder if they truly love Japan, or if they are simply mentally unstable.

Personally, I like living in Japan, which is why I am still here going on 3 years. I visited 3 times before making the decision to move, so I knew what I was getting into, and I had lived in other countries in the past, so there was no culture shock or homesickness to deal with.

Contrary to what others have mentioned, you don't really need to know much Japanese to get by in Japan, particularly if you live in one of the larger cities. If you are coming to work as an English teacher, you'll get even less chance to use Japanese, as your coworkers and students will primarily use English. I spent more than a year studying Japanese before coming here, and I can honestly say that I could have done fine without it. It's better to know it, but it's far from necessary.

As for English teaching as a profession, I don't recommend it, unless you like minimal pay and minimal benefits. There is a lot of competition in the teaching industry, but surprisingly little room for advancement or good pay, unless you have a masters degree or higher and teach in a university. I enjoy teaching, but it's truly a dead-end job. But in my case teaching has become a sideline, as I've finally been able to go into business for myself.

There are other opportunities for foreigners in Japan outside the education market, but you'll need a professional degree of some type to qualify. The most useful degree in Japan is economics (boring as the subject is), with others being in engineering or such. Japanese studies would be an absolute waste of time and tuition as it wouldn't qualify you for anything in Japan, and it would be worth even less in America or Europe.

Keep studying, get into university learning something useful, and visit Japan a time or two before packing your bags and getting a one-way ticket.