Musician moving to Japan

[chachava]

Originally Posted by akickintheteeth

My roommate and several of her college friends seem to think it's pretty easy for gaijin to find jobs once they're in the country... regardless of visa. Is this not at all the case?

nope, not the case at all... without a visa, you are pretty much screwed (unless you are a beautiful woman and want to be a hostess)

[chachava]

Originally Posted by timelesssymphony

On another note Japan isn't as forgiving about overstaying your visa as some countries, they tend to detain you a long time then letting you go with an official don't come back for 5+ years going away present,

5 years? overstaying/breaking a visa will be a lifetime ban

[akickintheteeth]

Originally Posted by semprini

There certainly isn't that much live music in Japan - very few bars and pubs have live acts, so you might have trouble getting employment that way.

This might help - it's the musicians page from the Tokyo English-language magazine, which should give some idea of what's going on:

Metropolis Classifieds: Japan's No 1 classifieds

Thanks for the link, I was about to ask if anyone had a link to a Japanese equivalent of Craigslist...this looks like it might be the ticket.. I've tried mixi but that didn't really work. :\

Thanks, tommasi, for the link to the youtube guy's site, looks like he's got a lot of videos up there so I'll check those out today.

Can anyone with experience moving to Japan comment on the pragmatics of moving my music studio over there? Better to sell here and buy new there, or ship? Keeping in mind the resale value of music gear here is chit... I don't know the market for music gear in Japan.

Looking over this thread it looks like the responses have all been pretty much negative... Did anyone on this site move to Japan and not do it by the book? Surely you can't ~all~ be TOEFL teachers and salarymen??

What about going to school in Japan? It's been a longtime goal of mine to get a degree in Japanese.. I would love to pursue a degree there.

Basically, I'm sick of the US and I'm moving to Japan in September regardless. If I've got to marry my roommate to do it, she's already agreed to do so, but I'd rather not go there if I don't have to, so I'm poking around and weighing options. I appreciate everyone's input, even if it's not what I'm wanting to hear. lol ^__^

[samurai007]

I'd say at least 95% of the foreigners who have worked in Japan have been English teachers, and many of the rest got a job as a salaryman, so yeah... You can get a student visa, but you'll need to be accepted and enrolled in a school, which will probably mean attending classes in Japanese, and doing assignments in Japanese. And I'm not sure if you are allowed to work on a student visa, or if you are, how much you can work or how easy it is to find a job. It may be that only part-time work is allowed? I'm not sure. All the foreign students I knew in Japan devoted their time to school, none of them had jobs, but that doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by akickintheteeth

Thanks for the link, I was about to ask if anyone had a link to a Japanese equivalent of Craigslist...this looks like it might be the ticket.. I've tried mixi but that didn't really work. :\

Thanks, tommasi, for the link to the youtube guy's site, looks like he's got a lot of videos up there so I'll check those out today.

Can anyone with experience moving to Japan comment on the pragmatics of moving my music studio over there? Better to sell here and buy new there, or ship? Keeping in mind the resale value of music gear here is chit... I don't know the market for music gear in Japan.

Looking over this thread it looks like the responses have all been pretty much negative... Did anyone on this site move to Japan and not do it by the book? Surely you can't ~all~ be TOEFL teachers and salarymen??

What about going to school in Japan? It's been a longtime goal of mine to get a degree in Japanese.. I would love to pursue a degree there.

Basically, I'm sick of the US and I'm moving to Japan in September regardless. If I've got to marry my roommate to do it, she's already agreed to do so, but I'd rather not go there if I don't have to, so I'm poking around and weighing options. I appreciate everyone's input, even if it's not what I'm wanting to hear. lol ^__^

I can't recommend bringing a music studio with you unless you know your living situation and that you will have space for it. Space is at a premium and Japan, and most of the musicians I knew used rental studios and equipment as they had no place to keep all that stuff.

The Japanese school year is April to March, so you'd need to start applying now for school in April 2009. That's not going to help you in September, though, so marrying your roommate is your best bet. Make sure she really is up to it and that her parents are agreeable to it. Family trees are official government documents, so a marriage will become part of her family's permanent record, so it's a big deal.

[tommasi]

If you are marrying your roommate, you need to look into actual procedures.

It doesn't happen over night and it may take longer than you are expecting to receive a spouse visa.

And I'm assuming that your roommate is a student right now?

Someone without a job or work experience marrying a foreigner may alert the government so it could slow the process down.

Anyways, the best way for your music career is to look for someone who works in Japan as a musician coming from overseas.

They might be able to hook you up.

Final note, I don't know which city you are heading to, but some people do end up appreciating what America offers.

My roommate lived in Niigata for 6 months and although his very limited view on Japan irritates me time to time, he came back sick and he says now he appreciates America more.

So just like others say, go light gear for the first time and if you really like it, go back with your other belongings.

[chachava]

Originally Posted by akickintheteeth

Looking over this thread it looks like the responses have all been pretty much negative...

They are not negative, you wanted an answer and we gave it to you...

[timelesssymphony]

I could lie to you and say it will be easy no problem Japan has lots of Jobs for gaijin they love it when they come in under a different visa and work I mean thats showing initiative right? Besides who needs a college degree anyhow I gots plenty of edumication in high school!

Just because the answer isn't what you were looking for doesn't mean were trying to be negative, we just want you to understand the fact of the matter, and yes I put 5+ year ban to be conservative because its all due to circumstances but if you work illegally knowing that I gar it won't be 5 years and when your being deported they have a tendency to kick you out with out letting you pack your bags its more of a don't let the door hit you on the way out thing.