Airline travel is designed mainly for the business and tourist traveler. The lowest priced tickets usually have a maximum return date of 90 days (the tourist visa for Americans is good for 90 days). It is smart to schedule the return ticket for a dat
e that is before you expect to run out of money to support yourself (in case you are not successful at getting a job). One-way tickets are not an option (and are not really any cheaper) unless you have a prearranged work visa granted in the U.S. This is
unusual unless you are travelling with a structured program. To find a job while in Japan you must first enter on a tourist visa, which requires that you have a return ticket.
If you get a job that sponsors you for a work visa, they will often pay for some or all of the travel costs to get the visa stamped into your passport. You can not get a work visa issued in Japan while on a tourist visa. You must leave the country,
get the work visa from a Japanese consulate in another country, and re-enter on a different day. Since Japan is an island, you must fly. Most freelance teachers that do this fly to Seoul, Korea since it is the closest and cheapest city with a Japanese c
onsulate. If you have money to spare, Hong Kong is another alternative. The school will most likely have this all worked out for you if they are sponsoring you for a work visa. Keep in mind that the traveling costs are not just the airfare (which fluctu
ates with the season), but the train costs to get to an international airport, a hotel in the consulate city, meals, taxis, and often a reduction in salary for classes you have to miss.
Return travel at the end of your stay (if longer than 90 days) is much easier. You can usually get a one way ticket back to the states at about half the round trip cost. The ticket pricing system in Japan is different from that in America, even thoug
h it may be an American carrier. So it is better to buy the ticket there, rather than having it purchased in America. The best way to get a return ticket is to look at ads in either English publications or an english phone book. They will have specific
ads for one way travel to America. You can transfer the cost of the ticket through a local bank, and they will send it through registered mail. By the time a teacher has been in Japan for a while, it is not difficult to do these things.
Once you are approved for a work visa, it is good for a year. there are a lot of requirements to get approved though. The primary one is that you must have a college degree. Except under special circumstances, Japan generally does not grant work vis
as to people without degrees. And there are very few schools that will hire you without a degree. You also have to have a passport valid for at least 15 more months, and two photos. Then you must complete the proper forms in Japanese (which the school us
ually has, and will help you with), and the sponsor must take all of this to the nearest immigration office. When it is approved, they will give you the proper documents to take to the consulate when you leave and re-enter.
There are schools that do not sponsor work visas. A school/company has to be in business for a prescribed amount of time before they are allowed to sponsor a foreigner for a work visa. Thus, there are some newer schools that have jobs, but you are r
esponsible for staying in the country. In most cases, the American teachers leave and re-enter with tourist visas every three months. This is illegal and socially frowned upon, but sometimes done.
[Note: I am addressing only Americans in this page because citizens of other countries have different visa lengths and requirements. Citizens of some countries can get "working holiday" visas for up to a year--with or without a job and sponsor. Some a
re allowed 6 month tourist visas. And some are not allowed entry at all.]
For more visa information contact: Embassy of Japan in the United States, 2520 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008, Telephone: (202) 234-2266.
