Could you help me ?

[Anonymous]

I´m going to go to Tokyo this fall. I´m looking for a good part time job.Could somebody give me any advice how to get a good part time job without having any experience with working in Japan ? I also appreciate any information how to survive in Tokyo and not to be rich... :-))

Alenka

[panda]

The easiest to get job for people with no real experience is teaching English conversation but you need to be a native English speaker normally to get those jobs. You might be able to find waitressing or something. Talk to as many people as you can when you get here and also check out the Japan Times Monday newspaper for job ads and maybe you'll find something. Jobs like waitressing only pay about 900 yen an hour at most though.

To save money cook your own food as much as possible instead of going out (fresh vegetables and fruits are still very expensive). For cheap pre-made food (junk food) go to convenience stores or McDonalds, etc. For a place to stay try a "gaijin house". These are usually dumps but you don't have to pay key money and you can just pay month by month. You may be able to find a room for 40,000 or 45,000 a month at one of these. (It will be very tiny and run down.) You can also check the paper for people searching for room mates.

There's a free magazine called "Tokyo Classified" that you should check out. It has job ads (usually not many) and ads for gaijin houses and moving sales for people leaving Japan, etc. They have a web site too: http://www.tokyoclassified.com/

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your serious advice ! Unfortunately I´m not a native English speaker and I´m afraid there is not many people who want to learn Czech in Tokyo :-) Anyway I´ll tray to find those who need Czech conversation.
If I have 80 000 JPY per month is it enough for a room about 40.000 JPY, transportation fee, food, etc. ? And what about health insurance paid in Japan ? How much is it for one year (average) ? It´s a lot of questions, isn´t it ? :-)

Alenka

[Anonymous]

You cannot get health insurance ona tourist visa! And if you can survive on 80,000 per month please tell ME how!

[panda]

There are sometimes jobs for French, German, Spanish and Chinese teachers but I really doubt you are going to find any jobs for teaching Czech (-maybe- you might find a private student who's interested). Teaching jobs should pay from about 2,500 yen an hour and up just in case you find something.

I don't see how you are going to survive on just 80,000 a month in Tokyo. (You realize that this is less than US $800.00 a month?) The Japanese government requires foreigners who get working visas to be paid at least 250,000 yen a month and this is just enough to be able to live comfortably in Tokyo and -maybe- save a little if you are careful.

The cost of public health insurance depends on how much you make a year I believe.

By the way, what visa will you have? If you have a student visa you can work part time but if you are on a tourist visa you are not allowed to work.