Looking to move to the countryside with my Japanese wife and bub.

[carterk]

Hello Potters!
I was wondering if I could get a couple of pointers about moving to Japan with my wife and bub?

We are hoping to move within the next few months, and would like to stay in the countryside if possible.

The wifes folks live in Tokyo and we might be able to stay for a max of 3 months or so. We are looking to stay in japan for upto 18months while my wifes australian PR visa comes through.

We are both nurses in AUS but our qualifications wont be recognised in japan without sitting the bar exam(which means learning everything in japanese...), which wont happen anytime soon.

Bub is almost 14 months.

Any advice for living,working etc???

We love living in AUS but if all goes well we may move over for longer after the australian visa is granted.

Thanks in advance!

[KenElwood]

Hey carterk,

My little toddler girl is 16 months now and we’ve another little one, this time a boy, on the way. Lotsa fun to have around aren’t they?!

So you’re coming to Japan eh? Must be exciting to think about the big move, but I guess there’s a little bit of nervousness mixed in there as well eh? - Job, where to live, i.e.

As you say, becoming a nurse may be rather difficult, especially on such short notice. I guess you’ve combed gaijinpot’s threads enough to know by now that there are lots of jobs for foreigners to fill, especially teaching jobs in the English Conversation School sector. If you've an interest in that kind of work, I think you’ll be A-okay. But you’ll prolly need a Uni degree to work at any of the big English Eikaiwas....I guess you know that. Not assuming you don’t have a degree, but if you don’t, don’t fret. There are plenty of schools, especially smaller schools, that don’t require it.

Actually, I’m not an English teacher and I don’t work in that field. My situation is a bit different – I work at a small Japanese company in a pure Japanese language environment – it’s like a different world I tells yer! They actually pay me to read gaijinpot and learn about all sorts of stuff going down in the country, they just don't know it.

Anyway, it’s good that you’ll have a place to lay your heads at night when you first arrive (3 months at the in-laws in Tokyo) right? I guess during that time you can figure out what you wanna do. It should be enough time for you to find work in the city. But as far as finding work in the country goes, that may be a bit harder. What exactly where you thinking of doing ? If you’re thinking of a non-English teaching position your options may be limited. But then again, I don’t know !! You may be able to do whatever you want to do – I guess it just depends on you.

Lets see.... 34 country jobs that come to mind:

■
Wwoofing - Farming in return for room and board. (Some hosts allow families !)

■
Forestry Work - If you've got some basic Japanese skills and know how to swing an axe, you could do it. Actually, you'd be doing us all a big favor, the hey-fever here is killer !!

■
Bounty Hunter - A growing field (Cull Crows, Boar, Monkey, Deer, Bear, and other varmit.) May want to team up with the local old timers. Don't forget your bright-orange garb, otherwise you may find yourself being the hunted.

■
Small/Home English School - work from your country home.

■
Nursery Operator - Propagate, grow and market trees, shrubs and perennial plants.

■
Composter - Pick-up & compost peoples raw-garbage. Make fertilizer with it. Sell it. May need a kei-truck for this.

■
Online Business - Work from your remote country home. Sell whatever. How about forest by-products?

■
Gaurdman - These are the traffic directors/flag wavers at road construction sites. There are many !! (I've seen a few gaijin wavin' flags before)

■
Nut Collector - All the old-folks do it. If you invested some time in it you could prolly turn a profit.

■
Carpentry/fix-it Man - Just declare yourself a 何でも屋(nandemoya) and watch the phone calls role in. You may want to partner with a Japanese and get yourself a kei-truck.

■
Village Bicycle Patrol Man - Valunteer work. Lots of riding around on the bicycle with a big 'Patrol' sign attached to your front basket. But the villagers may bring basket loads of fresh veg to your doorstep in return. A pretty good deal.

■
Septic Man - Cause every country home has a tank that needs to be pumped. Composting used to be the norm, but things have changed.

■
Blogger - blog your country experience. Set up those little ad-sense adverts on your blog and hope somebody clicks on em'.

■
Konbini Clerk - convenience stores dot the countryside. A bit of Japanese needed. But remember, they're closing at exponential rates and may not be your best option.

■
Auto Mechanic - fix kei-trucks, tractors, combines, scooters, etc.

■
Woodsplitter - Invest in a Logsplitter. Buy cheap wood from forest thinning ops. Split the wood with your logsplitter and sell it. As common energies such as electricity and gas become more and more expensive people may opt for wood instead.

■
Gas Station Attendant - exposure to toxic fumes all day may not be your cup of tea though - I don't know.

■
Local Elementary/Middle/High School teacher - May require experience. Plus lots of hard work.

■
Translation Work - work form your remote country home. Make contacts and clients by way of phone and internet.

■
Log Cabin Builder - Cut em', stack em', and sell em'. Okay, so the business isn't so hot, but there are a few jobs out there.

■
Foreign Themed Countryside Amusement Park Personnel -These places, like convenience stores, also dot the country. Find one - they'll love you.

■
Mountain Veg Peddler - Scavenge the woods for mountain veg and mushrooms and then peddle them at your local train station or market. Everyone will love you for it !! Mushrooms take a premium.

■
Road Works Construction Crew - Some Japanese needed, preferably curse words. May encounter lotsa second-hand smoke, heavy drinking and on occasion, mob bosses. Other than that, all smiles and hard work.

■
Potter - Make pots and stuff.

■
Country Artist/Photographer - Share your stuff with the world.

■
Sword Maker - Find a sensei, learn to forge swords. Maybe he'll let your family stay with his. If you make good uns' maybe some people will buy them.

■
Country Author - Write books about the country and sell em'. Intrestingly enough, people have an interest.

■
Roof Thatcher Dude - I dunno, I've just always wanted to be this. Must be hard, but surely rewarding

■
Local Tour Guide - Invite those urban gaijin out to the sticks, show em' around.

■
Beekeeping - Honey!! It's a hot commodity. Or you could raise Japanese 蜂の子, (hachi no ko). They're also hot !!

■
Organic Farmer - Because we really need em' !! Stay away from too many loans and make a little money. Hard work, but at least can help feed the urbanites.

■
Auto-Yatai - Be the first gaijin in your area to roll the county roads selling hot sweet potatoes out the back of your kei-truck. Would help if you had a kei-truck w/ loud speaker on roof and a cheap potato source. Theoretically, you could double this biz up with your farming business.

■
Homesteader - Buy an old house with a bit of land. Plant a garden and keep some livestock and fowl and Live a 100% self-self-sufficient lifestyle. Not easy, but potentially rewarding.

Bonus:

■
Forest Ranger - Doh !! Japan doesn't have this profesion. Can you believe it? 80% woods and no Forest Rangers. Actually, this is kinda cool.

Hope these ideas don't sound insulting. They're all things that i'd do. Some of em' i've already done. Actually, i'm invloved in five of em' at the moment. he-he.

Your wife is Japanese right? Have you discussed her working from the get-go, and you being a stay at home daddy? It’s an option I guess. Actually, there’s a few international couples here that do this.

Well, I guess you could be a commuter: Live in the country and commute to the city everyday where you can wear a nice suit and rearrange information and facts in a cool office.

At any rate, if you do decide on the country don't forget your naga-boots (wellies)!! See you in the country.

ken

[dataGecko]

Foreign Themed Countryside Amusement Park Personnel -These places, like convenience stores, also dot the country. Find one - they'll love you.
ken

Ok Ken, you've got my curiosity going, what's this all about? Do these places still survive? I thought they would be closing down faster than the convenience stores?? Japanses language mandatory I guess. I like some of your ideas, especially for the "Japanese challenged" gaijin. Bee keeping is cool, but I didn't realise they ate 'em, though why should that surprise me.... I'd definitely keep bees if I had a country place. :-) Your work sounds 'flexible' shall we say? ;-)

[KenElwood]

Do these places Foreign Themed Countryside Amusement Parks still survive? I thought they would be closing down faster than the convenience stores??

Ah, yeah, they're prolly closing faster than the Konbini. Forgot to mention that, thanks.

I like some of your ideas, especially for the "Japanese challenged" gaijin. Bee keeping is cool, but I didn't realise they ate 'em, though why should that surprise me.... I'd definitely keep bees if I had a country place. :-) Your work sounds 'flexible' shall we say? ;-)

Yeah, bees are fun. Just make sure you don't locate yourself near any of Japan's evil cell-phone towers. Bad for the bees right. They call theme
eco-towers (エコ・タワー). Gesh !

Yep, me work is pretty flexible.

ken

[dataGecko]

Just make sure you don't locate yourself near any of Japan's evil cell-phone towers. Bad for the bees right. They call theme eco-towers (エコ・タワー). Gesh !
ken

Well they sure fooled me, them 300 foot tall, perfectly symmetrical, three quater bare tree's look just beeeuwdeful!! Don't stick out at all, do they??

[carterk]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the ideas and the posts, a little kindness goes along way!

Yeah having kids is a blast! Only one at the moment, but loonking to have atleast one more in the future.

Cant wait to come, just finishing off work over here...
Heaps of mixed feelings, but on the whole its all good!

Yeah i dont have a degree but my wife does, but im sure i can teach enough for conversation style stuff.

You must speak pretty fluently to get a office job, how long you been in nihon?

We both wanna get out of the city reasonably quickly to get some fresh air and chill out.

Great list of things to do...
We were thinking of wwoofing etc, but the mrs wants to spend more time with the kid... but we will definately look into it!

Im very happy to find myself in a field somewhere picking/growing/chopping something!

when you said swords, you got me thinking about traditional trades/crafts... Have you heard of Shoujin Riouri(cant spell)? Its a stlye of japanese vego cooking which i think would be cool to learn, maybe not as cool as making a katana but pretty cool.

Your from Owari? Isnt that where Oda Nobunaga is from??? hahaha

Cheers

[TomT]

Sorry to hi-jack this thread but here I go...

■
Auto Mechanic - fix kei-trucks, tractors, combines, scooters, etc.

■
Local Tour Guide - Invite those urban gaijin out to the sticks, show em' around.

ken

Another good post on the many jobs Ken.

I've thought about the two listed above as well as helping out the farmers around my house. I'm a qualified auto-mechanic but from what I've seen, chances are it would be a job at a dismantler for probably under the table wages. Still an option though. Local Tour Guide, I thought about this one a couple of years back. There is an Air Force base close by my house and I know the tours that the base offers are geared toward going to major cities, not seeing the beautiful countryside or sites that are traditional Japanese. Buy a nice 10 seater van (no special license required!) and start taking Gaijin to see the real Japan.

Winter of 06-07 I got a job doing snow removal for a Japanese contract company. It was hard work but the good thing was I worked for a set amount each month regardless of whether it snowed or not. It turned out to be one of the mildest winters I had seen in my seven years living there!

Anyway I enjoyed reading the posts. Two more months and I'll be back in Japan

[Problematic]

Hey carterk,

My little toddler girl is 16 months now and we’ve another little one, this time a boy, on the way. Lotsa fun to have around aren’t they?!

So you’re coming to Japan eh? Must be exciting to think about the big move, but I guess there’s a little bit of nervousness mixed in there as well eh? - Job, where to live, i.e.

As you say, becoming a nurse may be rather difficult, especially on such short notice. I guess you’ve combed gaijinpot’s threads enough to know by now that there are lots of jobs for foreigners to fill, especially teaching jobs in the English Conversation School sector. If you've an interest in that kind of work, I think you’ll be A-okay. But you’ll prolly need a Uni degree to work at any of the big English Eikaiwas....I guess you know that. Not assuming you don’t have a degree, but if you don’t, don’t fret. There are plenty of schools, especially smaller schools, that don’t require it.

Actually, I’m not an English teacher and I don’t work in that field. My situation is a bit different – I work at a small Japanese company in a pure Japanese language environment – it’s like a different world I tells yer! They actually pay me to read gaijinpot and learn about all sorts of stuff going down in the country, they just don't know it.

Anyway, it’s good that you’ll have a place to lay your heads at night when you first arrive (3 months at the in-laws in Tokyo) right? I guess during that time you can figure out what you wanna do. It should be enough time for you to find work in the city. But as far as finding work in the country goes, that may be a bit harder. What exactly where you thinking of doing ? If you’re thinking of a non-English teaching position your options may be limited. But then again, I don’t know !! You may be able to do whatever you want to do – I guess it just depends on you.

Lets see.... 34 country jobs that come to mind:

■
Wwoofing - Farming in return for room and board. (Some hosts allow families !)

■
Forestry Work - If you've got some basic Japanese skills and know how to swing an axe, you could do it. Actually, you'd be doing us all a big favor, the hey-fever here is killer !!

■
Bounty Hunter - A growing field (Cull Crows, Boar, Monkey, Deer, Bear, and other varmit.) May want to team up with the local old timers. Don't forget your bright-orange garb, otherwise you may find yourself being the hunted.

■
Small/Home English School - work from your country home.

■
Nursery Operator - Propagate, grow and market trees, shrubs and perennial plants.

■
Composter - Pick-up & compost peoples raw-garbage. Make fertilizer with it. Sell it. May need a kei-truck for this.

■
Online Business - Work from your remote country home. Sell whatever. How about forest by-products?

■
Gaurdman - These are the traffic directors/flag wavers at road construction sites. There are many !! (I've seen a few gaijin wavin' flags before)

■
Nut Collector - All the old-folks do it. If you invested some time in it you could prolly turn a profit.

■
Carpentry/fix-it Man - Just declare yourself a 何でも屋(nandemoya) and watch the phone calls role in. You may want to partner with a Japanese and get yourself a kei-truck.

■
Village Bicycle Patrol Man - Valunteer work. Lots of riding around on the bicycle with a big 'Patrol' sign attached to your front basket. But the villagers may bring basket loads of fresh veg to your doorstep in return. A pretty good deal.

■
Septic Man - Cause every country home has a tank that needs to be pumped. Composting used to be the norm, but things have changed.

■
Blogger - blog your country experience. Set up those little ad-sense adverts on your blog and hope somebody clicks on em'.

■
Konbini Clerk - convenience stores dot the countryside. A bit of Japanese needed. But remember, they're closing at exponential rates and may not be your best option.

■
Auto Mechanic - fix kei-trucks, tractors, combines, scooters, etc.

■
Woodsplitter - Invest in a Logsplitter. Buy cheap wood from forest thinning ops. Split the wood with your logsplitter and sell it. As common energies such as electricity and gas become more and more expensive people may opt for wood instead.

■
Gas Station Attendant - exposure to toxic fumes all day may not be your cup of tea though - I don't know.

■
Local Elementary/Middle/High School teacher - May require experience. Plus lots of hard work.

■
Translation Work - work form your remote country home. Make contacts and clients by way of phone and internet.

■
Log Cabin Builder - Cut em', stack em', and sell em'. Okay, so the business isn't so hot, but there are a few jobs out there.

■
Foreign Themed Countryside Amusement Park Personnel -These places, like convenience stores, also dot the country. Find one - they'll love you.

■
Mountain Veg Peddler - Scavenge the woods for mountain veg and mushrooms and then peddle them at your local train station or market. Everyone will love you for it !! Mushrooms take a premium.

■
Road Works Construction Crew - Some Japanese needed, preferably curse words. May encounter lotsa second-hand smoke, heavy drinking and on occasion, mob bosses. Other than that, all smiles and hard work.

■
Potter - Make pots and stuff.

■
Country Artist/Photographer - Share your stuff with the world.

■
Sword Maker - Find a sensei, learn to forge swords. Maybe he'll let your family stay with his. If you make good uns' maybe some people will buy them.

■
Country Author - Write books about the country and sell em'. Intrestingly enough, people have an interest.

■
Roof Thatcher Dude - I dunno, I've just always wanted to be this. Must be hard, but surely rewarding

■
Local Tour Guide - Invite those urban gaijin out to the sticks, show em' around.

■
Beekeeping - Honey!! It's a hot commodity. Or you could raise Japanese 蜂の子, (hachi no ko). They're also hot !!

■
Organic Farmer - Because we really need em' !! Stay away from too many loans and make a little money. Hard work, but at least can help feed the urbanites.

■
Auto-Yatai - Be the first gaijin in your area to roll the county roads selling hot sweet potatoes out the back of your kei-truck. Would help if you had a kei-truck w/ loud speaker on roof and a cheap potato source. Theoretically, you could double this biz up with your farming business.

■
Homesteader - Buy an old house with a bit of land. Plant a garden and keep some livestock and fowl and Live a 100% self-self-sufficient lifestyle. Not easy, but potentially rewarding.

Bonus:

■
Forest Ranger - Doh !! Japan doesn't have this profesion. Can you believe it? 80% woods and no Forest Rangers. Actually, this is kinda cool.

Hope these ideas don't sound insulting. They're all things that i'd do. Some of em' i've already done. Actually, i'm invloved in five of em' at the moment. he-he.

Your wife is Japanese right? Have you discussed her working from the get-go, and you being a stay at home daddy? It’s an option I guess. Actually, there’s a few international couples here that do this.

Well, I guess you could be a commuter: Live in the country and commute to the city everyday where you can wear a nice suit and rearrange information and facts in a cool office.

At any rate, if you do decide on the country don't forget your naga-boots (wellies)!! See you in the country.

ken

I was really really interested in Homesteader. Free time, no bossy boss and no stress~ Woots! I know it's hard to start it with, but this the life I dreamed of! Btw, is Hokkaido consider as a countryside too?? Cause I love the environment there~