Working/living in Japan

Hi everyone :) i was just wondering what do I need do to live and work in japan? Do I need anything like visa or something? Since I have been planing to live in japan 2 years ago, I am going to study there in college (oil and gas engineering) and a lot of my friends have been saying that anything I've learned here in Norway will be completely useless in Japan, is that true? If so what do I need to do :)?

I also thought I can work as an English teacher while I'm studying there, also I forgot to say that I am currently attending on a japan language school, so By the time I actually leave Norway I will have the basic japanese language

Do you have a bachelor's degree at leas because you need a bachelor's to get a work visa and if you have a student visa they may not grant you a working visat? Also there are different language, culture, and business culture things you will need to know if you are working in a Japanese company. It will be FAR from easy. Doesn't matter what business you enter. My friend who speaks fluent Japanese and is familiar with the culture better than I (I lived there 2 years) has broken down into tears after a bad interaction with a Japanese coworker. The older ones treat foreigners with contempt while people our age are kind and welcoming.

If you're going to be attending a college that has a program that allows you to go to Japan to study then that would be your best option because you will be under a student identification system (basically just a student visa) which is easier to obtain over an actual work visa. However, after that schooling period if you plan on staying longer you are going to need that work visa. The biggest factor in determining whether or not you will actually make it living there all depends on how well you can handle the cultural immersion and adapting to it. I would definitely do a lot more research before saying that this is your plan especially if you're going to try studying engineering there. It's not necessarily that all the things you've learned will be useless because math systems and such will be similar, however it's still going to be a difficult decision. If it's something you truy want to do I'm sure you can make it.

@toe @missallyesterday thank you soo much for replying and giving me really helpfull advices, maybe I need some time to reconsider this or think of it carefully But eitherway this is one of my dreams and I'm not a quitter, if it is something I really want to do I give it all until I sucsess or it's impossbile even after several attemts. Quitting isn't an option for me. I also found out that if I get married to a japanese national I can get a spouse visa which will allow me to engage in paid activities ( get a job) in Japan. Residence premisson is granted in periods of 6 months or 1,3 and 5 years and is extenable. Idk this "route" seems a little bit fishy Anyways after the summer break I'll speak with my teacher that is Japanese about this and ask for some advice, I know it sounds hard, but we'll never know unless we actually try ! I also watch Japanese tv shows in the morning and take notes of some words like ( bye, how are you etc..) and try to memorize them. Bachlor degree? I'm still in high school idk if I am supposed to get that in high school... It is still alot lf things that ks unclear to me.. I need to do some rescearch :) Again thank you guys ! I

In this case you will definitely not be getting a work visa, so try to focus on school first. I didn't read your profile and so I assumed you were a college student already studying Japanese. You'd think getting a visa by being married would be a piece of cake... /: think again! Lol even worse for a woman. But, I have had very good relationships with Japanese guys. From what I am getting off of what you wrote you need to do some research and come up with a plan because if you don't you will be in for a rude awakening. Good luck!

Is Mixi.jp still one of the biggest social sites there? I looked into getting an account awhile back since you don't need a Japanese phone number anymore (or at least at the time I looked) and there was someone who set up a link to invite but I don't know how active it was anymore. But the biggest issue is setting everything up without knowing Japanese, so I didn't bother.

It was my dream to work and live here and now here I am without friends without a social life because I'm a loser. Yet my dream came true. Good luck with that. I applied online then some HR guy came to my country to interview me and test me(other companies do it via skype). Then when I was hired they processed my COE(Japan side) I, ofcourse had a variety of certifications(relevant to my field and Nihongo skill) and a diploma for BS Computer Science. Then after receiving the COE go apply for work visa at the embassy. I doubt you'll get a COE without enough certifications. For your apartment it would be dependent on who would be the one to provide. I paid for my own apartment, my company is the guarantor. I paid like around 200k JPY for my starting needs.

^That's like 25k USD. Since she brought it up, some apartments... you will pay the first month's rent, a deposit, and also a gratuity to the landlord up front which will probably be as much as your first month's rent. This gratuity is to say "Thank you for letting me live in your place!" and you will never get it back.

^don't forget the key fee, and the real-estate fee and the contract fee and the insurance. For contract fee and insurance you have to pay every 2 years atleast. XD OH AND RESIDENTIAL TAXXXXXX(paid yearly after your 1 year stay)