Welcome to Working Holiday JAPAN
Welcome to Working Holiday JAPAN
official web-site. Have you gotten visa?
Have you bought a map of Japan? Have you found a place to stay?
This site is for students who are coming to Japan on working holiday.
Recent record-high price of Japanese yen must hit young students severely.
Here we are going to provide you very useful information, such as language schools with reasonable price, economical and friendly guest house, safe and healthy job.
We support young people who are coming to Japan on budget. Let's enjoy with us!
April 2012
Tokyo Stay
To New Visitors
For those of you who are visiting Japan on working holiday,
Working Holiday Visa
(quoted from Ministry of Foreign Affair of Japan web-site)
Japan initiated its Working Holiday Programmes, first with Australia in December 1980, then with New Zealand in July 1985, and with Canada in March 1986 respectively. In April 1999, the Republic of Korea joined the three preceding countries to start the Programme with Japan followed by France in December that year. The programme with Germany started in December 2000, then with the United Kingdom in April 2001, with Ireland in January 2007 with Denmark in October 2007, with Taiwan in June 2009 and with Hong Kong in January 2010. Working Holiday Programmes are designed to foster young people with global perspective and enhance friendly relationship between Japan and partner countries/regions by providing opportunities for the young people to deepen their understanding about partner countries/regions.
The working holiday makers are allowed to engage themselves in part-time or full-time work to supplement their funds to travel and stay in partner countries/regions.
How to get from Airport to Downtown Tokyo
From Narita Airport: Take Keisei line to Nippori station where it connects to Yamanote line(JR; Japan Railway). Once you get to Yamanote Line, you should be able to head to your destination.
From Haneda Airport: Take Keikyu line to Shinagawa where it connects to Yamanote Line. Once you get to Yamanote Line, you should be able to head to your destination.
Places to stay
There are variety kinds of places to stay in Japan such as apartment, guesthouse, share house, host family, and so on.
If you are planning to stay at an apartment, you have to find a gualantee who would be responsible for you. Also, you have to pay deposit and gift money which usually won't be refundable.
If you are on budget, guest house is a great option. You don't need much money when you move in; just deposit, rent for the first month, and the copy of your id. There are common living room, kitchen, shower, restroom, and laundry. You can also meet people! Check out the list of guest houses we recommend!
Japanese Language School
Do you want to learn Japanese to get to know the culture better? Or do you want to watch Japanese anime or movie without subtitle or dub? Do you want to know the meaning of your favorite J-POP lyrics?
If you are wishing to learn Japanese while you stay in Japan, there are a couple of options. One advantage is that you can always talk to native Japanese speaker in Japan. People are usually friendly enough to respond to you.
Language exchange is one option.
There are classified ads on free papers and you can always find an ad who are looking for a language exchange partner. Some people might ask you for a language exchange in person. It is recommended to have lessons at a public place, such as cafe or restaurant, to avoid any trouble.
Attending a Japanese language school is an efficient way to acquire the language. We offer lists of language schools. Click here to see more!
To fully enjoy the stay in Japan, you should be able to make money you spend while staying in Japan. With your PC and internet access, it is easy to find a lot of information about job. There are many free-paper such as "Tokyo Notice Board" with classified ads for foreigners as well. Also, you can visit "Hello Work", the government-run job agency in every area. Check out the hello-work web-site.
Touristic Feature
When you are in Japan, you have so many things to do other than studying language and making money; If you like Sumo, you can visit "Heya" where the wrestlers practice. If you like outdoor leisure, there are many mountains with neat trecking trails.
Seeing famouse cherry blossom(including party under the trees) could be interesting too.
Anime
Are you into Japanese subculture such as anime and pop song groups? If you are, you can't miss visiting Akihabara, the mecca of its "Otaku" culture. You see people dressing "Cosume" at strees such as Harajuku.
Sento & Onsen
Japan is famous for bath & onsen(hot spring). Because there are a lot of mountains, Japanese people have been enjoying its by-product since the time it was discovered. Other than onsen, people enjoy having bath in a bath tub everyday. There are public bath called "Sento" in areas. People go there even if there is a bath at home. It used to be neighbor's community.
Japanese Food & Drink
Japan has variety of unique cuisine, such as Sushi, Sashimi, Tempura, and so on. If you like to try Japanese alcohol, try Sake, Shochu, and Japanese beer. It might sound expensive to eat out but there are so many ways to enjoy the cuisine. Also, there is a restaurants called Izakaya mainly serving alcohol. It is believed to be expensive to eat out in Japan Not like western countries, you don't have to tip at a restaurant.