Working

Serena T. (26) from Australia told us about her experience working for a tea plantation on the Japanese Island Sado, located 30km off the coast of Niigata, the largest city on the west coast of Honshu (Japan mainland). From spring 2020 she was staying on the rather rural island, experiencing Japanese daily life and traditional work at the same time. Serena, how did you find that job? Originally I wasn’t the one that signed up for the job. There was a girl at the share house in Tokyo that I lived in and we hung out a lot. She told me that she was going to have an interview with the employer of that tea plantation, arranged by World Unite!. However when the pandemic started, that girl returned to her country. I was very interested in Sado Island too, so I told them if they were looking for someone to fill in that position, I’d be happy to take the role. The interview was then arranged for me instead. Did you speak Japanese prior to the interview? Not really, I knew just a bit. But I had a translator from World Unite! attending the video interview, so it was not a problem whatsoever. Actually, I was originally planning on taking 4 weeks of language lessons when I arrived in Tokyo in February 2020. Though due to the pandemic, things were obviously kind of uncertain and the school needed to postpone the classes for a few weeks, and then decided to do them online for the time being. On Sado Island I was asked to do 2 weeks of self isolation; I used that time to attend the Japanese lessons online. Was that enough to communicate with your employer and the other employees during your work now? When they brought me in for the first time, I actually learned some Japanese from the classes, so I could listen in. Also the employee knows I am foreign, so she speaks very slowly for me. so she was speaking very slowly. Otherwise I relied on body language to understand for example what she is telling me to do during work. I think in my opinion you would need to know at least a little bit of Japanese like the basic part of it, in order to work with them, because they don’t speak any English.  When I needed to ask any important questions that I didn't want to get wrong, I communicated with the employer through World Unite! or through a new staff member who recently joined the team who speaks some English. How does a typical work day look like for you? So in the morning, from around 9:00am to 11:30am we would go out to certain parts of the island to pick leaves or grass, depending on what the employer wants us to produce. After that we would return back to the workplace and have lunch for an hour. After that we would wash what we picked, cut it down to smaller pieces and then we would dry them in a machine. And then we would break down the dried leaves from the previous days and put them into bags. That’s pretty much our whole day’s process on a sunny day. On a rainy day we would (instead of picking) be busy with packaging. Putting the leaves into tea bags.　　 May I ask how much you work and how much you are earning? At the moment I'm working 4 days a week, starting at 9:00am for around 4 to 8 hours, depending on how much work we have. The hourly salary is around 830 JPY, which is the minimum wage in Niigata prefecture. In the beginning I was only working half days, because I was still attending language classes during the morning. When working full days, the salary is enough to make a living, especially because my rent is quite affordable. I’d still recommend people to bring some savings when doing a Working Holiday in Japan. Things that you haven’t considered can always happen, like the rainy season when there is less work to do on farms like mine. How is it to live on Sado Island? With Sado Island, I think I have settled down and I’m quite happy here. Because all I’ve known Japan for was pretty much just Tokyo and Kyoto. Once I got here it was a very different sort of feeling. I’ve grown up in the city all my life and to come here where you see mountains in the distance instead of high tower buildings, is a very nice change of pace. From a fast paced environment to a very relaxed environment. Plus, I get to just focus on studying Japanese here. What are you doing in your free time? My previous roommate had introduced me to other foreigners on the island that I go out with a lot. They have a car and can take me around the island [laughs]. Staying at home, I’m doing some yoga, trying to exercise on my own and study. During the evenings I take private online Japanese lessons by a teacher that also lives on the island. What did you do back in Australia and what are your plans after leaving Japan? I worked at banks and an insurance company. And what I plan to do afterwards, I have not decided yet [laughs]. But I will stay in Japan until next February, as I’m planning to stay for the whole Working Holiday year. What’s your advice for future Working Holidayers? When it comes to the mindset, as long as you show an interest in Japanese culture and language and are willing to learn, you are good. The Japanese people I've met love to learn, they really love asking questions, so as long as you are open to also bringing some of your culture to them and are actually open to sharing, they would be open to share with you and learn something from it.  Also, if anyone is looking to escape the city life, Sado Island would be pretty good! This interview was conducted in July 2020. 

Henry K. (18) from Germany lived the ultimate Japan experience: residing on the rural island Sado surrounded by locals and working in a small restaurant/bar that specializes in Yakitori, grilled chicken skewers. Three months after his job ended, we interviewed him about his tasks, his activities aside from work and the ups and downs of living in the countryside. Henry, when had you started the job and what were your general working hours? I started in early December 2019. At the beginning I was planning on working there for 2 months, which I thought was a bit too short, as I heard that most Japanese employers prefer their staff to work for a minimum of three months. But luckily I was hired anyway. In the end I stayed for two more weeks than originally planned though, because I was in charge of training the new employee that came after me. Generally I worked five hours per day, five days per week, Tuesday through Saturday, having Sunday and Monday off. My shifts started at 17:00 and ended, depending on how busy the bar was, around 22:00. Sometimes I stayed longer, if guests were still there to be catered for.  What did a typical shift look like? What were your tasks? My boss, the owner and cook of the Yakitori bar, met me in front of my apartment and together we went and picked up the chicken skewers from a restaurant that prepared them for our bar and that was conveniently located in the same building as my apartment. Then we drove to the bar and started our preparations in order to open at 17:00. Preparing meant for example to check the reservations of the day and arrange the spaces for the guests. Once the guests arrived, my tasks were to offer them a seat, take orders, serve drinks and food. The breaks, when all guests were served, I used to wash dishes or to talk to the guests. It was only me and my boss working in the small bar. He was the main cook, but I helped out in the kitchen, too, as much as I could. The evenings ended when all guests were gone, which sometimes could be long after official closing time, for example when a nomikai (drinking party) was too good to leave, and we cleaned and tidied up the bar, kitchen, stored the dishes where they belonged and took down the noren (a kind of curtain that is hanging above the door of traditional Japanese restaurants or shops). What did you do in your free time? Sado can be quite cold in winter, and when I was there it was raining often, so aside from the most famous must-see spots I haven’t been traveling too far around the island. I rather concentrated on exploring the area I was living in. Sometimes there were concerts to visit. And I also joined the local karate club. I tried to make the most of my free time, even if I was often alone, at least at the beginning.     How did your Japanese skills improve while living and working in Sado? Extremely! I could already understand quite an amount of Japanese before I went to Sado. Otherwise I wouldn’t have landed the job in the first place. But during my time I improved immensely, because I was surrounded by Japanese locals non-stop and was “forced” to understand and speak the language. Non-English speaking Japanese guests were gathering in the bar every night, having me already socially interact in Japanese language almost daily. And aside from that my boss opened so many doors into the local community. He often invited me, in a very Japanese manner, for after-work drinks in other restaurants or to a karaoke joint, which became next to karate a beloved leisure activity of mine. Having exercised martial arts before. I felt grateful to be integrated into the local karate club. Being only the two of us and being in almost daily contact with my boss, we got very close and he even invited me to spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve with his family. It was such a wonderful experience and one of my Sado-Highlights. I am grateful for everything my boss did to me. All that helped and shaped my Japanese skills more than I had ever hoped. How did you like the job? The work itself was really enjoyable. As mentioned, I got along with my boss and I never had any negative experiences with the guests. It was always positive and funny. Even in shifts that were harder than others I still could manage to work dedicated. Although I have to admit that the working hours need time to get used to. Starting your work day at 17:00 and ending it only shortly before midnight, followed by a couple hours of socializing, might be hard on some people. But I did it with pleasure, especially because it expanded and maintained my contacts with the locals. The only real negative point was that smoking was allowed in the bar, which I don’t like. That couldn’t be helped though, as until recently that was the norm in most Japanese bars.  How did you originally find the job? It was always my goal to discover various sides of Japan instead of staying in one place for too long, so moving to the countryside at some point during my Working Holiday was a must. I saw an advertisement poster of the Sado Island Tourism association hanging in the hallway of the Tokyo share house that I lived in during my first few months in Japan. I found out that World Unite!, who is running the share house, is partnered with Sado and inquired about possible jobs on the island with one of the staff members. After a job interview by phone with the bar owner I was hired. The interview was in Japanese, but the World Unite! staff member was luckily in Sado at the time and could sit next to the owner in order to help us communicate in case it was needed. May I ask what you earned during your time in Sado? The hourly wage was 830 JPY. That doesn’t sound much compared to wages in Tokyo, but first of all rural Sado of course has, understandably, a lower minimum wage. And second of all the rent of my apartment was 10,000 JPY only, therefore very reasonable. And in a town as small as the one I was living in there is not a lot of money to spend, so it was more than enough to live. I was lucky to get such a good deal on the 2 rooms apartment, as it belonged to my boss. The hours I worked I was allowed to write down at the end of each shift independently. Thanks for the interview, Henry! Could you give possible future Working Holidayers some advice? Of course! There are some basic things that you should prepare for when coming to Japan and especially if you are planning to work on the Japanese countryside. The most important thing to work out are some basic Japanese skills. I was lucky that my boss could understand and speak some English as he spent some time overseas. But if I hadn’t studied a little of Japanese before starting the job, I think I would have had a hard time. Also because most guests only spoke Japanese. If you want to be part of the local community, I recommend to reach at least N4 level [on the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test scale], meaning you have the ability to understand basic Japanese. Even though I had that level once I first came to Sado and started working, I felt a little left out at the beginning. I was not yet integrated, did not have a proper routine, and I only had real social interaction during my 5 hours shifts at the bar. This can be a little frightening, but you need to get over it and take the initiative and courage to make the most out of your stay by putting yourself out there. Even if it feels like you were the only foreigner on the island. Being open minded and in for every opportunity that people you get to know want to give you is so important. My last recommendation would be to not spend your Working Holiday in only one place. I’m doing a Working Holiday here to get to know Japanese people, culture and different parts of the country. As ensuring it might have been spending the first few months of my stay in a sharehouse in Tokyo with fellow English and German speaking Working Holidayers, the repetitive it was. Travel to rather unknown places and emerge yourself in the culture if you want to turn your Working Holiday into something valuable for your life.

We met with Felix M. (19) just a few days after his last shift at a Tokyo located logistic company for educational books. The German worked there for a little over 3 months and was so nice to give us an insight into his Working Holiday job. Felix, how did a typical work day look like for you? The company I worked for receives, depending on the season, huge amounts of deliveries from printing groups every day. The packages contain mainly educational books that I needed to unpack and sort into their respective space in the shelves of the storage room, first thing in the morning. Throughout the day my main task was to put our clients’ orders together, meaning, searching for the books they ordered, putting them into packages and making them ready for pickup from the delivery service. I had to be fit in order to lift the boxes, but that was not a problem, as I had done more physically challenging work back in Germany. How did you like the experience? The work itself was easy and almost monotonous I have to admit. But the work environment was all the better! The people who worked there were all friendly and we got along well, which made the job really enjoyable. The general company language was English. That made things easier because I barely speak Japanese. All in all it was pleasant to work there. Did you need any Japanese skills for the job? No, it was completely doable in English. The only times Japanese skills would have been helpful was when I had to accept the deliveries from the Japanese post service at the beginning of each day. Or when I wanted to know the meaning or reading of a Kanji. But my boss just quickly taught me if needed, although that rarely happened. Consequently my little existing Japanese didn’t improve at all during work. That was honestly the only downside of the job. How did you find the job in the first place? One of the World Unite! staff members who is acquainted with my boss posted an advertisement for the job in one of the organization's chat groups. I just had to send my application documents, in either English or German, because my boss was German actually, to her. She forwarded it to my future employer then. He found interest in me and invited me to a job interview. I was hired and a job training followed during the first couple of weeks. What were your general working hours? I started every day at 10:00 and most days I worked around 4-7 hours, depending on how busy we were. The months I worked there (beginning of February to mid May 2020) were rather busy, one of the reasons I was hired in the first place. That’s because school starts here in Japan and other places in April and educational books need to be distributed. So in average I think I worked around 4-5 hours a day, 7 hours on busy days, from Monday to Friday. One single time I also came in on the weekend because there was just a lot to do. 7 hours a day, 5 times a week, that sounds almost like a full time job. I assume you earned enough to make a living? And did that leave you with enough time for private activities? Definitely! On the weekend or even after work I had enough time to either meet friends or go to the gym. I earned 1,200 JPY per hour, minus tax, which was enough to live. And my working hours left me with plenty of free time. It was pleasant and suited my lifestyle. And there was a big plus coming with the job. Most employers in Japan pay for their employees' commuting fee. So did mine. As I worked there 5 days a week, I received a commuter pass. With that I could travel between the train station I live close to and the station close to my work place for free, whenever I wanted. Even on the weekend. Meaning, I saved a lot of money when going to Shibuya, Shinjuku and so on during my free time, as the commuter pass covered those spots. What are you planning on doing now that your job is over? Last Friday I had my very last shift. It was a nice experience to get to know my colleagues. But now I’m looking forward to traveling around, because I have spent most of my Working Holiday in Tokyo so far. I have to be back in Germany by the end of August to attend an interview with a university to get into my chosen major computer science. So I want to use the time I have left in Japan the best I can. Any advice for people who are thinking about doing a Working Holiday in Japan? Just do it! Come to Tokyo. It’s a massive city, there are always jobs waiting for us Working Holidayers. I wouldn’t worry about that.

The next Olympic summer games will take place in 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The application process for Olympic volunteers was accomplished in December 2018 for around 80,000 “Game Volunteers”, which are needed for guidance, events, mobility support, personal support, operational support, healthcare, technology, media, and ceremonies, along with around 30,000 “City Volunteers”, providing transportation information to tourists and acting as guides. Also Neha, 26, from the UK, has applied and is currently waiting for an invitation to the 2nd stage of the selection process. Neha had already volunteered at the London 2012 games. We have met her in Tokyo and have asked her about her experiences in London. Why did you want to become an Olympic Volunteer? I wasn't sure initially, but my teacher at the time told me that I should try. And I thought, if I get in, that would be fun. And I got the job and I was so excited. The whole process was so exciting because I was just telling everybody: “I'm going to be a volunteer for the Olympics” - and what are the chances that you can ever say that? Also on the resume it looks very good. If in an interview they ask you what else you've done and you can say: 'Ah yes, I've volunteered at the Olympics', it makes you stand out and it makes you interesting. After having volunteered in London in 2012, I wanted to apply again for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. How did you become an Olympic Volunteer? Basically, in order to volunteer for Olympics, you have to apply two years in advance. You can apply online, on the official website, by downloading some documents that you send them online. Then you wait for them to reply. I think it took like six months for them to reply. Then I had passed the first application stage. Then I had to go to a one-to-one interview. How was the interview? It was fairly casual, they just wanted to know why I applied, what my preferences are and what time I would be available to do the job or if I'm fine working the whole week during the Olympics. What happened after the interview? After that they kept updating me on what was happening with the events. When they confirmed that I got the position as a volunteer, it went quiet until around two months before the Olympics. So they called me back again because I had to let them know what my size is. Why did they want to know your size? For the uniform, jacket, shoes etc. that you have to wear as a volunteer. They give volunteers everything. You get the oyster card as well, I kept it as a souvenir. During the Olympic weeks, you were able to use it wherever you go, it was free of charge.  All the  trains I took didn't cost me anything, so I could get everywhere on time. They gave me everything, my entire uniform, jacket, shirt, trousers, shoes and caps. Everything I got was free, even the little notebook, it was so fun. Were you able to decide at which venue you were positioned? I had to give my top three preferences at which venue I wanted to work. At that time I loved watching tennis, so my first choice was tennis, second was swimming and third was the race track. I got the tennis one and it was so much fun. How did the preparation process continue? Two weeks before it started there was a welcoming party for all volunteers. It was in the Wimbledon arena. We were all there, it was so crowded. It was all of the volunteers and events welcoming everybody, it was so much fun. What was your actual work at the Olympics? I had to show people the way, where they wanted to go. Whatever questions they had, when people were lost or anything, I showed them the way to events they wanted to see or other venues they wanted to go to. I would let them know which trains they could take to go to all the venues. I had a timetable that I could access online. I think I worked five to six days a week. It's not very complicated. They explained me everything, gave me the map, and a plan for emergency situations. What did you enjoy the most about being a volunteer? I think the best part was, when I was done with the shift, I could go and watch the games for free. That's how I got to watch the tennis men's finals. All the players I've seen on TV I saw in person. I saw Serena Williams and I saw Andy Murray. He even waved at us. The whole experience is so much worth it, you get to meet so many people and they're all so nice, even the spectators. The London games were at an English-speaking country, obviously, so I was thinking here in Japan, they will definitely need a lot of English speakers to help them out. What did you like most about the whole experience? I got to meet so many people from different countries but also the volunteers were really diverse. There were elderly people volunteering, and also young students. Age-wise it was very diverse. There were a lot of people from different cultures and obviously you get to watch the Olympic games for free. I also got free food. Were you paid for any of the work? No, I didn't get paid. But I got all this free stuff, I got the whole uniform. I still have it in my room. I even still have the water bottle, the pens and notebook, even my ID card, but the best was the oyster card. It says Olympic 2012. So I can keep it as a souvenir. What would you say to people who want to apply? Definitely go for it, it's a once in a lifetime chance. It's Olympics, it's the best, so many people watch Olympics, I grew up watching it. Everyone is participating and that is the fun part of it.    Working Holiday opportunities during the Tokyo Olympics 2020 While the official application period for Olympic volunteers has already been closed, throughout spring and summer 2020 Tokyo expects a strong increase in foreign tourist numbers. Thus, the Olympic Games prove to be a great opportunity for those coming to Japan on a Working Holiday vsa, as there will be more demand for staff who can communicate in foreign languages, particularly in the tourism, hospitality and service sectors. Many restaurants in Tokyo are not prepared to cater to foreign customers and the language barrier is an issue the industry is well aware of. Thus, restaurants will need a large number of foreign-language staff able to communicate with foreign tourists who have little to no Japanese skills while visiting the country. The same is true to hotels and other accommodation providers. Also the tourism industry will be in need of people with foreign language skills to work as guides, interpreters and translators. More generally, in Tokyo, shops of all kinds might increase staff numbers during the spring and summer of 2020, adding staff with foreign-language skills. Job opportunities related to the Olympics 2020 might arise even from now on when businesses get prepared to market to the foreign visitors for the 2020 season. World Unite! offers Working Holiday support services in Tokyo.    

Japan will host the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which will be held at 20 venues across Japan, from September 20, to November 2, 2019. The Rugby World Cup 2019 Organising Committee is expecting 4.5 million tickets to be sold, making the first Rugby World Cup in Asia also the highest popular attended one of all times. The recruitment of official Rugby World Cup volunteers has already been closed, with 10,000 volunteers chosen out of 38,000 applicants during the official 5 days application period in December 2018. However, if you are a Rugby enthusiast and you want to be close to where the World Cup action is, why not come to Japan on a Working Holiday Visa and get a fully paid position in Tokyo or another city in Japan where matches are carried out? It is estimated that around 25,000 people will be additionally hired during the World Cup, providing services to the around 400,000 foreign visitors that are expected to attend the cup, staying for an average of 14 days. So if you speak English or other foreign languages, there will be excellent employment opportunities in sectors such as hospitality, restaurants, transportation and tourism services. On a Working Holiday Visa you can stay for a maximum of 12 months in Japan (Australians even up to 18 months), so if you enjoy huge sports events, you might still be in Japan during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (July 24 to August 9, 2020), which will offer similar employment opportunities. World Unite! offers Working Holiday support services in Japan. Title Picture: Jolon Penna, Creative Commons License

Markus B. (19) from Germany tells us about his experience working for a sugar cane farm on the small island of Miyakojima, roughly 300 kilometers away from Okinawa main island. He arrived to Miyakojima on May 26th and worked there for a month. With a smile he looks back at his extraordinary experience in the very south of Japan. What was the farm like? (laughs) Funny enough, I actually worked for some sort of Japanese Buddhist cult. I learned that they send the sugar cane harvest to their Buddhist headquarters, which is located near Osaka. Apparently they collect harvest and other goods from all sorts of places all over Japan and then sell it elsewhere. Every morning they'd also have like a morning prayer and at some point I had to join as well. But it sounds stranger than it was, the people were incredibly friendly and nice. I did some research and apparently there are a lot of peaceful Buddhist movements in Japan. Why did you want to do farm work? I wanted to live and work in Okinawa for a month, because I'd heard many good things about the island. So I contacted World Unite! and asked if it was possible to do farm work there. Eventually I got a job offer from a sugar cane plantation on Miyakojima and I thought: “Why not?”. So on May 26th I flew south. How did your typical working day look like? I'd wake up around 4:40am, take a shower and have breakfast. Then I'd talk to my housemates, pack my gear for the day and we'd leave for the fields, so that we could start at 6am. There were two shifts every day, the first was from 6am to 10am, and the second was from 3pm to 7pm. Like this, we would avoid the worst heat during the day. We would get around 40 degrees, which was tough. So every day was eight hours of work. What I did was basically chopping off sugar cane and making it ready for transport. You could roughly break it down into five steps. The first step was to tear off the leaves from the top. The second was to chop off the sugar cane right above the root. Third step was to collect all the sugar cane plants and pile them up on a heap. The fourth step would be to tear the last of the leaves off and the fifth step was to tie them together, so they were easier to transport. What did you earn during your time? I earned 4500 JPY a day (~35 EUR). However, I didn't have to pay for my accommodation nor for food. What would you do in your free time? During my free time I explored the island with my working colleagues, because many of them were there for the first time, too, just like me. Other than that I'd just relax and take it easy. Did your Japanese improve during your stay on the farm? Yes, definitely. Interestingly, my boss was kind of a Germany-fan, and he knew some words. And one co-worker could speak basic English. But aside from that they only used Japanese. My co-workers were all super friendly, also my boss was really cool. I'm still in contact with all of them. In general, all the people on the island were really nice, however it was also kind of funny and weird at the same time to be the only "white" person on the entire island. I was kind of an attraction for the people. Did you experience any low points during the time you worked on the farm? I have to admit, there was one. It was the first day, the day before my actual work started. It was hot in my room, I couldn't sleep and I knew I had to work outside in the heat the next day – that was when I was quite terrified of it all. But after that, it was fine and it all went well.  But of course it was hard at first, and I discovered for myself that I don't want to become a sugar cane farmer, at least for the long term. But at the same time I was glad that I'd done it. What would you tell people who are thinking about during farm work in Japan as well? I think people should be aware what they get themselves into. Farm work is hard, physical labour and people should be really sure that they want to do that. It is important to learn how to control or at least filter your thoughts. It sounds generic, but you have to keep thinking positively. If you have a positive mindset, you'll have the most amazing time. In terms of the beautiful island of Miyakojima, I'd say you should be aware that it is difficult to get off the island, especially if you can't drive or you don't have a car. I was glad my co-worker would give me lifts regularly, but aside from that there is hardly anything. You definitely can't rely on the public transport. Did this experience shape you as a person? I would definitely say that this experience taught me new ways of thinking. The people on the island were insanely nice. They lead simple lives, but they are so genuinely happy and content, and I think I kind of absorbed some of that attitude. The people are always in a good mood and happy, and it really rubbed off on me. You learn to appreciate the little things, it all really inspired me. What do you do now? I arrived in Osaka on July 9th. I'm working in a guest house and izakaya, and I also live there. I'm thinking of working here for at least another month and after that, I'm not sure yet. But I'm thinking of staying in Osaka. My visa expires on April 18th, and I want to stay in Japan the entire 12 months that the Working Holiday Visa provides me. " order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]

Those interested in a Working Holiday in Japan are often worried whether or not they might actually find a job in Japan. At least, if you book the assistance of a reputable organisation assisting you with your Working Holiday, chances are absolutely minimal that you will have serious problems with the job hunt. We have just walked into the World Unite! share house in Koto-Ku, Tokyo, on a random day, which is home to many who are on a Working Holiday in Japan, and have asked those we found there about their experiences. Here you can read their feedback... Claas, 20, from Germany Claas has been in Japan for about six months. He is currently working in a food factory that produces smoked meat products such as chicken breasts and sausages. Claas found the job with the help of World Unite! employees and he started working at the food factory one month after his arrival. Klaudia, 26, from Poland Klaudia has been in Japan for about three months. Even though she is not a native English speaker, she found a job as an English teacher in a school as quick as one week after her arrival, with the help of the Japanese employment office. A World Unite! team member had accompanied her to the appointment at the employment office, assisting as an interpretor. Klaudia had also joined the preparation session of World Unite! prior to her appointment at the employment office, during which the questions that the employment office staff typically ask, are practised in Japanese, so Klaudia had time to think about good answers. With such preparation, around 80% of the foreign job hunters can immediately find a job. Even though it has become more difficult now compared to some years ago to land jobs as English teachers, chances are still high to land such jobs, particularly in Tokyo. Klaudia will soon leave for Hokkaido where she already has a pre-arranged job at the "onsen" hot bath of a ryokan. Ryokans are traditional Japanese hotels and World Unite! can pre-arrange jobs at more than 6000 ryokans in all Japanese prefectures for those who have basic conversational Japanese language skills. If you don't have sufficient language skills prior to coming to Japan, you can spend some time in Tokyo first doing some job that doesn't require Japanese language skills and attend language lessons simultaneously, and then start the ryokan job after some month. Just as Klaudia successfully did. Johanna, 23, from Germany Johanna has been in Japan for about three months. She has two part-time jobs, each at a restaurant. One restaurant is a German one. She found the job vacancy directly on the restaurant's website. The second restaurant is a Japanese one. She found it online as well. She landed her two jobs roughly two weeks after her arrival to Japan. Kevin, 23, from Germany Kevin has been in Japan for approximately three months. He works for a company that produces and packages food for convencience shops, which in Japan are called kombinis. He found the job with the help of World Unite! employees three weeks after his arrival. World Unite! browses through online job boards, including those that are only in Japanese, and helps you finding offers that match your skills and interests. World Unite! also provide Japanese text templates of how to address companies that offer jobs, and they translate your CV/resume to Japanese. Also they practise job interviews with you. If you need assistance with finding a job, as a World Unite! working holiday participnt, you can just come to their office, which is open daily for 4 hours from Monday to Friday, and ask for support. Markus, 19, from Germany Markus from Bavaria has been in Japan for one month. He had pre-booked the World Unite! Working Holiday farmwork option. He first joined intensive language lessons for four weeks in Tokyo and has just recently passed the job interview with a sugarcane farmer from the island of Miyakojima near Okinawa. He will travel there next week to start his job as a sugarcane farmer. Ben, 22, from Germany Ben has been in Japan for two months. He is currently working as a kitchen employee at a pancake café. It took him 2.5 weeks to find the job and he found it online. In addition, he works as a chat host in a language café. This job was organised through the Japanese employment office, that a World Unite! team member accompanied him to. Renée, 22, from Germany Renée has been in Japan for roughly two months. After one month she found a job as a German language teacher in a Japanese preschool. She found this job online. World Unite! offers a job councelling session to participants, which gives insights into the Japanese job market. World Unite! also provides a comprehensive resource lists of online job boards and actively pre-selects and suggests listings that match the skill and language level of most participants who are on a Working Holiday. Adrian, 20, from Germany Adrian has been in Japan for about three months. He works at a German restaurant. This job was organised through the Japanese employment office. He started the work three weeks after his arrival to Japan. Thomas, 20, from Germany Thomas has been in Japan for about two weeks and already works part-time at a German restaurant. He found the job via a chat group of World Unite! participants, in which another participant had posted the vacancy. It only took Thomas one week to land the job. Malin, 19, from Germany Malin has been in Japan for about two and a half months. She works at a restaurant which is part of a hotel. The restaurant job was proposed to her through the Japanese employment office, where she went accompanied by and prepared for by World Unite!. Andres, 29, from Chile Andres has been in Japan for about one month. He first came to Japan without an organisation, but didn't manage to find a job on his own. He then decided to book the services of World Unite!. Within two weeks, he then found a job as a waiter in a restaurant that is part of a hotel. The job was organised through the Japanese employment office, that World Unite! accompanied him to. Toni, 28, from Germany Toni has been in Japan for 2 weeks. Immediately after his arrival he signed up at several agencies that specialise in Western models and extras for TV, movie and advertising productions. Only one week after his arrival, he was successfully casted as an extra for an American advertising shooting. Some advice to those who are looking for a Working Holiday job in Japan: Be flexible! Particularly if you speak no or only little Japanese, you should not reject any job that is offered to you. Even if it is not your dream job, it will still help you to get practical work experience in Japan and to improve your language skills. If you join Japanese language lessons simultaneously, even better! In case you don't enjoy this first job, you can still change it after some time and probably get one that you like more, or one that is better paid, if your language skills have improved and you are more familiar with the Japanese labour market. Follow the Japanese norms! There are relatively strict rules in Japan about how you are expected to dress and look like (e.g. hairstyle, jewelry, make-up, perfume etc) on a job interview and how to behave. You should follow these norms if you want to get the job. Expression of individualism is not so much appreciated in Japan from applicants for the kind of jobs that those on a Working Holiday in Japan can realistically get. World Unite! will teach you about all of this during the intercultural training session and the job counselling session, which are part of their Working Holiday support. Use the help of an organisation that supports you. The expertise and experience of an organization that provides support services to foreigners who are on a Working Holiday in Japan will make it so much easier and faster for you to find a job quickly, if you depend on the salary to finance your stay in Japan. Even if you have to pay a program fee, you will avoid being without a job for a longer time, risking to run short of money. If you find a job within the first 2-4 weeks, which is very realistic for the majority of participants, you will typically break even (= your income through the job will exceed the total expenditures including your travel costs to Japan, the organization's program fees and your living expenses such as rent, meals, commuting costs, and health insurance) within the 3rd or 4th month of your stay, depending on how many hours per week you work and your salary. 

We visited Marcel S. (19) at the Butler Café in Tokyo where he has been working for a few weeks now. We had a great time and enjoyed being entertained by three charming butlers! It wasn't just the service that made it worth going, we were also surprised by the delicious dishes they served us. Afterwards we interviewed our Working Holiday butler from Germany about his experience working for the Butler Café. Marcel, how did you find this job? I found it on the internet. Someone of my share house mates told me that there is a great website for foreigners to find jobs like this in Japan. This job was actually the first one I applied for, and it worked out well. Since when have you been working at the Butler Café and what are your general working hours? I've been working here for almost 4 weeks now and I hope I can stay here for a few more months. The working hours depend on the day, for weekdays I'd say the average working time is about 3,5 hours per shift, but in the weekend I'm working up to 7 or 8 hours. We arrange the work schedule according to the number of reservations we receive online. What requirements came with the job? Obviously you have to be kind if good-looking in the employers eyes. The first thing they check when you apply is your photo, then they want to know whether your English conversation skills are strong enough. Since you only speak English during the job, it is mandatory to speak an advanced level of English. Another condition I heard of is 'looking foreign', as they prefer western butlers in order to create a 'European butler atmosphere'. So most of the employees are from Europe. It's also an advantage to be a good actor as the way you're expected to behave as a butler is quite different from what you would normally behave like. And then probably the most important requirement is that you should actually enjoy doing this job. You should not just do this job for the money. How much do you earn? Is it enough to cover your living expenses? I earned 1,000 Yen per hour until now, because that is what everyone gets in the first month. After you complete your training you can earn up to 1,500 Yen per hour, depending on your skills and popularity with the customers. What are your duties at the Butler Café? My first and most important duty is to entertain the princesses, this is how we call our customers. If they feel good and enjoy the time they spend here, we are doing a good job. I have to serve food and tea, have a little chat with them and if they want to we offer the extra service of taking a picture together. I adopted a stage name by the way, my butler name is Alfred because that is seen as one of the typical European butler's names. Do you enjoy this job? Are there things you don’t you like about it? Of course I'm enjoying this job. I have always been into acting and now I get even paid for it. I feel very lucky that I can actually do something for a living in Japan that I also enjoy. The only unfortunate thing about this job is that I can never get in touch with the customers after they leave our café. This is a strict rule, as it helps keeping the fantasy alive. Do you think working for the Butler Café improves your Japanese? What else did you learn? We communicate in English with the customers as well as with the owner, so if someone want to improve their Japanese this might be the wrong job. My Japanese level hasn't really improved since starting work here. What has improved are my intercultural communication skills. Trying to understand people who barely speak your language is hard in the beginning. I have been able to communicate using English, gestures and a little bit of Japanese, and it has surprised me how much I am actually able to get across without having a language in common. What brought you to Japan in the first place? Japan is a country with a unique culture that has always fascinated me. Besides Japanese culture being very different from German culture, I actually see things we have in common as well when it comes to the way we think. The cultural aspect was actually the main reason I decided to go to Japan. I wanted to visit hot springs, eat sushi and learn the language using it in real life. Japan is a country that has so much to offer that I would gladly stay here longer. If there wasn't any language barrier I could imagine living here for several years. Would you recommend a Working Holiday in Japan? Very much so, Japan is a country where everyone should have been at least once in their life. I would recommend coming here either for a Working Holiday or just to travel. The people are friendly, it's extremely safe because of the low crime rate, and with a little bit of luck you can find a job you like! " order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]

Sebastian H. (20), who graduated high school in Germany 1 year ago, tells us about his Working Holiday experience in Tokyo. He was working as a waiter in an Italian restaurant for 5 months together with Japanese locals and other foreigners from all over the world. Sebastian, how did you find this job? I found this job on the internet after looking for many kinds of different jobs here. I contacted many people and places, I also got many replies but in the end this job fit me the best. Because I had previous experience as a waiter it wasn't too difficult to get used to the job, even though Japanese customer service is quite different from what I was used to at home. What were your general working hours and what kind of customers visited the restaurant? I worked at the restaurant 4 or 5 days a week. My working hours were between noon and 3.30pm; then I had two hours of free time, and after that I continued working from 5.30pm to midnight. Most of the customers were middle class, there were many salarymen or families with children. I think they came to enjoy good Italian food. Sometimes we also served tourists, and one time we even had a celebrity customer: the creator of the game 'Final Fantasy'. Some of my co-workers were quite star-struck! What was demanding about the job? It was a big advantage that I already had a lot of experience as a waiter in Berlin and Australia. I didn't really need to speak Japanese to understand what to do. I just had to learn a bit of Japanese, as some of the customers didn't speak English, however, our usual customers don't expect us to speak the language fluently. They would come here for an Italian atmosphere, which is why we greet them with the words "Buon giorno", and then ask for their orders in English or Japanese, depending on their level of English. How much did you earn? Was it enough to cover your living expenses? Yes, my salary was definitely enough to cover my living expenses. This was one reason why I wanted this job in the first place. I earned 1,100 JPY an hour here, had my transportation paid, and I could eat two staff meals for free every day. This made it possible to have enough money to enjoy my life in Tokyo. However, it was exhausting at times to work five long days a week. What were your duties at the restaurant? My duties at the restaurant were the regular duties of a waiter like taking customers' orders, serving them, sometimes washing dishes, setting the tables and so on. Sometimes we had people celebrate their wedding at our restaurant, then I assisted and served the wedding guests during the party. Did you enjoy the job? And were there things you didn't like? What I really enjoyed about this job was the wonderful cozy atmosphere at the restaurant, which reminded me of my time in Berlin. It actually didn't feel very Japanese; it was more like a multicultural place with English as everybody's common language making it easy to work here. We were not just doing our job, we were all friends at the restaurant. We spent a lot of time together so it's important to have fun while working with each other. Of course it doesn't mean that I didn't take the job serious. What I didn't like so much about this job was that I had to wear a 'mask' all the time. It was not possible to be myself, I always needed to represent the restaurant, smile and be friendly, even on days when I didn't feel good. The one thing I am thankful for is how my co-workers tried to cheer me up and motivate me to do a good job on those days. One other thing I didn't really like is that newbies have to wash a lot more dishes than the other staff. That was very exhausting in the beginning. Do you think working for the restaurant helped you improve your Japanese? Absolutely! There were some Japanese co-workers I could talk to in Japanese if there was time. After I became more confident I also tried speaking to customers in Japanese. The other waitstaff helped me a lot when I had questions about specific vocabulary, so I had a good chance to improve there. They were really helpful. Besides the language, what else did you learn doing this job? I learned a lot about myself. An important thing that I learned is that I really never want to work as a waiter for a prolonged time in the future. This is not the right job for me. It's exhausting and I also don't think it would fit my personality. My actual goal is to study medicine in Germany or Austria, and this experience made me even more motivated to do well in my future studies. I have also developed a strong sense of responsibility because for this job we all had to rely on one another. One time I was sick on a really busy day and could not go to work, so the others had to cover for me. I felt deeply sorry and responsible that time. What brought you to Japan in the first place? After I finished high school in Germany and got my Abitur (high school diploma), I wanted to go abroad for a year. My original plan was to travel to either Australia, New Zealand or Canada, but my friend convinced me to visit Japan as well. He told me some fascinating things about this country, so I became interested in the Japanese culture beyond anime and manga. We started our journey together in Australia where we did a working holiday for around 3 months. Afterwards we went to Japan together, where we planned to stay a whole year. As my friend wanted to stay in Tokyo while I was eager to travel around we went our separate ways. I spent the first 5 months in Japan traveling from Tokyo to Naso in Tochigi, then back to Tokyo and I headed west to Hiroshima and Osaka. Finally I reached Kyushu, where I traveled through cities and villages and saw a lot of a less famous parts of Japan. I managed to travel on the cheap by hitchhiking and couch surfing. I had a sleeping bag with me and a few times some nice Japanese people even offered me a meal. I always felt safe in Japan. There is not much crime and the people are helpful, which are the best conditions for backpackers. Today is actually my last day at work here, from tomorrow I will take 2 weeks to enjoy Tokyo, then I will travel through to Ise to learn about the pearl divers and when I leave Japan after that I'm going to have a holiday in Thailand. I'm going to make the most of my last few weeks here in the East! Would you recommend Japan for a working holiday? I would absolutely recommend doing a working holiday in Japan to other people. I do think however that you need at least a basic interest in Japanese culture to be able to adjust well. My suggestion would be to not stick to only Tokyo or other big cities, but to also travel to smaller places and getting to know the people there. It can be a wonderful experience for anyone. Japanese people are extremely polite, much more than in Germany I feel. I gained a lot just by talking to them. I think traveling in Europe would have been much harder and the people might not have been as helpful as here in Japan. Is there something you will always remember when you think back about your time here? Every day was a little bit special in itself, and it was the people who made the job the way it was. What I enjoyed a lot was when the work was finished, and we could just sit there and talk about our private lives like friends do. I made some real friends here, and will definitely stay in touch with them after I leave Japan.   " order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]

We’ve met Michaela Z. (26), a German currently living in Shinjuku, Tokyo. She is in Japan for a Working Holiday and a little more than half a year ago she had the opportunity to job for a scuba diving school in a city in eastern Shizuoka prefecture. Michaela was working as the diving teacher's assistant for almost two months before coming back to Tokyo. She told us about her time in Shizuoka. Michaela, how did you land this job? I have been planning for quite a long time to travel to Japan. As I wanted to really immerse myself in the Japanese culture, I decided to come for a long Working Holiday, because working naturally gives you a deeper insight into a foreign culture than, for instance, a short trip. Due to the fact that I wanted to start my adventure on a short notice, I felt safer being supported and therefore decided to use the service of World Unite!. They also helped me to find the job in the scuba diving school in Shizuoka. I simply informed them about my wishes: with a university degree in Hotel and Tourism Management I wanted to find a job related to this area, prior to my departure to Japan. I was introduced to the scuba diving school and got hired for the summer. From when to when have you been working for the diving school? And what were your general working hours? I came to Japan in summer 2016 and after a few days of living in a share house in Tokyo and getting used to the new thermal environment I took the train to Shizuoka to start my work. My new Japanese boss, the diving school's owner and teacher, welcomed me warmly. Originally I was asked to work there for one month, but as I liked the job and my boss was pleased with how I was supporting him and felt that I was a reliable worker, I could stay a few more weeks. After that I went back to Tokyo. There were no fixed daily working hours. But usually the working day started at around 7 am and ended at around 3 pm. Before, during and after the diving lessons the customers had to be taken care of. As long as that was assured, everything was fine. Once a week I could take a day off. But also on working days I had quite an amount of free time, too. When my boss had time, he took me on short trips into the hinterland of Shizuokas. One time a neighbor, the owner of a hotel, took me with him for a hike in the Japanese alps. What kind of demands came with the job? Special skills or previous knowledge about diving or anything weren't required. I was taught everything I needed to know within the first few days of working. During these days I have been assistant and student at the same time. I even made my diver's licence after three days. Although, I also have to admit that it was a plus to already have made experiences in the hotel and restaurant business back in my days as a student. My boss didn't need to explain everything to me twice, as I kind of knew what needed to be done. Not only during the diving courses, but also when it came to care for the customers who stayed at the school owner's guest house. The house is located right next to the ocean. It was such an amazing view! How much did you earn? Was it enough to cover your living expenses? Instead of a salary I received free accommodation at my boss's house and free catering during my whole stay. Also entry fees for several locations such as museums and hot springs were covered. But I had to pay for my first diver's licence. Therefore I had to come to Japan with a little bit of savings. Luckily I could do my second diver's licence for free, though. In late summer, when the diving season came to an end slowly but surely and the diving school became less busy, I started to help out at the neighbor's Hotel for a few days. I received 10,000 JPY a day for that. What were your duties at the diving school? I was basically assisting the owner of the school with his daily work. For instance I needed to prepare the equipment for the diving lessons, explain essential rules to the students and look out for them during the diving. My boss isn't only running the school, but is also lending his boat to his customers for day trips including BBQ and water sports. My task was to welcome the customers and accompany them during their boat trip. While the diving teacher has been snorkeling with some of his students, I needed to watch out for the safety of the on the boat remaining customers. Besides the main business of diving lessons and boat trips, the school's teacher is also running a guest house. My tasks were to prepare the breakfast, do the laundry, clean the house or make the beds. As it was a traditional Japanese house with wooden floors, a lot of windows and tatami mat floors in the guest rooms, the maintenance asked for a careful treatment. Sometimes I did some gardening, too. Did you enjoy the job? And what didn't you like about it? I was enjoying my time in Shizuoka to the fullest. Supporting my boss with his work was a lot of fun and I loved the location. The only disadvantage I saw was that I didn't have a driver's license or a car. In the area the school is located, you really need a car to get somewhere. But well, I had a bicycle, so I often used it for rides along the promenade. Day or night, I could always use my free time to relax at the sea side behind the house. Doing so I had the rare chance to see the blue marine phosphorescence at night. Do you think Working for the diving school helped you improving your Japanese? My boss spoke English fluently, therefore it wasn't difficult to communicate with him. When we both had spare time he taught me some Japanese. During the breakfast with the guests he even asked them to practice their English on me. And the other way around, I was asked to try to speak in Japanese to them. Most of the guests were girls of my age, so we spent our free time together, too. They enjoyed teaching me new words. That helped me to improve my Japanese a little bit. We used to speak in a mix of Japanese and English. In addition, my boss's girlfriend, a Japanese language teacher, visited us quite often on the weekends. She used to live in Austria some years ago and knows some German, so she helped me understanding Japanese grammar and words. Besides the language aspect, what did you learn doing the job? I was working and learning at the same time, because I had never used any kind of diving gear before. I had the chance to complete two diver's licences and also a first aid course. Preparing the breakfast, sometimes alone, sometimes together with he guests, I learned a lot of traditional Japanese recipes, which I'm planning to use even after going back to Germany in a few months. Besides that I had the opportunity to attend Japanese traditional tea ceremonies several times, as my boss is a trained tea ceremony master. I got to know a lot about not only the famous Japanese green tea, but also about Moroccan tea making we even presented the country Morocco on a tea festival in Hakone, where we were handing out mint tea to the visitors in traditional clothing. As I was in charge of arranging our booth, I could live out my passion for decorating. What brought you to Japan to in the first place? What are you doing now back in Tokyo? I've been interested in Japan's culture and tradition since I've been a teenager. I guess most people start being fascinated by Japan in the first place through anime and manga, Japanese cartoons and comics, but for me it has been Japanese rock, pop and also traditional music that is captivating me since then. Listening to all kinds of Japanese music also made me fall in love with the Japanese language. I'm hoping to improve my language skills by doing this Working Holiday. I've actually been in Japan before once in 2009 for a short term cultural exchange program. During this time and also during the time in Germany when I was studying Japanese on my own, I got to know some Japanese people who became close friends of mine. Therefore I'm also using this Working Holiday as an opportunity to meet those people again. Right now I am living here in Shinjuku, Tokyo. While working as a part-timer, I'm trying to meet new people and old friends, as well as attending concerts of musicians that I most likely can never see live back in Germany. On the weekends I usually make short trips to cities nearby. " order_by="sortorder" order_direction="ASC" returns="included" maximum_entity_count="500"]

Have you ever thought “Why is the Munich Oktoberfest called “Oktoberfest” when it actually starts mid September?”. Well, then you have obviously never visited one in Japan, because you would be even more surprised by the fact that many of the uncountable Oktoberfests here are not even close to the 10th month. They are being held throughout the whole year. One exception is the one in Yokohama, Japan’s second largest city, which is celebrating the festival since October 2002 and is famous for its authenticity. Here we had the chance to interview Alex S. (24), who was working as a promoter for two German beer brands. Alex, working at an Oktoberfest in Japan might sound fun, but is it actually? Yes, it really is! I’m having a blast. But you have to be a certain type of person to be able to enjoy it. I love talking, approaching people who I’ve never met before and start a conversation with them. If you can’t do that, you won’t have pleasure doing this kind of job. You know, my team’s main task is to hand out flyers to the Oktoberfest’s visitors and call out stuff like “Welcome to the Yokohama Oktoberfest! Please try our delicious beer!” to promote our beer booth, which sells Spaten and Hofbräu. We have to advise visitors about where to go, be in a good mood and jolly everyone along. You just have to be an open person and have the right attitude to do that properly. It’s also fun to dress up everyday. Our male staff is actually wearing the typical Oktoberfest lederhosen with a hat and the female staff  is wearing the dirndl dress to create a German atmosphere. Spending the day with my Japanese and German colleagues is just a great way to earn some money. Would you let us know how much money you are making during this festival? Well, at the beginning we were told we'd get 1,000 JPY an hour, but after we were hired, the coordinator raised the hourly wage to 1,800 JPY which is of course fantastic. Especially if you are planning to do some traveling after the work is done, like I am. The festival lasts for three weeks. I’m working 6 days a week, 5 hours on weekdays and 7 hours on the weekend. So, you can see that I’ll receive quite an amount at the end of the festival. Have you done other jobs during your Working Holiday, too? Various! I came to Japan in January and didn’t work for a while, as I had saved some money back in Germany. As a rather sociable person I wanted to discover Tokyo and Japan first, before starting work. Therefore I lived very economically to be able to live here without having to work for a while. I even made a 4-week road trip with two German share mates which didn’t cost us that much. At the beginning of March we came back to Tokyo and I started my first job at a kindergarten, which I landed through Hello Work (a job agency). During the job interview the director of the institution was very skeptical because I don’t have any pedagogical qualifications, but I still received the job in the end. Once a week for one hour I was playing the role of the “English entertainer” for the Japanese children. I had to teach them something in a playful way. I chose the topics myself so I had to be creative, which was not as easy as it sounds. Another job I’ve been doing was coordinating a group of Japanese elderly people with an interest in Germany and German language. I’ve been handed over this group by a Japanese acquaintance that unfortunately couldn’t do the job anymore. Leading the group was very amusing and entertaining. In addition to that I was also teaching English as a private teacher. For example, there was this 12-year old Japanese boy from a rather wealthy family I’ve visited at their home. They even have an elevator in their single family detached house! Anyway, I didn’t really like that job because the boy has just become a teenager and he wasn’t really into doing his homework. In general, he was just super unmotivated and I never really knew to which extend I could scold him about that without the parents reacting negatively. I mainly did private teaching jobs for German or English learners. Whether you are going to like these jobs or not always depends on the outcome you will get. For example, if you can leave a good impression on a student’s parents, or the student actually improves hisor her language skills due to your lessons, it can be a pleasant job. But I also have heard from some share mates that they made bad experiences in this area. Maybe they didn’t have an open attitude towards their younger students. How did you land the job at the Oktoberfest in the first place? Again, thanks to a Japanese acquaintance. I met her first at an event of the Japanisch-Deutsche Gesellschaft [Japanese German Society] and we became friends and kept in touch. She then introduced me to a Japanese man called Shota via email. He was in charge of the booths for the Yokohama Oktoberfest and searched for promoters. Shota is a tall guy, over two meters, married to a German woman, used to professionally play soccer in Germany and is now working for a beer importer. After meeting him once he wanted to hire me and also some more Germans, so I asked my share mates. Only few were interested, which I find kind of strange. After all, the salary is not bad and the job description sounded pretty great. Maybe they weren't sure, if the job suited them? Anyway, the ones who were interested, I think around seven people, met the boss of Shota’s company once for an interview and were hired. That was in July, I think.   What kind of demands came with the job? You have to be at least 20 years old and also have a valid working license. It’s also a plus to speak and understand English, as we are having a lot of foreign visitors. Oh and of course you should be German-speaking! Except from this, I dare to say that almost everyone could do this job. Even without speaking a lot of Japanese. You just need to memorise some lines in order to approach the visitors and advertise the beer brand. But I’m also realising that, as I said before, you need to be a bright person. Otherwise the memorised phrases come out monotonously. Some of my colleagues don’t seem to be really into the job, judging by their cold attitude from time to time. Do you think working at the Yokohama Oktoberfest helped you improving your Japanese? To be honest, I came to Japan with zero Japanese skills. I was thinking, hey, I can speak English, so why invest much effort into learning Japanese? But in reality it was harder than I thought not understanding the language. So after my road trip I studied very intensely. I wanted to be able to make friends and communicate with them in Japanese. And well, also with the ladies… I’m happy I’ve done that, because I could not only make some good friends, but it also led me to my girlfriend. The job at the Oktoberfest helped me a lot actually. I learned words that you rather wouldn’t learn in the first phase of your studies, such as "import" and "export". I kind of forced myself to memorise new words and phrases to be capable of doing my job properly. Talking to the visitors and my Japanese colleagues was fun and helped me to improve my language skills at the same time. Please give us a resume about your impressions about the jobs you were doing during your Working Holiday. I have to admit that that being a private language teacher won’t help you to get to know the real Japanese working environment. And you don’t even need to have any pedagogical qualifications to land jobs in the educational field in Japan. I would venture to say that you just have to act naturally and in a charismatic manner to succeed here. The same applies for the Oktoberfest. You are chosen to do this job for being the gaijin [foreigner], not for having a special qualification. But still I have to say that this job delivers more insights into the Japanese working environment than the job as private teacher. In addition to that it’s a good opportunity to make friends, because being the gaijin makes you kind of special and interesting to the Japanese. You are the one who has to approach the shy Japanese, although the fact that there are coming a lot of young and tipsy people makes this task a lot easier. After Alex S. finished his Working Holiday he went back to Germany and is currently searching for a dual course of study, which combines earning money with a traineeship and at best involves the topic Japan. After meeting his girlfriend he stopped studying Japanese, which he is regretting at the moment. He says that they are still together and he wants to start learning her mother language again. One of the nicest experiences Alex had while working at the Yokohama Oktoberfest has been the last evening at work, when he and his colleagues went out to have one last drink together.

Most people connect Ebisu, the major district of Tokyo’s rather famous ward Shibuya, with its restaurant and bar scene. After all it was developed around a beer brewery in the late 1920’s. But you can find several quiet and homey spots in Ebisu, too, making it a popular residential area nowadays. There we’ve met Jessica A. (27) for an interview. She is working at Sesame International Preschool, founded in 2000 and located right in the heart of beautiful Ebisu. Jessica, can you tell us how a typical work day at Sesame looks like? Well, we are having various programs, based on the seasons, on the age of the kids etc. But in general it can be said that there is a structured daily plan. As the kids are coming from 9am, all staff members have to be here at latest 8:30. We are changing into our school staff uniform first and then welcome the arriving kids. After this, two times a week I’m cooking lunch for the kids and the other three times a colleague is doing it. We are actually serving fresh lunch with vegetables and rice for the most kids. There are some who bring their own lunch, too. At the moment I'm assistant teacher which means I’m responsible for the group of 3-6 year olds at the first floor. The group of the younger ones (1-2 years old) is located at the second floor. As an assistant I’m learning how to lead the group on my own so that my colleagues can take their holidays. Daily activities of my group are: 9:45am: morning circle time, where we sing a morning song and explain what will be done on that day; 10am: the kids take a snack and have play time; 11am: we visit a local park; noon: we have lunch; 1pm: math; 1:30pm: we do a big activity, which includes stationary at most times; 2pm: the kids take a snack and have play time again; 2:45pm: we sing a good bye song, talk about what we have learned today. Around 3pm the kids will get picked up. In the afternoon, I have different duties. There is an other special program, called extended care, for kids that stay longer than 3pm or come later. The staff then will be divided into the late shift who has to take care of the extended care kids, and the rest, who is in charge of making preparations. For example documents, seasonal decoration and of course the activity calendar have to be prepared. The activity calendar shows which daily big activity will be done in the current month. These activities are all educational, but are still supposed to be fun. For instance we are learning letters, numbers, seasons or read from a book and then do some handicrafts with the newly learned information. All activities should stimulate the kids thinking skills while also exercise their motoric capabilities. The goal is for the kids to be able to do minor maths, read and write the ABC and maybe even short sentences before attending elementary school. And at the same time we want them to have a enjoyable time at Sesame. Of course, where 1-6 year olds are around there is always a lot to clean and tidy up. That’s also each staff member’s duty, especially in the evening after 6pm, when all the kids have been picked up.                 What are your general working times? I’m working Monday to Friday. Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays are generally off, with some rare exceptions such as the yearly Christmas party on a Saturday. All staff members are having New Year holidays and summer holidays, plus 10 freely choosable days off. I’m starting my shifts in the morning at latest 8:30 and can leave shortly after 6pm. My shifts during myWorking Holiday were shorter. At that time I could leave around 4pm. So this right now is not your Working Holiday? Correct. I’m here with an actual working visa, valid for three years. Originally I started this job at Sesame in March 2014, when I came here for a Working Holiday. I didn’t search for a job right after arriving, because I wanted to enjoy some free time and get used to the country before starting a hard work life. But in April it was about time to find a job. Although I studied Japanese Studies in Germany, I didn’t have much confidence in my Japanese. I was thinking “What job can I do without knowing a lot of Japanese?“. An acquaintance of mine then told me that international schools are always searching for foreign staff. I started researching about international kindergartens and preschools on the internet. The website of Sesame International Preschool looked the most appealing to me, so I sent them an unsolicited application via email. They invited me for a job interview, which I had in May. I didn’t even expect that, but the school director asked me to start my ten days of test work on the same day. Of course they need to test you for some days before really hiring you, as they want to find out, if you will fit into the team and can deal with the children. I passed the test! After ten days I got hired as a part time worker, being paid hourly. I worked there until the end of my Working Holiday, so round about nine months. I went back to Germany and graduated university, aiming to go back to Sesame afterwards. And they also wanted me to come again. I went back to Japan, and now here I am in my eighth month as a full time employee in a permanent position. Which language requirements came with the job? You have to speak English fluently. I sent my resume and application in English, too, because the job was advertised in English at Sesame’s homepage. Also, it’s the rule of our school to speak English with the children. Of course you can make an exception, when a kid is new in school, or you can’t calm down one of them and need to try it in his or her mother language. Most of them are Japanese, but we have some foreign kids, too. After all it’s an international school. It’s not necessarily needed to be able to speak Japanese, but it’s definitely a plus if you can understand and speak at least a little bit, because some parents, which you have to communicate with, aren’t fluent in English. And of course the kids aren't neither. Most of them can’t express themselves in English, yet. Do you think working at Sesame helped you improving your Japanese? To be honest, there are jobs out there that are better for learning Japanese, because our school is leaded to around 95% in English. That’s just the school's concept. BUT, in some parts, yes, the job helped me to improved my Japanese. Especially because most of the kids are still speaking more Japanese then English. Although we remind them of talking in English, them speaking Japanese is something that can’t be avoided, after all they are living in Japan. But still, because of them speaking Japanese, I learned a lot that I haven’t learned during my Japanese studies. I’m still interested in learning more. And when asking my Japanese colleagues about what a kid just said, they are happy to help me understand. Would you let us know some more requirements? You definitely need to prove that you have worked with children before. I personally have worked three years in Germany as a homework assistance for immigrants elementary school kids. And also as a private tutor. In addition to this, Sesame told me that I would need to do an internship in a kindergarten or elementary school after my Working Holiday. Back in Germany I did a three months internship in a elementary school and provided a certificate about it to become a full time employee at Sesame. It also can be said that the time I worked here during my Working Holiday has been kind of a training for what I am doing now. Without having done that training, I’m sure they would have never sponsored the working visa for me. There are some high hurdles. Sesame makes pretty sure you are actually able to work with children and are a good teacher. The school takes very good care of their kids and searches for staff members that they can trust and that they can place responsibility on. One more requirement is to be a punctual person. Coming to late for work is not an option, because everything has to be prepared as soon as the first kids are arriving. I commute to work around 60 minutes from door to door, which means I have to leave the house at 7:15am latest to ensure not coming too late. In case there is a problem with the train, for example it is delayed because of an accident, you can receive this practical evidence paper at the station you get off the train. If you hand this to the school director, coming to late will be excused of course. But you need to think about the weather, too. You always should check the next day’s weather, because it might be windy or even snowy. Then you should take an earlier train. That’s just out of question. In case of a typhoon the whole school will be closed of course, for everyones safety. This will be announced the day before. Are you enjoying the job? And what don’t you like about it? I love my job! Every day is different. Although you have to follow a certain plan everyday and have repeating duties, it’s never the same. Thanks to the kids. Their behaviour changes everything. That’s what makes the job diversified and exciting. Also, I love children. And my colleagues. I know that I can always rely on them when I have a problem. There is a very familiar atmosphere here at Sesame. That makes it easy to come to work with a smile of your face every day. Looking back, the only thing that I see as a small disadvantage of a Working Holiday in general is that you have a very tight working plan. In the evening I used to come home exhausted. It was hard to follow the main part of “Working Holiday“: the holidays. It was hard to discover Japan, because I worked 5 times a week. When being paid hourly, you have no chance to take a day off without losing money at the same time. Now as an employee in a permanent position that’s luckily a bit different. Have you done other jobs during your Working Holiday, too? No. At the beginning of my Working Holiday I applied for a job in a German restaurant, too, because I felt that I needed more money. But in the end I didn’t take that job and instead Sesame’s director offered me to work longer shifts. That helped me a lot. Actually, my Working Holiday helped me learning to live with the amount I’m receiving, while still having a small amount left at the end of the month. I try to spend my money more responsibly, but still enjoying my time in Japan doing the things I like to do, such as attending concerts and meeting my friends. Can you give us a resume about your impressions and feelings about your job? My current job taught me that I definitely need a job in my life that keeps me moving. Where every day is different. I couldn’t sit in front of a computer all day long. I’ve learned for my life that a job needs to make you happy. It makes everything in life easier, if you love your job. In case I should go back to Germany some day and search for a new job, I know it must fill my heart more than my wallet. I really think that I could do this job forever. If it only was located closer to my loved ones in Germany, I wouldn’t have to think twice about that. Would you recommend doing a Working Holiday in Japan to others? Yes! I can recommend it to EVERYONE who is interested in Japan and also into getting to know the real Japan. With all it’s ups and downs. You have the chance to try out living in an other country, but are not forced to stay forever. In the end that one year of Working Holiday turned out to be one of the best years of my life. And it led me to my current life and job in Sesame. I learned a lot about myself, about being more independent and an adult. BUT it’s also important for you to know that you need to be open to a new society, to new things. You have to be eager to work very hard. And if you do so, your Working Holiday will be fantastic.

We’ve met Sabrina N. (24), who is currently in the middle of her Working Holiday year in Japan. She is doing a part time job at Deutsche Bäckerei Tanne, a German bakery right in the center of Tokyo. Who knows Tanne, knows that it’s famous for selling one of the best German style pretzels and hand made rye bread all over Tokyo. As one of various German bakeries, which have long been established in Japan by now, Tanne is delivering the German embassy, cultural events and also owns a café and store. We sat down with Sabrina for an interview.   Sabrina, how did you land this job? I’ve been to Japan once before as a tourist in 2015. It was in summer and I stayed for three months, as I had some spare time before starting to write my master thesis. I’ve always wanted to go to Japan and a German friend of mine, who is living in Tokyo, sublet a room of her share apartment to me. It was perfect timing! Three months is a long time, so I started to think that I wanted to challenge myself. Even though I wasn’t allowed to receive any salary as a tourist, I felt like working a little bit and make some work experience. The same friend also introduced me to Tanne then, because she has been working there in the past. I’ve had a short talk with the manager of the store. They were searching for someone to help out at their market booth at the German Spring Festival in Yokohama, which I did then for four days. Going back to Germany, I graduated university and came back to Japan in 2016 for a Working Holiday. When searching for a job, I remembered Tanne and applied by email. This time I had a real job interview, it was more formal, I had to talk more Japanese and the actual bakery owner was there, too. But luckily they immediately took me. What kind of demands came with the job? Well, you need to have at least a basic knowledge of Japanese. That’s because you have to be able to communicate with the customers and your Japanese co-workers. You should at least know how to write and read Hiragana and Katakana, because sometimes you have to write down orders by hand or read cards which the names of the products are written on. But in my opinion that’s nothing you can’t learn within a short time. For example, at the time I was helping out at the German Spring Festival in Yokohama, my room mate helped me to prepare myself for the job by making a list of standard phrases that you need to know when working at a booth. Like “Welcome, how about some fresh German bread?“ and so on. I just memorised a lot of words like these and the rest came with learning by doing. How long have you been working at Tanne by now and what are your general working hours? I started at the end of November 2016, so it’s my third month now. I’m working around 5 times a week and my shifts are between 8 and 9 hours long, having a 45 or 60 minutes lunch break in between. The shifts are from 7:30 or 10:30 in the morning. When having the shift that starts at 7:30, I have to get up at 5am... It’s kind of hard sometimes, but that’s just how it is. How much do you earn? Is it enough to cover your living expenses? I receive something between 932 JPY and 1000 JPY an hour. 932 JPY is the minimum hourly wage in Tokyo. I get reimbursed for commuting to work, too. Unfortunately I get deducted 20% taxes off my salary. This is Japanese law, if you are here on a Working Holiday visa. This is not enough to cover all my living costs. That’s why I think it’s essential to save a certain amount of money before coming to Japan for such a long time. Fortunately I did so. Also doing more than one job is an option. Actually, I’m working in a German restaurant, too, but not very often. And I give private English and German lessons two to four times a week. A plus about these private lessons is the rather high hourly wage of 1,500-2,000 JPY. You can negotiate this with your students. But a big minus about this job is that it’s unsteady money. You always have to expect that a student cancels an appointment. I’d rather call it pocket money than proper salary. What are your duties at Tanne? My main tasks are close to those of a bakery sales assistant in Germany, I think. Filling the shelves of the shop with bread and pastries in the morning and empty them in the evening. I’m serving the customers, pack the product they’d like to buy, do the cashier and wipe the coffee tables. On some days I have to prepare the sandwiches we are selling. Answering the phone and advise customers about our products. For example quite many of them want to know the exact percentage of rye flower in our breads. And packaging! There is always to much to wrap up. Especially when we have to prepare for an upcoming event, such as a christmas market.               Are you enjoying the job? And what don’t you like about it? In generell, yes, I do like the job a lot. I like to communicate with people. An office job wouldn’t be a thing for me. Also, I’m getting freshly baked bread for lunch time, which gives me a sense of home. The café always smells so good! And I love my co-workers. Although I sometimes would appreciate them to explain things more accurately to me. There are times I don’t understand everything right away and sometimes I don’t get told reasons for things. General said, I feel being a jobber is a bit risky, because in some cases you won’t conclude a contract. You are just been given your shifts as the owners like to. Of course you can hand in requests, but doing arubaito [side job] kind of makes you feel like your life is depending on every single one of your shifts. Do you think working at Tanne helped you improving your Japanese? My God, yes! Back in Germany I learned some Japanese, but only for my self. But it was definitely not on a proper communication level yet. Working in Japan helped me a lot to improve my Japanese skills. It’s still not that good, but compared to before, it’s way better. However, one thing that is still very hard for me to master is keigo [honorific language], which you are supposed to use when talking to a customer.             Besides the language aspect, what did you learn doing this job? A lot! For instance I came to the personal conclusion, that German people are working more efficiently. At least that’s how I feel. BUT on the other hand I also feel that German people who are working in service could learn a lot from the Japanese when it comes to politeness. The same applies for the people who are receiving a service. You see, I realised that people working in service are doing their best effort. That should be rewarded with the kindness that I’m currently experiencing in Japan. Also, the fact that I’m able to work under more difficult conditions, such as the language barrier, totally pushed my self-confidence! What brought you to Japan to in the first place? What are you doing besides working? I enjoyed my first stay in Japan, the time I lived at my friends place for three months, so much, that I decided to come back. For longer. I wanted to challenge my self, soaking up the culture more than I could within these three months. Working and living here, I’m now able to do that. And this is very special to me, as I’m interested in Japan for the longest time. I’m actually a cosplayer and love gaming, Anime and also Japanese music. I’m able to enjoy some of these hobbies more extensive, than I could in Germany. For example I’m attending concerts of Japanese bands pretty frequently. What’s really special to me is that a lot of German friends came to visit me here. I’ve been visited around 7 times by now. That’s because I have a lot of Japan enthusiastic friends, who would have traveled to Japan sooner or later anyway. But the timing for them to come when I’m in Japan was just perfect. I’m very grateful fort hat. Although I started feeling like a tourist guide more than once. Can you give our readers a resume about your impressions and feelings about your Working Holiday? Sure. I think people who want to come to Japan for a Working Holiday should definitely do it. It enriched my life. But everyone should be beware of the fact that it’s not easy. Cultural differences can complicate your daily work routine. But if you find a job you can enjoy, with great co-workers, you will be able to bear potential troubles. I’m grateful for having found such a job at Tanne. And I’m happy to have made friends for life during my time here, at work and out of work. However, to be honest, I can’t imagine continuing this job after my Working Holiday is over. Not because I don’t like it, but just because I want to make the best out of my masters degree in art history on a long term.