www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY1LtGIGOhw&feature=related

I will surpass him…  

Once again, thanks so much =)

P.S.: I was really kinda worried that if I couldn’t go, what would be the point of learning to absolute fluency rather than enough to understand media. It’s kinda given me a second wind. I really appreciate the advice! 

Replying to both of these posts at once:

I THINK it’s possible to move without a degree. You may need an income stream coming in, or proof of contracts, or something along those lines, and afaik no legitimate school is going to hire you (without a degree in ANYTHING), but if you have money, a clean record, and awesome language skills, there’s no reason the Japanese government wouldn’t LOVE to have you spending money in their country.

When you can, explain your situation to the 入管. They’re here to help you get in, not leave you out.

Also, yes, it would probably be possible for you to go to school in Japan if you want to, and I think some student visas allow for 20 hours/week or something of work.

Let’s say I become as fluent as Khatz was (how long it takes is of little consequence to me. I’m sure I can do it within the next two years or so). Do you think they’d make a special case if I could speak Japanese perfectly well? I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, so after a year of university, I stopped going. It would’ve been pointless to stay in, paying for gen eds and running out of time with my scholarship. I had no idea for the major. But now I realize that it’d be great to just live in Japan and help people there learn English (and online help people in English countries learn Japanese).

Why should that require a degree? I mean, Japan doesn’t even specify the degree. Why should I waste 2-3 years worth of money and time on learning something unrelated to what I wanna do? There aren’t any cheap schools that are 4 year and have Japanese as a major, so it’s not like I can even go down that route. Not to mention I’d have to pay all the loans/whatever back before I went to Japan. This is why I’m asking if there are any alternative routes. I don’t have the money to just up and go, nor will I go before I’m fluent. But I can’t read that site yet. I’m about halfway through RTK and I’ve been immersing. So yeah, I may be getting ahead of myself, but that’s not the point. 

The point is, I don’t think I’ll be able to go to university here anyway cause I don’t have a car or a job. Now, once I know Japanese, I figure there’s probably some job I can get even from home. And then maybe get a car then go to university. But I don’t want to have to wait an extra 3-5 years just to go to Japan if I end up becoming pretty fluent in a year and a half or so. That’s why I’d really like it if someone could point me somewhere that might show me an alternative or something. It just feels hopeless to go on if I can’t accomplish my dream.

Sorry for the long post =P 

These guys are the purest sources of information on this subject.

BTW, to teach English, generally you do need a degree, from what I’ve seen (but I haven’t looked into it much because I don’t want to do that). As a good Japanese speaker, you can do pretty much anything there (you aren’t limited to teaching English as English websites about moving to Japan appear to suggest), but you may still need the degree to get a job that you can move on. But, like I said, read up on it, ask about it, etc. I’m not a good source of information; the above link and the previously mentioned people are, and I’m sure there are plenty of other good (Japanese) resources on it.

I’ve researched on getting in Japan, but I realize to work, you need a visa, and the two main ways I keep seeing to get one are:
Being married to a Japanese citizen … or …
Having a 4 year college/university degree.

Are there any alternative methods? I mean, if I make it to fluency before going (much like Khatz), is there any way to get in? Especially if my intentions are just to just live there and teach English or do a regular old job? Like, can I get a 3 month tourism visa, get a job, and then apply for citizenship or something? What are my options? Thanks in advance.

That’s all.