This person's situation is a bit similar to mine. My boyfriend and I are interested in moving to Japan as well but not any time soon. Where our situation probably differs is we were military stationed in Japan for over two years and was able to interact with the culture quite a bit.
That will obviously give you some advantage in knowing a little before you come.
If anyone has any advise please let me know. I am doing all of the research right now and listing my goals to work towards.
First piece of advice: both of you need to work on this together! Since you are not married, both of you will have to get your own work visas. Only if you are married will you be able to trust in just one work visa and the other gets a dependent visa (but work only part-time).
Currently I trying to complete my Bachelors in Business Administration and working full time as a Customer Service Representative. Soon I hope to move up to an Administrative Assistant.
With the little Japanese you seem to have learned (I admit, though, that you have not made it clear exactly what your level of speaking/reading/writing is), you are barely qualified for any sort of work here. No way will you be hired for AA work in an office unless you have better Japanese, even in an office run by foreigners. Keep this strongly in mind.
Also while I was in Japan I was able to take several courses in Japanese and still trying to study the language. Of course, watching anime in Japanese helps get a feel of the language
Pardon me, but are you kidding? Does watching Bugs Bunny or the Super Friends give any foreigner an idea how people really speak in the U.S.? I think not. Get back into a real language training program.
My boyfriend of several years is interested in possibly teaching English and will soon start on his degree for teaching. We were looking towards possibly being employed by the military since we came from it but we figured that the culture is what we were going for so we would like to try our luck at getting a job that deals more with the Japanese.
You would know far better than I whether a civilian contractor could work on a base teaching English to the locals. I don't think it's likely. Teaching is not the most lucrative of careers, either. Get over to the ESL Cafe web site and ask around what teaching here entails as a career.
Mainly, I would like to know how much should I try and save for a move to Japan? What obstacles should we work towards overcoming trying to obtain a job and visa? Our hearts are set on Kyoto at this time, should we reconsider?
You won't be able to move here and jump into most apartments because you won't have an employer to serve as guarantor. So, you'll have to figure on a guest house (gaijin house) for a while. LeoPalace21 provides furnished apartments with internet, and I think they don't require guarantors, but you have to pay all of your rent up front. Confirm. Want an apartment, and you should expect to pay a lot up front in key money, 2-5 times a month's rent. Always have enough money to buy a return ticket, too.
Obstacles abound, and I've already touched on a couple. What time of year you plan to be here is another potential problem. As I see it, though, you (not the boyfriend) have the more serious problem. Teachers are a dime a dozen, but most non-teaching jobs require fairly high language skills, experience, and skills that a local doesn't have. As for Kyoto, there are actually fewer teaching jobs there than you might think. Don't focus on only one area if you want to maximize your possibilities.
I have been reading through a lot of threads about moving and did a good amount of research for this move.
No offense, but it doesn't come off that way with what you have written here. You've asked pretty much what every newbie would ask if they've never set foot in the country. Perhaps more specific questions would help us understand what you haven't learned yet.
