Work Experience in Japan

[fizix]

Hi Guys,

I am a Civil Engineer by trade, looking to take a break and try my hand at something new.

Having always been fascinated by Japanese wood work and had the idea of moving to Japan for 1 - 2 years to learn the trade on-site.

I was thinking about Japanese woodwork strictly from a residential building point of view, (the way the Japanese tie wood into the structure of their houses is amazing) the real issue is where to start.

Do you guys have any tips as to where I might start researching on if this is even possible?

Having just turned 27, I am still quite young and fit and I am very good with my hands but I have no qualifications in the area (like an apprenticeship), also my Japanese is very basic.


Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

[ian]

First stop should be the Japanese consulate / embassy / web site of same

what are the visa requirements for doing what you want to do?

have you considered working on temple reconstruction?
Because it's "cultural" it may be a way around otherwise restrictive employment requirements



ian

[fizix]

Thanks for the information Ian, i'd definitely be interested in temple restoration, even working as a volunteer if need be...

As for the visa, from what I can gather I should be able to obtain a working visa without too much of a fuss, it seems it's more finding contacts within the Japan to get information on the opportunities available.

[NeilS]

Thanks for the information Ian, i'd definitely be interested in temple restoration, even working as a volunteer if need be...


Hi Fizix - there is Japanese temple builder who sells traditional woodworking tools on eBay. You say your Japanese is basic and I'm not sure about his English (I have had many 'interesting' email exhanges with him), but he could at least be a good starting point. Here is a reference:

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=mifuqwai

And, there is also So (Soatoz (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/member.php?u=14833)), a member of this forum, who could head you in the right direction.

Neil

[fizix]

Hi Fizix - there is Japanese temple builder who sells traditional woodworking tools on eBay. You say your Japanese is basic and I'm not sure about his English (I have had many 'interesting' email exhanges with him), but he could at least be a good starting point. Here is a reference:

http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=mifuqwai

And, there is also So (Soatoz (http://www.woodworkforums.ubeaut.com.au/member.php?u=14833)), a member of this forum, who could head you in the right direction.

Neil


Excellent, thanks for your help Neil, time I started investigating these leads!


Cheers,

Niels

[neoshed]

I'd love to be able to devote a few years to apprentice....but then I'm 42 with 2 kids.

Soatoz has provided some brilliant information on this site and I am truly grateful for it. The one thing I haven't been able to figure out is what his website address is??

I'm trying to find someone in the East cost of the US who teaches Japanese carpentry. So far I found one bloke but he hasn't responded to my email yet, so I'm still looking.

Best of luck with your search to find work in Japan, I'd jump on a plane tomorrow if it weren't for commitments.

[Sheets]

Soatoz: www.japan-tool.com

Try the Daiku Dojo website for Japanese woodworkers and teachers:
www.dakudojo.org

In the meantime, just work wood with Japanese tools and you are halfway there.

Steve

[NeilS]

Hi Neoshed



I'm trying to find someone in the East cost of the US who teaches Japanese carpentry. So far I found one bloke but he hasn't responded to my email yet, so I'm still looking.


I guess you have already checked out www.japanesetools.com (http://www.japanesetools.com) in Pepperell, Massachusetts. Looks like their Shizutani School.org have a plane (dai) making school coming up October 25-26.... http://www.shizutanischool.org/pages/planemaking2008.html

Nothing like that on offer down our way, well not within 7,643 km/4,749 miles....that's the distance between Adelaide and Japan :).

All the best

Neil

[Pops]

Hi Fizix,

I have read in the Australian Wood Review magazine at least two articles about an Aussie chap who attended some Japanese woodworking classes in japan. From memory he was fairly well informed on places visitors could get involved with woodworking. (Could be as old as two years ago for the first one).

Sorry can't remember the issue numbers but do remember thinking this was one bloke to talk to if I ever got to visit Japan, (he listed his email address at the end of the story so seemed happy to to be contacted).

You might be able to search the magazine on line for the articles or contact the editor fo ra contact.

This may or may not be useful but I hope it can be. Keep us updated on your endeavours. All the best.

Cheers
Pops

[thumbsucker]

Living in Japan is not easy. I entertained the idea once upon a time. But I now have a love hate relationship with the Japanese.

If you intent to stay for more then 90 days you must undergo all kinds of humiliations on the grounds that you are a geijin. While there has been many reforms to Japanese legal system in regards to aliens living long term in Japan, it is still hard.

You must have a ticket or (cash to buy ticket) to leave Japan before you can enter, it gets real stupid. (People often go to South Korea for a few days, applying for a visa from Korea and then going back) you can even get holiday packages catering for this need.

You must have a paying employer before you can get a long term visa, but most employers will not employ you unless you already in the country. That is why many people go on a tourist visa, then get a job, then go to Korea and apply for a working visa, then go back to Japan.

99% of people living long term in Japan work in the English Language Schools. This is minimum wage, shocking hours 2 p.m. to midnight, 6 days a week. The remaining one percent work in entertainment industry usually playing the rude and stupid gaijin character, but they get good money. Very few people work in anyother fields.

Know one guy got a job in Japan as a lawyer (Law is higher then medicine in Japan - the legal system is archaic), he hoped to train in the martial arts, he has now lived in Japan for over four years and has never seen the inside of a Dojo once. It is said that every Japanese man marries twice once to his wive and once to the company, and the company comes first.

In the old days I am told you needed to report to the police station every month, also you must cary an alien registration card with you at all times, as the police make it a habit of stopping you and confirming your identity. Read a story of an American who left his alien registration card at home. The police took him home to retrieve it.

The only way to stay long term in Japan is to mary a Japanese girl since getting a Japanese passport any other way is near impossible.

The above is however not a problem if you stay less then 30 days.

Your Japanese will need to be better then their English, you are after all in their country and you must respect their ways.

[neoshed]

I saw the dai making seminar and I'm very tempted to do it if funds allow. There is also a 6 day course next year in the Carolinas that is just a bit more money that the dai one. The bloke teaching it is the guy I've been trying to get hold of as I think he's in the same state as I live.

[NeilS]

I have read in the Australian Wood Review magazine at least two articles about an Aussie chap who attended some Japanese woodworking classes in japan. From memory he was fairly well informed on places visitors could get involved with woodworking. (Could be as old as two years ago for the first one).

Sorry can't remember the issue numbers but do remember thinking this was one bloke to talk to if I ever got to visit Japan, (he listed his email address at the end of the story so seemed happy to to be contacted).

Yes, Pops, one of those articles was in AWR Issue 54 - by Iain Green, that one was on 'Japanese Blades'. Email address provided was: [email protected]

Neil

[Pops]

Yes, Pops, one of those articles was in AWR Issue 54 - by Iain Green, that one was on 'Japanese Blades'. Email address provided was: [email protected]

Neil

Hi Neil,

Yes that is the chap, remember his name now. Thanks. Good find. :2tsup:

Hope this helps Fizix out.

Cheers
Pops

[fizix]

This is great, i've gotten so many different avenues to investigate from this forum!

Thanks to everyone who's helped so far.

[markbergman]

According to their website and magazine, the publisher of the Journal of Japanese Gardening arranges internships in Japan for carpenters. Don't have any first hand knowledge of this program, but definitely seems worth pursuing. You do need to be a subscriber before he'll do anything for you.

http://www.rothteien.com/resources/resourcehome.htm

The magazine itself is obviously focused on gardening, but does have an occasional worthwhile article on woodworking.


Good luck.