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How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

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Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#111

Post by carlosjobim »

morpheuskafka wrote: post #76
Pooge wrote: post #3

Used to live in Japan for more than a year. Heard about this visa a few weeks ago while traveling to said country. Since they don't give you a residence card, I wonder how easy it would be to get a phone number and bank account. If some government officials didn't get information on this visa, how can we expect companies to have? They will look at your passport with dead eyes and think you are fooling them with a fak…

There's at least one company (Mobal) that will give you a "real" (not VoIP prefix) phone number with a passport as a tourist, so that would work for DN too. The data part of their eSIM wasn't great but the voice part worked fine when I tried it. If you need health care it would definitely be a hassle at least if you don't have a lot of spare cash--you'd have to see if the mandatory travel insurance you purchased has…

Can't you do international wires to Japanese bank accounts for paying rent?

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#112

Post by makeitdouble »

csomar wrote: post #80
Pooge wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bad advice. Photos are not accepted and police will expect you to carry your passport at all times, just as you're supposed to carry your residence card at all times if you have one.

Not sure why people want to stick to a rule that could get them in real trouble. I am speaking from real experience. The police is very unlikely to want to arrest/take you to the station for not having your passport. On the other hand, if you do lose your passport and you have a slow/far embassy then you are in real trouble.

The police will stop you for any random reason, including walking alone in the street at an unusual hour or just to check your bike.

From there, if you have nothing to officially prove your identity you might totally spend a while at the station, and potentially have them kindly escort you to your home so they get a look while you're looking for your passport.

All of this is just mild inconvenience, except it will happen a lot more frequently than losing one's passport.

PS: For the real trouble relative to passports, an embassy can reemit an emergency passport within a day, and you can probably reemit the visa at an immigration branch. It's not fun for sure, but I'm not sure it's real troubles.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#113

Post by quacksilver »

morpheuskafka wrote: post #76
Pooge wrote: post #3

Used to live in Japan for more than a year. Heard about this visa a few weeks ago while traveling to said country. Since they don't give you a residence card, I wonder how easy it would be to get a phone number and bank account. If some government officials didn't get information on this visa, how can we expect companies to have? They will look at your passport with dead eyes and think you are fooling them with a fak…

There's at least one company (Mobal) that will give you a "real" (not VoIP prefix) phone number with a passport as a tourist, so that would work for DN too. The data part of their eSIM wasn't great but the voice part worked fine when I tried it. If you need health care it would definitely be a hassle at least if you don't have a lot of spare cash--you'd have to see if the mandatory travel insurance you purchased has…

Look for 'Nomad travel insurance' and see if it fits your individual needs for health insurance

I use one called safetywing, though thankfully have never had to claim and don't know if they are better or worse than their competitors. (posted as an example and not a recommendation or endorsement)

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#114

Post by carlosjobim »

forgotoldacc wrote: post #12
Pooge wrote: post #3

Used to live in Japan for more than a year. Heard about this visa a few weeks ago while traveling to said country. Since they don't give you a residence card, I wonder how easy it would be to get a phone number and bank account. If some government officials didn't get information on this visa, how can we expect companies to have? They will look at your passport with dead eyes and think you are fooling them with a fak…

Getting a credit card as a long term resident alone is hard. Getting a phone number can be troublesome for some people fresh off the boat. One longstanding issue has been people who come to Japan expecting to settle down, then quickly realize it's not for them and take a flight home without telling anybody. Debts left unpaid and landlords not even contacted. People who come here with the intention of milking some cas…

> but parasites like AirBnB and similar companies making a killing off offering apartments 5x above normal asking price to rich nomads who will say "wow, it's so cheap!" without realizing they're being ripped off, and killing neighborhoods by driving rent prices up.

The parasites in this case are the landlords, not AirBnB. And they're the one driving the rent prices up, not the renters.

Why does everybody refuse to adress the elephant in the room? Because they have parents and uncles who live by exploiting young workers for rent, and don't want to hurt their feelings?

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#115

Post by kmeisthax »

jotaen wrote: post #71
neillyons wrote: post #57

You can also get a Japanese Working Holiday Visa which allows you to work in Japan and stay for a year. https://yoyogi.io/en/how-to-get-a-japanese-working-holiday-v...

That was covered in the article, but as the author was already older than 30 years, it wouldn’t have been applicable for them. It also seems the Working Holiday visa is intended for “employment as an incidental activity of their holidays for the purpose of supplementing their travel funds” [1], whereas the author rather appeared to be looking for a “working full-time with some incidental holidays alongside” situation…

Also, Working Holiday is a reciprocal visa category and the US doesn't have an equivalent visa, so Americans can't get Japanese Working Holiday visas.

Now, if it was called Working Vacation...

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#116

Post by quacksilver »

Pooge wrote: post #62
csomar wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tip: a photo of your passport and the stamp will most likely do in most circumstances. Much better than risking taking your passport with you all the time.

Bad advice. Photos are not accepted and police will expect you to carry your passport at all times, just as you're supposed to carry your residence card at all times if you have one.

I carry a locally notarized photocopy of my passport in a similar country. I am not sure if it is fully legal, but people tend to do that here in practice, particularly when the government office needs your passport for processing.

The court was willing to stamp and sign that I have that passport and it matches me, so it is probably good enough for most police if I offer to show them the original at home.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#117

Post by thaumasiotes »

Twisol wrote: post #82
flemhans wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rented a flat in Tokyo for a month too as a tourist. But it wasn't cheap. Around $1500/month, in 2011. But it was 3 rooms, and very nice. So maybe not so bad, actually? But then again, it was many years ago.

My studio apartment in California is $1500/month. At the same price, I would be in a 3-room Tokyo flat yesterday!

I just left an apartment in Shanghai that was two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen for $700 / month. I was advised that prices have come down over the last year, so that if I was planning to renew my lease I should negotiate a lower price.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#118

Post by famahar »

notpushkin wrote: post #24
DeathArrow wrote: post #18

Isn't Japan an expensive country?

It is a mixed bag: apartments can be pretty expensive, especially in Greater Tokyo area. Food is pretty cheap IMO. Taxis are prohibitively expensive, but railroad system is really really good and compensates for that pretty well. But people don’t go to Japan because it’s cheap – it’s just a really nice place to live for some.

Apartments are way cheaper compared to other major US cities. They're probably smaller though but the convenience makes up for it. You can also find something as low as $300 in Tokyo if you are fine with a very long commute to the station. I used to have a sharehouse apartment in Shibuya for $600. Shared kitchen, bathroom and shower. It was pretty good considering I didn't spend much time at home other than to sleep.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#119

Post by KennyBlanken »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #37
Klonoar wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a world of difference in the level of effort between this and the digital nomad visa.

And a world of difference in stability and perception. If you have $35k+ to dedicate to this (and note that it does not cost $35k, these are more like initial capital requirements), you should 100% go the investor route. People underweight how amazing it is to be able to pay less than $50k for the equivalent of a golden visa to a top 5 GDP nation that is well regarded, safe, has some opportunity and is generally easy…

> People underweight how amazing it is to be able to pay less than $50k for the equivalent of a golden visa to a top 5 GDP nation that is well regarded, safe, has some opportunity and is generally easy to live in.

The Japanese are incredibly racist and xenophobic. Numerous businesses outright place signs barring foreigners (particularly russians, chinese, etc)

Japanese citizens are almost always completely trusted by police over anyone, say, white or black. So Japanese who want to fuck with someone will bait them into a confrontation (or just outright lie) so they're arrested - and Japan has a nearly 100% conviction rate, with the worst prison conditions in the developed world.

Re: How I Got a Digital Nomad Visa for Japan

#120

Post by soperj »

Twisol wrote: post #82
flemhans wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rented a flat in Tokyo for a month too as a tourist. But it wasn't cheap. Around $1500/month, in 2011. But it was 3 rooms, and very nice. So maybe not so bad, actually? But then again, it was many years ago.

My studio apartment in California is $1500/month. At the same price, I would be in a 3-room Tokyo flat yesterday!

Studio in BC for over $2500 a month.
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