Free practical guide
Getting accepted is the first step. Here's how to settle in: where to stay, how to get a Japanese phone number, and which paperwork to tackle first.
01 · The ways in
Start with how you'll move to Japan. Your route determines your visa, where you'll live, when you can arrive and sometimes your housing. Here are the options from my video and who they're for.
A paid job in Japanese schools or local government, with visa sponsorship. U.S. applications for 2027 close Friday, November 13, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Hawaii time; Canadian applications close the same day, and UK applications close on November 5. You need a bachelor's degree; for U.S. summer departures, it must be conferred by June 25, 2027. First-year pay is ¥4.02 million before tax. You don't choose your town, and many placements are rural. My full JET 2027 guide
MEXT pays tuition and a monthly stipend: ¥117,000 for undergraduates and ¥143,000 to ¥145,000 for research students in 2027. Japanese embassies usually recruit around April and May. JASSO pays exchange students ¥80,000 a month through their Japanese host school. Fulbright funds U.S. citizens; the 2028-29 application opens in spring 2027. My guide to these programs
A paid research internship in Okinawa for STEM students and recent graduates: ¥2,400 per workday, housing and a round-trip flight. The next deadline is April 15, 2027, for the fall 2027 term. My OIST guide
Resorts in Niseko, Hakuba and Nozawa Onsen hire front desk, rental, housekeeping and lift staff for a season running from late November or early December to around March or April. Most hire people with a working holiday visa, available to those roughly 18 to 30 from 32 countries and regions, including Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The United States is not one of them. Staff housing is common, but you'll usually pay subsidized rent; NBS Japan quotes ¥50,000 to ¥70,000 a month. Most hiring runs from late spring to October, and some teams are already full for this winter. Qualified ski and snowboard instructors can sometimes get a sponsored visa instead.
The Specified Skilled Worker visa covers agriculture and fishing for up to five years in total. You need to pass the industry skills test and a basic Japanese test (JFT-Basic, or JLPT N4 or higher). This visa generally doesn't allow you to bring your family. Working holiday visa holders can also take farm work. Some towns, such as Mihara Village in Kochi, pay newcomers while they learn to farm. Paid to learn yuzu farming in Kochi
Start with three details: your passport country, your age and the highest degree you've completed. U.S. graduates can look at JET or other jobs; students can explore scholarships or OIST. Those under 30 from a working holiday country have the widest range of options.
02 · Before you fly
A little preparation makes the first weeks much easier. These four things help you avoid delays when one office needs paperwork from another. I'd have all four arranged before booking the flight.
03 · Where to live
A standard Japanese lease can be hard to arrange from abroad. Landlords usually require a guarantor company, a Japanese bank account for rent payments, and several months of rent up front for the deposit and key money. Leopalace21's long-term lease also requires its designated guarantee company and rent payments from a Japanese bank account. These four providers offer furnished accommodation to new arrivals.
Book one to three months somewhere furnished and flexible, then look for a standard lease once you know the neighborhood and your commute. I'd want to see a place in person before committing to a two-year lease.
Prices and terms change. Check each provider's own page before you book.
04 · Phone number
Banks, landlords and delivery services need a way to reach you, and many forms ask for a Japanese phone number. LINE, a widely used messaging app, asks for one too. Getting your number early helps keep those first-week errands moving.
The challenge is the order of the requirements. A standard phone contract requires ID showing your Japanese address, which means registering at the city office first, plus a credit card or Japanese bank account for payment. Many banks also ask for a Japanese phone number. Plan for both data and calls: a travel eSIM can get you online as soon as you land, while a provider with English support can help you get a number without a Japanese bank account. If I were arriving on a work visa, I'd pre-order a resident plan and collect it at the airport so I'd have a working number before visiting the city office.
Sakura Mobile sells phone and data plans in English to both travelers and people moving to Japan. They sponsored the video that accompanies this guide.
05 · The paperwork
Start with the steps below. Each gives you documents or details you'll need for the next.
A banking hurdle: the six-month rule. Banks treat people who have been in Japan for under six months and don't work at an office in Japan as non-residents. Japan Post Bank still opens an account, but transfers are handled as international remittances and can't be made at an ATM until six months have passed. SMBC Trust Bank PRESTIA won't open an account before then unless you work for an office in Japan. This is especially relevant to students and working holiday makers, so bring a card that works in Japan.
06 · Month one
Official links
Requirements vary by city, visa and program. Use this guide to plan your next steps, then confirm the details with the relevant official source.
Keep track of upcoming deadlines
JET is one option. Applications for scholarships, internships, working holiday places and jobs open to applicants abroad run throughout the year. I track the opportunities and deadlines in a weekly email.
This guide is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Sakura Mobile is a paid partner of John of Japan; no other company in this guide paid to be included. Dates and rules change. John of Japan is not affiliated with the JET Programme, MEXT, JASSO, OIST or the Government of Japan.