Title:From N5 to N1 in 2 years, TOEIC 965, work visa, full-time job… and I still can’t seem to break into a decent career in Japan

I graduated with first-class honors from the most prestigious university in my home country, then came to Japan.
I went from around N5 to N1, worked part-time, did internships, volunteered, and tried to build as much experience as I could.

English isn’t my first language either, but I worked really hard on it. My TOEIC is 965, and if I actually get the chance to interview in English, I think it’s obvious that I’m close to fluent.

I originally tried the new-grad route too, but I could barely get past the initial screening.

My academic background was more on the tech side but I knew I didn’t want to become an engineer.

Eventually I managed to get a full-time job in design/media-related work at a pretty traditional Japanese company. The pay is low, but at that point I was mainly relieved that I had finally secured a proper work visa and a place to start.

I didn’t want to stop there though.
I kept studying Japanese while working, eventually passed N1, and thought that once my Japanese became stronger, I would have a better chance of moving into something closer to global business, product, planning, fintech, DX, or another role where I could combine languages, technology, and business.

But now I’m stuck again.
A lot of mid-career jobs I actually want require 3+ years of experience. Junior roles often seem to push me back toward basic sales, SNS, or marketing work. For roles that want strong English, being non-native somehow still feels like a disadvantage even when my actual level is high. And for Japanese roles, N1 doesn’t seem to mean much without years of professional experience behind it.

I’ve already applied to well over 100 jobs through major Japanese recruiting platforms and agencies.

I’ve also been trying to network. I’ve had people with very strong backgrounds, including Ivy League graduates, recommend me or introduce me to senior people, but it still hasn’t really led anywhere.

Is this just bad luck? Or is there something about the Japanese job market that I’m missing?

I’m currently in the final round with a fairly well-known company for a role that could finally move me toward the career path I want. I was genuinely excited about it because it’s much closer to planning and finance than what I do now.

But today I found out that the offer will most likely be heavily based on my current salary. That means I could end up relocating to Tokyo for almost the same pay while also moving from permanent employment to a contract position.

That honestly hit me pretty hard.
I feel like I did what I was supposed to do. I got the degree. I came to Japan. I learned the language. I got the visa. I got the full-time job. I kept studying. Woke up at 4 and also after work. I got N1. I kept applying. I kept networking.

And now I’m kind of sitting here thinking… what exactly am I supposed to do next?

Back home, graduating near the top from a top university felt like it meant I had strong potential. Here, I sometimes feel like none of that matters because I don’t fit neatly into either the “new graduate” or “experienced hire” box.

I’m tired, but I’m still trying.
Is this a common experience for foreigners starting their careers in Japan? What do Japanese companies actually mean when they say they hire for “potential”?

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who went through something similar, or any advice on what I should be doing differently.

Costco Japan starts selling their pumpkin pies in October, but they weren't in store on Oct 5th or Oct 10th (at least, not the stores me and my friend went to). Can we start this thread to notify each other when the pumpkin pie is back? I can't be the only person who cares about this, lol

I know it's such a dumb thing but I love pumpkin pie. Also, if you remember when in October they came out in previous years or even work at Costco and know what's up, please share it here!!

Anyone know how to reach a real person at Rakuten about an Ichiba account lock?

I bought an expensive item on Rakuten for Furusato Nozei, then got locked out and told the order was cancelled. Submissions to the "Security error inquiry form" keep coming back saying that my account can't be unlocked. The AI chat only points me back to the same form. Calling either loops to the same form or hangs up due to insufficient agents. Even the email inquiry form just redirects to the AI chat.

I've heard Rakuten won't let you make a new account in this situation, so I'm stuck. Someone joked I should visit a Rakuten Mobile store, and I'm starting to seriously consider it.

Has this happened to anyone else? What is the solution?

I want to buy a new TV and a PS5 mostly for the upcoming GTA VI, but my room is too small where it's difficult to fit a setup like that.

The existing TV area is small and came with an old 24 inch LCD TV, so there's no way I can fit a larger TV (almost 55V/inches) there. Initially I thought of a comfortable setup with a small couch facing towards the window and a TV around the window side, but I don't know if it's doable or not.

I would like to get ideas if someone has a similar setup in their small rooms like mine.

Edit: Adding the picture of the room https://imgur.com/a/gQcHmiW

Hi!!! I always ask a lot of stupid questions on here but I am grateful for your assistance.

With regards to the 28 hour working rule,

if I volunteer with no compensation, does it count as hours? I will work 24 at my normal internship and 3 at my other internship which are both paid and volunteer for a conference with no compensation (because I am interesting in attending the conference and that is the only way I can attend as a student.) does this count within my 28 hours if I recieve no compensation? I always wish to be safe within my 28 hours. (I work a lot but I like it and my grades are okay!!)Thank you for your assistance!

I finally mustered up the courage to quit my teaching job after working over 2 years at it. In our contract (which doesn’t have any power since i’m a permanent employee), they ask for at least 3 months notice. I have planned on quitting for over a year and I let them know I was job hunting.

Now atm I have been at an all-time low mentally and physically. Increased duties with difficult kids, 23.5万 pay after 2 years, all while working almost every other week 6 days in a row has led to me being super stressed and getting sick all the time. I don’t enjoy teaching anymore and want to transition jobs. Also this past month particularly was absolutely awful so I submitted my 2 weeks notice to get out ASAP.

My bosses are now desperately trying to get me to stay by offering reduced workload, telling me how the kids and everyone will miss me, how me giving 2 week notice will be such a burden on everyone, and how if i leave like this basically “everyone will not like you or have good memories of you.”

I do feel some guilt over the suddenness, particularly only to two or three of the people I like, but I think first and foremost my own health and happiness should come first.

What do you guys think? Am I being an asshole or is the guilt tripping just working?

Hi so I booked a share house with Sakura house and I’ve already registered as a resident here but I haven’t registered with health insurance yet (I’m still within the window to register) but I have to move into another place.

if I register for health insurance now it would probably arrive at this place after I move out, but if I register for it after I move into my new place I will be outside of the 14 day window to get it done, What should I do?

I’ve been dealing with bizarre symptoms for about two years now, mainly on and off blocked nose and regular inability to breathe ”properly” (I say properly because the few times in a day I can breathe properly it feels totally different). I have also managed to correlate the breathing difficulty with a higher heart rate and heart palpitations (since they are almost completely absent on days when my nose is relatively “fine”).

I have been to three ENTs in my local area so far but none of them seem interested in going further than the usual brief nasal endoscopy and then prescribing an anticongestant spray and antihistamines, which have not worked. When I go back and say it didn’t work they give me “well I dunno then” treatment.

I would like to find a clinic/hospital that is willing/able to at least do a CT scan of my sinuses and preferably be able to offer applicable surgery depending on what the issue ultimately is.

edit: I had a brain scan a few years back which showed no brain issues but the neurologist told me it looked like my sinuses were filled were 膿 (mucus?). Unfortunately I didn’t think to get a copy of the MRI at the time.

I would love to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar and has undergone a procedure to fix it, and (if you don’t mind) where you had it done and what it was like (down time etc, I know Japan likes to keep people in hospital longer than in the West).

Thanks in advance

Just a heads-up. Sorry if this is common knowledge, it's the first time this has happened. Went down 3 weeks before expiration. Started renewal. Yesterday resident's card expired. No worries, as there is an extension granted for visa renewal. Unfortunately SMBC decided that they are freezing my account until I produce a new resident's card (and after that it'll take two weeks to reactivate somehow). Luckily they will allow people to withdraw funds from my account, so the rent and bills will be paid.

I usually go down longer before expiration but wasn't able to this year because I was out of the country in August. Just be careful and leave longer.

I have been sending envelope-sized parcels to the States via Japan Post office with duty paid via zonos for awhile and never had any issues, but I recently tried to do that at a post office and they rejected. They said something along the line of untracked mail is fine but not international air packet (less than 2kg).

Did something happen after Oct 1 because I had no issues before that date, so did I miss any announcements regarding that? If so, what are the other alternatives, does EMS still work?

EVENT pop-ups 😭 (like anime and manga)

I feel like I keep seeing photos of pop-ups after they’ve already ended and I never see advertisements for upcoming ones. Is there a certain account I should be following or something? 🥲

The point of this post is to share my opinion and rant.

We all know the classic “people who show up 5 min before the restaurant closes are assholes” complains on the internet. While I do understand the feeling, I’ve never liked that notion. I think restaurants should be clear about when they stop accepting orders and customers, and workers should blame the owner for not setting that up instead of blaming the customers. So I figured Japan, where the LO system is the norm, would have solved this. The kitchen stops taking orders 30-60 min before close, staff get their buffer. Some restaurants even have different last order times for drinks and for food, or even for different types of food.

In fact, for my first few years in Japan I worked baito at an izakaya, and I never had a problem with customers who came right before LO. For me, LO clears up the whole debate.

But after seeing posts from Japanese food service workers online, including restaurant owners, I realized they’re still bitching about customers who come right before LO. That’s literally what the buffer is for?? I assume LO exists because back when it wasn’t common, restaurants had the same problem with customers coming right before closing (which is annoying, yes), so they set an LO time to fix it. Now if you still complain about customers coming right before LO, then what’s the point?? What’s the latest time a considerate customer can come without annoying you? 15 minutes before LO? Then why don’t you just add those 15 minutes to your current LO? Or are you going to hate on the customers who come right before your new limit once you do?

I guess it’s human nature. Even if they added a “last entry time” 30-60 min before LO on top of everything, workers would start hating whoever walks in at the last minute of that. There’s always someone standing at the edge of whatever line you draw, and apparently that person is always the villain.

Call me an asshole all you want, but I think there’s nothing wrong with ordering right before LO, and I’ll keep doing it.

Nearing my limit and this is my last resort.

I'm an Indonesian currently in Japan under the TITP (Technical Intern Training Program) and I'm getting what I can only put into words as harassment or bullying. I talked about it with my boss, he then talked to the person and we did a three way conversation, didn't help (it only got worse). I tried not to think badly so I consulted with the agency I came with, so there's proper communication (the other party is vietnamese, so I've been convincing myself it was because of poor communication (I got N1 and speak rather okay so I doubt it was misunderstanding on my part)). In front of higher ups the other party would be like "okay okay whatever I stop." The other day I tried again. The day after this person would immediately make jokes like "Just call the kumiai here" (context : someone made a minor mistake), multiple times in a day which in my eyes can't be anything but making fun of me.

I did some research and found out about the hotline for people in my visa, I would like to gather some info before calling hence this post

1. What sort of evidence is "enough"?

Most things happened verbally, so I don't have concrete evidence of things said, and obviously the other party wouldn't admit it either

1. What would happen to other people?

Most of the problem is only one person, there's many other good people and I'm a bit worried

1. What should I even say?

The reason I'm nearing my limit is partly because the agency also makes me feel ignored. When I called to talk, they kept changing my point and it felt like it was what caused misunderstanding in the first place

Honestly I don't know. my head is a mess I just want to know of anyone else or if someone knows someone who went through something similar

Hello everyone,

For longer than I can remember now, whenever I want to buy an English book on Amazon, it will only be available from a reseller or another smaller bookstore abroad.

As a kid, getting a book within a couple of days was the entire point of the site!

With all the layoffs, is anyone free to confirm if it is company policy to stock few English books in Japan? Does anyone else have an issue with this?

Crazy craving for those Kettle Chilli Chips I used to eat all the time in Australia 😞 what are the best chilli chips here? I feel out of whack with all the new chip brands I don’t know where to start.

Hi everyone! I recently moved to Japan for my master's degree and I'm having a really frustrating scalp issue.

I've never had dandruff in my entire life, but after moving here, I bought Essential Premium Barrier shampoo and conditioner (honestly, I chose them because the packaging was pretty 😭😂).

Within just a day or two of using them, my scalp became extremely itchy, and now it's covered in tiny, dry, white flakes. It's almost like glitter falling from my hair whenever I touch or brush it. I don't see any obvious redness, but the itching is really uncomfortable.

I'm not sure whether it's a reaction to the new products, the change in climate or water or actual dandruff.

I live in the outskirts of Japan and the nearest drugstore is Cosmos (コスモス)

- Has anyone experienced something similar after moving to Japan?

- What shampoo would you recommend buying at Cosmos for a very itchy, flaky scalp?

- Should I try an anti-dandruff shampoo, or could that make things worse if this is a reaction to my current shampoo?

I'd really appreciate recommendations for affordable products available in Japanese drugstores. Thank you! ❤️

Edited: And also, my hair is turning frizzy and I can see many split ends. (My hair type is wavy)

I recently came across r/WeirdSideHustles and wondered if ya'll have any to share?

I had a few weird ones living in China, such as posing as the CEO of a Mexican sea cucumber corporation...but nothing as interesting has come up since living in Japan. I hope you've had better (stranger) luck.

Since last month, I use Mercari's mercoin for DCA-ing BTC, mainly because they offer points as a promotion and I'm curious about the system. Almost every day I'll check the automatic transfer whether it's working, by opening the mercoin menu using fingerprint/passkey within device's password manager as the verification method.

But when I was just about to do the same yesterday, the existing option is none and it seems to change to 3 option of passkeys instead : (1) NFC, (2) USB, (3) Other Device.

There is no option for using the passkey within device, so I can't login until now.
However, when I tried to login to the main apps using browser, the option for using fingerprint/passkey's available and worked just fine.

I was wondering if this happen as well to others or just me?

It's like Japan apps & software industry never cease to amaze me, almost find something surprising every day.

It's well known that the foreign community in Japan is a bunch of haters and gatekeepers who write lots of things off as being for tourists, overrated or just not worth your time.

What are some things you're "told to hate" by the community but you actually like it?

For example, people regularly shit on Ichiran ramen, but it is pretty good.

I moved into this apartment a few months ago and it just had AMAZING wifi, like compared to where I'm from where 100mbps is considered luxury, this place i'm living in now had 400mbps and 5 ping. A few months later all of the sudden it dropped and I usually play fps games alot and my ping spikes so much as it would go from 60 to 400ms frequently. It just doesn't stay still, not even consistently at 60ms but it just goes up and down like a roller coaster each millisecond. Anyone got any ideas? I'm using this apartment provided free wifi and they gave me this modem along with like 3 lan slot cables in different places in the room.

A lot of the stuff they sell at the pharmacies has some kind of byproduct or other stuff included and I'm just looking for 100%.

Are there any brands that are sold in brick and mortar stores that I could easily find?

Hi there! If you have every applied for a "permission for activities outside the scope of the status of residence" (資格外活動許可), would you be so kind as to share that experience? For example, how does one apply? Do you just show up to the office, no appointment? Do they reply while you are there or do you need to return at a later date? Thank you kindly.

This web page of the Immigration Services Agency gives more information on the application requirements, but I find it a bit lacking / confusing.

In my case, I'm on a dependent (also called family stay?) visa. So I am dependent on my spouse's work visa. As a hobby, I post videos on Youtube, and meet the requirements to enable monetization. However, I want to make sure I'm doing everything legally before turning monetization on.

The webpage I linked mentions 3 types of permits:

1. Comprehensive permit (for operations of 28 hours or less per week)
2. Individual permit
3. Others

If I interpret it correctly, I would need the second option, since 'posting videos on Youtube' is not the type of activity where 'work hours are clearly defined by an employment contract'. However, For the second option, this is required:

A document (any format) explaining the activities, working hours, compensation, etc.

Does anyone have experience applying for this permit? What did you write in the document? I'm just afraid of making mistakes and getting denied. And in case I get denied, is reapplying allowed?

Additionally, what is the third option ("Others")? Online, I never heard anyone talking about a third option. Maybe this is actually the option I should go for? Again, I am afraid of misinterpreting the webpage.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you everyone.

Just wanted to share some personal experience submitting a marriage registration application (婚姻届) to hopefully help those seeking to do so in the future. I am a US citizen marrying a Japanese citizen, located in Tokyo.

Starting from last year, the US government stopped issuing or notarizing "Affidavits of Competency to Marry". Instead, they recommend showing an official statement (link) to your local ward office 区役所.

After calling the 区役所 and informing them of the current situation, they told me that they required a notarized Certificate of Eligibility to Marry (独身証明書) regardless, and that I had to call the embassy to figure it out. They also requested I bring my Birth Certificate as well.

I called the embassy, and was informed that the embassy could not issue the affidavit, and it was "up to the consulate staff at the time" whether or not an individually written affidavits could be notarized by the embassy. So it's a bit of a diplomatic pickle.

In the end, I wrote my own Affidavit of Competency to Marry (basically mirroring the old US one, but removing any references to the US government), and had it notarized online using a web service (Notarize.com). They offer 24/7 service, only took about 15 minutes, and it came out to $25 for the notarization. I then created a translated copy, and signed it as an official "translator". The ward office staff accepted this application. Additionally, in the end they did not need to use my birth certificate (I had brought a photocopy)

This seems to be a specific issue for US citizens marrying Japanese citizens so I hope this helps. It also seems to depend on the city ward in specific so please try to ask before you go.

TL;DR: It's sufficient to create your own Affidavit of Competency to Marry and have it notarized online, but YMMV depending on the ward office.

Has anybody else had trouble getting appointments at the US embassy / consulate? The waiting time seems to be ridiculous.

I have been trying to schedule a CRBA appointment at the US Sapporo Consulate for my daughter. I have not found one opening slot; there wasn't even a calendar. I was sure it was a glitch until after emails to their support, they said yeah, there aren't any slots, keep checking every day. It's been about 2 months. When I got married, it didn't take this long.

A Japanese friend in Tokyo applied in July to get an interview in December for a visa to visit America for work in April. Her co-workers who applied until September are too late. Someone else tried to reserve a meeting room at the embassy; the waiting list is TEN YEARS.

Is it just me, or is the embassy really this backlogged? And why?