Osaka for girls

Your boyfriend will be in position to help get you private English tutoring jobs in the shortest amount of time.

Well, you have a BA degree, and that's pretty much the minimum requirement for teaching English in entry level jobs. Teaching is considered the easiest work to find, so think about that and ask your bf why he got into it.

You are going to need a visa to work. You can get it while you are here, but just realize that without it, you are only a tourist and cannot legally work. Can we assume you plan to come here for at least a year? I ask because most contracts are for 12 months.

He's going in about a month. Does that mean JET Program? You'd better find out what the living arrangements are like, no matter who his employer is. And, realize that most housing here for teachers is set up for singles, not couples, plus it's pretty tiny.

Retail experience won't get you anything without language skills. Bar work is horribly cheap (800-1000 yen/hour), and of course the hours would probably not be conducive to seeing your BF.

Yes you will definitely need a work visa, but you've left it a bit late - I don't know whether you'd get one within a month. A better bet would be a working holiday visa to start with. You could probably pick up a bit of work in Gaijin bar or private lessons. Also the big english companies often have postions vacant, because someone has gone over and decided they could n't hack it and has left. Because it takes so long to get a work visa and organise a replacement from overseas, they are often happy to employ someone on a working holiday visa (available to most commonwealth countries Australians, Canadians etc.) and then sponsor their work visa once you are already in the country and working for them. Be aware most english companies do not provide accommodation for couples. In fact a friend of mine had to keep his girlfriends a secret from his manager - she thought he was living alone. My best advice is do your research - check out the varies companies, esl websites, japan websites for foreigners and the guidebooks. Hope it all works out you.

finding work in Japan is easy peasy...although from what I've heard, you're actually supposed to find it and get a work visa before you go (unlike China, Taiwan and Korea where you go on a tourist visa, find the work and get sponsored, which means working illegally for a month or so).

I've met all of one person who went to Japan to teach and couldnt' find a job, and I get the idea he didn't look very hard.

Yeah thanks. I have looked on a couple of job sites and there seem to interviews happening all the time. I would not tell an employer we were a couple simply that we were friends. I wouldn't be looking at going until at least September, how long does it usually take to get a working visa or a working holiday visa sorted?

What I really don't want to happen is to go over and we become dependent on each other. We are both pretty independent, so what's it like for Aussies (English speaking :-)) peoples in Osaka?

Sorry I know all my questions sound pretty basic, I really only decided today to start looking into Japan... I guess Canada can wait...

So, you are Aussie?
WHV takes about 2 weeks to process, but you must apply from your home country and wait to get it there.
Working Holiday Visa homepage

Work visas take 4-8 weeks on average. You can apply from within or outside Japan. Figure on supporting yourself for 2-3 months before getting that first paycheck, regardless.

What sort of job were you interested in? (ie, what job sites did you look at?)

Hi, my girlfriend works for Eastwest Consulting in Osaka. It's a consulting job and they are currently looking for many new employees since they just opened a new branch in Osaka this year. It is a great job and you get weekends off and don't have to deal with the whole teaching English thing if it is not for you. Here is the site-Eastwest Consulting .....Check them out.

Why wouldn't you tell an employer that you are a couple? If you decide to teach English some of the bigger chains of schools, which are probably the easiest for you to get a job with, have a lot of branches, and if you want to be placed near where your boyfriend is working then you should tell them you are a couple! Nothing wrong or unusual about that.

A couple of Aussies will have a great time in Osaka, don't worry. Plenty of other foreigners including loads of Aussies, plus English-speaking Japanese, Irish pubs, Australian pubs etc. in Osaka. You won't be isolated if you are in or near the city.

Okay thanks everyone...Like I said any advice is appreciated! Its all very exciting but there's so much to consider!!

Osakagaijin does your girlfriend speak Japanese? I certainly don't!

My boyfriend has been lined up work with ECC I think it is called. Apparently it is one of the bigger ones. Anyone know anything about it? I was looking into one yesterday called Nova. Hard to judge based on the internet! :-)