Jobs in the Countryside

Jobs in the Countryside

One of the problems with falling in love with a Japanese partner and following them back to Japan is that they don't always come from a major city. Unless you speak Japanese, Tokyo is almost the only place you can get a decent job quickly. So what do you do if you're about to locate to a small town in Toyama?

Well, first of all, get used to the fact that you're in a different culture, and take advantage of those differences while you can. If you're young, it's highly likely that you'll be living with the in-laws for a while. Although you'll want to set a limit on the duration (I'd go crazy after about 6 months), use this time to have them support you while you learn the language.

But sooner or later you're going to want to earn some income of your own and go independent. The fact that you're in a small town means that you can either teach English at the local English school (there's always one), or become an entrepreneur. I have lost track of the number of enterprising souls I've met who have started local businesses and gone on to be national successes. Such as the guy who started a wine import and mail-order business that is now one of Japan's largest independent wine importers. Or the couple who started a high-end, made-to-order quilt business. Or the guy who imports specialty foreign health foods - and many others.

If you don't feel like laying out capital for stock, then you'll need to find a services business. Unfortunately most copywriting, editing and other jobs depend to a large extent on you being in Tokyo, so as to establish a relationship with your clients-partners, and to hand-deliver manuscripts late at night. But just today I heard of a guy living near the beach, who comes to Tokyo just 2 days a week, to look after clients. To get to this blissful state, he initially stayed in Tokyo for a few months - establishing a clientele and setting himself up for when he moved back to the countryside. He makes an excellent living and has the lifestyle to boot.

I've often found that Japanese smaller companies hire through personal relationships, for some reason they don't use professional recruiting methods. These same companies are also often too timid to think of exporting their products. Why not do something really radical such as approaching 2-3 such firms in your area and offering to sell their products/services overseas? So long as the products are up to snuff, you can try asking friends and family back in your home country to research companies that might be willing to carry such products - then tie up contracts once you go on home leave. Yes, this will require a long lead time before you start getting pay back - but then you're busy studying Japanese during this period anyway, right?

Lastly, I have seen many successful independent bar owners, English schools for children or old folks, and entertainers - all of whom didn't start out in these lines of business, but found that there was a niche they could fill. Don't turn your nose up at these opportunities - one bar owner I met out in a regional city last year is now a multi-millionaire!

As always, my contact details are simply:

terrie.lloyd@daijob.com

Looking forward to getting some enquiries...