Preparation before coming to Japan
Obviously coming to Japan on a tourist visa and looking for a job in Japan as a tourist is going to be tough and risky. There is the chance that you will not be able to find a job and that you will have return home empty handed. To offset as much risk as possible it is important to plan ahead. This includes finding a cheap place to live while you are searching for a job, setting up job interviews so that you are not wasting any of your valuable time or hard-earned cash, saving about $3000 to $4000 for living expenses, brushing up on Japanese, and networking.

Finding a place to live
If you are not smart about choosing accommodation you will blow all of your money in a short amount of time and find yourself sleeping in public parks or Karaoke parlors so listen up. Apartments in Japan are expensive! This is mainly due to high land prices but can also be attributed to an outdated system in which you must pay "security deposit" and "thank-you money", 敷金 (shikikin) and 礼金 (reikin) in Japanese. Shikikin and Reikin can add a hefty weight to the cost of moving into an apartment, usually one to two months rent for each, so it is best to consider these two costs carefully when choosing an apartment. If you don't then you might find yourself paying 200,000 yen or more in shikikin and reikin charges. These charges do not include renter's insurance, management fees, the first month's rent and any other creative charges the real-estate company can come up with to make more money off of you so if you are not smart you might have to pay 300,000 to 400,000 yen for the first month! Your solution to dodge these charges should be to look for a place with low or no shikikin/reikin, to live at guest house or gaijin house, or to house up with a friend or girlfriend/boyfriend.

Cheap guest houses
Looking for a guesthouse outside of Japan will be a tough task but it can be done. Depending on the place you might find accommodations with rates charged by the day, week or month. Some cheap places to note are:

Guest Houses in Tokyo and Yokohama

The Tokyo Cozy House
Tokyo Cozy House is so gaijin friendly that you would think that an actual gaijin was running the place! They have rates as low as 30,450 yen per month with a six month lease! Of course their rates vary with the number of people in a room but regardless of how much privacy you demand their rates are excellent! They also have a small deposit but it isn't much. Some of their other benefits include free internet (over 3 months stay), free rental bikes (over 3 months stay), free mobile phone (over 3 months stay), free coffee and tea and many other free services! With their low price, good locations, and numerous services Tokyo Cozy House is one of the best deals I have ever come across. They have a few places in Tokyo so check with them through their website about availability and rates.

Sakura House Apartments and Guest House
Sakura House is probably one of the most well-known names in guest houses for foreigners in Japan. They have a long history of dealing with foreigners so they are very understanding of foreigner needs. They offer cheap rates, clean rooms, they don't require key money, guarantor, or agent fees, all their rooms are furnished, they have a free internet line available in most rooms, rent including utilities is payable by major credit cards, and they have staff that can speak English, Chinese, Korean and French. They have quite a lot of rooms so you could probably find an opening. Check out their website for more information.

Tokyo Room Finder
Tokyo Room Finder is a great solution for searching for cheap accommodations within Tokyo. You can find guest houses, apartments, and shared apartments in the Tokyo area with low shikikin/reikin and no need for a guarantor.

Guest Houses in Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe

Banana Guest House Osaka
The Banana guest house is one of the most popular guest houses in all of Osaka. Located in Sakai, Osaka they offer private and shared rooms, Coin laundry, a computer for 24hours free access, internet, Cable TV/ Video room, Lobbies, shared kitchen, bathroom, 5 more cookable space, free shower room, and air conditioning and Kotatsu tables in private rooms. Their rent prices start at 55,000 yen per month but they also have daily and weekly rates available.

Osaka English House
Osaka English House is a nice guesthouse located in Hirakata City Osaka. A very open and friendly environment adds to the charm of this guest house. Some of their benefits include have a spacious community lounge & library, dining & kitchen area with Phone, Fax, TV, VCR, Piano, Copier, laundry, Refrigerator, Cooking utensils etc. The private rooms have A/C, Heat and furniture.
 

Kyoto Apartment
Heights Sanpo
Green Peace Guest House
Orange House
Nanba Park Guest House

Staying with a girlfriend/boyfriend or friend
This is also an option for finding a place to stay while you begin your job search! The most important factor in this solution is to actually have a friend or girlfriend who lives in Japan. Since most people only have friends in the country they are living in this will take a bit of work on the internet. Before I tell you some options please remember social skills 101. I don't know why but there is an overwhelming number of people in this world who love to throw cheesy lines at girls. Like if they see that a girl likes to workout they say "Hey hot and sexy, lets work up a sweat together!!!". Well, if the girl has an IQ over 30 then crap like that isn't going to work so please quit using it. Just be a normal person!! Having that said, let's move on to getting your girl/boy. Now don't get me wrong. I am not suggesting to make friends with someone just to use them for a place to stay. I am suggesting making several friends and express to them your interest in coming to Japan. If you are lucky they will happily offer their place for you stay while you are searching for a job. Two of the easiest ways to meet people online would be a friends network like myspace. There are lots of Japanese who use myspace so meeting and making friends through that outlet would be quite easy.

If you have a decent knowledge of Japanese language you could opt for the Japanese version of myspace which is Mixi. Mixi has millions of members but the format is Japanese and you must be invited by someone who is already using Mixi. If you know at least one Japanese person though, chances are that they or someone they know uses Mixi and would be glad to invite you. Unlike myspace, Mixi only has one-tenth the number of slime balls and perverts and you don't need to run a virus scan every time you use it.

Note that if you are looking for a girlfriend Mixi and myspace might not be the best places to look. Both are great places for networking and meeting friends but because of all the pervs most females have their guard up.

The one way in which I have known several people to obtain Japanese girlfriends/boyfriends through the internet is through pen-pal type services. I wish I could give the exact reason why this option works so well but my guess is because it is indirect and seems somewhat innocent. Probably the most well-known pen-pal service is japan guide pen friends. The service is completely free. Thousands of new ads are posted everyday and like I wrote before, I've heard a lot of good things about this service.


Ok, so hopefully now you are ready to start with your job search. Now you need to go to the jobs page to find out ways to get jobs while in Japan.
Finding a Job in Japan


Need more help then check out these helpful articles
How to come to Japan
Coming to Japan as a Teacher
Finding a Job in Japan
Coming to Japan as a Student
Coming to Japan as a Graduate Student

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