
Ask HN: Moving to Tokyo as a software engineer - japanaway
I have noticed that there are many folks living in Japan as a software engineer on here, and I figured this would be one of the best places to ask this.<p>How hard is it to find work in Tokyo for someone that does not speak Japanese? I&#x27;m in my mid-20s, at the &#x27;senior&#x27; level equivalent at a FAANG company, and willing to take a pay cut for the experience.
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seanmcdirmid
Tokyo in general pays less than America or even China for software engineers,
just be warned. If you are at Google, you can see if you can work in their
office there. Facebook also has a Japanese operation, but most of it is
localization rather than worldwide R&D. A friend of mine worked as a designer
for Phillips for a few years and enjoyed it, but I don't know of many
engineers who did the same.

To be honest, if you really are that senior, it would be much easier and
financially rewarding to work in China if you are interested in Asia.

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japanaway
Wow, I knew that Japan compensated engineers poorly but didn't realize that
China pays well in comparison.

Unfortunately, money isn't as much the issue. I can afford and would be
willing to live in Tokyo for a couple years and work on side projects, but
this is not possible visa-wise.

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seanmcdirmid
It isn't that Japan compensates senior engineers poorly, it is just that China
compensates them well.

If all you want to do is work away there and you aren't concerned about pay,
maybe you could get a job as a visiting researcher or teacher.

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japanaway
My rationale for wanting to continue in tech is that my CV will not have weird
gaps like "took a year off to teach English" and the money is presumably still
better, even despite the low salaries there.

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seanmcdirmid
If you are actually a senior programmer in a FAANG company while just being
your mid 20s, a gap year is not going to affect your resume much at all.

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dbosch
I don't know your citizenship. But if you are from an eligible country
(france, UK, Germany...) you are still eligible for a Working Holiday visa.
It's a 1 year visa, quite easy to get. Unfortunately, the US citizens are not
allowed to obtain this visa.

I lived in Tokyo for a year, and it's actually quite easy to get a job as a
computer engineer there. Several of my friend came with a tourist visa (or
Working Holiday visa) and managed to get a visa sponsorship from companies who
wanted to hire them. I'm not saying it's super easy, but it is doable. And
believe me, there is a shortage of web / mobile engineer in Tokyo.

Finally, don't worry too much about the gap year. Just go there and you'll
find something. Go to events and meetups and you ll find plenty of people to
talk to. You'll find a lot of opportunities that way.

Wish you the best

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japanaway
Unfortunately my US citizenship precludes the working holiday route. I will
look in to attending meetups the next time I'm over there, though.

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dbosch
check out the '500 startups' meetup: [https://500startups.jp/bilinguals-
gaijins-in-startups/](https://500startups.jp/bilinguals-gaijins-in-startups/)
plenty of startups of their portfolio looking for engineers

you can also have a look at this guy blog:
[http://www.tokyodev.com/](http://www.tokyodev.com/) lots of tips on how to
work as a gaijin engineer in japan

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zumu
Try to work for a western company -- you will most likely get paid more, and
the culture will be much more relaxed. Being in Japan will be enough of a
culture shock, imho.

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dvhh
You might need to find a company that provide visa sponsorship, some
recruiting company are willing to do the paperwork, there is a surprising
amount of company in Tokyo where you could work using only English.

Although Everyday life could be difficult without knowing a little of Japanese
language and renting apartment is quite expensive at the start.

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cattlefarmer
You're also welcomed to join the hntokoy slack channel. There was a thread
just last week asking exactly the same question.

[https://hntokyo.io](https://hntokyo.io)

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japanaway
I'll check it out, thank you!

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TokyoKid
There's a secret way to go to Japan on a very long visa: start your own
company with a Japanese co-fouder and go there on a management visa. You can
get up to a 5-year visa and it does NOT require a $50k investment.

If you want to stay longer, the only option through marriage.

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agibsonccc
This is what I did. I hired someone already local and he handed the company to
me (didn't want risk, mainly wanted the salary, we were already well funded)
Be aware it does take a bit of capital though.

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TokyoKid
Is there anyway we could get in touch? I'd like to have someone I could ask
questions once I do this myself.

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agibsonccc
Email is in profile.

