My name is Bobby Coutu. I’m half American and half Japanese. I grew up speaking Japanese with friends and family, but never really studied the language (so my reading and writing skills are minimal). Regardless, I do have a passion for foreign language and have studied Italian, Spanish, and French. I studied abroad in Perugia, Italy during my undergraduate years and became fluent during my time there. I graduated from UVM in 2011 with a degree in Nutrition and Food Science, but wanted to go teach English in Japan. I moved to Japan with my then girlfriend and worked together for a company called iTTTi Japan. She had found an advertisement for the company on Gaijinpot.com and figured “Why not?”.
iTTTi Japan is part of a larger publishing corporation called KTC, which is based in Nagoya, Japan. iTTTi Japan’s main enterprise is Peppy Kids Club (PKC), an English-teaching company that focuses on providing fun, safe learning environments for children. We started working for PKC in August, 2011, but applied for jobs sometime in March. The online application was quick and easy and we received a phone call from a company recruiter within a week. The two of us then drove to Toronto to have an in-person meeting (not really an interview) and signed on. I believe you might be able to ask for a Skype meeting now, if you prefer not to travel to Toronto.
iTTTi Japan does not pay for the plane tickets to Japan (unlike JET). They do offer housing for about $4-600 a month, which they deduct from your paycheck. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to actively find a place to live, and the apartments come furnished. Getting your own apartment in Japan can be a hassle, but definitely doable. Just read up on how to do it ahead of time so that after spending a few months in a iTTTi Japan apartment, you can move out and live on your own.
The two of us were placed in a small town called Hachinohe, in Aomori prefecture. It was a rural, spread out area that was difficult to get around without your own car. Though buses and trains were available, they came around about once every hour and were simply not that convenient. Because of the job hours (typically from 2pm-11pm), having a night life was difficult. Some PKC employees still enjoy their nights out if they live close enough to a city or downtown area. However, for us, the area was dead asleep by 10pm and the weather was similar to Vermont’s (very cold and not kind to long distance walking).
The job itself was pretty straight-forward and easy to pick up on. You were typically by yourself and were in charge of taking care of a single group of same-aged children at a time. So your first class may be a group of 1st graders, whom you’ll teach for 50 minutes; they leave, then 10 minutes later, a different group of 4th graders may arrive for another 50 minute block. There may be 1-6 groups per work day, but it all depends on the area.
At the moment I believe PKC starting pay is about $24,000/year. It’s a modest salary but the job will grant you a visa and some start-up cash for finding other employment. My ex and I transferred within the company, to teach ESL in public junior high schools within Nagoya. The company, iTTTi AET, only recruits PKC employees. You apply to the job sometime in February and if you get the job, you start in May. The pay when I left was around $28,000/year with benefits. But, during the summer and winter breaks, you work as a PKC teacher (wherever they may be needed). The downside to being a PKC teacher while you’re an AET is that your schedule can suddenly become turbulent. The AET schedule is basically an 8am-4pm job, so going back to working evenings can be tiring.
In terms of working environment, I enjoyed working with most of my Japanese teachers (as an AET). At times your views on education may conflict, but as an assistant, you do not address these concerns. Your job is to do as you are told and try to make English as fun as possible for your students (while understanding the rules). The dress attire at junior high schools was rather casual. I typically wore polo shirts with slacks and I was never scolded. Jeans are questionable… For PKC, you can dress as casually as you wish, so long as you don’t expose too much skin or tattoos. Also, for PKC, you rarely work with other people, so there are not many societal rules or workplace obligations to speak of. You do have monthly meetings with other PKC teachers, which can be fun and helpful.
I would say that for anyone wanting to work in Japan, the best advice I can give you for having an enriching experience is to just get there. Once you have a work visa, it’s not too difficult to find other jobs that will suit your interests and skills. And that said, facing some challenges and working on skills that you don’t necessarily have may benefit you in the long-run. Try to make connections with teachers and make friendships so that you can learn a lot more of the language, history, and traditions of Japan. The connections will also help you find better living situations and jobs.
Good luck and have fun!
Bobby Coutu
More from Bobby 2024 (Thank you, Bobby!):
My mother’s side of the family is Japanese, so I would go back to my Japanese hometown of Nagoya every summer. I never had a formal Japanese education and I rarely studied Japanese language, but fortunately I was able to learn Japanese through my mom, old vhs tapes of Japanese tv shows, and my family back in Nagoya. I majored in nutrition at the University of Vermont, which was largely useless as a degree. But the memories and experiences I had as an undergraduate student were overwhelmingly positive and helpful for developing my identity and ability to socialize.
I used to work for iTTTi Japan, or Peppy Kids Club (back in 2011-2015). There’s a previous entry on this blog about my experience there, for those who are interested. Currently I’m a freelancer in Okayama, Japan. I’ve been doing video and photo work for the last 7 years. I’m lucky because I have Japanese nationality, so I never had to worry about visa issues. That said, if you do want to do freelance work in Japan, there are ways to effectively “sponsor” yourself, by procuring enough contracts ahead of time to prove to the immigration office that you can in fact live with the wages you earn. However this is not an easy or simple process.
My interview with iTTTi was in Toronto, and then again in Hachinohe, Japan (for two different positions within the company). Both interviews were quite relaxed and simple. I do recommend dressing in formal attire (tie, suit, dress shoes, etc). I personally hate suits and if I can help it, I prefer never to wear them. However it’s a good idea to have at least one set for formal occasions, so either invest a few hundred dollars before coming to Japan, or go to a mall or shopping area and get yourself a cheap suit.
If you’re coming to Japan, as far as I know, iTTTi never pays for your ticket. However, they will find an apartment for you. The rent is usually anywhere from 50000-60000 yen a month. It’s not very easy to find decent apartments in Japan (as a foreigner) so for the first year or so I recommend just going with what the company provides. For the first two years in Okayama, my wife and I lived in an apartment that was owned by the board of education (BOE) in Okayama. The rent was prorated so we only collectively paid 15000 a month (amazing…). But after she quit JET, we found our own place by hiring a real estate agent (who happened to be a friend of ours). We lived in that apartment for 4 years, then moved to our current apartment (again, through our real estate friend) and we now enjoy a much larger apartment pretty close to downtown Okayama. The current rent is about 100000/month for an 80 sq/m place (4LDK). IF you’re going to live on your own (with no company support), there are a few things you should consider, such as real estate fees, mover costs, internet, etc. Generally speaking the realtor who helped find your apartment gets one month rent worth of service money. Then, before you move in, you normally have to pay two month’s deposit, key money, and a “thank you” fee (so at least 4 months worth of rent before you step foot inside). And if you’re moving from one apartment to the next, I recommend you hire a moving company (costs anywhere from 60000 to 200000) depending on the location and quantity of goods.
Working in a Japanese company generally drains your soul. I never recommend it to people looking to live here in the long term. It really only works if you’re born and raised in Japan (since the education system and culture here helps slowly train people to work well in companies). If you’re born and raised outside this ecosystem, it can be jarring at best but miserable at worst! So most of the happiest expats that I’ve met who work in companies within Japan, generally work for international corporations (e.g., Indeed, Volkswagen, tourism organizations, etc). Schools and BOE’s vary with each city and prefecture. I’ve generally had very positive and rewarding experiences teaching at both the junior high school and college level. However, it’s difficult to earn any pay raises or promotions. So after a few years you may feel static or bored. But if you love routines, it’s fantastic for you.
Since I do mostly video and photo work, I get to more or less choose the clients I work with. Since I’m a relatively social person and I speak Japanese, it’s not too hard to find clients. However, it’s important to network and to keep improving your craft. If you sit around and expect people to hire you, it probably won’t happen. So if you’re a translator, translate as much material as possible (e.g., manga, games, books, videos…). Build up your portfolio and find others to work with. Communities on Slack, Facebook, Instagram—there’s a lot but you just have to be proactive.
Working with Japanese people can be very rewarding and easy-going, especially with small scale clients (e.g., NPO groups, shop owners, other freelancers). They pay on time and agreements are almost always met. Working with Japanese organizations, especially ones connected to the government, is a headache. Generally speaking the Japanese are very hierarchical in their systems. So if the Bucho (manager) who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, says to change something, everyone below him is expected to listen. I am not one of those people who blindly accepts orders, so I tend to push back (since I’m a freelancer). Therefore if you work at a company and you don’t like what the higher up’s are saying/doing, you just have to deal with it. And also, because of this system, it’s very hard to change any current rules or systems, even if everyone around you knows that they should be updated. You basically have to hope that the higher up’s retire, get transferred, or pass away in order for real structural changes to occur. But it may not be that different from America?… Regardless, I prefer working on my own and avoiding clients with these red flags!
Try to learn as much Japanese as possible by going out and talking to people. It’s scary and uncomfortable, but it’ll help you find a community and not be lonely. Being lonely is one of the biggest problems in Japan. Also, try to be generous. A lot of people who are unfamiliar with Japanese customs are surprised by how much Japanese (or other East Asian peoples) give their friends and family–whether it be money, gifts, their time, etc. So try not to be stingy and be generous to those around you. You’ll make a lot more friends and people willing to be your true friends.
To the faculty I think it would be good to keep a Slack community for former UVM students who are working/worked in Japan. Many graduating students can find jobs via gaijinpot and the traditional channels. But active connections and networking is very helpful. For example, even in Okayama right now there is a position open at an elementary school for English teachers. Rather than having to depend on large organizations and recruiting agents, you can simply have alumni offer jobs/paths.
It may seem to late, but MAKE CONNECTIONS. Go to parties, go to events, talk to people–the college environment is ideal for making friends. Imagine how hard it is to randomly start a conversation with a stranger in your town. Now multiply that difficulty by ten, since you a) don’t speak the native language as well and b) you don’t have anything in common. You never know when those friends might offer you a job connection or an interesting experience down the line.
Being relatively optimistic helps you achieve a happier life, I think. Don’t let the negativity clouds consume you!