~ZeroX585

Wow, I am surprised there were people who looked at my page still, lol. Well sorry for not doing anything to this for 3+ years, but you could say I got distracted. Unfortunately, there aren't any new blades I'm working on quite yet. I don't quite have a place to set up my forge in my current residence. I could set it up, but seeing as I don't have a permanent spot, I'd have to break it down every time I finish. Anyway, I've decided to take my smithing to the next level, and unfortunately its going to take a bit longer than I expected, but it will be worth it in the end.

I decided around 2005-2006 that I wanted to go to Japan to study under a Japanese swordsmith. For those who are curious how that is said in Japanese, it is (katana kaji, かたなかじ、刀鍛冶）　　Romaji, hiragana, and kanji for those who understand some japanese. Anyway, I found out that although this is a nice thought and all, there was something that had to happen before I could just jump over to Japan and start learning. For those of you who don't know yet, when you want to go overseas to do something in a foreign country, there are visa requirements depending on your reason for going to that country. (I hate to go on a long rant about visas, but it is something I feel that everyone should be aware of, if they intend to relocate to another country.) I looked into this, as I intended on staying in Japan for a very long time. I had to research what type of visa I could fit into. I'll start with the one that everyone is eligible right off the bat.

Those who go for a visit get a 'tourist visa'. I did this when I went to japan in the fall of 2004. (For the sake of visas, I will only talk about the Japanese one, as that's the one I've researched the most. I would expect other countries to have similar methods, but it takes research to fully understand the requirements.) The Japanese tourist visa allows 2 weeks or 3 months of stay in Japan. What it doesn't allow is part/full time work (legally anyway). Remember, if you are caught working on a tourist visa, you will be deported. Re entry will be up to how immigration feels. I do believe there is a period of 5 or 10 years where you are not allow to re entry due to your 'choice.' So take heed on that.

Obviously, if I wanted to learn how to make japanese blades, this visa definitely would not be very advantageous for me. So I looked up the next option. This one is called the 'Humanities Visa'. I'm not exactly sure of the specific requirements, but its something like "If you have documented 3 years of work in the humanities area, you can be granted this visa." Unfortunately, I didn't even understand what humanities was when I first read it, let alone any work experience in this field, so this one was out as well.

Another option was a fairly easy one, but it required a fair amount of cash. The Student Visa. This one is fairly common among high schools and colleges. I believe this one is a 6 month to 1 year stay in Japan, as long as you are in some sort of overseas school program. This visa does allow one to work, but only as part time. Well, this one was good option but I didn't have the appropriate cash at the time I researched this.

One visa that has a gray area to it is the "Cultural visa". This one allows 3-6 months of stay in Japan to learn about the culture. As in a craft, art, something along those lines. This one sounded good, but you are not supposed to work on this visa. Reason is, this visa was abused by illegal immigrants, as you could be very vague for your reason for staying. And immigration had a hard time keeping track of those on this visa anyway. So this one was definitely out. 3-6 months is not enough time to learn the craft I need. Plus I have to work. I don't intend on being completely reliant on my teacher for food/housing. (Although that is the traditional way.)

Next one was a thought I had, but I figure this would cause too much trouble for me and hamper on my freedoms if things didn't go the way I needed them. The almighty Marriage Visa. This one is great. Marry a Japanese citizen, and you have free reign to work anywhere for any amount of time. This one does have a period of 1-3 years, and must be renewed when needed. This one sounded good and all to me, but I feared there would be problems with keeping a relationship while doing this craft. Not that it isn't possible, but bear this in mind. As soon as you divorce, for whatever reason that is, your visa becomes null. This one is too high-risk for someone as young as me. I didn't want this instability.

Finally... we get to the most versatile one. The 'standard' Work Visa. This one allows full time work and residence in Japan, as long as you have the means to support yourself. But, the requirements for this is what may seem a little interesting. To get this visa, you are required to have completed a college education of the Bachelor's level. That's right, you need a bachelor's of 3-4 years to get this visa. I hear it is not required to have this, but your chances of having a company sponsor your visa without one are very, very small. The only other way to get this visa is by having 10 years of documented work in one field, under the title of "Skilled Laborer." This visa has a use time of 1-3 years, and must be renewed by your employer. Yes! This is the one that suits me. So I decided to go to college at the age of 22.

The last bit of the requirements is a bit extreme, but you see Japan kinda makes it hard to immigrate to their country. I don't mind the difficulty really, as it could be much harder.

There is another visa that I'm not too certain about, but since I'm basing my thoughts out of the US way to get a visa, I believe places like UK, Canada, and Australia have the 'Working Holiday Visa.' I'll post a link to immigration of Japan if you wish to research further.

So that's my reason for the choices I've made now. I need to get to Japan to study, but in order to do that, I need a college degree. Oh, for those of you who are worrying about what type of degree, it really doesn't matter. You could have a degree in wall painting, and it would work. It HAS to be a bachelors though. AND online learning is ok. I've talked to some immigration people about online degrees, and they gave the thumbs up. As long as the online class is from an accredited source, its all good. And for those of you who already have a college degree, just know Japanese and get a company to sponsor your visa. You'll be set.

Sorry for the long winded statement, but this information is golden. If anyone intends on going to any country for other than a visit, please research its visa requirements.

So at the moment, I am occupied with college, into my first semester already. Its just about over too, and I'm doing good as well.

If I do any more bladework in between now and then, it will be minimal. Probably not much more than polishing, but I'll definitely post any progress I make, if you guys are interested anyway

Here's the link to the Japanese immigration website's visa section:

[link]

By the way, those of you who play FFXI, let me know. I'm Falk on Diabolos server.

And anyone who's interested in learning Japanese, let me know too. I need to practice my verbal communication better.

I also added those who added me to my watch list. Thanks guys.

That's it for now. Thanks for watching.

-ZeroX585