A Brief Overview Of Resort Jobs In Japan
Until recently, if you wanted to work in Japan, your options were limited to English teaching, or bar work. But now, foreigners can choose to work in Japanese ski, beach, and golf Resorts, which is a lot more fun, and a much more authentic cultural experience!
Contracts at resorts around Japan usually last anywhere from 2 - 5 months. Ski resort contracts start in December, and finish at the end of March (or sometimes even a little longer, depending on the snow conditions). Beach / golf / mountain resort work contracts usually start in June, and finish around October (but shorter contracts are also available).
Which jobs you can do in resorts depends on your Japanese ability. For lower levels, there's work in restaurants, or on ski lifts. For intermediate levels, working in a gift shop, ticket sales, pool / beach attendant, or ski instructor / patrol positions are available. And for higher levels, working at the hotel front desk, as a concierge, or a bellhop is possible. While the different jobs require differing levels of Japanese, all of the jobs are in a completely Japanese environment, so no matter what your level, your Japanese will improve fast.
Living and working in a Japanese resort, all the facilities are communal, so you live in large dormitories, staying in rooms with up to 4 other people. You bathe in large group facilities, with showers and often a large bathtub (Japanese love soaking in the bath). You eat in dining halls, with your co-workers, and Japanese food is served to you on trays, just like a school cafeteria. Best of all, before or after work, you're always with your friends - snowboarding, lying on a tropical beach, or hiking through the forest - all these things are possible working in a resort in Japan.
Resort work doesn't pay as well as English teaching - but all your accommodation and season ski passes are completely free at the resorts, so it's actually a good deal. Expect to pocket around USD$700 per month after all expenses / fun, which is around the same as you could save living in the city. But really, you don't work in a resort for the money - you do it for the time of your life; to make new friends, improve your Japanese, and experience the real Japan. And in all of these ways, resort jobs in Japan deliver like no other job does.
