The 2025 edition of the TokyoDev Developer Survey is now live! If you’re a software developer living in Japan, please take a few minutes to participate. All questions are optional, and it should take less than 10 minutes to complete. The survey will remain open until September 30th. Last year, we received over 800 responses. Highlights included: Median compensation remained stable. The pay gap between international and Japanese companies narrowed to 47%. Fewer respondents had the option to work fully remotely. For 2025, we’ve added several new questions, including a dedicated section on one of the most talked-about topics in development today: AI. The survey is completely anonymous, and only aggregated results will be shared—never personally identifiable information. The more responses we get, the deeper and more meaningful our insights will be. Please help by taking the survey and sharing it with your peers!

With TokyoDev as my sponsor, I extended my Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa for another three years. I’m thrilled by this result, because my family and I recently moved to a small town in Kansai and have been enjoying our lives in Japan more than ever. Since I have some experience with bureaucracy in Japan, I was prepared for things to get . . . complicated. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the fact that I’d changed jobs and had three dependents, the process was much simpler than I expected. Below I’ll share my particular experience, which should be especially helpful to those in the Kansai area, and cover the following: What a visa extension is What happens when you change jobs mid-visa The documents your new sponsoring company needs to provide The documents you need to assemble yourself Some paperwork issues you might encounter What you can expect when visiting an immigration office (particularly in Osaka) Follow-up actions you’ll be required to take Information I wish I’d had What do I mean by “visa extension”? In 2022, I was a permanent employee at a company in Tokyo, which agreed to sponsor my Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa and bring me to Japan. Initially I received a three-year work visa, and at the same time my husband and two children each received a three-year Dependent visa. Our original visas were set to expire in August 2025, but we’ve decided to remain in Japan long-term, so we wanted to prolong our stay. Since Japan’s immigration offices accept visa extension applications beginning three months before the visa end date, I began preparing my application in May 2025 and submitted it in June. It’s a good idea to begin the visa extension process as soon as possible. There are no downsides to doing so, and beginning early can help prevent serious complications. If you have a bank account in Japan, it can be frozen when your original visa expires; you will either need to show the bank your new residence card before that date, or demonstrate that you are currently in the process of extending your visa. Your My Number Card also expires on the original visa expiration date. This process is also often called a “visa renewal,” but it’s the same procedure. There is no difference between an extension and a renewal. New employment status and employer In the three years since my visa was originally issued, I became a freelancer, or sole proprietor (個人事業主, kojin jigyou nushi), and left my original sponsoring company. Paul McMahon was not only one of my first clients in Japan, but also the first to offer me an ongoing contract, which was enormously helpful. When I made my formal exit from my initial company, I was able to list TokyoDev as my new employer when notifying Immigration. The documents required TokyoDev also agreed to sponsor my visa, which meant Paul would provide documentation about the company to Immigration. I’d assumed this paperwork might be difficult or time-intensive, but Paul reassured me that the entire process was quite simple and only took a few hours. This work does not increase linearly per international employee; once a company knows which documents are required, it is relatively simple to repeat the process for each employee. I’m not the first worker TokyoDev has sponsored. In fact, TokyoDev successfully sponsored a contractor within a month of incorporation, with the only fees being those required for gathering the paperwork. Company documents Exactly what documents are required varies according to the status of the company. In this specific case, the documents Paul provided for TokyoDev, a category 4 company, were: The company portion of my visa extension application TokyoDev’s legal report summary (法定調書合計表, hotei chosho goukei-hyou) for the previous fiscal year TokyoDev’s Certificate of Registration (登記事項証明書, touki jikou shoumei-sho) A copy of TokyoDev’s financial statements (決算書, kessan-sho) for the latest fiscal year A business description of TokyoDev, which in this case was a sales presentation in Japanese that explained the premise of the company Personal documents The documents I supplied myself were: My passport and residence card My portions of my visa extension application A visa-sized photo (taken at a photo booth) The signed contract between myself and TokyoDev A contract with a secondary client My tax payment certificate for the previous year (納税証明書, nouzei shoumei-sho), which I got from our town hall My resident tax certificate (住民税の課税, juuminzei no kazei), which I got from our town hall I had to prepare some additional documents for my dependents. These were: The residence cards and passports of my children Copies of my own residence card and passport, for my husband’s application Visa extension applications for my dependent children and husband A visa-sized photo of my husband (children under 16 don’t need photos) Copies and Japanese translations of the children’s birth certificates A copy and Japanese translation of our American wedding certificate Paperwork tips A few questions and complications did arise while I was assembling the paperwork. Japanese translations I had Japanese translations of my children’s birth certificates and my marriage certificate already, left over from registering my initial address with City Hall. These translations were done by a coworker, and weren’t certified. I’ve used them repeatedly for procedures in Japan and never had them rejected. Dependent applications First, I had a hard time locating the correct application for my dependents. I could only find the one I’ve linked above, which initially didn’t seem to apply, since it’s for dependents of those who have a Designated Activities visa (such as researchers). I ended up filling out another, totally erroneous version of the application and had to re-do it all at the immigration office. To my chagrin, I found the paper version they had on hand was identical to this linked form! Resident tax certificate in a new town Next, my resident tax certificate was complicated by the fact that I’d lived in my new town in Nara for about seven months, and hadn’t yet paid any resident tax locally. Fortunately my first resident tax installment came due about that time, so I paid it promptly, then got the form from City Hall demonstrating that it had indeed been paid. I wasn’t sure a single payment would be enough to satisfy immigration, but it seemed to work. If I’d needed to prove payment for previous years, I would have had to request that certificate from the previous town I’d lived in, Hachoiji. Since this would have been a tedious process involving mailing things back and forth and a money order, I was glad to avoid it. Giving a “reason for extension” When filling out my application, Paul advised that I ask for a five-year extension: he said Immigration might not grant it, but it probably wouldn’t hurt my chances. I did that, and in the brief space where you write “Reason for extension,” I crammed in several sentences about how my career is based in Japan, my husband is studying shakuhachi, and my children attend public Japanese school and speak Japanese. All our applications included at least some of these details. This probably wasn’t necessary, and it’s hard to say if it influenced the final result or not, but that was how I approached it. That pesky middle name I worried that since I’d signed my TokyoDev contract without my middle name, which is present on my passport and residence card, that the application would be rejected. This sort of name-based nitpicking is common enough at Japanese banks—would Immigration react in the same way? Paul assured me that other employees had submitted their contracts without middle names and had no trouble. He was right and it wasn’t an issue, but I’ve decided in future to sign everything with all three of my names, just to be sure. Never make this mistake Finally, my husband wrote his own application, then had to rewrite it at the immigration office because they realized he’d used a Frixion (erasable) pen. This is strictly not allowed, so save yourself some trouble and use a regular ballpoint with blue or black ink! The application process Before making the trip to an immigration office, I polled my friends and checked Google Maps reviews. The nearest office to me had some one-star reviews, and a friend of mine described a negative experience there, so I was leery of simply going with the closest option. Instead, I decided to apply at an office farther from home, the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau by Cosmosquare Station, which my friend had used for years. I wasn’t entirely sure that this was permitted, but nobody at the Osaka office raised an eyebrow at my Nara address. Getting there I took the train to Cosmosquare Station and arrived around lunchtime on Friday, June 20th. The station itself has an odd quirk: every time I try to use Google Maps inside or near it, I receive bizarrely inaccurate directions. Whatever the building is made of, it really messes with Maps! Luckily the signage around Cosmosquare is quite clear, and I had no difficulty locating the immigration office once I stopped trying to use my phone. Unfortunately I must have picked one of the worst times to visit. The office is on the second floor, but the line extended out the door and down the staircase. At least it was moving quickly, and I soon discovered that there is a convenience store on the second floor, which proved important later on. Asking for information The line I was standing in led to two counters, Application and Information. Since I wasn’t sure I had filled out the correct forms for my dependents, I stopped by the Information desk first. The man there spoke English well, and informed me that I had, in fact, filled out the wrong paperwork. This mistake was easily fixed because there were printed copies of the correct form—and of every other form used by Immigration—right by the doorway. The clerk also confirmed what I’d already suspected, that I couldn’t submit an application on behalf of my husband. Since I’d come alone while he watched the kids, he’d have to come by himself later. I took fresh copies of the applications for my children. Since the office itself was quite full, I went to the convenience store and enjoyed a soda while filling out the paperwork again. That convenience store also has an ID photo booth, a copier, and revenue stamps, so it’s well-equipped to assist applicants. Submitting the application Armed with the correct paperwork, I got back into line and waited around 10 minutes for my turn to submit. The woman behind the desk glanced quickly through my documents. Mostly she wanted to know if I needed to make any copies, because I wouldn’t be receiving these documents back. Once I’d confirmed I didn’t need any papers returned, she gave me a number and asked me to wait to be called. In addition to my number, she handed me a postcard on which to write my own address. This would be sent to me if and when Immigration approved the visa extension, to indicate by what date I needed to pick up my new residence card. Based on the messages I periodically sent my husband, my number wasn’t called for three and a half hours. The office was crowded and hot, but there were also screens showing the numbers called in the hallway and downstairs in the lobby, so it’s possible to visit the convenience store or stretch your legs without missing your appointment. Being able to purchase snacks and drinks at will certainly helped. Mostly, I wished I had brought a good book with me. When my number was finally called, I was surprised they had no questions for me. The clerks had spotted one place in the documents where I’d forgotten to sign; once that minor error was corrected, I was free to go. A paper was stapled into my passport, and my residence card was stamped on the back to show that I was going through the visa extension process. My husband’s experience My husband visited the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, June 26th. Although he described it as “quite busy” already, there was no line down the staircase, and he was finished by noon. If you want to avoid long wait times, arriving early in the morning might help. Approval and picking up Given the crowd that had packed the Osaka immigration office, and also knowing how backed up the immigration offices in Tokyo can be, I fully expected not to see our postcards for several months. Immigration regularly publishes statistics on the various visas and related processing times based on national averages. In fact, my husband and I received our postcards the same day, July 11th, just three weeks after I’d submitted my and my children’s applications. As usual, there was no indication on the postcard as to how long our visa extension would be: we would only find out if we’d qualified for a one-, three-, or five-year extension once we picked up our new residence cards. I had until July 18th to collect the cards for myself and the kids, and my husband had until the 25th to get his. We opted to go together on the same day, July 14th. The postcards also indicated that we’d need four 6,000 yen revenue stamps, one for each applicant. Revenue stamps (収入印紙, shuunyuu inshi) are a cash replacement, like a money order, to affix to specific documents. Though we knew that the convenience store at the Osaka Regional Immigration Bureau sold revenue stamps, we decided to secure them in advance, just in case. The morning we left, we stopped by our local post office and showed the staff our postcards. They had no trouble identifying and providing the stamps we needed. We arrived at the immigration office around 10:45 a.m. Foolishly, we’d assumed that picking up the cards would be a faster process. Instead, we waited for nearly four hours. Fortunately we’d discussed this possibility with several family friends, who were prepared to help pick up our children from school when we were running late. We finally got our cards and the news was good: we’d all received three-year extensions! Aftermath Extending our visa, and receiving new residence cards, entails some further paperwork. Specifically: My husband will need to reapply for permission to work. We’ll need new My Number cards for all family members, as those expire with the original visa expiration date. Our Japanese bank account will also be frozen upon the original visa expiration date, so it’s important that we inform our bank of the visa extension and provide copies of our new cards as soon as possible. If you are still going through the extension process when your original visa expires, you can show the bank your residence card, which should be stamped to indicate you are currently extending your visa, to prevent them from freezing your account in the interim. Top Takeaways Here’s a brief list of the most important questions I had during the process, and the answers I found. Can I apply for a visa extension on behalf of my spouse and children? Yes to underage children, no to the spouse, unless there are serious extenuating circumstances (such as the spouse being hospitalized). If you and your spouse don’t apply at the same time, make sure your dependent spouse has a copy of your passport and residence card to take with them. Can you only apply at the nearest immigration office? Not necessarily. I applied to one slightly further from my house, and actually in another prefecture, for personal reasons. However, this only worked because the Osaka office was a regional branch, with broader jurisdiction that included Nara. It probably wouldn’t have worked in reverse—for example, if I lived in Osaka and applied to the satellite office in Nara, which only has jurisdiction over Nara and Wakayama. Be sure to check the jurisdiction of the immigration office you choose. Is there any downside to applying early? There is no downside to getting your application in as soon as possible. Immigration will begin accepting applications within three months of the visa expiration date. I originally questioned whether an early extension would mean you “lost” a few months of your visa. For example, if I received my new card in June, but my visa was originally due to expire in August, would the new expiration date be in June? This isn’t the case: the new expiration date is based on the previous expiration date, not on when you submit your application. My visa’s prior expiration date was August 2025, and it’s now August 2028. If you’re extending a visa that was for longer than one year, how many years of tax certificates and records do you need to provide? A: I only provided my previous fiscal year’s tax certificate and proof of one resident tax payment in my local area, and that seemed to be enough. I wasn’t asked for documentation of previous years or paperwork from my prior town hall. Conclusion I’ve lived in several countries over the last fifteen years, so I’m experienced in general at acquiring and retaining visas. Japan’s visa system is paperwork-intensive, but it’s also fair, stable, and reasonably transparent. The fact that my Japanese visa isn’t attached to a singular company, but rather to the type of work I wish to perform, gives me peace of mind as I continue to establish our lives here. I also feel more comfortable as a freelancer in Japan, now that I know how easy it is for a company to sponsor my visa. Paul was able to assemble the documents needed in a single afternoon, and it didn’t cost TokyoDev anything beyond the price of the papers and postage. As freelancing and gig work are on the rise, I’d encourage more Japanese companies to consider sponsoring visas for their international contractors. Likewise, I hope that the experience I’ve shared here will help other immigrants to explore their freelancing options in Japan, and approach their visa extension process with both good information and a solid plan. If you’d like to continue the conversation on visa extensions and company sponsorship, you can join the TokyoDev Discord. Or see more articles on visas for developers, starting your own business in Japan, and remaining here long-term.

“One of the comments that sparked this article,” our founder Paul McMahon told me, “was someone saying, ‘I don’t really want to do networking because it seems kind of sleazy. I’m not that kind of person.’” I guess that’s the key misconception people have when they hear ‘networking.’ They think it’s like some used car salesman kind of approach where you have to go and get something out of the person. That’s a serious error, according to Paul, and it worries him that so many developers share that mindset. Instead, Paul considers networking a mix of making new friends, growing a community, and enjoying serendipitous connections that might not bear fruit until years later, but which could prove to be make-or-break career moments. It’s something that you don’t get quick results on and that doesn’t make a difference at all until it does. And it’s just because of the one connection you happen to make at an event you went to once, this rainy Tuesday night when you didn’t really feel like going, but told yourself you have to go—and that can make all the difference. As Paul has previously shared, he can attribute much of his own career success—and, interestingly enough, his peace of mind—to the huge amount of networking he’s done over the years. This is despite the fact that Paul is, in his own words, “not such a talkative person when it comes to small talk or whatever.” Recently I sat down with Paul to discuss exactly how developers are networking “wrong,” and how they can get it right instead. In our conversation, we covered: What networking really is, and why you need to start ASAP Paul’s top tip for anyone who wants to network Advice for networking as an introvert Online vs offline networking—which is more effective? And how to network in Japan, even when you don’t speak Japanese What is networking, really, and why should you start now? “Sometimes,” Paul explained, “people think of hiring fairs and various exhibitions as the way to network, but that’s not networking to me. It’s purely transactional. Job seekers are focused on getting interviews, recruiters on making hires. There’s no chance to make friends or help people outside of your defined role.” Networking is getting to know other people, understanding how maybe you can help them and how they can help you. And sometime down the road, maybe something comes out of it, maybe it doesn’t, but it’s just expanding your connections to people. One reason developers often avoid or delay networking is that, at its core, networking is a long game. Dramatic impacts on your business or career are possible—even probable—but they don’t come to fruition immediately. “A very specific example would be TokyoDev,” said Paul. “One of our initial clients that posted to the list came through networking.” Sounds like a straightforward result? It’s a bit more complicated than that. “There was a Belgian guy, Peter, whom I had known through the Ruby and tech community in Japan for a while,” Paul explained. “We knew each other, and Peter had met another Canadian guy, Jack, who [was] looking to hire a Ruby developer. “So Peter knew about me and TokyoDev and introduced me to Jack, and that was the founder of Degica, who became one of our first clients. . . . And that just happened because I had known Peter through attending events over the years.” Another example is how Paul’s connection to the Ruby community helped him launch Doorkeeper. His participation in Ruby events played a critical role in helping the product succeed, but only because he’d already volunteered at them for years. “Because I knew those people,” he said, “they wanted to support me, and I guess they also saw that I was genuine about this stuff, and I wasn’t participating in these events with some big plan about, ‘If I do this, then they’re going to use my system,’ or whatever. Again, it was people helping each other out.” These delayed and indirect impacts are why Paul thinks you should start networking right now. “You need to do it in advance of when you actually need it,” he said. “People say they’re looking for a job, and they’re told ‘You could network!’ Yeah, that could potentially help, but it’s almost too late.” You should have been networking a couple years ago when you didn’t need to be doing it, because then you’ve already built up the relationships. You can have this karma you’re building over time. . . . Networking has given me a lot of wealth. I don’t mean so much in money per se, but more it’s given me a safety net. “Now I’m confident,” he said, “that if tomorrow TokyoDev disappeared, I could easily find something just through my connections. I don’t think I’ll, at least in Japan, ever have to apply for a job again.” “I think my success with networking is something that anyone can replicate,” Paul went on, “provided they put in the time. I don’t consider myself to be especially skilled in networking, it’s just that I’ve spent over a decade making connections with people.” How to network (the non-sleazy way) Paul has a fair amount of advice for those who want to network in an effective, yet genuine fashion. His first and most important tip:  Be interested in other people. Asking questions rather than delivering your own talking points is Paul’s number one method for forging connections. It also helps avoid those “used car salesman” vibes. “ That’s why, at TokyoDev,” Paul explained, “we typically bar recruiters from attending our developer events. Because there are these kinds of people who are just going around wanting to get business cards from everyone, wanting to get their contact information, wanting to then sell them on something later. It’s quite obvious that they’re like that, and that leads to a bad environment, [if] someone’s trying to sell you on something.” Networking for introverts The other reason Paul likes asking questions is that it helps him to network as an introvert. “That’s actually one of the things that makes networking easier for someone who isn’t naturally so talkative. . . . When you meet new people, there are some standard questions you can ask them, and it’s like a blank slate where you’re filling in the details about this person.” He explained further that going to events and being social can be fun for him, but he doesn’t exactly find it relaxing. “When it comes to talking about something I’m really interested in, I can do it, but I stumble in these social situations. Despite that, I think I have been pretty successful when it comes to networking.” “What has worked well for me,” he went on, “has been putting myself in those situations that require me to do some networking, like going to an event.” Even if you aren’t that proactive, you’re going to meet a couple of people there. You’re making more connections than you would if you stayed home and played video games. The more often you do it, the easier it gets, and not just because of practice: there’s a cumulative effect to making connections. “Say you’re going to an event, and maybe last time you met a couple of people, you could just say ‘Hi’ to those people again. And maybe they are talking with someone else they can introduce you to.” Or, you can be the one making the introductions. “What has also worked well for me, is that I like to introduce other people,” Paul said. It’s always a great feeling when I’m talking to someone at an event, and I hear about what they’re doing or what they’re wanting to do, and then I can introduce someone else who maybe matches that. “And it’s also good for me, then I can just be kind of passive there,” Paul joked. “I don’t have to be out there myself so much, if they’re talking to each other.” His last piece of advice for introverts is somewhat counterintuitive. “Paradoxically,” he told me, “it helps if you’re in some sort of leadership position.” If you’re an introvert, my advice would be one, just do it, but then also look for opportunities for helping in some more formal capacity, whether it’s organizing an event yourself, volunteering at an event . . . [or] making presentations. “Like for me, when I’ve organized a Tokyo Rubyist Meetup,” Paul said, “[then] naturally as the organizer there people come to talk to me and ask me questions. . . . And it’s been similar when I’ve presented at an event, because then people have something that they know that you know something about, and maybe they want to know more about it, and so then they can ask you more questions and lead the conversation that way.” Offline vs online networking When it comes to offline vs online networking, Paul prefers offline. In-person events are great for networking because they create serendipity. You meet people through events you wouldn’t meet otherwise just because you’re in the same physical space as them. Those time and space constraints add pressure to make conversation—in a good way. “It’s natural when you are meeting someone, you ask about what they’re doing, and you make that small connection there. Then, after seeing them at multiple different events, you get a bit of a stronger connection to them.” “Physical events are [also] much more constrained in the number of people, so it’s easier to help people,” he added. “Like with TokyoDev, I can’t help every single person online there, but if someone meets me at the event [and is] asking for advice or something like that, of course I’ve got to answer them. And I have more time for them there, because we’re in the same place at the same time.” As humans, we’re more likely to help other people we have met in person, I think just because that’s how our brains work. That being said, Paul’s also found success with online networking. For example, several TokyoDev contributors—myself included—started working with Paul after interacting with him online. I commented on TokyoDev’s Dungeons and Dragons article, which led to Paul checking my profile and asking to chat about my experience. Scott, our community moderator and editor, joined TokyoDev in a paid position after being active on the TokyoDev Discord. Michelle was also active on the Discord, and Paul initially asked her to write an article for TokyoDev on being a woman software engineer in Japan, before later bringing her onto the team. Key to these results was that they involved no stereotypical “networking” strategies on either side: we all connected simply by playing a role in a shared, online community. Consistent interactions with others, particularly over a longer period of time, builds mutual trust and understanding. Your online presence can help with offline networking. As TokyoDev became bigger and more people knew about me through my blog, it became a lot easier to network with people at events because they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re Paul from TokyoDev. I like that site.’ “It just leads to more opportunities,” he continued. “If you’ve interacted with someone before online, and then you meet them offline, you already do have a bit of a relationship with them, so you’re more likely to have a place to start the conversation. [And] if you’re someone who is struggling with doing in-person networking, the more you can produce or put out there [online], the more opportunities that can lead to.” Networking in Japanese While there are a number of events throughout Japan that are primarily in English, for best networking results, developers should take advantage of Japanese events as well—even if your Japanese isn’t that good. In 2010, Paul created the Tokyo Rubyist Meetup, with the intention of bringing together Japanese and international developers. To ensure it succeeded, he knew he needed more connections to the Japanese development community. “So I started attending a lot of Japanese developer events where I was the only non-Japanese person there,” said Paul. “I didn’t have such great Japanese skills. I couldn’t understand all the presentations. But it still gave me a chance to make lots of connections, both with people who would later present at [Tokyo Rubyist Meetup], but also with other Japanese developers whom I would work with either on my own products or also on other client projects.” I think it helped being kind of a visible minority. People were curious about me, about why I was attending these events. Their curiosity not only helped him network, but also gave him a helping hand when it came to Japanese conversation. “It’s a lot easier for me in Japanese to be asked questions and answer them,” he admitted. But Paul wasn’t just attending those seminars and events in a passive manner. He soon started delivering presentations himself, usually as part of Lightning Talks—again, despite his relatively low level of Japanese. “It doesn’t matter if you do a bad job of it,” he said. Japanese people I think are really receptive to people trying to speak in Japanese and making an effort. I think they’re happy to have someone who isn’t Japanese present, even if they don’t do a great job. He also quickly learned that the most important networking doesn’t take place at the meetup itself. “At least in the past,” he explained, “it was really split . . . [there’s the] seminar time where everyone goes and watches someone present. Everyone’s pretty passive there and there isn’t much conversation going on between attendees. “Then afterwards—and maybe less than half of the people attend—but they go to a restaurant and have drinks after the event. And that’s where all the real socialization happens, and so that’s where I was able to really make the most connections.” That said, Paul noted that the actual “drinking” part of the process has noticeably diminished. “Drinking culture in Japan is changing a lot,” he told me. “I noticed that even when hosting the Tokyo Rubyist Meetup. When we were first hosting it, we [had] an average of 2.5 beers per participant. And more recently, the average is one or less per participant there. “I think there is not so much of an expectation for people to drink a lot. Young Japanese people don’t drink at the same rate, so don’t feel like you actually have to get drunk at these events. You probably shouldn’t,” he added with a laugh. What you should do is be persistent, and patient. It took Paul about a year of very regularly attending events before he felt he was treated as a member of the community. “Literally I was attending more than the typical Japanese person,” he said. “At the peak, there were a couple events per week.” His hard work paid off, though. “I think one thing about Japanese culture,” he said, “is that it’s really group based.” Initially, as foreigners, we see ourselves in the foreign group versus the Japanese group, and there’s kind of a barrier there. But if you can find some other connection, like in my case Ruby, then with these developers I became part of the “Ruby developer group,” and then I felt much more accepted. Eventually he experienced another benefit. “I think it was after a year of volunteering, maybe two years. . . . RubyKaigi, the biggest Ruby conference in Japan and one of the biggest developer conferences in Japan [in general], used Doorkeeper, the event registration system [I created], to manage their event. “That was a big win for us because it showed that we were a serious system to lots of people there. It exposed us to lots of potential users and was one of the things that I think led to us, for a time, being the most popular event registration system among the tech community in Japan.” Based on his experiences, Paul would urge more developers to try attending Japanese dev events. “Because I think a lot of non-Japanese people are still too intimidated to go to these events, even if they have better Japanese ability than I did. “If you look at most of the Japanese developer events happening now, I think the participants are almost exclusively Japanese, but still, that doesn’t need to be the case.” Takeaways What Paul hopes other developers will take away from this article is that networking shouldn’t feel sleazy. Instead, good networking looks like: Being interested in other people. Asking them questions is the easiest way to start a conversation and make a genuine connection. Occasionally just making yourself go to that in-person event. Serendipity can’t happen if you don’t create opportunities for it. Introducing people to each other—it’s a fast and stress-free way to make more connections. Volunteering for events or organizing your own. Supporting offline events with a solid online presence as well. Not being afraid to attend Japanese events, even if your Japanese isn’t good. Above all, Paul stressed, don’t overcomplicate what networking is at its core. Really what networking comes down to is learning about what other people are doing, and how you can help them or how they can help you. Whether you’re online, offline, or doing it in Japanese, that mindset can turn networking from an awkward, sleazy-feeling experience into something you actually enjoy—even on a rainy Tuesday night.

After 18 months of living in Karuizawa, a resort town about an hour away from Tokyo via the Shinkansen, I have bought a house here. This article describes my experience of purchasing a house, and contains tips that are useful both if you’re considering buying in Karuizawa specifically, and in Japan more generally. In this article, I’ll cover: My personal journey to Karuizawa Why you might choose to live in Karuizawa My process of buying a house Tips for potential homebuyers in Japan From Tokyo to Karuizawa: my own journey In April 2020 I was living in central Tokyo. Three days after my one-year-old son entered daycare, a state of emergency was declared because of COVID-19. The daycare was closed, so my wife and I took turns looking after him while working remotely from our apartment. The small park next to our apartment was also closed due to the state of emergency, and so my time with my son included such fun activities as walking up and down the stairs, and looking at ants in the parking lot. After a week or two, we’d had enough. We moved in with my in-laws, who were living in a house in a small commuter town in Saitama. Our lives improved dramatically. The nearby parks were not closed. The grandparents could help look after my son. I could enjoy excellent cycling in the nearby mountains. We kept our apartment in Tokyo, as we didn’t know how long we’d stay, but let my brother-in-law use it. It was more spacious than his own, and gave him a better place to work remotely from. Leaving Tokyo for good In June of 2020 the state of emergency was lifted, yet we decided not to move back to Tokyo. Before having a kid, Tokyo had been a wonderful place to live. There was always something new to try, and opportunities to make new professional connections abounded. But as a father, my lifestyle had changed dramatically, even before COVID. No longer was I attending multiple events per week, but at most one per month. I basically stopped drinking alcohol, as maximizing the quality of what little sleep I could get was too important. With a stroller, getting around by train was no longer easy. My life had become much more routine: excitement came from watching my son grow, not my own activities. Though we’d enjoyed living in an area that was suburban bordering on rural, we didn’t want to live with my in-laws indefinitely. Still, seeing how useful it was to have them around with a small child, we decided to look for a house to rent nearby. We found a relatively modern one in the next town over, about a 10-minute drive from my in-laws. The rent was about half of what our Tokyo apartment’s had been, yet this house was twice as big, and even had a small garden. Living there was a wonderful change of pace. When my second child was born a year later, having the in-laws nearby became even more helpful. But as the COVID restrictions began rolling back, we started to think about where we wanted to settle down permanently. Choosing Karuizawa There were some definite downsides to the town we were living in. Practically all our neighbours were retirees. There were few restaurants that were worth going to. The equipment at the playgrounds was falling apart, and there was no sign it would be replaced. The summers were brutally hot, making it unpleasant to be outside. There wasn’t anything for kids to do inside. We’d visited Karuizawa before, and it seemed like it had the access to nature we appreciated, while also offering more options for dining out and other cultural activities. The cooler climate was also a big motivating factor. So in June 2022, we started looking at places. Most of the rental options were incredibly expensive seasonal properties, and so buying a house seemed like the most realistic option. But the market moved extremely quickly, and any property that seemed like a good deal was snatched up before we even had a chance to look at it. After about half a year of searching, we gave up. We then considered buying a house in Gotenba, a town at the base of Mount Fuji. We’d visited there in the past, and though it didn’t seem quite as nice an option as Karuizawa, we were able to find a decent house that was cheap enough that buying it was a relatively small risk. We placed a lowball offer on the property, and were rejected. Frustrated, I took a look at the rental options for Karuizawa again. This time we saw two houses for rent that were good candidates! We heard from the real estate agent that one of the properties already had someone coming to view the next afternoon, and so we went the next morning. Visiting the house, it seemed like exactly what we were looking for. We immediately put in a rental application, and moved in the next month. Why Karuizawa? I’ve already covered some of the reasons why we chose Karuizawa, but I’ll go into more detail about them, along with other unexpected good points. Mild summers According to historical data, the average temperature in Karuizawa in August is 20.8°C. While daytime temperatures get hotter than that, you’re unlikely to risk heat stroke by being active outside, something that isn’t true for much of Japan. That being said, climate change is inescapable, and summers in Karuizawa are getting hotter than historical data would suggest. This is an issue because while it cools down at night, many of the houses are built only with the cold winters in mind. For instance, despite the house I rented being built in 2019, it only had a single AC unit. This meant that many days in July and August were unbearably hot inside, and I had trouble sleeping at night as it wouldn’t cool down until well past midnight. Cold but cheerful winters While summers are cooler, this also means winters are cold. The average temperature in January is -3.3°C. However, much like Tokyo, winters here tend to be quite sunny, and there have only been a few heavy snowfalls per year while I’ve lived here. That’s enough that you can enjoy the snow without having to worry about shovelling it daily. Proximity to Tokyo The Shinkansen makes it quicker for me to get into central Tokyo than when I was living in suburban Saitama. It’s about a 70-minute ride from Karuizawa station to Tokyo station. While this is not something I’d want to do daily, I now typically go into Tokyo only a couple of times per month, which is reasonable. Greenery and nature As a resort community, Karuizawa places a lot of emphasis on greenery. Throughout the town, there are plenty of areas where residential and commercial spaces mingle with forest. Many houses have nice gardens. Shade exists everywhere. Wilder nature is close by, too. While you can do day hikes from Tokyo, they involve an hour plus on the train, followed by a climb where you’re usually surrounded by other people. In Karuizawa, I can walk 15 minutes to a trailhead where I’ll see at most a couple of groups per hour. Cheaper than Tokyo, but not significantly so Money spent on housing goes a lot further in Karuizawa than in Tokyo. For the same price as a used Tokyo apartment, you can get a nice used house on a relatively large plot of land in Karuizawa. However, it’s hard to find truly affordable housing. For starters, Karuizawa’s plots tend to be large by Japanese standards, so even if the per-unit price of the land is cheaper, the overall cost isn’t so cheap. For instance, a centrally located 100 tsubo (330 m²) plot in Nakakaruizawa, which is on the small side of what you can find, will currently sell for at least 30 million yen. It may be possible to get a deal on a more remote piece of land, but true steals are hard to come by. Dining out is another area where it’s easy to spend lots of money. Prices are on par with Tokyo, and there are few cheap options, with Sukiya, McDonald’s, and a couple of ramen shops being practically the only sub-1,000 yen choices. Groceries, at least, are cheaper. While the Tsuruya grocery store does sell a lot of high-end items, the basics like milk, eggs, vegetables, and chicken are significantly cheaper than in Tokyo or even suburban Saitama. All this means that many residents of Karuizawa are wealthy compared to Japan’s overall population. Sometimes that makes them take for granted that others might struggle financially. For instance, when my son graduated from public daycare, the PTA organized a graduation party. We paid 16,000 yen for myself, my wife, and two children to attend. Since that’s equivalent to two eight-hour days at minimum wage, I think it was too expensive. I noticed that some of the children didn’t attend, while others came with just one parent, perhaps because of the prohibitive cost. Liquid housing market While we were living in suburban Saitama, we considered buying a house, and even looked at a couple of places. It was very affordable, with even mansions (in the traditional English usage of the word) being cheaper than Tokyo mansions (in the Japanese sense). But the reason they were so cheap was because there wasn’t a secondary market for them. So even if we could get a good deal, we were worried that should we ever want to sell it again, it might not even be possible to give it away. Karuizawa’s real estate market moves fast. This sucks as a buyer but is great for sellers. Furthermore, because it’s perceived as a place to have a second home by wealthy Tokyoites, houses that are by our standards very nice are nowhere near the top of the market. This reduces the risk of buying a property and not being able to sell it later. Great public facilities If you have young children, Karuizawa offers many free or cheap public facilities. This includes nice playgrounds, children’s halls stocked with toys and activities, a beautiful library with a decent selection of English picture books, and a recreation centre with a gym, training room, pool, indoor and outdoor skating rinks, and a curling rink (built for 1998 Winter Olympics). A welcoming and international community Some areas of Japan have a reputation for being insular and not friendly toward newcomers. Perhaps because much of Karuizawa’s population has moved here from elsewhere, the people I’ve met have been quite welcoming. I’m also always happy to meet new residents, and pass on the helpful tips I’ve picked up. In addition, I’ve discovered that many residents have some sort of international background. While non-Japanese residents are very much the minority, a large percentage of the Japanese parents I’ve spoken with have either studied or worked abroad. There is also an International Association of Karuizawa, whose members include many long-term non-Japanese residents. Their Facebook group makes it easy to ask for advice in English. You can get around without a car Most days I don’t use a car, and get around by walking or bicycling. The lack of heavy snow makes it possible to do this year round (though I’m one of the few people who still uses a bicycle when it is -10°C out). Mostly I’m able to get around without a car because I live in a relatively central area, so it’s not feasible for every resident. It can be quite helpful, though, as traffic becomes absolutely horrible during the peak seasons. For instance, the house I was renting was a kilometer away from the one I bought. It was less than a 5-minute drive normally, but during Golden Week it took 30 minutes. That being said, it’s practically required to use a car sometimes. For instance, there’s a great pediatrician, but they’re only accessible by car. Similarly, I use our car to take my kids to the pool, pick up things from the home centre, and so on. My process for buying a house After a year of renting in Karuizawa, we decided we wanted to continue living there indefinitely. Continuing to rent the same house wasn’t an option: the owners were temporarily abroad and so we had a fixed-term contract. While we could have looked for another place to rent, we figured we’d be settling down, and so wanted to buy a house. Starting the search On September 1st, 2024, we started our search and immediately found our first candidate: a recently-built house near Asama Fureai Park. That park is the nicest one for young children in Karuizawa, as it has a good playground but is never too crowded. The property was listed with Royal Resort, which has the most listings for Karuizawa. Rather than contacting Royal Resort directly, though, we asked Masaru Takeyama of Resort Innovation to do so on our behalf. In Japan, there is a buyer’s agent and seller’s agent. Often the seller’s agent wants to act as the buyer’s agent as well, as it earns them double the commission, despite the obvious conflicts of interest. Of the agents we’d contacted previously, Masaru seemed the most trustworthy. I may have also been a bit biased, as he speaks English, whereas the other agents only spoke Japanese. He set up a viewing for us, but we discovered it wasn’t quite our ideal house. While the house was well built, the layout wasn’t our preference. It also was on a road with many large, noisy trucks, so it was kind of unpleasant to be outside. Making the first offer Over the next three months, we’d look at new listings online practically every day. I set up automated alerts for when the websites of different real estate agents were updated. We considered dozens of properties, and actually visited four plots and three used houses. None of them were a good match. On December 3rd, 2024, I found a great-looking property. It was being advertised as 5.1 km from Nakakaruiza station, which would have made it inconvenient, but it was also listed as 中部小学校近隣戸建 (Chubu Elementary Neighborhood Detached House). As the elementary school isn’t that far from the station, I assumed there was an error. The “house” was more of an old cabin, but it was priced cheaply for just the land itself. I sent Masaru an email asking him to give us the address. Meanwhile, my wife and I had gotten pretty good at identifying the locations of properties based on clues in the listing. The startup of a fellow Karuizawa international resident has a good tool for searching lots. My wife managed to identify this one, and so the following morning we looked at it. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a great location and a good deal, so before Masaru had even responded to us with the address, we sent another email saying we’d like to buy it. Masaru responded later that morning that he had a concern: the access to the house was a private road divided into two parcels, one owned by a real estate company, and the other by a pair of individuals. We’d need to negotiate with those parties about things like usage rights, waterworks, and so on. While he wasn’t worried about dealing with the real estate company, as it should just be a question of compensating them, the individuals owning the other parcel might theoretically be unwilling to negotiate. Based on his analysis, the following day (December 5th) we submitted a non-binding purchase application, with the condition that the road issue be resolved. That evening Masaru told us that he had discovered that the seller was a woman in her nineties. Because things like dementia are common among people that old, he added another condition, which was that a judicial scrivener testify to her mental capacity to enter into a contract. He warned that if we didn’t do that, and later the seller was to be found to be mentally unfit, the sale could be reversed, even if we had already proceeded with the construction of a new house. Given the cost of building a new home, this seemed like a prudent measure to take. A few days later we heard that the seller’s son was discussing the sale with his mother, and that they’d be having a family meeting the following weekend to decide whether to make the sale. To try to encourage them to sell to us, my wife wrote a letter (in Japanese) to them, and attached some photos of our family in Karuizawa. On December 16th, we received word that there was actually another potential buyer for the property who’d made an identical offer. In Japan, once someone submits a purchase application, it is normally handled on a first-come, first-served basis. However I noted that the seller didn’t mark the property as “under negotiation” on their website. I suspect we were the first to make an offer, as we did it literally the day after it was published. Apparently the seller’s son wanted to do business with us, but the daughter preferred the other family. We were not told why the daughter wanted to go with the other potential buyers, but it may have been because of our request to have the seller’s mental capacity tested. Dropping that requirement seemed too risky, though. On December 18th, we were informed that the seller had chosen the other buyer. This was quite a disappointing turn of events. We’d initially thought it was a sure thing because we were so fast to submit the offer and were giving them what they’d asked for. We’d even talked with a couple of home builders already. Furthermore, as winter had arrived, it seemed like the real estate market had also frozen. Whereas we’d previously seen new properties appear almost daily, now we spotted one or two a week at most. Making a successful offer Over the holidays, we looked at a couple more plots. On January 6th, we identified a used house in Nakakaruizawa that seemed to meet our criteria. It was by no means perfect, but close enough to be a candidate, so on January 10th we visited it. The house was pretty much as expected. Our one concern was the heating situation. It had previously had central heating that was based on a kerosene boiler, but that had been replaced with central air conditioning. While visiting the house, we turned it on, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. After some back and forth, we got the seller to run the AC constantly for a couple of days, and then on the morning of January 14th, we visited the house again. It was a grey and cold day, with little sunlight—basically the worst conditions possible for keeping the house warm, which I suppose was a good test. It was about 1°C outside and 10°C inside. We heard that the house had previously been rented out, and that the prior tenants had needed to use extra kerosene heaters to stay warm. This wasn’t ideal, but we also saw that with some renovations, we could improve the insulation. We considered making a lowball offer, but Masaru thought it was unlikely that it would be accepted. Instead, on January 17th, we made an offer at the asking price, conditional on it passing a home inspection and us getting an estimate for renovation costs. We heard that, once again, there was another potential buyer. They were “preparing” to submit an offer, but hadn’t done so yet. This time, the seller followed the standard process of considering our offer first, and accepting it in a non-binding manner. We learned that the seller itself was also a real estate company, whose main business seemed to be developing hotels and golf courses. The sale of this property was a relatively minor deal for them, and their main concern was that everything went smoothly. On January 23rd, we had a housing inspection carried out. The inspector found several issues, but they were all cosmetic or otherwise minor, so we said we’d proceed with the contract. Signing the contract The seller’s agent didn’t appear to be in a hurry to finalize the contract. It took a while for them to present us with the paperwork, and after that there were some minor changes to it, so it wasn’t until March 19th that we finally signed. One reason for the delay was that we’d suggested we sign the contract electronically, something the buyer had never done before. Signing a contract electronically was not only simpler from our perspective, but also avoided the need to affix a revenue stamp on the contract, saving some money. But even though Masaru was experienced with electronic contracts, it seemed to take the seller some time to confirm that everything was okay. When we signed the contract, we agreed to immediately make a 10 percent down payment, with the outstanding amount to be transferred by May 16th. We’d already gotten pre-approval on a housing loan, but needed the extra time for the final approval. Obtaining the loan On January 22nd, we visited Hachijuni Bank, which is headquartered in Nagano and has a branch in Karuizawa, and started the loan pre-approval process. This involved submitting a fair amount of paperwork, especially as I was the director of a company as opposed to a regular employee. The whole process took about two weeks. In parallel, we started the pre-approval process for PayPay Bank. The application involved minimal paperwork, and we were able to quickly get pre-approved by them too. To receive the actual approval for the loan, though, we needed to have already signed the purchase contract, so we couldn’t begin until March 19th. This time, the situation was reversed, and PayPay Bank required much more documentation than Hachijuni Bank. On April 9th, we met again with Hachijuni Bank. There was a problem with our application: my middle names hadn’t been properly entered into the contract, and so we’d have to go through the approval process again. The representative said he’d make sure they reviewed it quickly because it was his fault. That evening, we got the result of our application to PayPay Bank: rejected! No reason was given, but as they offer quite low rates, I’m guessing they only accept the lowest-risk loans. Maybe the reason was the house itself, maybe it was that I was the director of a small private company, maybe it was something else. While the Hachijuni Bank representative seemed positive about our application, I was worried. On April 15th we got the result from Hachijuni Bank: approved! Two days later we signed the paperwork with the bank and scheduled the handover for April 30th. Toilet troubles When the previous tenants had moved out of the house, the seller had decided to drain the water. Karuizawa temperatures are cold enough that if the house isn’t being heated, the pipes can freeze and burst. This meant that when we had the housing inspection performed, the inspector couldn’t confirm anything about the plumbing. Given that by mid-April temperatures were no longer below zero, we asked that the seller put the water back in. They agreed, and on April 23rd we heard that there was a problem with the toilets—some sort of leak. Likely some of the rubber sealing had dried out while the water had been removed. The seller offered to replace the toilets or pay us the cost of replacing them with equivalent ones. My understanding was that because they hadn’t declared any issues with the toilets in the original purchase agreement, they were obligated to do so. My wife and I had already talked about upgrading the toilets, but I wasn’t convinced that it’d be worth it. With the seller offering to pay two-thirds of the cost of the more premium toilets we wanted, though, it seemed like a stroke of luck. Handover On April 30th, the handover went smoothly. A representative from the seller’s company met with myself, the real estate agents, and a judicial scrivener. Technically I didn’t need to be there for it, but as the representative had come from Hiroshima I thought I should be present just in case anything happened. Nothing went awry, however, and they gave me the keys and some omiyage. Renovations We had already decided to do some renovations before moving in. With the toilets not working, that became an immediate necessity. One of the challenges of buying a used house is deciding how extensively to renovate. We settled on doing the minimum: replacing the toilets, putting up a wall to split the kids’ bedroom in two (it already had two separate doors and was designed to be split), switching the lights in the bedroom from fluorescent tubes to LEDs, and adding inner windows (内窓, uchi mado) to improve the insulation. We’d kicked off the process shortly after completing the home inspection, and had already had contractors visit to give estimates in advance. Still, we weren’t able to finalize any plans until we’d decided the exact handover date. After some negotiating, we got an agreement to wrap up the renovations by the beginning of June, and set a move-in date of June 5th. Moving in We managed to move in as scheduled, almost half a year after we first saw the house, and 10 months after we began our initial search. We weren’t exactly in a rush with the whole process, but it did take a lot of our time. Tips for potential homebuyers in Japan Here’s what I’d recommend if you’re looking to buy a house in Japan. Don’t rely on real estate agents to find properties for you My impression of real estate agents in Karuizawa is that they’re quite passive. I think this is a combination of the market being hot, and the fact that many inquiries they get are from people who dream about living here but will never make it a reality. I’d suggest being proactive about the search yourself. All of the best properties we found because we discovered the listings ourselves, not because an agent sent them to us. Find an agent you can trust The main value I got out of using a real estate agent was not because he introduced specific properties, but because he could point out potential issues with them. Checking the ownership of the road leading up to the property, or whether a contract could be reversed if the signer was years later deemed to be mentally incompetent, weren’t issues that had ever even occurred to me. Every property I considered purchasing had some unapparent problems. While there are some legal obligations placed upon the buyer’s agent, my understanding is that those don’t extend to every possible situation. What’s more, real estate seems to attract unscrupulous people, and some agents aren’t averse to behaving unethically or even illegally if it helps them close more deals. Because of this, I think the most important quality in an agent is trustworthiness. That can be hard to evaluate, but go with your gut. You don’t need your company to be profitable three years in a row I’d previously heard that it’s challenging to get a loan as the director of a company, and that the last three years of a business needed to be profitable to receive approval. That made me apprehensive, as TokyoDev was only incorporated in 2022, and 2024 was an unprofitable year for us due to it being the first year we had a decrease in the number of hires. However, when Hachijuni Bank reviewed TokyoDev’s finances, they said it was a great business. I was the sole employee of the business and it was only unprofitable because I had set my director’s compensation too aggressively. We’d had previous profitable years, and the company didn’t have any debts. In other words, one bad year for your company isn’t going to tank your chances of getting a loan. Go through the final approval process with multiple banks Some will advise you not to go through the final approval process of multiple banks at the same time. Since there’s a central database that allows banks to see that you’re doing this, it apparently increases your risk of rejection. If you’re only applying at a few banks, though, the risk remains fairly low. I guess PayPay Bank theoretically could have rejected us for this reason, but I doubt it. If we had initially applied only with them, however, and had waited to be rejected before applying with Hachijuni Bank, we would have risked not having the final approval go through before the payment deadline. Get a housing inspection If you’re buying a used house of any significant value, I highly recommend getting an inspection. We used Sakura Home Inspection, the biggest inspection company in Japan. While the base price for the inspection was only 66,000 yen, we ended up paying about 240,000 yen due to additional options, the size of the house, and transportation fees. While that’s not exactly cheap, it was less than one percent of the total purchase price, and seemed worth it to mitigate the risk of serious issues that might appear after the purchase. Rent locally before buying Our plan of first renting, then buying worked out quite well for us. Not only did it give me confidence that Karuizawa was somewhere I wanted to live for the long haul, it was much easier visiting potential properties when I lived a 10-minute bicycle ride away from them, instead of a 3-hour drive. If you’re considering buying a house in Karuizawa… Please get in touch with me! I’m happy to answer any questions you might have. In my previous article on coworking spaces in Karuizawa, I invited people to get in touch, and already have made several new connections through it. I’d love to continue to grow my community, and help transform Karuizawa from a resort town to one that’s focused on its full-time residents.