Trying to figure out if moving to Japan is realistic for me: remote work, language school, visa doubts, and burnout concerns

Hi everyone,

I apologize if this post is a bit long or scattered. I’m dealing with a lot of overlapping doubts right now, and I felt it would make more sense to share the full picture rather than reduce everything to one simple question.

For a while now, I’ve been thinking seriously about spending a meaningful period of time in Japan, not just going for a short trip. I’ve had this idea of living there for a while, studying Japanese seriously, and seeing whether that kind of life really suits me. Ideally I’m drawn to a place like Yokohama, but more than the specific city, I’m trying to understand whether this is actually realistic for me or whether I’m romanticizing it too much.

For context, I’m 26 and I work remotely as a game programmer. My schedule is flexible since I work from home, but I still need to put in around 30 to 40 hours a week.

That’s where a lot of my anxiety comes from.

Part of me feels that a student visa would make the most sense, because my main goal would be to study Japanese and experience daily life in Japan more deeply. But at the same time, I already have a remote job, and I keep worrying about whether trying to study and work at the same time would be too much in practice.

I’m also unsure about the working holiday option. It sounds more flexible, but I don’t know if it really fits someone whose main goal is studying rather than mostly traveling and picking up jobs here and there. So I’m confused not only about what is technically possible, but also about what actually matches the kind of experience I want.

Another thing that confuses me is the visa side of work limits. I’ve heard that in some cases there may be a limit of around 28 hours per week for work, and if that’s true, then I honestly don’t know what someone in my situation is supposed to do, since my current remote job is already around 30–40 hours. That adds another layer of doubt for me.

In theory, the idea sounds amazing: moving to Japan, studying the language, keeping my job, building a new routine, and finally doing something I’ve wanted for years. But I can also easily imagine the opposite outcome — classes, homework, commuting, time zone issues, work deadlines, daily stress, and everything turning into constant exhaustion.

What worries me most is ending up too tired to do anything properly: not fully present at school, not focused at work, and not really enjoying Japan either. I’m honestly afraid of building this ideal version in my head and then burning out a few months later because I tried to combine too much.

Another thought I’ve had is whether I might actually need to leave my job and focus only on studying if I go. That scares me too, because then it becomes a much bigger financial and personal decision. Keeping my job might make the whole plan too heavy, but leaving it would make everything feel much riskier.

So I guess what I’m really asking is: has anyone here been in a similar situation?

Especially if you went to Japan for language school while balancing remote work, or if you had to choose between a student visa and a working holiday when your main goal was really to study. Did it feel manageable in real life? Did you enjoy the experience, or did it turn into more of a survival routine? Did anyone reach a point where they realized they had to simplify things and let go of work to make the experience sustainable?

I’d also really appreciate hearing from people who arrived with certain expectations and then found that reality was very different, for better or worse. I’m not looking for blind encouragement or for someone to just tell me not to do it. I’m mainly hoping for honest experiences, practical perspective, and maybe some reassurance from people who have had similar doubts.

Thanks for reading and for sharing your experiences. I know I’m asking a lot in one post, but it felt more honest to explain the full situation rather than ask something too narrow.