Hi there!
I am planning on going on a Working Holiday in Japan, but only later on this year, as I will be saving some more funds to do so for a couple months longer. Question is, how much is considered adequate in general (with some bean sprouts & rice days here and there of course)? In your personal experience, and adjusted to your unique situations of course, how much do you consider to be enough? What was/is your experience?
As for context, my plan is basically-, as I would travel mostly in the southern parts of Honshū (and maybe some of Kyūshū), to go volunteering through sites like WorkAway, WWOOF and the like, with some actual work sprinkled in here and there, for example either restaurant or ski resort work for winter, or hostel work even, maybe some teaching paired with living in a sharehouse. With activities, I'm a simple man, I just want to hike, visit shrines, do your usual sightseeing, drink with salarymen at izakayas in the city and get to know locals in the countryside. Not really a live-it-up in Tokyo kind of style trip.
Taking into consideration what I've been seeing on here so far, accommodation seems to be the biggest culprit when it comes to costs, but with volunteering positions or resort jobs where that is provided "free of charge", it shouldn't be that bad at all, right?
Also, taking such living costs out of the equation, I'm curious about how expensive can traveling around get? I don't care for comfort really, just getting from one place to the next, but it's a bit hard to comprehend the different options, passes, prices and systems for public transport in Japan, and what is the best value, as an outsider. What are your experiences in this regard? Is there an efficient and easy way to arrive at your best options? What about hitchhiking? Is it a relatively good idea there or is it ill-advised to give that a try?
Also, regarding reporting your place of stay at the local offices, are they really that stringent on following up and checking on that stuff? I mean, technically you are supposed to report your location of residence if you stay in one place for longer than two weeks, but if I'm traveling around, say, tri-weekly or monthly, it would probably become a headache. If I'm not officially working anywhere during that time, can't I just chalk it up to "I've been traveling around" until my next longer stay and work at a new place? If I volunteered in the same place for, say, 2 months and did not officiate my stay at the local office, could I get into trouble for that, or is it just "they can't complain about what they don't know about"? Any horror stories with bureaucracy?
Sorry for the lengthy word salad, some things I just want to clear up to be able to plan ahead better.
Thank you in advance for your replies and insights!
by QuestionablyQuiet