Working Holiday Jobs in Japan: Types, Wages & Where to Find Them

If you're on a working holiday visa (or a student visa with permission to work), Japan offers a surprisingly wide range of part-time jobs — most paying about ¥890–1,500/hour (roughly €7.40–12.40).

💡 You can work up to 28 hours per week — but if you have two jobs, the combined total still counts: 14 hours each.

What jobs can you do?

• Restaurants, cafés and fast-food chains — the classic starter job
• (English-language) kindergartens and day-care centers
• Nanny & childcare
• Shop assistant — if your language skills are sufficient
• Language teacher — not just at formal schools: language cafés and conversation clubs (also for French, Spanish, German, Chinese...)
• Photo model for advertising and performer for TV
• Farm work
• Hotels, ryokans, ski resorts
• Light factory work, packaging goods
• Moving companies

Higher Japanese level or a professional qualification → higher hourly wages.

Where job seekers actually find work

LanCul (ランカル英会話)

Language cafés that hire English/German/Spanish speakers as conversation staff.

"Private teaching is a great way to earn extra money. You can find students by attending networking events and meetups. LanCul frequently hosts parties where you can meet Japanese people interested in private lessons."

World Unite!

Organized placements: farm work, ryokan and hotel jobs, ski resorts.

Uber Eats (Tokyo)

Delivery work on your own schedule — signup directly.

Ask in person: WEGO and clothing shops

WEGO (fashion chain with stores all over Tokyo) — you can ask for work directly at the store. People with limited Japanese have found part-time work there successfully.

The Japanese you'll need on the job

Even izakaya work starts with keigo (polite forms) and basic customer phrases — exactly what the JLPT N5–N4 tests cover.