This was a question originally directed at Craig but if anyone else has useful info I'd be very interested!

Sorry in advance for the poor punctuation/grammar, I wasn't paying attention while writing.

hey there, i'm in the same boat you were a year or two ago. i want to get a cultural visa.

i was wondering what you ended up studying, and how did you find your teacher? how long did it take from the time you applied for your certificate of eligibility until the time you received it? i am already in japan at the moment on a 90 day entry permit and have around 80 days left on it to get this taken care of, otherwise i'll have to leave and reenter.

i have the nice condition that i'm able to live for free with my girlfriend, and i also have a potential steady source of private student income from when i was here on a working holiday visa.

anyway, i'd like to stay in tokyo because that's where i can live for free and i am able to make money relatively easily providing i'm legally allowed to work.

thanks!
Cory

If anyone else has any experience of this please answer here so others can benefit too

You need to show that you have studied a similar skill or art in your own country previously - I have studied martial arts for 20 years.

I first found a martial arts teacher who was kind enough to offer to teach me.
I got a letter from him saying so and he also completed a form that is part of the Cultural Visa application.
I then had another Japanese friend sign as a guarantor (it is a financial guarantee - should I leave the country with unpaid bills etc.)
I then got original bank statements sent to me from my home country to prove that I could support myself for the year. (maximum Cultural activities visa is one year)
If they suspect you intend to work they probably wont give you a cultural visa - so I would not mention work (teaching private students is not legal on most visas anyway).
Careful mentioning the girlfriend too.. from what I have seen it rarely helps and might complicate things.
It took about 2 months for them to process it.

Hope this helps

Sorry Cory, edited your post a little..
We dont allow posting of email addresses or posts that encourage people to visit competitors sites, sorry.
And, as Craig says, if you discuss it here it will benefit other people too

thanks for the info.

how did you find a martial arts teacher that was willing to sign for your COE? i'm assuming you had a connection from wherever your home country is?

i was into martial arts a few years ago but i have no official documentation or any grades to prove that i was part of any martial arts group. actually the primary reason i never joined a group abroad was because the arts i wanted to study are only really available in japan (old style traditional sword arts)

anyway i unfortunately do not really have any connections in the martial arts world..

i do have interest in sewing (weird I know) and i actually found someone who makes handmade bags and saddlebags for japanese bicycles who would likely take me on as a student but i'm guessing that's not cultural enough for immigration's purposes.

i am at a bit of a loss as to how i should find a teacher.

the other thing is, if i don't mention my girlfriend/living arrangement with her how can i prove that i am able to live on minimal expenses? i have been living with her for almost a year already (though not rent free when i was working on my working holiday visa).

I might be able to help there Cory.

If you cant prove you have serious martial arts experience you wont be able to go that way.

And you are right, the area you study will need to be something distinctly Japanese.. dont know about the sewing thing...

Yeah, saying you will live with your girlfriend wont help (their thinking is that you might break up - and besides, living together and girlfriend/boyfriend relationships are not respected here).
So the girlfriend is not worth mentioning - really!

You will need to show that you have enough cash to totally support yourself for the year - I think they expect about 1,500,000 yen for a year, something like that.

Sorry.. the news is not good, I know.

Do you have a university degree?
If you do you could get a job at an English school and get a working visa.

I don't have a degree.

I was working for a big eikaiwa earlier in 2008 on a working holiday visa but they cannot sponsor me for a working visa due to not having a degree nor 3 years of experience in the teaching field yet.

I think I could show that I have $15,000 saved in my overseas bank account or I could just mark on the application that a family member will be sending me x amount of yen per month, that should be fairly easy to do.

The hardest part I guess is finding a teacher.

I am curious; how are people supposed to study cultural topics in Japan at length if the art is not even available outside of Japan? It seems a little bit contradictory. I don't want to sound like a jerk here but are you guys absolutely positive that prior experience in the field is required before you can apply to use learning it as a way to get a cultural activities visa?