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?