Digital Nomads: Japan Visa Plan

Have you ever heard of digital nomads? According to Wikipedia, they refer to those people who travel freely while working remotely using technology and the internet. Some of them travel to different countries all year when they work, others just travel for a short period of time. In 2020, a research study found that 10.9 million American workers described themselves as digital nomads, an increase of 49% from 2019.

Lately, the Japanese government is planning to put forward its own visa program for digital nomads, who work remotely when they travel around. The visa program will allow digital nomads to stay in Japan for over 90 days. The government aims to give people a feeling that it's easy for high-skilled workers to stay in Japan, and to boost the economy by attracting more and more tourists to Japan.

Up till now, some countries in Europe, and Central South America have already begun offering this digital nomads visa program.

In this blog, we will discuss the pros and cons of becoming a digital nomad, and how to become a digital nomad.

Pros of Becoming a digital nomad

1. Be able to travel full time

Normal office workers can only travel during some annual or statutory holidays, and these times tourist attractions are often crowded. But digital herders can travel anytime, anywhere. they can avoid peak hours, have the opportunity to see more beautiful scenery, and enjoy authentic cuisine without queuing up. If normal workers feel tired and exhausted traveling, they have to force themselves to keep traveling because their holiday is limited. However, digital nomads don't have to, because they have time, and they can travel as long as they want.

2. Personal growth

As the saying goes, " Reading thousands of books is the same as traveling thousands of miles." There are many things that we can only learn from practice instead of books. Similarly, there are also many things that we can only learn from traveling instead of sitting in the office. Through travel, we can experience different cultures, customs and traditions. We can meet different people and share our opinions with them.

Meanwhile, how to reach a balance between travel and work is a test for digital nomads to grow.

3. Lower cost of living

As digital nomads, they can live wherever they want. This freedom allows them to explore new cities and experiences while maintaining their work productivity. So in order to save money, they can choose a city with a lower cost of living than their original city to live.

4. No long commutes to work

If you live in a big city, sometimes your daily commuting time can even reach 3 hours. And your company won't pay for your commuting time. So all your energy and time are wasted on commuting. But if you are a digital nomad, you can even work in bed without having to wake up early, thus saving a lot of commuting time to do things you like.

Cons of Becoming a digital nomad

1. Lack of stability

If you are a person who wants a stable life, then digital nomads may not be suitable for you. Being a digital nomad means that you don't have a stable house or stable colleagues and friends. You can't have a pet, or you can't even have your favorite restaurant which you will go to every evening. Everything of you is uncertain. While this may be challenging and exciting on one hand, it will bring a sense of insecurity as well.

2. Loneliness

This is also one of the biggest cons of becoming a digital nomad. If you are a normal worker, when you feel bad, you can call your friends, letting them accompany you. But if you are a digital nomad, you know nobody in a new place, and it's hard for you to build a solid connection with others. It may be very tough for you to get through on your own when you are down.

How to Become a digital nomad

1. Identify your skills

At the very beginning of every job, the first thing you should do is to identify your skills. Which subject are you good at? Maths or geography? Which career are your interest? Engineering or design? What kind of person do you think you are? Are you self-disciplined or organized? Do you have excellent writing or communication skills? When you finish this process, you can find the job which fits you most.

2. Choose where you want to go

Firstly, make sure that you are allowed to go to your destination. Before your decision, you should do some research on your destination, such as passport limitations, visa program, health insurance, taxes and other requirements.

Secondly, make sure that your destination is safe for you to go to. You should take many factors into account, including wars, discrimination, political instability and so on.

Finally, if your destination is safe and legal for you to go to, you can begin to consider your interests. Do you want to live near the sea or in a forest? Is there a certain type of food you like?

3. Find your boss

You can look for your work opportunities through job boards, such as websites like Remote OK and We Work Remotely. There are also some gig job boards, such as Upwork and Fiverr.

4、Find your community

In order to solve the problem of being lonely, you can try to find communities of digital nomads. Many online platforms can be very helpful, such as meetup.com, Nomad List and so on. By conversing and traveling together with other digital nomads, your sense of loneliness will be reduced.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the digital nomad lifestyle offers an exciting and flexible way to work and explore the world and a new way for us to work and allows individuals to break free from the traditional constraints of a fixed location and immerse themselves in the richness and diversity of our world. If you decide to become a digital nomad, think about the challenges and difficulties you may meet to see whether you can accept. Once you make up your mind, just embrace freedom and chase your dreams!