Komichi Guides
All Guides
Every guide you need to work, study, and live in Japan — organized by topic.
Start here — Is Japan for you?
Understand why Japan is worth considering and get the big picture.
Overview
Why Choose Japan? The Honest Case for Working and Living There
Record numbers of foreigners now build careers in Japan — and the door is opening for Indians. The honest case for choosing Japan, trade-offs included.
Read →Guide
How to Work in Japan: A Complete Guide for Indians (2026)
Visa routes, the fields with real room, and where the India–Japan skilled-worker plan actually stands after the August 2026 roadmap talks — plus the five moves that take you from India to a real job in Japan.
Read →Choose your path
Find the visa route and job field that fits your background.
Path
Caregiver & Nursing Path
Explore path →Path
IT & Software Engineer Path
Explore path →Path
Skilled Trades Path
Explore path →Path
Food Service Path
Explore path →Path
Management & Business Path
Explore path →Path
Student Path
Explore path →Visa
SSW Visa from India in 2026: The Complete, Honest Guide to Working in Japan
How Indians get Japan's Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) visa in 2026 — sectors, tests held in India, step-by-step process, real salaries in ₹, and honest caveats.
Read →Visa
Ikusei Shuro 2027: Japan's New Work Visa, Explained for Indians
Japan replaces TITP with Ikusei Shuro on 1 Apr 2027. What the new visa means for Indians, how it links to SSW, and the smartest move to make now.
Read →Language
What Japanese Level Do You Need for Each Japan Visa? A 2026 Guide for Indians
SSW needs N4; the engineer/IT visa may need N2 for language-facing roles (Apr 2026); Ikusei Shuro needs A1. The 2026 Japanese-level map for every Japan visa.
Read →Guide
Can You Work in Japan Without a Degree?
Yes — and here's exactly how. The visa route that values skills over diplomas, and what you need instead.
Read →Jobs
Which Jobs Are in Demand in Japan for Indian Workers (2026)
Where SSW demand is strongest in 2026 — and, just as important, where there's still room. Every field has a Cabinet-set ceiling; food service already hit its 50,000 cap and closed. Here's each field's headroom on the immigration agency's own March-2026 numbers.
Read →Language
JFT-Basic vs JLPT N4: Which Should You Take?
Both qualify you for the SSW visa — but they differ in format, frequency, and long-term value. Here's how to choose.
Read →Career
Caregiver & Nursing Jobs in Japan for Indians (2026)
Japan expects a shortfall of roughly 570,000 care workers by 2040, and care is the most open India→Japan lane. What changed in 2026: the national exam now splits into three parts you can pass separately, and clearing one can buy you extra time past the five-year limit. Salaries, the three exams, home-visit work, and how much room the field has left.
Read →Language
Japanese for Caregivers: Essential Words & Phrases
The everyday Japanese a care worker actually uses — greetings, the body, daily care, and vital signs — to get you started.
Read →Plan your move
Applications, tests, costs, and what to expect.
Process
How to Apply for the SSW Visa from India: Step by Step
The seven steps in order — and the one that actually sets your timeline. Only seven of the sixteen open SSW fields hold their skills test in India, one of those runs just three times a year, and food & beverage manufacturing — the field everyone recommends now that food service has closed — isn't tested in India at all.
Read →Money
How Much Does the SSW Visa Cost from India? Every Official Fee in 2026
Getting to Japan on an SSW visa is cheap — under ₹10,000 in official fees, and the construction skills test now costs ₹684, not the ₹1,298 most pages still quote. Staying is what changed: from 1 October 2026 each extension of stay costs far more. Plus the ₹20,000 ceiling Indian law puts on what an agent may charge you.
Read →Test
JFT-Basic Exam in India: Dates, Centres, Fees & How to Register
JFT-Basic in India: 3 test centres, ₹3,540 fee, 200/250 pass score and the booking windows for Oct 2026 to Mar 2027 — plus why seats go fast.
Read →Guide
How to Write a Japanese Resume (Rirekisho): The Complete Guide for Indians (2026)
A Western CV gets quietly rejected in Japan. Here's the resume that actually works — the rirekisho + shokumu-keirekisho system, section by section, with the mistakes Indians make most.
Read →Money & life in Japan
Salaries, taxes, savings, and what happens when you leave.
Money
Salaries, Tax & Savings in Japan: A Real Breakdown for 2026
The headline salary is not what lands in your account, and not what you save. The real math — earnings, deductions, costs and savings — in ¥ and ₹, rebuilt on Japan's newest official pay data.
Read →Money
Cost of Living in Japan for Indians (2026): What It Really Costs, City by City, in ₹
What Japan really costs in 2026 — rent by city in ₹, a realistic monthly budget, the upfront move-in cost that catches everyone, and how much you can actually save on a Japanese salary.
Read →Money
Japan Pension Refund for Indians: How to Claim Your Lump-Sum Withdrawal (2026)
Every year, foreign workers leave Japan and walk away from hundreds of thousands of yen in pension money — and then forfeit a further 20.42% that they could have claimed back in tax. Here's how to get yours.
Read →Career
Working at a Japanese Company vs a Foreign/MNC in Japan: Which Is Right for You? (2026)
Pay, hours, job security, and how much Japanese you'll need all change depending on whether you join a Japanese (nikkei) or foreign (gaishikei) company. The honest comparison for Indians.
Read →Culture & everyday life
Understand daily life, work culture, and food in Japan.
Culture
Japanese Work Culture: What Indians Should Really Expect
Honne, hou-ren-sou, nomikai, overtime — the honest truth about Japanese work culture for Indians, what's changing, and how to adapt without losing yourself.
Read →Life
Vegetarian in Japan: The Complete Survival Guide for Indians
Konbini label decoder, a foodie's Tokyo Indian restaurant shortlist, veg-friendly chains, Jain & vegan levels, 1K-kitchen cooking, and what to pack from India.
Read →Culture
10 Everyday Japanese Etiquette Rules for Newcomers
Japan runs on small, quiet courtesies. Here are ten that matter most for newcomers — and the "why" behind each, so they feel natural, not memorised.
Read →All culture articles
Browse →Study & Japanese
Learn the language you need for work and daily life.
Script
Learn Hiragana in a Week: A Free Beginner's Guide
Hiragana is the very first thing to master in Japanese. Here's the full chart and a simple 7-day plan to read it confidently.
Read →Script
Learn Katakana: The Free Chart and How to Read It
Katakana unlocks the thousands of loanwords in everyday Japanese — coffee, convenience store, even your own name. Here's the chart and how to learn it fast.
Read →Vocab
JLPT N5 Vocabulary List: The Words You Actually Need (Free)
What the JLPT N5 vocabulary really covers — how many words, which categories matter most, and how to study them for free.
Read →Test
How to Pass JLPT N5: A Realistic 3–6 Month Roadmap
Zero Japanese to your first JLPT certificate in 3–6 months — the right order to learn things, a weekly rhythm that actually sticks, and the step most beginners skip.
Read →Tips
Anime That Actually Helps You Learn Japanese
"I'll learn Japanese from anime" usually goes nowhere — passive watching teaches almost nothing. Here's the method that actually works, plus the traps to avoid.
Read →Tool
Vocab & Kanji Study
Open →Tool
Reading Library
Open →Tools & Calculators
Interactive calculators for salary, tax, visa eligibility, and more.
Calculator
Japan Salary Calculator
See your real take-home pay
Open calculator →Calculator
Japan Tax Calculator
Income tax, deductions & tax-saving optimizer (DTAA)
Open calculator →Calculator
HSP Points Calculator
Check if you qualify for the fast-track Highly Skilled visa
Open calculator →Calculator
Pension Refund Calculator
Lump-sum refund + India–Japan social-security (SSA)
Open calculator →All tools
Browse →More Guides
Additional guides across all topics — newest first. Showing 12 of 80.
🗣️Study
How Should an Indian Learn Japanese? Self-Study vs Classes vs Japan
The real question isn't whether to learn Japanese, but how. Three routes — self-study, an Indian institute, or a language school in Japan — compared on cost, speed and who each suits.
Read →📜Study
Is a Japanese Degree Recognised in India? What Parents Should Know About Equivalence (2026)
Will India accept a Japanese degree? Often no separate paperwork is needed — but it depends on the employer, university or purpose. How UGC and AIU equivalence certificates work, who needs one, and what to check before you go.
Read →🎙️Study
From Microbiology to MEXT Scholar and Interpreter: Devendra Kelkar's Japan Story (Ep. 2)
A microbiology student from Pune fell for Japan through a friend's photos, learned the language in evening classes, won a fully funded Japanese government (MEXT) scholarship, and built a career as an interpreter. His story, in Episode 2 of the Komichi Podcast.
Read →🎓Study
The MEXT Undergraduate Scholarship for Indian Students, Explained (2027 Intake)
Japan's government pays tuition, a monthly allowance and your flights for a full bachelor's degree. Few Indian families know it exists. Here is how it works, who can apply, and the catches.
Read →🍁Study
Bachelor's in Japan vs Canada After 12th: An Honest Comparison for Indian Families (2026)
Canada was the default after 12th. Then came the permit cap, the attestation letter and a rising proof-of-funds bar. Here is the plain-English, four-year comparison with Japan for parents and students: what each costs, what each lets you do, and who should still pick Canada.
Read →⏳Study
MS in Japan vs UK for Indian Students (2026): Fees, Jobs, Visa & ROI
The UK's one-year master's is fast, and Indians still win more UK study visas than almost anyone. But the stay-back visa is shrinking to 18 months, sponsorship has a salary floor, and settlement may move to 10 years. Here is the plain-English comparison with Japan, for students and parents.
Read →⚖️Study
Study in Japan vs Germany for Indian Students: Is "Free" Tuition Really Cheaper? (2026)
Germany's "free tuition" now comes with €11,904 up front for the visa—and some universities charge €1,500–6,000 a semester. Here's how a two-year master's actually compares with Japan on cost, admission and the road to staying.
Read →🎟️Work
The OPT → H-1B Lottery, Explained for Indian Families (and Japan's Alternative)
A US master's leads to a visa lottery, not a visa. Here's exactly how OPT and the H-1B draw work, the real odds for a fresh graduate in 2026, and the points-based route Japan offers instead.
Read →🎓Study
Studying in Japan After 12th: An Honest Guide for Indian Families
A four-year degree in Japan costs a fraction of the US, UK or Canada — often around ₹35–45 lakh all-in. Here's what Indian families need to know about studying in Japan after 12th.
Read →🎓Study
MS in Japan vs the USA: An Honest Guide for Indian Students and Parents
A US master's now runs ₹98 lakh to ₹1.28 crore. Japan runs about ₹22–28 lakh. The US also pays about four times more. Here is the variable that actually decides it.
Read →🎓Study
The MEXT route nobody in India sells you: how Pranav got Japan to pay for his degree
Pranav won a full MEXT scholarship to study in Tokyo — no agent, no education loan, and without the N2 most Indians think they need. Here's exactly how the university-recommended route works.
Read →🧭Study
Where Should Indians Study Abroad Now? Why the US–UK Era Is Changing — and Where Japan Fits
Between 2023 and 2025, the four destinations that absorbed most of India's outbound students all tightened at once. US F-1 issuances to Indians fell from 130,730 to about 40,000. Canada capped intake; Indian permit holders fell from 277,940 to 93,735. The UK restricted dependants. Germany is now the clear winner — 69,076 Indian students, largest cohort. Japan has just 2,095. This is the data behind the decision, and the honest case for Japan.
Read →