[chun]

Didn't see this until now so here's my two cents.

I'm at the end of my one year contract here with Berlitz. There are a few routes you can take if you want to do this. Firstly, you can get into an eikaiwa like Berlitz, AEON, ECC, Gaba, etc. From my personal experience, including interviewing with the other groups, I chose Berlitz because it was the most stable and most professional of the groups. Management is terrible if you'd like to move up but it isn't hard to if you really want to. That all doesn't matter anyways if you are looking for a one-year stint. The company is reliable and has a lot of support for you regarding living here (work visa, guarantor for an apartment, etc).

Like the other people recommended, the JET program is good as well, but I have no experience with it so I can't chime in on it.

In terms of getting a job, the basic requirements are that you have a Bachelor's degree and that English is your native language. Other than that, if you are personable and not a complete dickhead, you can get the job. Currently, it's a very good time to come into it since many foreigners have gone home due to the disaster situation. They are hiring. Not to mention that a lot of the big companies in Japan have decided to turn to expanding internationally, so there have been a lot of big contracts between eikaiwas and Japanese companies.

It's absolutely fantastic and if you don't have anything better to do back home, and if you're young, I completely recommend it. Don't worry about the discrimination blah blah blah. That's only what people that have never been to Japan think. I am also Chinese-Canadian and there haven't been any issues whatsoever (nothing even remotely close). The people are amazing here and you will only benefit from gaining a more internationally-minded view.

Good luck with your decision.

(btw, first step is the working-holiday visa from the gov't... requires $2,500, passport in good standing, a return airline ticket and about a week or two processing time, very easy to get)