Are you a model?

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Faith Kitsunezaki

So you’ve arrived in Japan thinking that you can get a job in an office no sweat because of your great skills, yet are disappointed to find that unless you can speak Japanese really well or can master a Japanese keyboard your luck has just been cut in half. Well that’s my story in any case!

So then you try your hand at teaching English, which is what a majority of people do and for good reason, if you join a site such as findateacher.net, you can make a profile for free and list the times when you are free to teach, where you would like to teach (family restaurants or cafes are the safe and ideal option) and even set your own minimum fee. This works out well, it is not a full time job, yet if managed well can help pay some bills, although it will not pay the rent! I’ve also made a lot of great friends along the way who’ve taught me a lot about Japan and are also a valuable source of information for anything that is worrying you or if you want a good doctor or dentist recommended.

For me the teaching provided the funds to jump on the train for an audition or job as a GaijinJapanese word meaning "outsider" commonly used to describe foreigners. Considered somewhat impolite. model in Tokyo. First you cannot be under the idea that you must be outstandingly good looking to be a Gaijin model in Japan, those models are called ‘contract models’ and are usually 16 year old Italians here for 1 month and have all their big money jobs pre booked for them by their agent!

No, this is quite different; all it takes is a valid visa such as a working visa or a spouse visa, no holiday goers I’m afraid. Most agencies do not need a registration fee, others only require 1000, plus you will need to present your passport or Alien Registration Card (the card given to you at the local town hall when you register your residency upon arrival in Japan)

If like me you have a portfolio of your previous work, if not they will take a snap shot of you to send to possible clients.

How it all works is as follows

The agency will give you a call and let you know of an upcoming audition

You then must check in your schedule that you are free not only for the day of the audition but also for the job dates, you must be honest with the agency at all times about your availability.

They will then submit your picture to the client and if chosen they will let you know again by phone the time and place of the audition, usually you will meet up with an agent at a train station exit along with the other hopefuls.

When arriving at the audition place it is best to act professionally, been quiet and friendly will help boost your chances, the noisy ones who sit drinking cola or dropping their sandwich pieces on the floor are decreasing their chances.

After the audition, you will hear from the agency within a couple of days whether you were chosen or not for the part.

Some jobs are picture selection only, this means no audition, just the client selects you for the job from the picture of you that the agent sent them.

Depending on your looks and ability there is a wide range of jobs available, fashion work, narration, extra roles in TV commercial or drama etc

Sometimes it is best to accept the small paying jobs along with the large paying jobs so that you can build your experience up and this makes you more appealing to potential clients, it also shows the agency that you are willing to work and they will call you more often with offers.

Before I became a Mum, I did many different types of model or extra roles, these range from been a mannequin in a fashion display, to TV commercial, to movie extra, to fashion show, to printed commercial in magazines.

The key to having success in this is being available, being friendly and being professional, as although you are not a ‘real’ model, the client sees you as such, you are their employee for the day, so do it right! Remember also you will not make your fortune doing this as some months you may have a job every week netting in for the month around 100,000, other months you are lucky to have one job and get 10,000!

Now I model only on weekends for mainly fashion shows or fashion catalogues, my daughter Sofia who is over a year old has been doing baby modeling since 3 months, this saves a bit for her future and I never accept something which will make her tired, most little kid jobs are very easy as the atmosphere is like a play room with lots of toys and snacks and they are captured in a natural environment.

For those that may be interested in modeling as a part time booster to their wage or as a fun thing to try I recommend the following agencies as I have worked for them for ages and found they know what they are doing and they treat you with respect.

Group Echo

Contact: Hikaru

Phone: 03 6804 7677

grpecho-tokyo@celery.ocn.ne.jp

Junes

Contact: Rio

Phone: 03 5469 5331 or 5332 or 5333

asap@junes.co.jp

K&M

Contact: Tommo

Phone: 03 3404 9429 or 9456

inter@kmpro.co.jp