how I make extra money in japan (realistic side hustles + storytime)

As the great Iggy Aelia once said, "No money, no family." 16 in the middle of Miami. But let's change 16 to late 20s

Miami. But let's change 16 to late 20s and let's change Miami to Japan. That is

how life can be like living and working in Japan. Salaries are staying stagnant.

in Japan. Salaries are staying stagnant.

Price of living is increasing. And the

desire to order Uber Eats is it's always there. Always. Money is tough. I mean,

there. Always. Money is tough. I mean,

money's tough everywhere, but I live in Tokyo. So, I'm going to talk about

Tokyo. So, I'm going to talk about living in Tokyo. So, I don't gatekeep. I

want you to get your money up. So, these

are five ways tested and true by yours truly that you can make some extra money living and working in Japan. By the way, if you don't know me, my name is Chloe.

I'm a creative living and working in Tokyo, Japan. Number one, market

Tokyo, Japan. Number one, market research and medical studies. I use

Craigslist. I use a website called Survey Monkey. Another one called Link

Survey Monkey. Another one called Link of Asia. There's probably a few more out

of Asia. There's probably a few more out there, but there are a lot of paid surveys, paid interviews, paid medical studies as well, but the medical studies are a little bit more of a commitment,

but the other ones are probably an hour.

So, those ones are probably preferred unless you have a more open schedule.

But yeah, I've seen surveys that pay anywhere from like 2,000 to 30,000 yen.

And these surveys or interviews are about like cosmetic products, beauty, hygiene products, stationery, food, candy, sweets, if you play video games.

For example, I did a paid interview. I

got 8,000 yen. And I just had to look at this company's social media and I had to tell them what I thought about it, what I thought was wrong, what I thought was good, and what I thought could improve.

I also did a paid skincare study. I got

30,000 yen. I had to visit like twice and it was over the course of a month and I had to use their skinincare product every day and just like write notes about my skin. I think my favorite

ones are the ones where you get to go in and try different foods. I love to eat.

So, I'll eat I'll tell them how I feel about it. I could be a harsh critic. I

about it. I could be a harsh critic. I

could be nice. These surveys, these interviews, they're really fun as well because you can be brutally honest. And

sometimes we just want a space to be brutally honest and say your product is your social media. What the hell is this? Right? Because they encourage that

this? Right? Because they encourage that because they want the brutalst of feedback. They want the harshest of

feedback. They want the harshest of feedback so they can really change it for the better. That's why they pay you.

They pay for a reality check essentially. So yeah, getting paid to

essentially. So yeah, getting paid to give a wealthy company a reality check is always something that I will volunteer for. If you have a more

volunteer for. If you have a more flexible schedule and you want a lot of money, there are really, really high-paying medical research studies.

These are not always ideal because you usually have to stay in the hospital overnight for a couple of days and not everyone can miss work. Also, the

criteria like your blood test has to be it has to fit what they're looking for.

I remember I went to do one and I got a free medical checkup. They gave me 5,000 yen, which was nice because usually you have to pay like 10 20,000 yen for a medical checkup. So, I got mine for free

medical checkup. So, I got mine for free and I was paid to do it to see if I was eligible for this study. And I was eligible and I went there and I was going to stay for like 7 days. I packed

my bags, but they did a test again and it turned out something like I forget what metric, but something in my blood tests have changed since the initial

testing. So, I was no longer eligible.

testing. So, I was no longer eligible.

Also, I ended up getting sick. They

didn't have any vegan vegetarian options for me to eat. So, like I was just really hungry. I had a headache. You

really hungry. I had a headache. You

couldn't take headache medicine. I ended

up projectile vomiting in the bathroom.

And I told them, I said, "Can I have headache medicine?" One. Two. I think I

headache medicine?" One. Two. I think I need to go home. So, I got discharged from the hospital the next day. They

still gave me 30,000 yen for good measure, which was nice, but yeah, I didn't get the full 300,000 yen.

Number two, Craigslist. Craigslist. I

know there is a Craigslist killer.

There's like a movie about that. And on

one of my other videos, I talked about dating in Japan and there was a creep who like proposed to me from Craigslist.

So Craigslist is filled with a lot of freaks. But the good part about

freaks. But the good part about Craigslist, aside from the weird ads I've seen, what was a weird ad? I saw a gig for tickling. I think they were paying like 20 or 30,000 yen. I don't

know if you were being tickled or if you tickled the person. I don't know if that was code for something else. Also, be

careful of modeling stuff on Craigslist.

There are a lot of gigs I see on Craigslist and they're like, "We're looking for a model, but you have to be 18 and older and you have to be open-minded." 18 plus open-minded. Those

open-minded." 18 plus open-minded. Those

key words, that's when you know it's like just some freak or some perve who wants to hire a pretty girl and take pictures of her. I mean, if you're down for that, go ahead. But I think a lot of people might get misled and they're

like, "Oh, I'm going to a shoot." But

it's really just some creep. But on a positive note, some of the Craigslist jobs that I've done are like English camps where it's like a day camp. You

get 1,500 yen. I saw another ad recently. They were looking just to

recently. They were looking just to interview. I forget if it was like

interview. I forget if it was like interviewing English teachers or foreigners and they paid like 2,000 yen.

But there's a lot of people who have YouTube type jobs on Craigslist. like

they need someone as either an actor or someone to interview. So, you can get paid for that. There's also event staff job. There's transcribing jobs,

job. There's transcribing jobs, transcription jobs, editing jobs, proofreading jobs. There's a lot of like

proofreading jobs. There's a lot of like random tasks. I saw an ad actually to

random tasks. I saw an ad actually to help someone move to help someone move furniture like a couch. I also did a really fun job, like a mystery shopper job. I had a different idea of it. I

job. I had a different idea of it. I

thought I was going to go to a store and I thought I was going to secretly try the stuff. It turns out the company and

the stuff. It turns out the company and the place that you go to, they're like both in on it. So, it looks like you're doing a mystery review, but really it's all planned and like you give a positive

review. It was fun because I got to have

review. It was fun because I got to have a free service. Like, I got a free massage one time, beauty treatments, and I just had to talk about it. Talk about

my experience. It wasn't really a candid mystery review, I think, because defamation laws are quite strict in Japan and I can't just be like, "Oh, I went here and it sucked." But it's nice.

You get a free service and you get paid for experiencing the service as well.

Three, acting, modeling, or sharing your creative services or skills. So many

people are looking for foreigners, not just foreigners, sometimes Japanese people too, to be extras in promotional shootings, movies, ads, like so many things. And if you're wondering, do I

things. And if you're wondering, do I have the right look? Am I pretty enough?

Am I this enough? It doesn't really matter because as long as you can be an extra body in the filming, then that's really helpful for film crews. For me, I

already do freelance acting and modeling, but for example, some of the things I've done are promotional shootings. I've done hair shows where

shootings. I've done hair shows where they will like cut and style your hair and dye it sometimes. And I see a lot of people, a lot of hair salons, they're always looking for like a hair model.

They usually do some extreme hairdo, some hair makeover, but they pay you a good amount because, you know, you're changing your whole look for them. Also,

if you're not interested in acting or modeling, there's always film crew. A

lot of people need personal assistance.

They need a sound person. They need a videographer, a director. They need a location scouter. Like there's always

location scouter. Like there's always sometimes a driver. There's always jobs available for a film crew. And this

might be short films, student films, feature films, independent films, mainstream films. I don't know. There's

a lot of different categories, but there's always something that's out there that you can probably translate your creative skills and get paid for doing it. Also, I think amateurs are

doing it. Also, I think amateurs are welcome. Like a lot of these castings or

welcome. Like a lot of these castings or requests for film crew, a lot of people say beginners are okay, amateurs are okay, especially if something is like a

lowbudget project. I mean, yeah, it's

lowbudget project. I mean, yeah, it's nice to have someone with experience, but I think a lot of people are open to giving those who are just starting out a chance, which is nice, especially if you're looking to get involved in

something creative because a lot of people are like, I have no experience.

Like, where do I start? Well, you can start with volunteer stuff or you can start with lowbudget projects and then slowly work your way up to get higher paying gigs. Also, content creation. So

paying gigs. Also, content creation. So

many people are looking for people to shoot content, to be in content, like maybe do everything because for content creation, you have to be the cameraman,

the editor, the director, the actor, like you kind of have to be a jack of all trades. I feel like a lot of us are

all trades. I feel like a lot of us are used to using our phones. So, if you're skilled with using your phone, then I feel like you should try doing content creation because people will pay you big money for that. And if you don't want to

leave your house, if you just want to work from home, there are a lot of video editing jobs, color grading jobs, jobs that deal with sound design, making subtitles, stuff like that, the post

production. And a lot of these gigs can

production. And a lot of these gigs can be found on Craigslist. They can be found on other pages like Facebook pages, specific pages dedicated to

creatives. I recommend going on Facebook

creatives. I recommend going on Facebook and typing in Japan actors, Japan creatives, Japan filmmakers, and just join as many groups as you can. And then

when you join one, another relevant one will pop up. So just keep joining as many as you can and just turn on the notifications and then you're always going to be notified of potential job

postings and then you can apply from there. Also, those I feel like sometimes

there. Also, those I feel like sometimes those are word of mouth as well, but if you do one job and you meet the crew and then you connect with them on social media, then they might recommend you to

someone else when they work on a project in the future. You don't have to be so so well connected, but I think the more gigs that you do, the more jobs you'll be offered. Like I did a few jobs from

be offered. Like I did a few jobs from Craigslist and Facebook, and then from those people reached out to me afterwards, and they offered me other gigs from that. So it kind of goes full

circle in that way. Number four, selling old clothes, old stuff at a few places.

So you can sell old clothes and old stuff at Book Off, at thrift stores and like Shimokazawa, Kichi Joji. If you're

not in Tokyo, you can go elsewhere. You

probably won't get that much for selling them, but if you're really in need of a couple of bucks, it's an option. Thrift

stores are quick and convenient, but if you really want to make money from your secondhand stuff, I recommend using websites like Jimotei or Merkari.

Merkari Merukari. Selling stuff online takes longer and is probably more annoying because you have to deal with customers, but you definitely make a lot more money. I bought my camera

more money. I bought my camera secondhand on Jimote. I bought a Sony A7 Mark III for 120,000 yen on Jimote. And

a couple years later, I sold that same camera on Merkari. I think I got the same amount, 120,000. I sold a secondhand IKEA desk on Jimotei. I sold

a dresser, a rug. I didn't get that much. Like for the rug, I got 3,000 yen.

much. Like for the rug, I got 3,000 yen.

For the desk, 4,000. For the dresser, 4,000. But at Book Off, oh my gosh, my

4,000. But at Book Off, oh my gosh, my 10,000 yen acoustic guitar. I sold it at Book Off for only 500 yen. So, they can really, really lowball you. But yeah, it

just sucks waiting for the transaction to be made and dealing with the communication, the shipping, all that from like Mirkari or Jimotei. But it's a

trade-off. Either option is a trade-off.

trade-off. Either option is a trade-off.

Another thing you can do, and I've had some friends do this, I guess sometimes there are big flea markets and you can rent a booth. I I forget the price. I'll

put the price here. And my friends, they took their old clothes and they sold them secondhand. And I guess you could

them secondhand. And I guess you could do that with clothes or maybe also art.

Just having a booth for stuff you want to sell at a flea market, at a exhibition, at any type of place where there's selling involved. I guess it

only works if you have a big amount of stuff. If you have like two shirts, I

stuff. If you have like two shirts, I don't think that will cut it. But if you have like a whole wardrobe you're trying to get rid of, that's probably a good

option. Five, teaching websites. Now, I

option. Five, teaching websites. Now, I

don't as much anymore, but I used to teach a lot on a website called Prely.

And I don't think you need too many fancy credentials. Like my friend who's

fancy credentials. Like my friend who's not even done university yet, he was teaching on it, too. And it's nice. You

can set your price. You can make some extra money. There's Preply, there's

extra money. There's Preply, there's italkie. There's a lot of other teaching

italkie. There's a lot of other teaching sites. Just type in teaching website.

sites. Just type in teaching website.

What else? Native Camp is another one.

You can also go on a website called Hello Sensei. And this is more for

Hello Sensei. And this is more for in-person teaching where you can charge a bit more. Like I had a profile on Hello Sensei and I met up with this one

guy and he paid me I think like 4,000 yen an hour and we met in person. Do you

want to know why our lessons ended? This

man would bring me flowers. And when I was visiting America, he told me he wanted to have a lesson in America.

So I'm like what? you're going to fly out to America while I'm there just to have a lesson. And this man is like 60s.

I think Hello Sensei, Hello Talk is another one. I don't think that's paid.

another one. I don't think that's paid.

I think it's more for like language conversation exchange. I think they

conversation exchange. I think they really easily turn into like dating apps. So

yeah, but I have heard of some stories where people like met their boyfriend, girlfriend, love of their life on Hello Talk, but other people met creeps. I guess you

can test your luck, but be careful.

Also, I've seen some people stray away from the apps, the websites, and they market themselves. Like they'll make

market themselves. Like they'll make their own flyer and post it on social media, or they'll post it around their town, I guess, considering the town rules or maybe word of mouth. And some

people will teach English in person, some online, some will teach English through like soccer practice, some will teach through theater, through acting, some will teach English through

anything. Like you can combine a sport

anything. Like you can combine a sport that you're good at or like some type of skill that you're good at with English.

So for me, I'm an actor, so I could be like, I'm offering English acting classes. So if someone wants to learn

classes. So if someone wants to learn English and maybe they're interested in acting, then that's like a perfect combo. So yeah, it's a lot. There's

combo. So yeah, it's a lot. There's

probably more options out there that I haven't mentioned. If you have more

haven't mentioned. If you have more options, please let me know. Any more

ideas to make some extra money? We love

the money tips. But yeah, wouldn't it be nice to just work a full-time job and that's it? Like I don't think I ever in

that's it? Like I don't think I ever in my life worked one job. Ever since

college, I've always worked at least two. I was working three jobs in college. Now I work my full-time job

in college. Now I work my full-time job plus some other freelance stuff like just a mix of many things. I don't know.

I just I won't sell my soul to a Fortune 500 company. I won't sell my soul to

500 company. I won't sell my soul to corporate America, even if that means working just one job instead of five.

But yeah, guys, there are a ton of ways to make extra money. Get creative. What

do you have to offer? What are your skills? What can you sell? I don't know.

skills? What can you sell? I don't know.

I feel like you can monetize so much.

And I know it feels weird sometimes to monetize your skill or monetize your service yourself. You have value. You

service yourself. You have value. You

have value in your skills and your services and your knowledge and your experience. And I think when you realize

experience. And I think when you realize that and you set a price, other people will see that and they will pay. Don't

be afraid to charge for your skills and talent. And people better compensate you

talent. And people better compensate you appropriately. It's hard out there, but

appropriately. It's hard out there, but you can do it. We can do it. I believe

in you and I hope you believe in me. You

deserve money, so get your money up. You

got this. I'm going to try to get my money up, too. Let's get our money up together.

Bye.