About the WANDERWORK

If you are looking for the WANDERWORK author behind these Japan guides, this is the page to start with. WANDERWORK is an independent guide for people who want to work remotely, travel responsibly and make practical decisions in Japan. It is founded and edited by Yohji Ohtsubo, a Japan-based marketer with firsthand experience of living, working and building a business across borders.

This page explains who is behind the site, how our guides are prepared, and how commercial relationships are disclosed. It is here so you can judge our recommendations before relying on them.

What this page helps you verify

• Who writes and edits WANDERWORK's English guides
• Which experiences inform our perspective on working across borders
• How we distinguish research-based guidance from hands-on product testing
• How affiliate links and commercial relationships are handled

The short answer: practical guidance, transparent limits

WANDERWORK is useful when you need a clear, practical starting point for Japan—not when you need a promise that one product, visa route or neighbourhood will suit everyone. We explain the decision, the trade-offs and the next verification step.

Meet the editor: Yohji Ohtsubo

I created WANDERWORK after seeing how difficult it can be to make life and work function across countries. The site brings together that experience with a marketer's approach to research: identify the real decision, check the evidence, explain uncertainty, and give readers a usable next step.

My perspective comes from several distinct chapters:

• Independent travel in Europe: In my twenties, I spent two months travelling independently across Europe as a backpacker. That experience made the idea of working beyond one country feel practical rather than abstract.
• Belgium: That journey eventually led to Belgium, where I obtained permission to live and work and founded a business in Antwerp.
• Shanghai: I lived and worked in Shanghai on an overseas assignment, learning how quickly work, consumer behaviour and daily systems can change across markets.
• Digital marketing: I completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Marketing at the University of Liverpool with Merit.
• Japan: I now work from Japan and focus WANDERWORK on the practical realities visitors and remote workers face here: staying connected, paying, getting around, finding workable places to live, and understanding official requirements.

My travel and work experience spans Europe and Asia, including the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand. These experiences do not make every recommendation universally right. They do mean that WANDERWORK is built around the operational questions that are easy to overlook until they become a problem: what works on arrival day, what needs a backup, what is policy-dependent, and what should be confirmed before money changes hands.

For a fuller account in Japanese, see my background and the story behind WANDERWORK.

How WANDERWORK prepares a guide

Different topics require different evidence. A visa guide, an eSIM comparison and a city guide should not be researched in the same way.

We do not describe a product as personally tested unless the relevant article shows the test context: when and where it was used, the device or setup, what was tested, and the limitations of that test. Until then, a guide is clearly research-based.

Our editorial principles

1. The reader's situation comes first

There is rarely one "best" option for every digital nomad. A short-stay traveller with one phone has different needs from someone making client calls every day, travelling with a family or applying for a longer stay. We aim to say who a recommendation fits—and who should choose something else.

2. Official sources outrank our interpretation

For visas, insurance, financial services and other changeable or high-impact subjects, WANDERWORK is not the final authority. We link to or direct readers to the relevant official source and flag information that requires confirmation.

3. Limitations belong near the decision

Important limits should not be hidden at the bottom of an article. If a connection may not suit video calls, a payment method has acceptance limits, or an insurance policy depends on eligibility, we explain that before asking a reader to take action.

4. We update rather than quietly pretend information never changes

Japan travel information, product plans and official procedures change. We date guides where appropriate, revise material changes and remove or qualify claims that cannot be supported.

How affiliate links work

Some WANDERWORK articles include affiliate links. If you use one of these links and make a qualifying purchase, WANDERWORK may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

This does not change the price you pay, and it does not determine whether we recommend a product. A commercial relationship is disclosed on the relevant article. We do not recommend a service solely because it has an affiliate programme, and we state material limitations or alternatives where they matter to the reader's decision.

Affiliate revenue helps fund the time required to research, update and test guides. Reader value remains the rule: a recommendation that is not useful is not a sustainable business model.

What WANDERWORK is—and is not

WANDERWORK is a practical editorial resource for remote work and travel in Japan. It is not a law firm, immigration adviser, financial adviser, insurer or service provider. Use the site to understand your options and prepare better questions; use qualified or official sources when your personal situation requires a formal decision.

Start with the guide that matches your situation

If you are preparing to work remotely in Japan, begin with the guide that matches the decision in front of you:

• Digital Nomad Setup Japan — a practical arrival sequence for connectivity, payments, insurance, transit and accommodation.
• Digital Nomad Visa Japan — an overview of the official route and the points to verify before you apply.
• eSIM vs Pocket Wi-Fi in Japan — choose a connection method according to your devices and work risk.

Frequently asked questions

The commitment behind WANDERWORK

Working across borders should expand your choices, not create avoidable stress. WANDERWORK exists to make the practical parts clearer: what to check, what to prepare and where a backup matters.

If we earn your trust, it should be because the guidance is clear about both what it knows and what you still need to verify.

WANDERWORK at a glance