I wanted to say thank you to Matt for asking questions for all of us who are interested in coming to Japan. I want to introduce myself as well as ask my own set of questions.

My name is Mark. I am 21 years old currently a college student. I am tentatively scheduled to graduate college with a BA in psychology in spring 2010. I've had many major changes since I started my college career. I was initially a Pre-Med student; I learned I didn't want to being such a highly competitive field so I changed majors. Then I became a nursing student for 2 years. I switched to psychology because I was too squeamish to handle the responsibilities of a Nurse (I found this out during an operating room rotation in clinical). Now I am studying psychology with the intent of finishing school asap. When I first turned 21 years old, I realized that I was always living the life that was expected of me. My parents are good people, but money was always tight and there were many things in life they wanted to give me but knew they couldn't. I first took on medicine as a way of thanking them for raising me. I wanted them to be proud of me and to give them some of the things they never had. It took some real soul searching to realize that I was very unhappy and that I had no interest in Medicine at all. I have always had a dream of becoming an international entertainer, but I always believed it was just a dream because I was so poor. I sing, I dance, and I act (all in small time productions and with hardly any formal training) and I want to pursue this dream more than anything else in the world. I am inspired by foreign born tarento working in the Japanese media (IE. JunJun and LinLin from Morning Musume, foreigners working in dramas and comedy, etc). I want to come to Japan and teach English initially in order to get to know the Japanese people whom I have always had a great respect for and to get settled in Japan before I attempt to break into the entertainment industry. I am working hard to pay for formal training in Hip Hop and voice. After graduation I intend to sit for TEFL certification and apply for work in Japan. Currently other than fluency in English, I can speak Cantonese Chinese at an intermediate level, speak Mandarin Chinese at the basic level, and I am a beginner self study student of Japanese. I hope to reach at least an intermediate level, JLPT 2 kyuu, before leaving for Japan.

My questions:
1. I know for JET, no specific university degree is required. Is this applicable with other programs as well? Will they look for specific degrees when applying to smaller schools?
2. I have my heart set on teaching and living in Tokyo. I am definitely applying to JET, but I am scared that I will be sent to a prefecture very far away. What other programs should I be looking to apply to if I want to work in Tokyo?
3. I know the basic starting salary for new teachers is approximately 250,000 yen a month. How much of that is actually yours after you pay taxes?
4. Do you have any tips when looking for your own apartment? I know it is a long and difficult process for foreigners.
5. How much leisure time do you have per week? I like to exercise everyday and have at least 6 hours of exercise a week, but when I watch your videos you seem busy from the time you wake up until you go to bed. I would like to have time to study Japanese as well as practice Hip Hop and voice.
6. I have been to Hong Kong with my godbrother. We stayed for about a month to be with family, his grandmother was dying. While in Hong Kong I heard quite a few racist remarks from people while I was walking down the street (they didn't know I could understand them). I am a Filipino and I was told by the family I was staying with that Filipinos are disliked among the Chinese. I am an extremely dark skin tone but I was wondering if this mentality would be applicable in Japan as well.
7. I know as an American I must apply for a teaching specific visa. Would you happen to have information for English teachers working in Japan who wish to purse other things? (I want to get a visa for entertainment as well)

Thank you
Mark