Rizzan Sea Park Hotel

Resort Page: Click Here for specific Information about Rizzan Sea Park Hotel.
Pay and Job Info: See resort page link above.
Start date: Flexible. Please let us know your availability in the form below.
End date: Flexible (minimum 3.5 month contract)

Key Differences between Ski Resorts & Okinawa

Ski Resorts and Okinawa Resorts are very different experiences! 

In addition to the resort page above, please read through this page carefully as we outline some key differences between the two – so you know if an Okinawa season is right for you.

Japanese Ability

Unlike ski resorts, generally, there is a greater need for competency in Japanese. The hotel does accept some people with beginner-Japanese, but a lot less than ski resorts do. If your Japanese is a beginner level there may be more restrictions on when you can start, what positions you can do, and they may want you to work longer.

Please use the time at your ski resort now to improve your Japanese as much as possible!

Position Availability & Jobs

Ski resorts need everyone to start at the beginning of the season and work through until the end of the season. They ask us for a specific number of staff that they want for the winter. The numbers are usually the same every year – so we have a good idea who will be confirmed in each position, and by November we know exactly how many positions are available at each ski resort, AND how many of each job are available (lift, restaurant etc).

Okinawa is very different. They have no pre-set number of positions to fill. They assess applications individually and approve (or not) based on applicants’ merits, the availability of dorms and the hotel’s staffing needs during your period of availability.

In the past, being able to work 3 months was enough, 3.5 – 4 months was ideal. However with lots of South East Asian staff on internships for 1+ years, the resorts in Okinawa have become used to foreigners working longer contracts.

Start Dates

• If available from mid-April, you’ll likely be expected to work until August 15th or 31st.
• If available from early June, you’ll likely be expected to work until September 30th.
• If available from late June or July, you’ll be expected to work until October 31st.
• If available from August, you’ll be expected to work until November 15th or 30th.

Jobs:

• Marine (Beach /Pool Attendant)
  

• Bell-Hop

• Gift shop / shop

• Restaurant waiter/waitress

• VR Gaming Assistant

• HousekeepingVR Gaming Assistant

Jobs confirmed AFTER you arrive: 

For Ski Resorts there’s a high chance you’ll get your preferred job. That’s because they’ve told us how many positions they have available for each job, and we’ve juggled everyone into resort/position lists as best as possible. We then ask the ski resorts to confirm you in those roles, and usually, it all works out as planned.

In Okinawa, it’s completely up to the hotel based on their availability and is decided on Day 1, AFTER you arrive. Some positions are more or less likely depending on the time of year you’re starting (for example, there’s a higher chance of a Marine position if starting in April) and/or your language level. But the resort asks everyone to be flexible.

We meet you at Naha Airport on the morning of Day 1 and go up to the resort together. When we meet the General Manager he will decide everyone’s position based on their staffing needs at the time.

Helping in Other Areas at the Start

It’s common for people to be asked in housekeeping/room making positions for the first 1-3 weeks at the start, then move into their main position after that.

*People have never been asked to work in housekeeping their whole contract.

Start/End Dates & Your Availability

At Ski Resorts everyone starts on the same day and most people work until the end of the season – with some short contracts until February. Winter’s only that 3-4 month period, so resorts need all their staff then.

In Okinawa they’re busy year-round, so there’s a constant stream of new people starting and people finishing their contracts.

Positions start every few weeks, so you can choose when you want to start based on your plans. It’s not possible to choose the exact date of course, but you can choose whether you want to start in early April, late April, June, July or August etc.

⚠️ The rainy season starts in Okinawa in May, so there may not be any May starts. There weren’t in 2023, 2024 or 2025.

April Starts

We expect the first big intake to be in April. It’s too soon to know exactly when in April they’ll want everyone to arrive, but quite likely they’ll want one or two groups, of about 15 people in total, starting in mid – late April.

Dorm Availability:

Dorm availability is the number one reason people are not approved, or that approvals come so late for Okinawa. 

At ski resorts, the seasonality of ski resort work means the vast majority of staff have always been, short-term seasonal staff from other areas, so staff dormitories big enough to house everyone were built at the resorts.

At Okinawa resorts, the majority of staff used to be Okinawa locals. Pre-2010, seasonal workers made up only a small percentage of staff, and one dorm next to the hotel was sufficient.

Now though, Okinawa hotels also rely on seasonal staff more than they did before – and the small dormitories they had don’t provide enough accommodation for everyone.

Rizzan has one dorm attached to the hotel. It’s their original dorm, built at the same time as the resort. It’s very old, rooms are very small, and only Japanese full-time staff who are from other parts of Japan live in that one. Luckily! You wouldn’t want to be in that one!

For the last 10 years Rizzan has been using the Ishikawa Dorm complex and an apartment building called “Merufore”. Merufore’s apartments are returned to the landlord in October/November as seasonal staff finish their contracts. Rizzan then rents them again for staff starting in April.

Dorms and the sexes:

Ski resort dorms are strictly separated by sexes. Usually it’s one building with a wall down the middle – guys on one side, girls on the other. In some cases they’re separate buildings entirely. Most dorms don’t have common rooms where guys and girls can mingle.

In Okinawa it’s different.

Ishikawa Dorm: Imagine your ski resort dorm. You have the long hallway with all the rooms off it. At Ishikawa guys and girls share the same dorm, but some of those rooms have girls in them, and some of the rooms have guys in them. Each room has a bunk-bed for two people and a small bathroom (toilet + shower + hand basin). There’s a shared kitchen which anyone can use. There’s no specific “common room”, but a common room isn’t really needed as you can hangout anywhere – and unlike ski resorts, it’s nice and warm outside!

Other Dorms: Other “dorms” are actually apartment buildings. Rizzan rent apartments in those buildings. Some apartments will be for girls, others for boys.

There are no common rooms in the apartments, but Rizzan turn a blind eye to people going into each others rooms to hang out – but expect you to be sensible.

Like at ski resorts, dorms are not party houses. They’re for everyone to rest and relax. Unlike ski resorts, Okinawa it’s lovely and warm outside! So if you want to have a party and be rowdy, it’s very easy to head to a beach or a park!

Shifts & Different Schedules!

At ski resorts most people work very similar shifts. Ski resorts open in the morning and close with the last lift, so 99% of people go to work together and come home together.

In Okinawa, the hotel runs 24-7 and many of the jobs have very different schedules.

The restaurant’s breakfast shift, for example, starts early. Staff will be on the 4:30AM bus to work to prepare for the restaurant opening time of 6AM. It’s an early start, but it’s also an early finish – finished by lunch time and back to the dorm about 1PM.

Those on the dinner shift will start about 3pm and work until about midnight. 

Marine staff and Bell-hop staff will work shifts of varying length (usually about 8-10 hours with a one hour break) sometime between the hours of 6am – 10pm.

This means your roommate might, and definitely some of your dorm mates will, be wanting to sleep while you’re wide awake. It’s important that everyone respect each other and keep noise levels in the dorm low to let those who need to sleep, sleep.

Okinawa is more “serious”

Ski Resorts are laid-back places to work. Sure, they have lots of rules concerning safety, and the sexes are strictly separated at the dorms, but other than that it’s a very casual atmosphere.

At ski resorts the staff are 90% young, seasonal workers from all around the country there to have fun – they’re not there for a career.

The ski resort bosses are used to that – they may have started out that way when they were young too. Also, contact with customers is less formal. Hundreds of people whizzing through ticket gates, largely taking care of themselves.

In Okinawa it’s a little bit more serious (but still fun!). Being a hotel, guests expect a higher level of service than they do at ski resorts. Managers, too, expect levels of professionalism that ski resort managers don’t.

At ski resorts you might have been able to stand around and chit-chat with your co-workers when you weren’t busy. In Okinawa that’s not acceptable. When you’re not busy you’re expected to find something to do. Restaurant staff? You could collect some empty plates, top up customers’ glasses with water or wipe a table, for example. Marine staff? Fold some towels, sweep the footpaths, hose down used beach-chairs etc.

You’ll still have fun! – See the two videos on this page for proof of that! Just be aware it’ll be a little less “casual” than the ski resorts are. (You might notice the videos are quite old. We run regular video competitions. Back then, people used cameras and computers to edit their videos. Now people upload more social-media focussed short clips. The longer-form videos give a better idea of what it’s like, so although they’re old, they’re still the best to show you what to expect).

Meals

Ski resorts usually provide three meals a day. In Okinawa the cafeteria serves two meals a day – lunch and dinner.

The staff cafeteria is at the hotel. Depending on your shift you’ll usually have one meal either before or after your shift and the other during your shift on your break.

Sometimes, however, depending on your shift, you might miss one of the meals. Also on holidays you might not feel like going into the hotel for meals, instead preparing something yourself at the dorm (all dorms have kitchen facilities, see the Resort Page for details).

You’re deducted 24,800yen/month for meals, regardless of how many you have. Even if you miss a few meals a week, it’s still a great per-meal price given the quality of the meals you get.

Making Your Own Fun!

At ski resorts, the skiing and snowboarding is right in front of you! On your holiday you simply have to step outside the dorm and it’s right there. Away you go!

In Okinawa there’s a million things you can do, but you have to seek them out a bit more than at ski resorts.

For example, do you want to surf? There’s no surf in the resort areas (think idyllic, calm tropical beaches). If you want to surf it’s an hour or more away by car, and inaccessible by public transport. That being said, one year a guy made friends with a local who lived nearby who often went surfing and got a lift with him once or twice a month.  

Want to go diving? You’ll need to go on a tour – and that costs money. Want to get your diving license? That takes time and money. Arranging that around your work schedule would be difficult, but one year someone managed to do it. Where there’s a will there’s a way – just remember it’s not up to the hotel to schedule shifts around your plans – you need to make your plans around your work schedule.

Both of the above examples (surfing and getting your diving license) will be not easy – so don’t expect to do that while you’re in Okinawa. They’re just two examples to demonstrate how even though something might not be easily accessible, if you seek it out and make the effort, you can.

Of course, you can easily have fun doing the simpler things too! Swimming, relaxing at the beach, exploring nearby restaurants and cafes, hiking, running, Japanese study, or renting a car with some friends and exploring Okinawa on your days off – there’s lots to do!!

*There are busses in Okinawa, but public transport isn’t good. Renting a car with a few friends is a much easier (and probably cheaper!) way to explore the island!

IMPORTANT!

Make sure you’ve read the resort page for pay and other info too. If you’ve still got any unanswered questions feel free to send Grant a message by email.

Want to Join Us for the Summer?

IMPORTANT: First make sure that you’ve read all the info on BOTH this page and the Resort Page.

Then fill out the below form to register your interest for a position this year.

We’ll check over everything and send you a Tentative Job Offer. Please make sure you click the link to accept the Tentative Job Offer in that email too.

Security Deposits

Keep having a great time at your ski resort and hope to have you back with us again, this time in tropical Okinawa!