I worked at Nova for 18 months back in 1998. They interviewed me at home in Sydney, paid my airfare, picked me up at the airport in Tokyo, took me to my apartment door - they provided the apartment - and looked after we very well.
After 6 months, I realised that the teaching was very monotonous and I got bored but I saw no other options until another year of working there.
I can't fault them as an employer...only to say that Nova was to English Education what MacDonalds is to Fine Cuisine... except now that's a moot point what with the bankruptcy and all.
I then moved to ECC (not EC)... I found ECC to be a lot more easy going on staff. For one thing - Nova prohibited ANY CONTACT with students outside of class. If you bumped into a student outside, you felt nervous in case someone else saw you together and complained. At ECC they encouraged socialization with students - which is good for those teachers who want to make friends and learn some Japanese. Overall, I loved ECC and when I came back to Japan 3 years ago - my second stint in Japan - I first went back to ECC for a job.
There are numerous small schools - often with just the one premises and where you'll be working side by side with management and company owners. In this kind of small school you'll encounter alot less buraucracy and red tape which is probably the source of most teachers' resentment for schools. You'll get to know the boss and hopefully will be able to communicate openly about your opinions on educational material, resources, programs etc...
In Japan, the standard monthly salary is 250,000 yen.
This is the same wage I earned 10 years ago before I got my Masters in TESOL Teaching and built up 9 years teaching experience. In most cases the small schools will offer the same or more than this. Don't ever accept less.
For jobs in Japan, look at
O-HAYO SENSEI, and search for your desired location.
Gaijin Pot is also a good job listing. (Gaijin means foreigner in Japanese).
Ganbatte Ne !
Good luck.