Living in Japan; experiences

[lavrentis]

I lived in Japan for a while, so eager to share my experiences and hear others. Basically it stemmed from my first ever play through of Shenmue, and visiting Tokyo in 2012.

I worked as a developer there, and yes zangyou was a thing (unneeded). Lived in Tokyo (Nakano-ku) and very much enjoyed that part, the standard of apartments is very good.

Work culture leaves a lot to be desired, even at Gaishikei's, they can get away with a bad culture. I think developers get treated worse then English teachers. Pay was okay for a bad Japanese speaking foreigner with moderate experience in Tokyo, 6,000,000 JPY standard 12 month, not 14 month which they sometimes try to burn you with as a "bonus".

The commute was also not great, on a packed Oedo sen. The trains are great and clean however.

Learnt Japanese, at the Coto language school in Tokyo, and they are okay, had mixed opinions on them. It's important to find a class for your level.

Mixing with Japanese people I had a range of experiences, you really have to get their culture in my opinion, "sugoi gaikokujin, eeeeee". There are some Japanese people who love to mix with foreigners and these are cool.

I don't know if this sounds weird, but I went on a vacation to Hong Kong whilst living in Tokyo after a long stint in Japan only, and this might sound weird but Hong Kong felt more "free", then Japan. Which is weird considering who runs it now.

Some people say foreigners aren't there for the long haul, but I did meet some "expats", who were very high up in Japanese companies, mainly the one in Futako Tamagawa.

I've always been interested in the Yakuza, and they blend right in. If you go in backwater Kinshicho, you can sense them, and there are bars obviously run by them. Russian, Romanian girl bars. Some places in Tokyo have a no Yakuza sign etc. Hated Roppongi as well, foreigners in Japan seem like they're in competition with eachother and I dont mean to sound like one, but avoid the area.

I love Japan and Japanese culture and living there was eye opening. I travelled around a bit, mainly on golden week when I was allowed, and drove up the country which was absolutely stunning, especially at night. And new years with a snowy Aomori. Also went to Okinawa, which is stunning.

My partner at the time was Japanese, and it was breathtaking and nerve wracking binge drinking Ocha with Obaa chan old school countryside house. Eigo wakarimasen for sure!

Did some touristy stuff when my friend and sister visited, such as dress up in a yukata in Asakusa, and watch Sumo at Ryogoku. Picture's to prove

Love to discuss this more with those who are in Japan.

 

[danielmann861]

I lived in Japan for a while, so eager to share my experiences and hear others. Basically it stemmed from my first ever play through of Shenmue, and visiting Tokyo in 2012.

I worked as a developer there, and yes zangyou was a thing (unneeded). Lived in Tokyo (Nakano-ku) and very much enjoyed that part, the standard of apartments is very good.

Work culture leaves a lot to be desired, even at Gaishikei's, they can get away with a bad culture. I think developers get treated worse then English teachers. Pay was okay for a bad Japanese speaking foreigner with moderate experience in Tokyo, 6,000,000 JPY standard 12 month, not 14 month which they sometimes try to burn you with as a "bonus".

The commute was also not great, on a packed Oedo sen. The trains are great and clean however.

Learnt Japanese, at the Coto language school in Tokyo, and they are okay, had mixed opinions on them. It's important to find a class for your level.

Mixing with Japanese people I had a range of experiences, you really have to get their culture in my opinion, "sugoi gaikokujin, eeeeee". There are some Japanese people who love to mix with foreigners and these are cool.

I don't know if this sounds weird, but I went on a vacation to Hong Kong whilst living in Tokyo after a long stint in Japan only, and this might sound weird but Hong Kong felt more "free", then Japan. Which is weird considering who runs it now.

Some people say foreigners aren't there for the long haul, but I did meet some "expats", who were very high up in Japanese companies, mainly the one in Futako Tamagawa.

I've always been interested in the Yakuza, and they blend right in. If you go in backwater Kinshicho, you can sense them, and there are bars obviously run by them. Russian, Romanian girl bars. Some places in Tokyo have a no Yakuza sign etc. Hated Roppongi as well, foreigners in Japan seem like they're in competition with eachother and I dont mean to sound like one, but avoid the area.

I love Japan and Japanese culture and living there was eye opening. I travelled around a bit, mainly on golden week when I was allowed, and drove up the country which was absolutely stunning, especially at night. And new years with a snowy Aomori. Also went to Okinawa, which is stunning.

My partner at the time was Japanese, and it was breathtaking and nerve wracking binge drinking Ocha with Obaa chan old school countryside house. Eigo wakarimasen for sure!

Did some touristy stuff when my friend and sister visited, such as dress up in a yukata in Asakusa, and watch Sumo at Ryogoku. Picture's to prove

Love to discuss this more with those who are in Japan.

Hey there,

Can't say I've ever lived in Japan, but I have been going there for the last 7 or 8 years straight. I've been studying the language for 7 years now here in Australia. Last year I spent a month over there living in a small apartment (courtesy of Sakura House) and attending the Coto Language School....I did a month stay of studying.

Was interesting, but I can't say I was too fussed on the school itself. I was going three days a week for about 4 hours per day. It was nice to have a consistent class of unbroken Japanese as opposed to my Japanese class here in Sydney which is often broken by English seeping in. So it was nice to get a consistent stream of Japanese...but I wasn't thrilled by the way my teachers structured stuff. I think I would have preferred something more conversational in nature as opposed to "here's a grammar point; learn it, now use it" which is what I felt a lot of the lessons were. I didn't hate Coto, it was fun for what it was but I think I wanted more from it in terms of free flow conversational stuff.

I've been thinking about moving there for a while now and trying my luck, but honestly, the work culture horror stories kinda frighten me. That and I honestly don't know what I would do once there. I guess teaching English since its the easiest route to get in but I don't know. But I do love going there year after year and spending time there. It is one of my favorite get away places. Just don't know if I could live there and survive living there.

Yeah, I hate Roppongi too...absolutely despise Ropoongi. A lot of obnoxious types looking for a "good time." I'd much rather spend my nights somewhere more relaxed and chill like the Golden Gai or any of the other numerous little bars you can find throughout the city.

I find mixing with the locals is a mixed bag (as you say). I have a couple of native friends over there who I really love meeting up with whenever I'm over there. They've always treated me very well. One of them is a Manga Artist, another is a scriptwriter who has just finished filming his first feature film, another is a guy from New York who is a writer/filmmaker. All of which I met in the Golden Gai at a little bar known as the Suspiria Bar (it's modeled after Suspiria)...that small circle has always been really cool to me.

My Japanese is mediocre at best. I can hear a lot more, but I still have trouble sometimes putting together a response in the heat of the moment. I can hear what people say to me more and more, but I kind of fumble over words in response. Probably because I haven't done enough in the way of conversational practice. My reading is pretty decent though. And I can get my way around pretty easily. But I still have troubles with long form conversations. Probably because my vocab isn't where it needs to be. My grammar is pretty good, but my vocab needs more work.

It truly is one of my favorite places to hang out...I'm actually really bummed. It's coming up on April/May and this is usually the time I'm headed over there (I usually go back for my birthday come April 16th) but I doubt it's happening this year given all this Corona Virus shit.

 

[lavrentis]

Hey there,

Can't say I've ever lived in Japan, but I have been going there for the last 7 or 8 years straight. I've been studying the language for 7 years now here in Australia. Last year I spent a month over there living in a small apartment (courtesy of Sakura House) and attending the Coto Language School....I did a month stay of studying.

Was interesting, but I can't say I was too fussed on the school itself. I was going three days a week for about 4 hours per day. It was nice to have a consistent class of unbroken Japanese as opposed to my Japanese class here in Sydney which is often broken by English seeping in. So it was nice to get a consistent stream of Japanese...but I wasn't thrilled by the way my teachers structured stuff. I think I would have preferred something more conversational in nature as opposed to "here's a grammar point; learn it, now use it" which is what I felt a lot of the lessons were. I didn't hate Coto, it was fun for what it was but I think I wanted more from it in terms of free flow conversational stuff.

I've been thinking about moving there for a while now and trying my luck, but honestly, the work culture horror stories kinda frighten me. That and I honestly don't know what I would do once there. I guess teaching English since its the easiest route to get in but I don't know. But I do love going there year after year and spending time there. It is one of my favorite get away places. Just don't know if I could live there and survive living there.

Yeah, I hate Roppongi too...absolutely despise Ropoongi. A lot of obnoxious types looking for a "good time." I'd much rather spend my nights somewhere more relaxed and chill like the Golden Gai or any of the other numerous little bars you can find throughout the city.

I find mixing with the locals is a mixed bag (as you say). I have a couple of native friends over there who I really love meeting up with whenever I'm over there. They've always treated me very well. One of them is a Manga Artist, another is a scriptwriter who has just finished filming his first feature film, another is a guy from New York who is a writer/filmmaker. All of which I met in the Golden Gai at a little bar known as the Suspiria Bar (it's modeled after Suspiria)...that small circle has always been really cool to me.

My Japanese is mediocre at best. I can hear a lot more, but I still have trouble sometimes putting together a response in the heat of the moment. I can hear what people say to me more and more, but I kind of fumble over words in response. Probably because I haven't done enough in the way of conversational practice. My reading is pretty decent though. And I can get my way around pretty easily. But I still have troubles with long form conversations. Probably because my vocab isn't where it needs to be. My grammar is pretty good, but my vocab needs more work.

It truly is one of my favorite places to hang out...I'm actually really bummed. It's coming up on April/May and this is usually the time I'm headed over there (I usually go back for my birthday come April 16th) but I doubt it's happening this year given all this Corona Virus shit.

It's weird about Roppongi, or even places like Kinschicho. You mention it to some Japanese people and they go "abbunai", when really these areas are extremely safe in comparison to other parts of the world.

My course at Coto was pure conversational and I felt a bit cheated I was missing out on key parts of Japanese, kind of the opposite to you I guess haha. Guess it goes back to finding the right class/course. Mine was Saturday only.

I was quite lucky in that whilst I was going to Japan initially long term in mind but I knew I could bail out, other foreigners had invested a lot in terms of language, marriage and having half Japanese children. Some gaijin were treated shocking at work, were there at 7am and were white in the face but were trapped due to their situation.

That being said, some gaijin do have it cushy, and whilst not on amazing money have it comfortable and have managed to find a place which actually treats you alright.

Shenmue for me is all to blame for the Japanese simulator part and I was in love instantly. Living there, you definitely get sensitised to a horrible commute and you get normalised to Japan, the beauty and the ugliness. I loved the Japanese aesthetic.

This might sound weird but in my first week I noticed Tokyo seemed to have its own specific type of haze over the city, when I saw the cityscapes from the highways.

I had an idea of a working holiday type deal, even though I was on an Engineer/Humanities visa (which is blanket for either devs or teachers), and managed to get 3 years first time. I was thrown into the deep end with no real climatisation period, by my second week I was at work.

Would I go back to live? I don't know, it was fun whilst it lasted. I do think living is different to visiting, and I don't want to be one of them foreigners who compare themselves to others but man, dev's do get it hard. That being said, I hear the culture is slowly changing.

 

[lavrentis]

About you moving there @danielmann861 , whilst the grass is not always greener, it's an experience and you will meet people just by being there and learn a lot.

It does depend, do you have a career, dependents etc

There long term? I noticed alot of people go English Teachers -> Recruiter, there are tons of Gaijin recruiters there.

About corona, I don't know. Maybe wait til Autumn, a beautiful time to go anyway

 

[danielmann861]

About you moving there @danielmann861 , whilst the grass is not always greener, it's an experience and you will meet people just by being there and learn a lot.

It does depend, do you have a career, dependents etc

There long term? I noticed alot of people go English Teachers -> Recruiter, there are tons of Gaijin recruiters there.

About corona, I don't know. Maybe wait til Autumn, a beautiful time to go anyway

Hey man, sorry I forgot to reply.

I currently work on Payroll for a truck company. It's a steady job that I've been at for ten years so I suppose that it's a career now whether I like it or not. Isn't that the case for anything you do for that long?

At this point, there is a part of me that wants to try and make the move but I honestly don't know what I would do once there. I guess teaching is the easiest way in, but in order for that, wouldn't I need a teaching degree? (something I don't have and would have to spend at least three years to obtain?)

My ideal job would be to one day get into translating. For the past few years, I've been doing a bit of manga translation on the side for the fun of it. I have a friend who is a manga artist and I've been constantly leaning my craft by translating some of her stuff for the fun of it. But I honestly don't know how to get a foot in the door of that field.

So yeah, I guess teaching is the easiest route. But it's just a matter of removing myself from my comfort zone and actually doing it.

Yeah, that's the currently the plan...Maybe try to aim for October/November instead...hopefully this Coronavirus shit has blown over by then. Here's hoping things are back to some measure of normalcy by then.

 

[RyoHazuki84]

I've been living in Japan for the past 10 1/2 years. I first started taking Japanese lessons in high school, where it was offered. Naturally, being a fan of anime, manga, and games was what inspired me to study it. I got the highest grade in the class and I studied it for three years (unfortunately, there was no Japanese 4 for my senior year). I double majored in Japanese and East Asian Studies as well. I feel like my Japanese started to boom about 4 1/2 years in. I was working at a private all-girls' high school in Utsunomiya, which is 2 1/2-3 hours north of Tokyo by regular train. Most of my other English teaching positions didn't require Japanese but this one did. Thanks to working at a job where I needed to use Japanese more, it really helped.

I'm now married to a Japanese national (she can speak fluent Mandarin and she's moderate at English) and we have a daughter. I also briefly lived in Japan in 2006 and did a home-stay there in the summer of 2001 when I was in high school. I have lived in Ibaraki, Kagawa, Ehime, Hiroshima, Niigata, Saitama, Tochigi, and Kanagawa prefectures during my stays here. Of course, I have been to Osaka, Hyogo, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Okayama, Kyoto, etc. I have experienced both city and country life. Tokyo is great, but I don't think you can really appreciate Japan until you see its abundant nature.

I'm pretty much in Tokyo almost everyday (I now live in Yokohama) with one of my current jobs, teaching Eikaiwa to senior citizens. I also hustle as a translator, blog for an anime site, and seasonally teach Saturday classes at a private high school in Sagamihara. My job takes me all over the place (I can go to Asakusa, Nerima, Ikebukuro, Akihabara, Nakano Broadway or the Tokyo Dome depending where I am) so it doesn't burn me out compared to other teaching jobs I've had in the past. I'm hoping to translate (mostly for games and anime) full-time in the near future so I can be at home with my wife and daughter. I'm on the tracks everyday, and I have a love-hate relationship with it. I can deal with congested trains but I deal with douche bags almost everyday on them. I usually have to get up early so working a job from home full-time would be nice for me.

I usually make Japanese friends at work, or going to classes like a martial arts class. Throughout the places I've lived in, depending on what was available to me, I'd join a boxing, kickboxing, MMA, or karate class. It was easy for me to fit in since I've also been doing martial arts almost my whole life. I'm now going to a kickboxing/karate gym operated by the K-1 kickboxing promotion and the trainers are former K-1 competitors so I feel like I'm learning from the best. I met my wife through a website called japan-guide.com, where you can make friends in Japan.

When I first came back in 2009 (mostly because of unfinished business from when I left in 2007), I was intending on staying for maybe 3-5 years. I just wanted to see and experience more, and now that I have a family here, I got no reason to move back to Arizona for now.

 

[Rydeen]

Sagamihara

Oh snap, I lived in Sagamihara for about a year. I also lived in Nerima while studying at Aoyama Gakuin Daigaku, and briefly in Yoyogi, a stone's throw away from Shinjuku.

I've been to all the major cities on Honshu, but what I always tell people is that if you have the chance to go to the Yuki Matsuri in Sapporo, do it. Don't even think about it, just do it. It's amazing, and Hokkaido is great.

 

[RyoHazuki84]

It was snowing in Yokohama today. However, Hokkaido has the highest cases of Coronavirus