Everyone Wants to Move to Japan - Until They Do

Comments · 458

• AB

  @abikyoukan2 · 3 months ago

  as someone who learned japanese for over 10+ and consider myself pretty decent at the language, when it comes to japan, you definitely need to learn the language. there's so many foreigners that keep themselves in foreign communities, never end up learning the language and then complain the country hasn't met their unfathomable expectations lol

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• CO

  @connielasher3126 · 3 months ago

  “There is no blank chapter that is waiting for a foreign perspective to complete it.”  Beautifully said and so so true.

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• IT

  @Its-Kat_ · 3 months ago (edited)

  I wanted to move to Japan after visiting, the first time I visited. Finally got my visa on 2019, been here 7 years and happy here. I've got my permanent residency. And I'm never leaving.

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• JA

  @Japanimal1992 · 3 months ago

  The people that fail in Japan (the jaded "expat"), are the ones have been here 15+ years, still work as a dispatch ALT or at an Eikaiwa, can't speak a single sentence of Japanese, and can no longer afford to return home. After I left teaching about a year after arriving in Japan, then learned the language to fluency, every just became so normal. I still enjoy Japan, but almost in the same way that anyone enjoys their home country. Once you do what's expected of you, life here just becomes normal and peaceful.

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• AM

  @amarug · 3 months ago

  I am Swiss/Finn and I love it here in EU, I belong to the high Alps as well as the far north - I will never move out of Europe. But a piece of my heart surely latched on to Japan. I have visted Japan up to twice a year for the past 20 years and by now I know many places well (there are even restaurants in Tokyo where the staff knows my and my wifes name and greets us from afar). I speak the language fluently and I "understand" their culture really well. Many aspects of their culture are things (esp social behavior) that were baked into me so there was a lot of "strange familiarity". We are probably always going to spend time in Japan, even longer stints (up to 3 months) but always as tourists and thats fine like that (I can for sure live without the Japanese summer lol). I have no business moving there permanently. My base is in Switzerland but I love to just circle around. I am not a "one location attached" person at all. But Japan always brings me joy. (And it really helps to get much more out of it if you speak the language)

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• HI

  @highbrand · 3 months ago

  So true about visitors enjoying the output while not having to contribute to the input.

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• CP

  @cpt.doomwolf3794 · 3 months ago

  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb5eSFw4erk&amp;t=275">4:35</a> - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb5eSFw4erk&amp;t=358">5:58</a> this I think is one of the biggest reason people fail to integrate into living in Japan. The social conscious that builds the life that is Japan. A lot of people have trouble thinking about anything that is outside of them self.

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• BE

  @BennyDACHO · 3 months ago

  I disagree with the title. I wanted to move to Japan and did. Never regretted. People told me I&apos;d regret it, but quite the opposite. Best decision of my life and I&apos;m never leaving.

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• SH

  @shyusaku · 3 months ago

  If you have two out of these three things—&apos;I want to speak Japanese,&apos; &apos;I want Japanese friends or colleagues,&apos; and &apos;I want to immerse myself in Japanese culture&apos;—you will do well living in Japan. If you only have one or zero, you will fail. I believe the conflicts surrounding certain religious and immigration issues currently facing Japanese society happen because people have zero of these.

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• AR

  @ArtGlobetrotter · 3 months ago

  I was on the plane leaving Japan some years ago and the man in the next aisle was talking about his regret of having NOT moved to Japan when he had the chance years earlier. His wife is Japanese and at that time on the plane he said he was 75 and it was too late. I took my chance have no regrets.

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• AC

  @aceofheartsch7887 · 1 month ago (edited)

  I spent a year and a half in Japan on a working holiday. I worked as housekeeping for a hotel in Chuo while living in a sharehouse in Itabashi. The job was physically demanding and low pay, and I had very few friends as my Japanese was sub-conversational. I had been studying the language for a year prior to arriving, but I always had trouble with it. It felt like I hit a plateau and felt I could not improve any further no matter how many lessons I took. At the same time, my language skills never seemed to degrade past that point, so it was like I was stuck in a sort of communication limbo. I could almost understand most of what someone might be saying to me, but never enough to converse meaningfully.<br><br>Despite this, I had fun going out on the weekends to clubs and bars, meeting who I could despite my shortcomings. Even spent some time frequenting the Tokyo art gallery scene.<br><br>I experienced the phenomena you had mentioned before. The &apos;glass box&apos; where I was sort of existing in the country as opposed to truly living in it. Despite that, I still felt so completely at ease that the low pay, cramped living conditions and difficulty communicating was, to me, worth it. <br><br>I feel a deep sadness when thinking about Japan. It&apos;s like a place I desperately wish I could become a part of, but my own inability prevents me from being more than an intrusive foreigner bumbling around. <br><br>I don&apos;t have a university degree. I went, but was terrible at programming and deep into the sunk cost by the time I had realized. After several repeated attempts, I had to call it quits. Which left me in a tricky position with regards to prospects of returning. I could attempt to enter as a language teacher. But as someone who&apos;s already lived there and spoken to some English language teachers, I know how hit or miss it can be. Even so, I do think about it. <br><br><br>I apologize for clogging the comment section with a wall of text. I just feel I needed to write these feelings down.

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• NF

  @NFT2 · 3 months ago

  Probably my favorite Japan channel honestly. I used to imagine moving to Japan when I was younger, but having spent about two months there over the years as a tourist, I&apos;m not sure I would really belong. It&apos;s a strange feeling because of how much time I&apos;ve (comparatively) spent investing in the Japan, learning the language, etc. Stuck between two worlds.

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