I would like to hear perspectives of those who returned to Japan (esp Tokyo) after living abroad for a bit. For context I left Japan to pursue better job opportunities in Europe, but I miss my life in Tokyo so much.
I just love that everything just works in Japan, life is convenient and fast and there is variety and a multitude of experiences to enjoy. Processes are mundane in Europe, everything is slow and weather is really meh. I do love the travel options in Europe and the stronger currency but everything else I feel Japan is stellar.
Surprisingly I found many European countries to be quite local minded, somewhat racist and not really global minded or innovative (Scandinavian countries are an exception but still)
For long term I would like to assess whether Japan makes sense or Europe. Anybody have opinions on this or been in a similar situation to return back?
by VirtualHydraDemon
31 comments
Everywhere has pros and cons and everyone are in different stages on life and optimize for different values
No need to compare
it sounds like you want to go back to japan.
Yes
Living in Japan is pretty great. Working in Japan usually sucks. I left and came back but it’s sort of a contract situation so I know I’ll leave again.
I’m a dual citizen born and raised in the US and lived in Japan for about ten years. Next year I plan to move back and settle down and finally buy a home. SF Bay Area home prices are insane and I’m ready to just live a safe, affordable, and convenient life.
Not sure if my experience counts, but I first came to Tokyo on as a study abroad student for 1 year then left and came back after graduating from uni where I’ve been here an additional 4 years.
I was terribly depressed back in the U.S. because I had a lot of fun here, missed my friends, missed the city (I’m from a rural area), and swore I wanted to stay here long term. However, I think going back home for a while then coming back was good for me because I got to process my experiences outside of Japan and made me reassess how I was going to do life when returning. I’ve noticed a difference between people who’ve come, gone, then come back again vs people who moved here and never left.
All that said though, I’m leaving permanently in October. While I’m fairly happy now I realize this is not where I wanna live long term. I theoretically could live here still happy for another couple of years, but I’d rather leave on a good note while I still have the opportunity financially which I feel like is the main source of unhappiness from a lot of people here.
If you want to come back I don’t see why not. Worse case scenario, you don’t like it anymore and you go back to Europe.
I always thought that Europe was so cosmopolitan and progressive, but would agree with you. I found Britain, France and Spain extremely insular and narrow in day to day relations. However came across this in Asia too. So it’s everywhere. Just depends what circles you gravitate in.
Despite all the put downs Osaka and wider Kansai gets, I was shocked to find Tokyo or more the Tokyo suburbs extremely narrow minded, hostile and xenophobic. Had two incidents after a few weeks in Tokyo with police for no particular reason, just minding my business. Only had one significant encounter with Kansai police after years of living there.
However always loved Yokohama. It’s all nuanced. So don’t have the space to explain all here. But those who’ve lived in Japan in depth, probably understand.
I was living in Japan off and on over eleven years. Was at that final stage of considering to commit for the duration, when COVID hit. So been out since then. Long to return, but realise I may have missed the boat for living now. Still have finally accepted Japan is a significant part of my life. Learnt a lot about life and myself there. Made dear friends and had another life there.
If someone said you’d have to choose between your former locales: UK, Spain, Caribbean, Thailand or Japan; think I’d choose Japan.
We moved to Europe because one of our kids was struggling with trilingualism, but we moved back when he was older because the job opportunities were better for us in Japan… and our kid was doing better with languages. Undecided whether or not we will retire here or in Europe. It depends on where our kids settle down.
My parents are planning to move back to Japan in the next few years from Canada
I left Tokyo back in 2009 to go back to my home country, after burning out in the fashion industry. I missed it so much, but ended up in a much different area of Japan upon my return. I miss the city so much.
Doubt I count for this because both of my stints were SOFA sponsored, but my first time in Japan was 6 years starting in the early 2000s and then another 4 starting in Covid. The difference is that everything is homogenizing. Every town you go to now has an Aeon or Youme town store and the franchises are pushing out the mom & pop shops. I came from a place that had completely homogenized into franchise central and it’s sad to see it happening here as well. I’m glad it isn’t complete yet though.
I lived and worked in Japan 95-98 and had a great time. Moved back due to the US a job offer for both my wife and I and her (Japanese) wanted to get out.
Returned to Japan in 07 on a job offer.and have been here since, now on PR and retired.
I always wanted to come back, and things just kind of worked out.
I’m very happy they did.
You’re saying you don’t like European countries being local and not global minded, but Japan is local minded just as much, if not more.
Left Tokyo to go to HK. Loved it there but jumped at the chance to come back to Tokyo. Don’t regret it at all, despite the weak JPY. Once I left I realised how much I liked living in Japan. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but the best I have experienced in my life.
Your situation will be unique to you. Go for what suits you personally.
I moved back to Tokyo after a while in Europe, and some of the main things I noticed was that the trains are reliable and things are more efficient. But I preferred living a bit outside of Tokyo before, in somewhere with a bit more greenery.
I have. Moved to America for a year after living in Tokyo for 6 years. Loved the US. Came back recently. It’s horrible. Living in a shoebox is what it feels like
Lived in Tokyo for 6 years and strongly considering leaving California to return indefinitely. As someone else put it, just to live a safe, convenient, and affordable life.
left japan for higher paying job opportunities. Have now returned to Japan to become a liaison between my company and the Japanese company, though for now on a temporary basis.
Life is easier when you are making 7.5 times what you used to.
Three times now. Living is great. Working (for yen) is not.
I plan to be visiting Japan for the very first time soon
Japan seems like it would be a really hard place to have a career you enjoy. I’ve never lived here, but it seems like that would be really challenging.
Yep. First stint in Hokkaido for 6 years. Went back to Australia for 15. Now back in Fukuoka for 7 years. I’ll be here to the day I die. 👍
Originally from eu, I went to study in jp for a year, then went back to eu to graduate, came back to jp to work, went back to eu (another country) for work and now back in jp again.
My biggest gripes with eu is that the life there just makes me depressed. Absolutely nothing happens day to day. There’s nothing exciting going on that makes me want to check it out. Oh and don’t get me started on grey rainy days. Rain in combination of graffiti, pot holes, cigarette butts and empty pet bottles slowly rots the soul. Sunny summer days are to die for though.
Maybe it’s just a me problem but eu doesn’t get me going like jp does. I just end up spending whole days gaming and hanging with my friends on discord. It’s great at times but not what I want to spend my life doing.
This is my 4th stint in Japan. I came out first on the JET Program, then in publishing and now in my second stint as a lawyer.
In my case, as a summary, going back home has been a good opportunity to gain skills but Japan is a good place to utilize them. I’d say the quality of life is higher here, despite the issues (weak currency, difficulty of international travel) that you have pointed out.
I’m pretty happy in the here and now in Japan, but have vague plans to move to a low-tax or tax-free jurisdiction in the long term. With the high taxes and weak currency, it’s tough to achieve financial security here.
No need to justify yourself, plenty of people are having their best life in Tokyo/Japan and will die here. And plenty of people would rather live in another country. This is all about personal preferences and where you feel you fit in.
There is nothing wrong with leaving Japan once and going back. A lot of Japanese native people do that, and it’s a great way to know why you live in the country you live in.
Personally, I moved in Japan, then the US, and a couple of countries in Europe and decided Japan was the best option (although I knew it from the start), and so went back after 10 years abroad.
There was a similar post like this about 2 or 3 months ago. The guy was equally bummed out upon returning to his home country.
Not just Tokyo but Japan overall does have a unique charm to it It sometimes is as simple as a compare-and-contrast on one’s home country vs Japan but it can also be a situation of how much effort/success of integration was achieved while in Japan (and for how long).
As for me, I live in a country with a minimal job opportunities, a city with unaffordable housing due to commoditization, and terrible public transit. My old friends are so stuck in their old ways I have extreme difficulty relating to them at all which makes me miss how mixed the international communities are across Japan. Who would have thought that I would speak more French in Japan than back in Canada?!?
It sucks that the Yen is weak for people already *in* Japan but it actually will make it easier for me to move *back* to Japan.
I was a web designer initially & left Tokyo to go back to my hometown for 2 years. I studied SEO, & video editing. Came back to Japan & got an offer to do SEO for a digital marketing agency. This led to my current career as a digital marketer.
Leaving & ramping up your skills might be worth it.
Yes. I left when I was 9 years old and came back when I was 30 (2years ago). Way better than being in USA.
It’s all up to you.
Salary is fine enough to live a decent life and money isn’t everything.
Hubs and I are lifers because Japan (just outside Tokyo) is what is home to us.
I couldn’t imagine living in the States now, especially not with the way things are likely to go after the election. (Aka probably chaos regardless of what old fart wins)
Lol it’s funny that finally someone else agrees with me about the European mindset. Of course not everyone, I’ve met amazing people when I was living in Europe, but a lot of people are raised with the local mindset.
I’ve moved to Japan twice, once during my gap year, then I had to return to EU for university. Once in 2017 but had to return because of partner’s work. I’m back for a short while looking if we could possibly move permanently (partner and I)…
I end up returning for work but never really staying, for personal reasons.
For all the reasons you mentioned, and because of its isolation of western bullshit, I think it suits me a lot better than EU.