I know this isn’t exactly a ground-breaking question or anything, but I wanted to hear from other American women my age as to their thoughts/experiences living in Japan. I’m 27F & I’ll be moving to Tokyo in 4 months, and the idea is I’m planning on staying indefinitely. I got a great job offer I’ve accepted, and dream job/company would also be Tokyo based so I have additional motivation to stay even if this specific position doesn’t work out.
I’ve visited Japan very short term before as a tourist, but considering it’s such a big move I have sooo many questions about living/working everyday. How difficult has it been to make friends and integrate with the culture, without people always treating you as the shiny cool, but also /derogatory/ foreigner? What things are surprisingly annoying for you about living in Japan, vs. what is your overall opinion on quality of life there?
AND, if you’re single, how hard has navigating dating been? Lol I’m currently single, and seeing as how I’m moving to the other side of the globe in a few months, it’s pretty likely I’ll be on the dating market in Tokyo. Any big red flags to look out for with Japanese men? I really just want to avoid unknowingly dating people who are pretty clearly exploring allllll their options/interested in me for the novelty. Anything that men do that screams “I’m dating for fun” and not “I’m dating with intention” that may not be obvious to me as a non-JP native?
I do know some JP btw, I’ve been learning for a few years, and can read/write fine. I get tongue tied when I talk and I’m certainly not fluent, but I’ve been regularly studying/getting better and I can communicate; just for reference in case some of the advice is “YOU NEED TO LEARN JAPANESE” lol! Like I said, best career opportunities for me are there and I’ve been planning/hoping for this move for a while, so unless things go horribly wrong, I’ll probably live the rest of my life in Japan.
Anyways, thank you in advance for any advice/thoughts!!! I’m anxious, excited, and overwhelmed now that I’ll be moving so soon.
by VillageRelative9175