My partner has a job offer in Tokyo. I’ve never been to Japan, and a little uneasy about the culture shock. Neither of us speak any Japanese, and would be there for 2 years.
Are there many expat communities in Tokyo? One of my biggest concerns is being able to make friends as I understand English is still not widely spoken by many Japanese.
How small can I expect apartment living to be?
Thanks in advance
1 comment
hello! expat student currently living in tokyo with my mother here. i hope i can quickly summarize my experiences here.
1- expat communities: there are a lot more foreigners here than you think! i live pretty far outside the main part of the city and my apartment building is not only full of them but owned by one. all it takes is a little looking.
2- language barrier. i can not stress enough to the people who are afraid of coming here and not understanding a lick of anything: if you live in tokyo, or another very major city, everything that you need to know will be written in english guaranteed. no exaggeration. i’m learning japanese currently but even before i faired extremely well. learn some survival phrases, expect some difficulty doing anything major and non linear, but even then that just takes some patience, google translate, and they’ll usually get a translator on voice call to help. also, more people speak english than you’d think. i’ve yet to come across someone, especially a customer service worker, who just knew absolutely 0 english. i’ve asked many random people for directions on the street many times and they’ve always been able to get their point across.
3- apartment living. SMALL. just get mentally prepared for everything to be small. smaller than you’re used to. kitchen will be laughably small. not cramped, unless you find a half unit in some random alley-converted-apartment building. and you will eventually get used to it. but it is small. especially if you want to live in the center of the city.
4- culture shock. i haven’t felt like moving here was too big of a change, but i’m american and i’m not sure where you’re coming from, but it’s just like home enough to not feel totally scary and new, but different enough to be incredibly interesting. to me, at least!
i hope this covers all the bases you asked. i would highly recommend coming to visit before deciding to move. i do love it here, but moving here is what you make of it. don’t make a decision your heart’s not fully into, especially one as major as moving to a different county for two years! hope this helps 🙂