When i first went to Japan to study, i was still in the phase where i was attracted to the imaginary portrayal of Japan shown in anime or manga. I stayed only for a year, and only as a student, which didn’t expose me to the more harsh realities in Japan that caused my peers to eventually leave after years.
I’m getting a chance to go again as an employee, and wanted to ask foreigners who want to continue living there even after many years – what are some realistic reasons that make you want to stay in Japan?
20 comments
Safety, law and order, polite people, interesting culture and language, great arts and culture, excellent service, fantastic cost of living if you earn in dollars. But as an employee of a Japanese company, all of that fades into the background.
The ability for an average person / family to actually own their own home without winning the rich relative lottery
Plus onsen.
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Japan has plenty of industry and businesses, which means that if you are lucky to be in the right field, it has many opportunities, which however are tainted with working culture. The recent demise of yen makes me consider leaving once again.
When I was younger I was attracted by the sheer attention from women in Japan, although eventually realised that back home this attention was even more plentiful. It’s just the age of attention thing.
Public safety is great, hands down. Not that back home is unsafe, but not as safe in general.
To sum it up, I think that staying in Japan is good short-term, but it is a questionable long-term commitment.
Other than that not much.
I’ve only just moved here from NZ, so can’t really comment about the long term thing, but my salary is twice what it would be at home, and the cost of living is cheaper. I’ve got some savings from happier times, but for the last three years my monthly income was balanced by my monthly expenses. My hope is to spend 10-15 years here, I’m 42 now and this will put me in a much easier place for retirement.
I’ve always wondered when people talking about having a rose-tinted mental image of Japan formed through anime, what they actually mean. You hear all the time about anime fans who come to Japan and get disappointed. What were they expecting? Ninjas like Naruto? A harem of high school girls who are in love with them? What specific part of the depiction of Japan in anime is different from real life?
Realistic reasons you’d want to stay in Japan: You like the people. You like the culture (not just the popular culture, the traditions or the aesthetics, but the actual social culture and way people behave). You like the language and developing your language skills. You like the conveniences that living in Japan affords. You fall in love or develop a family/career.
I come from a scum dictatorship country, So I’m not picky like ya’ll mfs here.
I am probably an outlier in that I have been here longer than most, but don’t necessarily like it any better than my home country. I do find Tokyo different and exciting and an incredible city.
I also have a high salary. I can tell you if I didn’t I wouldn’t be here and I don’t particularly like Japanese work style nor doing business in Japan. Not that I am judgey; it just doesn’t reflect my values or ideas about work. I have been able to thankfully carve out my niche and adapt and work well enough in my niche.
I do fit in quite a bit and share similar non-work oriented values.
Eventually, if you get married, or your career goes far enough along a path, all of this is a moot point. I am less than 10 years from retirement, so I will be here. My child goes to school here and likes it and does well. My wife is Japanese. And I do find many things to like.
That’s reality for me.
The matsuya dinner set : 890 yen
The high salary and quality of life. I’ll consider moving back once there are offers back home that can pay 50% what I’m receiving in Japan, and once my country figures out how to build a functional metro line.
cheap insurance, fast/close medical help, trains, free delivery to the door and you even could be out all day. Reasonable ratio between rent/utility bills/food both summer and winter. Much less fraud if you not totally dumb. Saizeriya, Jonatan’s, Gusto for poor ppl like me that to lazy to cook.
Honestly ? Because it’s much easier for me to find a job in Japan than my wife finding a job in France.
(And also because France is turning into a police state)
I imagine your post will be deleted since you aren’t living in Japan now. You should check out the moving to Japan community.
>more harsh realities in Japan
I see people say these thing but I never know what they mean. It’s not a paradise but what place is?
I stay because all my friends are here, my career and life are here, it’s comfortable living, plenty to see and do, easy to meet new people, and it’s pretty safe. These are my reasons, other people have different experiences.
I can give you a list of realistic reasons not to stay (being a very long-time resident, and completely over it)…
It really depends on your circumstances.
How are your career options here? Do you think you can find a job you can tolerate and can you make enough money from it?
Can you get by with the language? Are you comfortable managing your dietary needs, file taxes, understand laws at a decent level you can get by without miscommunication?
Do you have a support group here? Either family or chosen family, who you think will also stay in Japan?
Now compare your answers to Japan, to your answers if you were back home, or any other country.
For me, personally, it was because my home country imo is a shit show. I can probably find a job, have an easier time reading things as I am fluent in the language, and since I have family there I have a decent support group, but the pay won’t be as good as the quality of life will suck.
Everything is cheaper than the US, no tipping, low crime, overall cleanliness, and great food are the basic ones
I’d say the culture of minding your own business is big for me too. No one just randomly bothers you on the street like in other countries.
People actually give a shit about service here. In America people act like they’re doing you a favor by just doing the bare minimum in their job.
You also get really good job security if you can become a æ£ç¤¾å“¡ at a company
Refugee from Soviet Canuckistan here. For me as I approach the sunset of my working life, Japan is the place to be.
First, relatively low cost of living- my wife and I rent a very nice 4LDK house for 85,000 yen.
Costco 10 minutes away for gaijin food fixes.
Good work schedule- 15 weeks’ holiday per year, which means…
lots of travel opportunities around Asia for low prices.
Great place for raising my son (he is all grown up now and started his own business here)
Nice local parks to walk and picnic on the weekends
Decent health care
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A good start anyway. If I missed anything, feel free to add.
If your opportunity to come back is working at a Japanese company then I wish you good luck.
I like my job, my family is from here, it isn’t a shithole like America, and I have settled down.
I can’t think of a realistic reason why I would leave