A bit of information before I ask my questions: I’m 22 years old and from America. Due to health issues (I suffered the same problems throughout high school but they got worse), I dropped out of my community college after taking 3 semesters of computer science. It was truly for the best because I didn’t enjoy it anyways. Fast foward a couple of years… I’m still undiagnosed thanks to terrible doctors/specialists and even worse health insurance. Though, on my own, I’ve improved due to lifestyle changes, so I feel a bit better about getting a job (I’ve recently gotten one) and starting anew. I still live with my amazing parents, so saving up will be fairly easy. Obviously I’m still very young, so I want to go back to school. This leads me to my desire to move to Japan.
I’ve done research for months on how to go about it, what schools are best, if I should take Japanese language classes (I’ve studied on and off the past couple of years, a lot harder the past couple of months), etc. So I know that Japanese Degrees don’t really hold weight outside of Japan and that the work culture + pay isn’t as good as I could get in America. To be completely honest, that doesn’t bother me. Maybe it should, and someone here should wake me up, but I’ve always been very conservative and tight with my money, so I don’t like spending much. I don’t really need too. I also love working my booty off, so the long work hours don’t really concern me.
Currently, I’ve got my eyes pretty set on going to GenkiJACS in Fukuoka. This would sort of be me testing the water to live in and learn more about Japan, while still being productive.
So finally onto my questions. Has anyone here taken this route and can offer input on whether it would be worth it, or should I head straight into a Japanese school that offers English taught degrees? OR, do I go to Japanese Language school to get my JLPT to a level high enough for me to get into decent Japanese schools? I’m really just torn. Life has been very unfortunate for me so far and I think “restarting” would be a nice way to go. Any advice on how to logically make this happen or “wake up” slaps in the face are welcomed. Thanks. <3
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This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**I want to move to Japan in a year or two. Which route should I take?**
A bit of information before I ask my questions: I’m 22 years old and from America. Due to health issues (I suffered the same problems throughout high school but they got worse), I dropped out of my community college after taking 3 semesters of computer science. It was truly for the best because I didn’t enjoy it anyways. Fast foward a couple of years… I’m still undiagnosed thanks to terrible doctors/specialists and even worse health insurance. Though, on my own, I’ve improved due to lifestyle changes, so I feel a bit better about getting a job (I’ve recently gotten one) and starting anew. I still live with my amazing parents, so saving up will be fairly easy. Obviously I’m still very young, so I want to go back to school. This leads me to my desire to move to Japan.
I’ve done research for months on how to go about it, what schools are best, if I should take Japanese language classes (I’ve studied on and off the past couple of years, a lot harder the past couple of months), etc. So I know that Japanese Degrees don’t really hold weight outside of Japan and that the work culture + pay isn’t as good as I could get in America. To be completely honest, that doesn’t bother me. Maybe it should, and someone here should wake me up, but I’ve always been very conservative and tight with my money, so I don’t like spending much. I don’t really need too. I also love working my booty off, so the long work hours don’t really concern me.
Currently, I’ve got my eyes pretty set on going to GenkiJACS in Fukuoka. This would sort of be me testing the water to live in and learn more about Japan, while still being productive.
So finally onto my questions. Has anyone here taken this route and can offer input on whether it would be worth it, or should I head straight into a Japanese school that offers English taught degrees? OR, do I go to Japanese Language school to get my JLPT to a level high enough for me to get into decent Japanese schools? I’m really just torn. Life has been very unfortunate for me so far and I think “restarting” would be a nice way to go. Any advice on how to logically make this happen or “wake up” slaps in the face are welcomed. Thanks. <3
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Going to be the first to say it, based on your post history and medical issues.. a hard restart in a non-English speaking country isn’t going to be anything but an up hill struggle that even those without health struggles some times have trouble coping with. Coming here for a language school without a support network aside from whatever form of support a language school provides isn’t going to do anything to help your health. And also, have you been to japan yet?
Best advice, spend the time finishing up your degree and focusing on your health. You’re still young, focus on improving health and lifestyle, study Japanese on the side and try and get your degree. Study abroad a semester in Japan once your health levels out. Visit japan first on holiday to make sure your dream and the reality align. And with Asthma, I’d recommend coming in the summer to get a good dose of what the heat and humidity of japan life is like..
You’re struggling in your own country and want to add the challenge of dealing with everything in a foreign language, without support system and with a healthcare system that might not deal with your health issues in the best way possible.
You have no higher education degree, which means you can’t work here.
You haven’t even stated why you want to live, study and work here.
By all means, if you think that studying some Japanese for a while in Japan will make you happy, go for it. In my eyes you’re just delaying getting some valuable education instead (with a degree attached).
As you mentioned, a university degree from Japan doesn’t hold weight in the US, so you shouldn’t be trying to do your degree in English.
You should do it in Japanese (predominantly) and get a good job here in Japan. Japan will forever be suffering from the issue of having not enough working adults, so opportunities here are plentiful, although you will be earning twice as much in the US.
Since you mentioned asthma, I grew up in Japan with asthma, and when I moved to Canada 30 years ago, it just disappeared without any medication.
The extreme humidity and the heat are that bad for asthma sufferers.
I agree with others about how you should be concerned about your health when coming to Japan.
I have dealt with health issues in both the US and Japan, so I understand where you’re coming from. However Japan is not necessarily the solution to your problem. Here are the issues you can face in Japan:
* 5-10 minutes tops when you see a doctor (very rushed and not enough time is spent understanding your issues)
* They will only address one issue at a time
* Some doctors don’t take appointments and for the best doctors it can take hours to see them
* They expect you to listen to them and do what they say and not talk back (especially if you’re a woman)
* A lot of older, old school doctors that are not up to date on latest treatments
* If you’re a foreigner they might be even more inclined to not give you proper treatment
* They might prescribe you a bunch of seemingly useless medication (if they will prescribe you anything at all) while refusing to prescribe you useful medication
* Many doctors don’t speak English and it takes a high level of skill to talk to a doctor in Japanese. Many places that say they speak English have limited English
* Prescriptions usually only prescribed for a month or two tops, so you need to go to the doctor more often to get refills
* Prescriptions you get in the US might not be legal in Japan
* Not all doctors take health insurance
* Bad with pain management
* Lack of mental health care services and medications
Of course there are exceptions, but this is based on my experience, what others I know in person have experienced and a little bit of what people have said online. I will say that if you find a good doctor or don’t have any health issues then your experience might be different. There are definitely benefits like lower costs and easy to go to certain clinics or pharmacies. I’m not saying healthcare in Japan is terrible, but that you have to face a different (and sometimes similar) set of issues. To be honest whether it’s Japan or the US it’s really about finding the right doctor. I can probably list just as many issues with healthcare in the US.
You also mentioned transportation as a reason for coming to Japan. Public transit is great in the big cities (Tokyo, Osaka), but in the countryside and even smaller cities you generally need a car.
The language is one of the hardest languages for an English only speaker to learn. It’s only used in one country with a declining population.
Safety is definitely one reason to live in Japan. It’s generally safe, clean and peaceful (not in all areas, but mostly). There are a lot of beautiful places to see in Japan or near Japan. There are a lot of reasons to live in Japan, but anyone with serious health issues (especially undiagnosed ones) is a big concern.
There is definitely something to be said about living abroad, even if it’s just for a year. However long term is something you really need to think deeply about.
Personally I think you should go back to college and get your degree in the US. In the meantime save up to travel to Japan or possibly study abroad. Hopefully you can get an answer to your health issues. I know people with chronic health issues and how difficult it can be for them. The struggle to get a proper diagnosis is so tough. Hang in there. I sincerely wish you the best of luck.
Bro if you had mental health stuggles in the states moving to another country where you will have zero support and be handicaped when looking for a job because of the language, cultural barrier and no degree sounds like a recipe for disaster. This ain’t an issekai where once you’re in Japan everything will be better.
Get your degree, work 2-3 years in the US, work on mental health (meditate or therapy if you need it), then go to Japan. You’ll be in a much better position and dear god please don’t major in Japanese man. You’re banking everything on the assumption that you will like living in Japan. Japanese isn’t a skill in Japan. Yeah you need it for finding work and life, but you can just study in your off-time on top of getting a skill that will make you hireable in the japan job market. Getting an in-demand skill (IT or coding) will make you so much more hireable and can offset the lack of Japanese. Some don’t like to hear it, but you wont be held to the same standard as a Japanese person, so invest in your skills (not saying don’t study japanese, but skill + japanese like n2 is decent).