I’m a 26-year-old male. Currently, I work for an international company in Australia and earn a decent salary. I’m considering moving to Japan to work for the same company in the same role, so the only things that would change are my lifestyle, expenses, and language outside work. I wanted to create this post to hear some opinions and thoughts on my situation since I am still deciding what to do. I have a Japanese passport, so the visa situation is not a problem and my language level isn’t zero but not 100%.
Regarding costs: While I earn a decent salary in Australia, it will significantly decrease in Japan due to the cost of living being lower, average salaries, etc. However, when compared to other companies in Japan, the salary is relatively high. The primary additional cost I need to consider is rent because I will be living alone or away from my parents, though I always wanted to live alone and considering the cost of living being lower in Japan, if I were to live alone it would be in Japan. I don’t think money is a big issue right now, and the percentage drop in my salary when converting to dollars should be around 10%.
Regarding lifestyle: I have spent my entire life in Australia, and living in Japan has been a long-time desire of mine. I even considered attending high school or university there but never had the opportunity because my level of Japanese was not proficient enough. My work won’t change much; it will still be in English, I’ll just be working from Japan and communicating with employees in Japanese. I don’t interact with clients.
Friends: I’ll have to leave behind my friends back in Australia that had since I was high school. While this is going to be hard, I also think this would push me to forward in my life, build independence (living alone).
Language is my main concern. While my work is totally English, I still have to read Japanese (official documents and menus which my main problem right now). I understand about 95% of conversations, can speak Japanese fluently, and can hold conversations with Japanese people. Maybe some slang words, Kanji slang or niche terms I won’t understand but I always ask and learn if it’s the right person to ask.
I learned Japanese when I was young and have been communicating with my parents and Japanese friends in Japanese throughout my life. I can also watch Japanese dramas, TV shows, and anime without subtitles. The only issue I have is with reading Kanji characters. I struggle with reading menus and other written materials.
I’m comfortable with Hiragana and Katakana, although I’m not super fast at reading them, and I have a basic understanding of Kanji, possibly at an elementary level. I’m not sure which N level this corresponds to, (I think N4 but listening would be N1 or 2). I’ve heard that N2 or N1 is something you should aim for if you want to work in Japan. But getting a Job is not the problem (reading things in Japanese at work, documents, menus is I guess). I usually have an educated guess of what they might mean when looking at the Kanji I know (sometimes can’t read it but know what it means lol).
Given my current level of proficiency other than reading Kanji and my work situation (no Japanese really needed), I would like to know if this is still a significant problem and how quickly I can catch up to a societal level. Any advice on learning Kanji more efficiently would also be appreciated (is it just really flashcards 1-2 hours a day) and if there are any other concerns that I left out.
I think I’m just worried about how people look at me given my Japanese background/level of Japanaese in Japan but wanted to hear people’s thoughts. Thanks!
7 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Thinking of moving to Japan from Australia**
I’m a 26-year-old male. Currently, I work for an international company in Australia and earn a decent salary. I’m considering moving to Japan to work for the same company in the same role, so the only things that would change are my lifestyle, expenses, and language outside work. I wanted to create this post to hear some opinions and thoughts on my situation since I am still deciding what to do. I have a Japanese passport, so the visa situation is not a problem and my language level isn’t zero but not 100%.
Regarding costs: While I earn a decent salary in Australia, it will significantly decrease in Japan due to the cost of living being lower, average salaries, etc. However, when compared to other companies in Japan, the salary is relatively high. The primary additional cost I need to consider is rent because I will be living alone or away from my parents, though I always wanted to live alone and considering the cost of living being lower in Japan, if I were to live alone it would be in Japan. I don’t think money is a big issue right now, and the percentage drop in my salary when converting to dollars should be around 10%.
Regarding lifestyle: I have spent my entire life in Australia, and living in Japan has been a long-time desire of mine. I even considered attending high school or university there but never had the opportunity because my level of Japanese was not proficient enough. My work won’t change much; it will still be in English, I’ll just be working from Japan and communicating with employees in Japanese. I don’t interact with clients.
Friends: I’ll have to leave behind my friends back in Australia that had since I was high school. While this is going to be hard, I also think this would push me to forward in my life, build independence (living alone).
Language is my main concern. While my work is totally English, I still have to read Japanese (official documents and menus which my main problem right now). I understand about 95% of conversations, can speak Japanese fluently, and can hold conversations with Japanese people. Maybe some slang words, Kanji slang or niche terms I won’t understand but I always ask and learn if it’s the right person to ask.
I learned Japanese when I was young and have been communicating with my parents and Japanese friends in Japanese throughout my life. I can also watch Japanese dramas, TV shows, and anime without subtitles. The only issue I have is with reading Kanji characters. I struggle with reading menus and other written materials.
I’m comfortable with Hiragana and Katakana, although I’m not super fast at reading them, and I have a basic understanding of Kanji, possibly at an elementary level. I’m not sure which N level this corresponds to, (I think N4 but listening would be N1 or 2). I’ve heard that N2 or N1 is something you should aim for if you want to work in Japan. But getting a Job is not the problem (reading things in Japanese at work, documents, menus is I guess). I usually have an educated guess of what they might mean when looking at the Kanji I know (sometimes can’t read it but know what it means lol).
Given my current level of proficiency other than reading Kanji and my work situation (no Japanese really needed), I would like to know if this is still a significant problem and how quickly I can catch up to a societal level. Any advice on learning Kanji more efficiently would also be appreciated (is it just really flashcards 1-2 hours a day) and if there are any other concerns that I left out.
I think I’m just worried about how people look at me given my Japanese background/level of Japanaese in Japan but wanted to hear people’s thoughts. Thanks!
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Go for it dude you have the passport and the salary drop doesn’t seem to be so bad as you mentioned “10%.” and Japan’s cost of living is lower. Regarding Kanji, I would just try to read more books, new articles etc (with yomichan) & put those unknown words into anki. You can look into the Moe Way Discord as well. Maybe also consider studying and taking JLPT N2? Best of luck!
You’ve got a lot of information here, and I want to understand your question.
You’re asking if being illiterate in Japanese, but fluent in speaking and listening, is going to be a hardship? Have I read it correctly?
You’ll be fine for money and kanji – it will just come down to brass tacks, “Do you enjoy living in Japan or not?” And mentally prepare yourself for needing at least a year to figure that out at any level.
I did the same, except I am just Aussie.
– accept between 15% to 20% drop. I was from sydney, I have a lot of calculations for PPP and cost of living variation between sydney and Tokyo if you need them please ask. I ended up with a 10% drop.
– you will be getting paid a lot more than your coworkers so just be mindful of that and keep your salary to yourself
– your work may be in English but your office might not be. I speak no Japanese really and it’s hard because all of the signs around the office, forms, systems and processes are only in Japanese. I work for a Japanese company your YMMV. But be prepared for English work, Japanese office.
Enjoy it! I just moved here but for me it’s amazing and I just wish I knew more Japanese.
for kanji, I think you can brute force anki for reading purposes.
you will be fine day to day since you can converse just fine.
visa also ok.
salary really depends on your lifestyle. to give some perspective, I share an apartment with a partner and pay 50k yen each month while my coworker is paying 150k for an apartment near shibuya. that alone is 100k difference which you can use to buy a new MacBook every 2 months.
friends… well this is a tough one. part of adulting is accepting that friends come and go.
best of luck.
Hey mate I’m making a very similar change! I’m basically moving to Osaka and working for the same company but just working remotely and not even having to be near the office in Tokyo which is nice.
Compared to Sydney the cost of living the calculations I’ve made are absolutely worth it in my case ($600 per month for my own modern apartment and only 15 mins away from the centre of Osaka) Even if I decided to live in Tokyo I can easily find my own place for around 80k yen per month or slightly more near areas like Shinjuku or Nakano.
My Japanese is N5 but even so I feel comfortable making the choice of living over here as I’ve visited roughly 4 times already,
Just a few questions.
Are you going to be paid in Yen or AUD? I personally think AUD might equal out with Yen or even surpass it as the months go by so you might be able to get more money in the long run this way.
Do you know which city you’ll be working in? depending on the city you’re staying in your level of Japanese is more than good enough to thrive, I think making friends is pretty easy for foreigners in Osaka and knowing more Japanese just makes it even easier I feel but Tokyo is a different beast all together.
From what you’ve said I personally think you’ll be more than fine! we only get one chance at being young so I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I’m looking forward to mine!