Having a quarter, almost mid-life crisis. I wanted to enquire current or former ALT whom had worked and lived in Japan of their experiences.
Back story: in my 20s after graduating from university, I had a strong urge to travel and teach in Japan. I yearned for the ‘freedom’ to live abroad and enjoy the culture of Japan. I thought I would give it a go, and applied for JET, unsuccessful in the application. I just let go of the notion of living in Japan, and just continued in my chosen profession. I have no regrets for not further pursuing the dream of working in Japan, as I was able to be somewhat financially stable, earning a living, putting savings aside and purchasing several properties for passive rental income.
I have constantly traveled to Japan on holidays, approximately 13 times in the past 10years (it would be potentially 15 or 16times, if covid didn’t hit). I felt I have had a good experience of Japan culture, whilst not having to stress about working in Japan.
So I wanted to inquire about those who have traveled the path I have not taken, what their experiences had been. There is multiple paths in life but you can travel only one path.
Edit: I should also mention that I accidentally stumbled on this YouTube video.
And then YouTube’s algorithm suggesting more and more Japan related ‘issues’. I had noticed that the notion of working in Japan had never left the back of my mind, and those videos somewhat ignited a spark.
10 comments
That’s deep, man.
If you have a stable job and an income that pays for regular trips abroad, unless you happen to have some serious qualifications, you will have to accept a drop in lifestyle. That said, Japan does have four seasons, so that’s nice
Its pretty hard to imagine the path as there are unlimited possibilities but for me I imagine the most different would be the friends and love interests I wouldnt have met, feeling the pressures of living away from home, and starting a new life from scratch. Had I stayed home I would probably be finacially better but more stuck in the framework/hivemind of the environment I grew up in.
It really depends on the person. I taught with JET on a remote Okinawan island with fewer than 800 people. It was honestly one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. To immerse myself so completely in a language and community and connect so personally with my students and coworkers… I miss it every day.
That was back in 2018 and I ended up leaving after only one year. Living on such a small island meant that traveling elsewhere was virtually impossible, so the wanderlust became overpowering. Yet since I’ve left Japan, I’ve felt an emptiness inside of me. In Japan, I cam socialize with friends and colleagues if I choose. But I never feel obligated to venture out when I’m feeling particularly introverted. It’s a great place to live if you know the language and prefer a bit of solitude. But for social butterflies who only speak English, it can be very challenging.
It sounds like you’ve found a great path in life and have been able to enjoy Japan even without living there. In the end, everyone’s situation is different 🙂
Today I travelled on a crowded train for a round trip of about three hours with quite a few fucking weirdos staring at me for no reason. At the end of both legs of the journey I had to wrestle through a busy station, for the honor of walking around in humidity that feels like soup. Sweating within a few minutes of being un air conditioned.
My boss was a cunt to me for no reason too.
The place loses its sheen a bit when you live here
Naw, multiple paths, multiple choices. What you chose before doesn’t mean you are locked in to a certain path now. Nor does doing something different now mean you are locked into that path either. You can always, we’ll at least while your alive, keep making choices. Some are easier or more achievable than others but don’t let yourself feel trapped, you probably have more options than you think.
Worked as an ALT for 3 years. Just got back home.
Financially it was a dead end. I made the equivalent of ~21k a year (240k yen a month) and I could work at a McDonald’s in the states and make more than that, but it was a great life experience and I met my wife there and we’re back in the states now. So I can’t complain. I’m just behind all of my friends in finding a career.
Being an ALT is great for just a 1 year working Vacation. It’s very difficult to make a career and life out of it.
I watched the first bit of the video, then it really just began to annoy me. It’s just another version of nihonjinron: Japan is so different and special that foreigners couldn’t possibly acclimate to the culture and wind up miserable.
Yes, people often have wildly out of touch expectations.
Yes, people wind up disappointed.
Yes, people can become homesick, or find it hard to acclimate, and wind up depressed and wanting to go home.
But that’s true of every culture, and isn’t just something that happens in Japan. And whether you get on in Japan or not isn’t predictable. It’s different for everyone. Just because you traveled here a good number of times doesn’t mean much. Tourists always have a good time, while life is just life as it is life anywhere: good, bad, ugly, beautiful.
But I will say this: you will have a much easier time if you manage your expectations, make sure you are financially stable with decent career prospects, learn Japanese, and *have a way out* so you don’t feel stuck.
Too many people come here to “teach” English, without qualifications and think being a gaijin from an English-speaking country will magically imbue them with financial stability.
All you really need to know is that ALT or eikaiwa work is the equivalency of being a waitress, hotel clerk, fast food worker, cashier, line cook, or (pick your own low-paying service job). And you gotta be okay with doing that type of work, for the rest of your life, while living in a culture that you may have trouble adapting to, AND where you are an immigrant and second-class citizen.
Think on it. Come over and try it for a year. You might like it, you might hate it, or like most people here long term, you might figure out that it has its ups and downs like everywhere else on the planet, and whether or not you adapt is purely up to chance.
Was in a similar situation as a research scientist. Got job offers to work for outdoor companies to work on R&D of new apparel. One version of me is kicking myself for not taking that job offer. It was good pay, in a good city, and a stable company that is still getting bigger every year. I now wear their products religiously!
But I lucked out with my ALT position. I live in the mountains so classes are small so I really only work 4 hours a day. The rest is spent working on a side project, physical training, or coaching. Then on the weekends I play golf, ski, coach, and just join the community in some way.
I’m sure that in some way, whichever the route, the grass would always be greener on the other side.
Not much help, but for me (as a retiree here) it’s the flipped version: What would my life have been like if I hadn’t left?