what is the real Japan like?

[Hatredcopter]

It's more expensive than America, yes. However, it's not that unreasonable depending where you go. Tokyo is pretty much always more expensive than most other places. The further you are away from the city center or from certain train stations, the cheaper accommodation gets. Many goods are a bit more expensive as well (bread, batteries, medicine, all sorts of generic stuff like that).

As for jobs, teaching English typically pays decent, and you can make a pretty good living depending on your experience, who you work for, and those kind of factors. Translation pays even better than teaching English, but its harder to get into than teaching, and you have to have to be very skilled in the Japanese language. Many foreigners are also finding jobs in Japan in IT, which pays roughly the same as it does in the US.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by DesiredMess

I hope you don't mind me asking, but why did you move out of Japan?

Courses as in language learning ads. I should look in the other forum for language, but since you lived there and seem to be frequent I'm wondering how you learned the language well enough to have lived there.

My contract was up (JET Program).

I majored in Japanese in college...4 years of study, then lived there just over 3.

[samokan]

i first came to japan when I was 21 years old for work, stayed for 2 weeks. But during that time I did not experience much of the Japanese life as I was couped with work most of the time. Then after a few months came back again for another 2 weeks business trip, then after a year it was 3 months technical training. The technical training was fun, cause I have lots of free time but I did not really experience the actual Japanese life cause I was mostly with my fellow gaijin trainee and officemates.

then 3 years ago, i finally decided to give it a try working here. Completely, integrating myself into the world of "japanese salaryman". Ive heard that there are lots of discrimination but have not experienced it personally or I just don't give a damn about it.

outside work, i found some nice japanese people who become my friends. ive not experience being thrown out or anything because im a gaijin.

[samurai007]

I'm one of those people who didn't know any Japanese besides "arigato" when I stepped off the plane. I didn't have time in my busy university schedule to take any Japanese classes, and while I had some interest in Japan (as well as Europe, Australia, and other places), it wasn't a burning interest.

But I'd grown up all my life in a rural town, never had a chance to travel, and I really wanted to see the world a bit, experience a different culture, see new things and meet new people. I was poor, so I knew I'd have to work wherever I went, and I began to research teaching jobs in other countries. Taiwan, South Korea, and some European countries all had fairly minor programs at the time, but nothing could compare to the size and organization of the JET program. A speaker from JET came to my university and gave a presentation, and after hearing about it from them, I was hooked. I applied, and 9 months of applications and interviews later, there I was in Narita airport!

I traded English for Japanese lessons with a local group of tour guides (who I became good friends with), and pretty soon I could read hiragana and katakana, count, ask directions, etc. No deep conversations, and if the other person spoke too quickly I was lost, and lots of times I had to guess the entire sentence from understanding a word or 2, but I got by. I was able to travel all over Japan by myself, shop in markets and stores, and so on, though it did become frustrating at times not being able to read a sign or a newspaper, or really tell someone how you're feeling and why, etc. You learn to use a lot of visual clues... for instance, nearly everything in a supermarket has a picture on the label that will show you what it is, or you can just tell beef from pork from chicken by looking at it, same with milk, bread, fruits and vegetables.

I stayed in Japan for 2 years, and while JET would have allowed me to stay 1 more year, I decided it was time to come home. The frustration about lack of deep communication was starting to build, I had already visited pretty much every place I'd wanted to see, I'd gone to so many shrines and temples that I was "templed out", I'd had a dispute with my host school over some issues with my apartment, I was missing my friends and family, and my brother was getting married in 3 months and the school had already said they would not allow me to fly home for it because it was during school time, not vacation time. For all those reasons and more, I figured it was better to leave then while I still loved my time in Japan rather than stay and become too homesick and resentful.

Now, after being back in the US for 10 years, it'd be really nice to visit Japan again, as I miss a lot of things about it. But I still think it was the right choice, to come home when I did.

[DesiredMess]

As of now I'm not good at speaking Japanese at all. To be honest I only know how to ask if they understand Japanese or English or say that the weather looks nice, thanks, count to ten, and other scattered phrases. But I'm pretty young, and I'm hoping to become fluent by time I get a degree and start planning my move.

But one thing I'm pretty concerned about is my lack of understanding in the area of kanji. No matter what I can't seem to teach myself it... Which is going to be bad in the long run..

I would like to thank you all so much for your advice and tips. They truly helped me a lot. Right now I'm wondering why necessities or preparations I'll need to make before moving though...

And is there other programs besides JET and translating that will allow foreigners to get a job?

[samurai007]

Very often, kanji will have a Hiragana "translation" next to it. I never learned many kanji myself...

[DesiredMess]

It just looks so difficult to learn. But I guess all prizes come with work.