What's it like?
 

What's it like living in Japan? Is it really cool? Crowded? Is the food good?

These are the questions i'm asking... Give me lots of feedback... Even if I have asked a question... TELL ME!

1) Well, you are still working most days, shopping for food, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry (without a clothes dryer), etc... all the same stuff as in the US, but with the added difficulties of not speaking the language well and a different culture, and the added coolness of experiencing a different country first hand.

2) Yeah, it can be very cool, especially when you get a chance to travel on weekends and holidays.

3) In the big cities it can be crowded, but I lived in the countryside, about 1 hour south of Osaka. Not crowded there or most of the rest of Japan outside of Tokyo and a few other big cities.

4) I really loved a lot of the food, though I never really learned to like sushi or sashimi, or takoyaki, or red bean paste, or natto... But I loved ramen, yakisoba, domburi, kara'age, tonkatsu, zosui, yakiniku, shabu shabu, and plenty of other foods.

Thanks you for telling me this... Because it really does expand my knowledge seeing how I would like to move there one day... ><;

may sound a strange question, but why would you like to move to a country you know so little about :confused:

Why do you think he's asking?

So that people can tell him about what it's like in Japan, since he plans to move there someday^^.


I plan to move there, but I know Japan as if I was doing an article about it, but not that well yet^^.

It`s normal here. It`s not amazing, exciting, or "really cool". You do the same normal stuff you`d do anywhere else. You still have to make a living, eat, etc. Coming to Japan doesn`t drastically change your life. If you`re depressed and angsty in your life elsewhere, Japan isn`t the remedy. (Sorry, but that seems to be the reason 90% of the people on here want to live here.) In fact, it can make things worse as you`d have more pressure.

I am quite happy and content living here. I wouldn`t want to live anywhere else. That doesn`t, however, mean my life is a happy roller coaster of excitement and joy.

Well, in some respects you're right, but at least for me, living in Japan for 2 years was a life-changing experience. Experiencing life in a very different culture can expand your horizons, give you new insights and perspectives, and allow you to experience a great many things you never would have back home. You're right, it's not a cure-all, there can be times of great pressure, frustration, anxiety, homesickness, and boredom, just like life anywhere on the planet. But (depending where you're from and how much effort and thought you invest in your time there), Japan can be an incredible experience that you remember and cherish for the rest of your life. I mean, I've been back in the US for 10 years now, and here I am still talking about Japan on a Japan Forum, reading manga daily, and craving a big pile of kara'age or a bowl of zosui...

It is one thing to ask for information so that you can then make a decision, but another to ask after they have (seemingly) already made up their mind...

Admittedly, it is a little different for me - I had no prior interest in Japan whatsoever and was pretty much ordered out here, but glad I came now that I am here :)

I was thinking the same thing... but the answer is prob because he's the same age as most of the people on this forum that dream (like we all used to when we were that age)