Living in Japan - Why??

[godwine]

I spent quite a bit of time going through threads about people who want to live in Japan. But WHY? Some lack a plan on how to get there, while most don't have a real reason why they want to move there. Just to clear some myths and imagination for the dreamers, Japan is not too different from any other country once you are in the work force. The only difference is in the salary and the long hours. Things you see in animate, manga and dorama mostly don't exist:

1. Ninjas jumping from roof to roof assasinating political icons at night.. doesn't exist

2. Girls with big eyes and big boobs falling in a manner where she is exposing all her underwear.. rarely happen or don't happen at all

3. Samurais have been abolished since the fall of the Tokugawa Bafuku. You won't be able to find one walking on the street saving the poor from being harrassed by ronin

4. There is no gundam or any kind of robots hiding underground waiting for houses to move out of the way for them to be dployed from a hole on the ground

5. There is no "cleaner" hiding in Shinjuku waiting for XYZ messages

6. Girls WILL go to the police if you try to harass them.

7. High school is NOT just about not going to class and smoking on the roof with your friends

8. Street races are NOT common (not anymore) in Japan. People who actually race are not high profile and don't have regular scheduled meeting up high in Irohazaka

If you have doubt or have difficulties distinguishing fact and anime myth, feel free to ask, there are plenty of people on this boar that can help you

[Koir]

This may prove to be an interesting thread from both sides of the issue...

Or all three sides, as the case may be.

[SadaAoko]

hehe pretty good listing. Im kinda curious to some of the reasons ppl may give for living there..

I only plan on trying to get into a teaching program like JET, even tho the chances get slimmer to get in from what I hear. I cant see myself actually living in Japan for like ever..I wouldnt be able to even enjoy living there fully anyway I havent achieved a taste for sake or sushi.. Id probably get fat off of KFC or other chain food places... just a year or so on a program to boost my resume to teach Japanese at US universities like my sensei seems cool enough for me..

I have heard many stories from Americans who have lived in Japan that a great majority of them tended to have ,in a sense, culture shock and broke down living there..

[burkhartdesu]

Well shit! Those were all the reasons I wanted to go to Japan. Way to put a damper on the dream.


But seriously I want to go to Japan through JET (however likely that may be) because I want to save a good deal of (Japanese) money, and I clearly have an appreciation for Japanese culture...



And Ninjas.

[spicytuna]

I came across this interesting article in the Globe and Mail the other day :
globeandmail.com: Japan, my Neverland

I have tons of friends who went to Japan after university. They figured that it was their only chance to do so and figured they'd come back after a year or two of teaching English.

Of course that's easier said than done because Japan has a way of captivating you. Especially if you happen to be male.

Needless to say, many of them came back after 4 or 5 years only to realize that they'd forgotten a lot of the things they learned to get their comp sci or engineering degrees. They also went through a period of withdrawal as they experienced reverse culture shock. Some of them became a little depressed as they met with their former classmates who now had a good paying job, fancy car, large home, etc.

I also have friends who haven't been able to let go. They continue to live in Japan as their daily lives consist of 90min commutes, overtime work, tobacco, alcohol and tons of skanky women.

If you're really fascinated in Japan, perhaps you should consider a yearly vacation. If you're deadset on living in Japan, do it for the right reasons and make sure you have a plan in place... complete with an exit strategy.

[godwine]

Originally Posted by spicytuna

I came across this interesting article in the Globe and Mail the other day :
globeandmail.com: Japan, my Neverland

I have tons of friends who went to Japan after university. They figured that it was their only chance to do so and figured they'd come back after a year or two of teaching English.

Of course that's easier said than done because Japan has a way of captivating you. Especially if you happen to be male.

Needless to say, many of them came back after 4 or 5 years only to realize that they'd forgotten a lot of the things they learned to get their comp sci or engineering degrees. They also went through a period of withdrawal as they experienced reverse culture shock. Some of them became a little depressed as they met with their former classmates who now had a good paying job, fancy car, large home, etc.

I also have friends who haven't been able to let go. They continue to live in Japan as their daily lives consist of 90min commutes, overtime work, tobacco, alcohol and tons of skanky women.

If you're really fascinated in Japan, perhaps you should consider a yearly vacation. If you're deadset on living in Japan, do it for the right reasons and make sure you have a plan in place... complete with an exit strategy.

I agree with you strongly, especially to the point of having yearly vacation there

[Yuusuke]

I'm in a Class called WHAT? Japan
it was translated badly
lol

[survivingonrice]

No im very realistic about why I want to go to japan...i don't even really watch anime...but yeah I don't really know why but it's like...something about japan has ALWAYS attracted me to it

[bELyVIS]

I went to Japan for one reason only- BIG MONEY. Once I got there, it was nothing like I had read about in the books. Basically, aside from the cultural things and the women, it sucked. Long hours (not covered by my contract, they told me since I was a manager I didn't need to work overtime), discrimination against Gaijin at my company and Manshion, difficulty with the language, made it very difficult for me to adjust even though I had lived and worked in other foreign countries before.
To all you kids out there who think Japan is some magical place where you can live your dreams and learn some Eastern secret of life, grow up. Sure, take a trip there and visit. Move there if you think you would like living there. But make sure you know what you are getting into by asking questions and reading all the posts you can find about living in Japan, good and especially the bad. I did and thought I was prepared and still had problems.
I still have a home in Japan. But I won't live there until I retire or can start a business of my own so I won't ever have to work for a Japanese company again.

[godwine]

Originally Posted by bELyVIS

I went to Japan for one reason only- BIG MONEY. Once I got there, it was nothing like I had read about in the books. Basically, aside from the cultural things and the women, it sucked. Long hours (not covered by my contract, they told me since I was a manager I didn't need to work overtime), discrimination against Gaijin at my company and Manshion, difficulty with the language, made it very difficult for me to adjust even though I had lived and worked in other foreign countries before.
To all you kids out there who think Japan is some magical place where you can live your dreams and learn some Eastern secret of life, grow up. Sure, take a trip there and visit. Move there if you think you would like living there. But make sure you know what you are getting into by asking questions and reading all the posts you can find about living in Japan, good and especially the bad. I did and thought I was prepared and still had problems.
I still have a home in Japan. But I won't live there until I retire or can start a business of my own so I won't ever have to work for a Japanese company again.

"Big Money"... mind telling us a rough figure of how much you make?