Moving to Japan in October

[umstah]

Hello everybody,

I am moving to Japan for a year or two in October to work for a Japanese business company located in Tokyo. I just graduated from ollege in May, and somehow managed to land for lack of better description a "salary man" type job, and having grown up loving Japan I accepted the offer.

So basically, I have two months to prepare to move to Japan, and would love advice on what to do.

I have a couple of things on the list:

1) learn as much japanese as possible - the boss stressed that I need to learn Japanese as soon as possible, so I need to learn a lot in the next two months - im going to get a tutor twice a week = four hours total, and it will be one on one. Beyond that, I heard that Japanese for Busy People was a good series, but I really have no knowledge on this topic. Any ideas? maybe watch shows/movies/music?

When I get to Japan I plan to take language classes three times a week, and study on the days I don't have class.

The business environment will be almost completely conducted in Japanese, the boss and some senior staff know limited English but Japanese will be essential

How long do you guys think in that environment (exclusively Japanese in the office, classes several times a week) will it take me to achieve reasonable fluency?

2) some knowledge of Tokyo and what to expect - I have been to Tokyo once, but I was 14 at the time - sooooo I don't really know what to expect or how to prepare myself. any ideas?

3) (not too seriously, but somewhat) take golf lessons, apparently thats huge in the japanese business world. my boss told me he wanted me to play soooo probably a good idea to learn

[MMM]

Originally Posted by umstah

Hello everybody,

I am moving to Japan for a year or two in October to work for a Japanese business company located in Tokyo. I just graduated from ollege in May, and somehow managed to land for lack of better description a "salary man" type job, and having grown up loving Japan I accepted the offer.

So basically, I have two months to prepare to move to Japan, and would love advice on what to do.

I have a couple of things on the list:

1) learn as much japanese as possible - the boss stressed that I need to learn Japanese as soon as possible, so I need to learn a lot in the next two months - im going to get a tutor twice a week = four hours total, and it will be one on one. Beyond that, I heard that Japanese for Busy People was a good series, but I really have no knowledge on this topic. Any ideas? maybe watch shows/movies/music?

When I get to Japan I plan to take language classes three times a week, and study on the days I don't have class.

The business environment will be almost completely conducted in Japanese, the boss and some senior staff know limited English but Japanese will be essential

How long do you guys think in that environment (exclusively Japanese in the office, classes several times a week) will it take me to achieve reasonable fluency?

2) some knowledge of Tokyo and what to expect - I have been to Tokyo once, but I was 14 at the time - sooooo I don't really know what to expect or how to prepare myself. any ideas?

3) (not too seriously, but somewhat) take golf lessons, apparently thats huge in the japanese business world. my boss told me he wanted me to play soooo probably a good idea to learn

1) You have two months to learn business Japanese? No dice, friend. You will need at least three to four years to be working efficiently in a Japanese speaking environment. I hope you new employer understands your Japanese speaking ability.

2) Your experience at 14 and now is two very different things. Please ask specific questions and you will get specific answers.

3) You don't know how to play golf, and you have accepted a job where playing golf is a requirement? Like learning Japanese, you will need a couple years, at least, to not embarrass yourself on the course.

Again, I hope you new employer knew that 1) you don't speak Japanese and 2) you don't play golf.

These aren't problems that can be solved in 2 months.

[steven]

MMM is completely right!

I thought about it for a second.... like what if you just completely shut yourself out from the English speaking world for two months and listened to nothing but Japanese and did a lot of studying. Like, forget about golf, just 100% Japanese. I think that even if you found yourself in that vacuum, you'd still come out no where near the proficiency that you would need for "business" Japanese. Do that for 2 years and you STILL won't have it. That's the brakes. You can force feed yourself from some "business Japanese" type book... I think that wouldn't even do it.

On to golf... really? The big boss is gonna take you out to play golf? That might be one of those things that your boss said just to be friendly. In Japanese there is something called like "aimai", and I think that could be what you are experiencing there. Even if your boss does decide to take you out golfing, it's not like you're gonna have the time to practice to get to a level that you could impress him with in two months! Maybe you should just study the rules a bit so you can tell him what "this" or "that" is in English.

But yea, good luck with this one! Sounds like you're ready for a roller coaster ride!

Advice: get a couple of books. Particularly a book called "Doing business with Japanese Men: A guide for women" (I think that's the title anyways, it'll come up for sure on amazon). Even if you aren't a woman, this book will be SO important. Just trust me on it. It is very light reading, but in the 100-200 pages, you'll learn a buttload about situations that foreigners find themselves in in the Japanese world of business. I'm sure there are plenty of other books, but two books that I had good luck with are called "Communicative Styles of Japanese" and "Japanese Beyond Words: How to walk and talk like a Japanese". These books obviously won't give you mastery of Japanese culture and communication, but will provide a huge amount of important information about stuff that is obvious to japanese but not to westerners. Speaking from experience, knowing how to communicate in Japanese... that is to say how, when, and what to say something (as well as gestures and mannerisms etc) is AS important as the language itself. There's a different rhythm in Japan for conversations. In short, don't just pick up one of those "how to learn japanese in a month" books, start to read about the culture and imagine yourself in the situations that you read about. Learn about what is socially acceptable and not. When you get down to it, you really don't want to come off as rude. They'll respect you a lot more if you aren't rude but you don't know that much Japanese vs you know a lot of Japanese but you are rude (by their standards of course).

[MMM]

There is being bad at golf and losing to let your boss win.

Being bad at golf means everyone is forced to wait for you as you dilly-dally up to the green.

Losing to let your boss win means you beat your boss to the green so he is not waiting for you to get to the green and then you four-putt your hole so boss gets the lower score.

Two very different things.

[RickOShay]

MMM and Steven are right. There is no way you are going to be able to effectively function in Japanese with only two months of study. Are you having to learn Japanese because it is truly essential to be able to do your job, or is your boss just telling you to learn as much as you can so your life will not be as difficult here, and your coworkers will not have to try and cater to you as much?

[steven]

If you think about it you're probably on to something RickOShay. The boss must be saying that to help umstah out with everyday things. Surely the boss wouldn't expect someone to become fluent in a language in two months, right?

umstah, how's your Japanese as we speak? If you have some groundwork, maybe making serious progress isn't too crazy an idea. That is to say in a year or so, I'd say save yourself the stress of worrying about this 2 month business, as that is impossible.

[Sangetsu]

When I was preparing to move to Japan I did a lot of Japanese study. I had a year or so to prepare, but even after that much time my Japanese level was still low when I arrived. But, once you arrive and are immersed in the language, it becomes much easier to grasp.

"Japanese for Busy People" is a good system, and it is used by a few language schools in Tokyo. This site: Japanese Language Free Study Material - MLC Japanese Language School is a good resource.

Before you move you should stock up on the basic things that you'll probably need. Start with clothes and shoes. Most of the clothing in Japan is either overpriced, or it is crap. You'll need at least 2 suits (dark navy or black) 4 or 5 dress shirts, and a couple pair of dress shoes. Rubber-soled dress shoes are best as they don't soak up water on the rainy days, and they are more comfortable when standing and walking.

Stock up on toothpaste and deodorant, the stuff they sell in Japan is so completely ineffective it is useless.

Remember that Japanese DVD players and such are region 2, so if you are coming from America you might find that your DVDs will not work in a Japanese machine. Most American electrical appliances will work in Japan if you remove the ground post from the plug.

Hopefully you have a drivers license in your home country. If you do, get it converted to a Japan license after you arrive. A driving test may or may not be required, depending on which country you are coming from, but either way, it's much easier to convert a foreign license to a Japan license than it is to go through the lengthy and expensive process you would have to go through to get a Japan license otherwise.

Make sure you have enough money to get buy when you arrive. If your company isn't going to supply an apartment for you, you'll need to rent one yourself. When renting an apartment in Tokyo, you'll need enough money to pay at least 3 months rent up-front. Some apartments will require up to 5 months rent in advance, which can be expensive.

Getting around Tokyo is very easy, though you will probably be overwhelmed the first few days you are here, but hopefully someone from your company will spend a day or two with you to show you how to get around.

If you are coming in 2 months, your new company should have already started the visa sponsorship process. They should have requested that you send them your passport and the necessary paperwork, and shortly before you leave your passport will be returned with your certificate of eligibility for your work visa. You will have to send/take your passport and COE to a Japanese consulate before you you leave (it'll take 2 or 3 days), where the permit will be affixed to your passport. You will get the actual visa when you arrive in Japan.

The first thing you need to do when you arrive is get a hanko (name stamp). You'll need need this to do things like open a bank account, get a license, rent an apartment, etc. A hanko shop can be found in most neighborhoods, and they are inexpensive. Someone from your company will have to accompany you to a bank (probably Japan Postal Bank) to open an account so you can get paid each month, there is no such thing as checks in Japan.

I'm sure others will have other advice.

[umstah]

First off, thanks for the replies everyone! I really do appreciate everyone taking out their time to help me

Okay, I think clarification on the Japanese issue is in order: My boss stressed the importance of Japanese, both I think for my sake as some noted earlier and also for their sake. My boss does NOT expect me to arrive in Japan speaking fluent Japanese, or anything like that - I just told him I would study here and take lessons so that when I arrived I would have very basic conversational ability, which I think is doable in two months

After I get there, I will be taking language classes several times a week, and studying hopefully 2+ hours a day - but again, he doesnt expect me to get fluency over night - I told him hopefully by next summer (julyish, after being there for about 9 months) I would hopefully have decent conversational abilities - or enough to actually take part in the office with only limited english instruction by that time

I hope that sounds achievable, and my goal would be by the end of the second year to have decent knowledge of Japanese, again not fluency - but at least have a good grasp of the language. Remember that I will basically be in a complete immersion setting, since most of the english speakers in the company only speak limited english.

My current knowledge of Japanese - I know hiragana completely, and I have limited understanding of verb conjugation from some experience earlier. I also have a limited vocabulary

is that better? maybe? you all scared me! lol

on to the next topic - golf - He was mostly joking, but he said he would "teach me how to play" and he would like me to play with him - I don't think that part was a joke, so he probably wouldn't be taking me when he is meeting with an important person, but I think if he is taking some employees or something, its possible he might ask me to come. So again, not expecting golfing excellence

Tokyo - what I meant more was information about how it will be to adjust and get used to living there - I am south asian, so I will be a pretty unusual sight in Tokyo, can I expect any issues from that? how long does it take to learn your way around Tokyo? any good places to go or things to do see, etc. you all can think of? just things like that, helpful tips mostly

The visa sponsorship application process has been started, and should finish soon - so no worries there, and both the drivers application and hanko stamp were good ideas, thanks

- clothes, good info - i heard the business place in japan was a lot more formal, but i currently have three suits, black charcoal and grey, so i think im fine. i need a pair of brown dress shoes,but on shirts and ties i think im good

also, my company is going to find an apartment for me, and i will obv have a salary to pay for the rent, etc.

if i didnt address something, just let me know.

thanks!

[MMM]

Last things first, no race is a unusual sight in Tokyo. White, black, brown, whatever, nothing turns heads.

I think it is realistic to think you can learn some basic Japanese in two months, and participate in the most simple of conversations. "Where is the grocery store?" "Go straight down the street and turn left at the bank." Those kinds of things.

Living in Japan by next year you may be able to participate in more complicated conversations.

I am curious, what are you being hired to do?

[umstah]

work for an import/export business headquartered in tokyo, they do business with european countries as well as some with america, and so they need someone who speaks good english to oversee the english communication, deals, etc.

although i might be dealing with english as work, everything that is done in the workplace is in japanese.