Use my code EATS10 and link: bit.ly/3mWhwas to get 10% off (save up to $47!) your own authentic Japanese subscription box from Bokksu! Don't miss out on this amazing snack-journey through Japan! WATCH PART 2! ruclips.net/video/sjWnYoo6CEg/видео.html Has this video given you some ideas on how to make your dream of living in Japan come true? Let me know!
Great video! I experienced the same ups and downs when I moved from the US to Greece, and I'm Greek by heritage and knew the language fairly well when I went there. That 2/3 of unseen aspect of local culture really throws people for a loop. I even felt some of the same when I moved back to the US, because much of the Greek culture stuck with me. Moral of the story, prepare and have realistic expectations with any new country you go to.
No, Japan is not a country in which I could live permanently. I think the saying explains it aptly: "You can get a Swabian to leave his homeland temporarily, but you can't get his home region out of his heart." After spending 3 weeks in Japan once in my life, it felt like something was calling me home. Even if those 3 weeks are among the most relaxed of my life, I know that my place is next to the descendants of the Alemanni.
My niece was always dreaming living in Japan. She learned Japanese and then moved to Osaka for her MB. After graduation she moved back to Europe and never talked about Japan again.
I have a Japanese friend that moved from Japan to Sydney and he described Japan like a theater play. It’s good and entertaining when you’re the audience (tourist), but if you’re one of the workers at the backstage (locals and residents), it’s stressful.
My Thai friend who lives and works in Japan also says the same thing. Japanese friendliness is superficial, you can't really trust anyone if don't know them since childhood.
@@khanitthanank7982 having spent 10 years in Japan and 15 years in Thailand, I would trust a Japanese person long before I would a Thai. Sorry, sad but true especially as I am currently married to a Thai and have Thai family.
This actually applies to moving to any new place. The novelty wears off and the honeymoon ends. Then everything is negative, irritating, or dull. Eventually the balance is reached and we get to accept things the way they are. What makes the biggest difference is the people you may have around.
I feel Japan is worse though. Most people just think of polite, food, anime, cool stuffs when come to Japan. A lot of people move to Japan have no intention to actually settle in with Japanese culture - outside of the food and pop culture, but expect this perfect place where they will be different.
Yep! And not just moves either.. New jobs, relationships, and anything new. Honeymoons don’t last forever. It’s about managing your expectations. Location doesn’t make you happy (it can supplement and help); what you choose to do with your time determines your happiness!
That’s why learning about the reality of the country you want to move to is extremely important. For example, I want to migrate to the US in a few years time and I’ve spent countless hours learning about the culture and rules that go on over there so I won’t be caught with my pants down just because I don’t understand the general stuff that goes on over there
I've lived here for 18 years, still love it. The secret? I've never worked for a Japanese company. Remote and solo. Japan is an absolute playground outside of work life.
been here 12 years. have made lots of friends and even got married. my advice is find a hobby and pursue it, you will meet a lot of friends that way. my hobby was attending underground punk and metal gigs every weekend. people are more likely to attempt to talk to you if they already know something specific about you. I didn't feel much culture shock. i went in assuming everything would be different, and ended up being happy when it wasn't as different as I thought. I've been invited to go along on tours with bands in their van and have been able to travel all over Japan; from rural areas to big cities. It's been an amazing adventure.
When I moved to another country, I’ll never forget what they told us “Once you move out of your country or culture bubble, you will feel like you don’t fit in the new country because it’s not your people and the way of thinking and feeling will be different. But WHEN you come back home, you will feel like you don’t fit there anymore because your horizons have expanded, your way of thinking is gonna be WAY different from the one you used to have back home and now you will end up with your OWN bubble. Once you move away from your people, you will no longer have “people”, you’re now on your own.” That really hit hard with me and saw it everywhere. Even internally in my country with those moving from the countryside into the city and then going back. Those expat phases are no joke and you need to be really mentally and emotionally strong if you’re ever gonna move to another country.
This happened to me back in the 1970s even though I stayed home. I simply got involved in soccer. Not many other Americans liked it back then, and I didn't really feel at home in America anymore. (In particular, people I thought of as open-minded and accepting of other cultures turned out not to be so open-minded or accepting of other cultures.) Nor did I feel fully at home in other countries because of other cultural differences. Today, however, there are enough soccer fans in America that I do feel more at home, but it was quite disorienting.
I work as a virtual English teacher and teach Japanese students and I agree. Most of the students they seemed exhausted but I still appreciate their politeness. Even though they are closing their eyes, they still answer all the given activities. 😅
I moved to Germany close to 6 years ago, and I went through that whole process you mentioned in the video. I don't think it's really about Japan, the cultural shock can hit you anywhere you go. But I imagine the expectations are going to be way higher when someone is a big fan anything and everything Japanese.
@@luigi2837 I completely get what you mean 😁. But regardless of that, moving to a different country with a different culture and ways of doing things is always a shock. At the point in life I am, I only care about having a good satisfying job that allows me to live a comfy life, so I can enjoy my hobbies. I might not ever move to Japan, but I can go on holidays as often as I want 😎
@@dageta7742 According to what I've heard from a few Japanese people I know, working conditions are really not so good. I've been working here since 2016 and never had a problem. Nobody came to bother me, or treat me any different because I'm not German. Salary is enough to live very comfy and I get 28 days of holidays a year. One of my friends works in IT and has like 8 days a year. And then there's the transportation issue, having to get into those packed trains and everything. I would love to live there, but not work.
My biggest tip for avoiding culture shock is to throw yourself into studying Japanese in an ENJOYABLE way during the honeymoon phase. The frustration phase will be a lot easier if you have Japanese friends who you can spend time with, adopt the culture from and not worry about them leaving the country in the next few months.
@@d.o.p.d.o.p.1775 As someone who used to struggle with talking to strangers, I would suggest frequenting bars (you don't have to drink alcohol, but it helps) or partaking in hobbies. This helped me while I was in Okinawa and I went from zero Japanese friends to having more Japanese friends than American friends. I even learned a small bit of Japanese language and culture this way.
Precisely. People should learn those unspoken social norms instead of grammar when learning a new (culture and) language. It's far more useful. I'm for instance learning many languages just for the hell of it, including Japanese, but I ain't going to pretend that I know anything about living in the country, because, yeah, the language is 80% of the way, but without the other 20% that is the culture, you are basically lost.
This was fun! Replace "Japan" with "Los Angeles" and "English Teacher" with "media/entertainment" And what you mentioned pretty much applies almost exactly to anyone moving to LA to work in the business Takes forever to get anywhere (replace the train with the freeways) Work culture shock and politics - no one says "no" Unspoken by rigid pecking order on any film/tv set, or music recording studio (even the "become friends with LA natives" - it really helps)
@sashavie -- Good point! You don't have to change counries completely to end up in a different culture than you're used to! Difference is that you already mostly speak the same language, excepting any local idioms and slang, ofc.
So important to be realistic while one has this love/infatuation of Japan. Not everything is sunny and roses, no matter where you are. Thanks for the reality check!
A lot of good advice in this video. My own advice is this: early on, when you're in the "honeymoon phase", make as many Japanese friends as possible, join activities and clubs, and just immerse yourself in Japanese society as much as you can. (Do *not spend all your time with overseas friends at this point.) This will all be exhausting, but exciting as well, and your language and cultural skills will grow a lot because of it. Then later, when the initial excitement wears off, your will already have the skills and perspective, and local network to help you cope. At this point, also feel free to seek out a community of 'like-minded' ex-pats if you wish. Anyway, this is how I did it, and my experience living in this country has overall been fantastic. Oh, I've been here 20 years now, in case you were wondering.
While I ended up moving home after 3 years, I completely agree with your strategy. I'd recommend everyone to utilise that honeymoon energy. In the first month of being in Japan, I did exactly the same thing as you did and made great friends that helped me throughout my entire stay. Having semi-decent familiarity with the language and gaining the rest via total immersion early on was the way to go. Were it not my plan to marry my non-Japanese fiancé, I would have stayed much longer.
I would add that the “befriend as many people as possible while in the honeymoon phase” advice is applicable to any foreign country you are living in, whether it’s France, Mexico, Vietnam, etc...because in the end, we would find ourselves missing our home country more (unless you are a refugee from a war-torn country, of course)
I always dreamed about living in Japan - as a kid. But as I got older I started to reconsider. Today, I don't think I'd just move to another country without doing a) proper research on living conditions and b) truly reflect on why I'm drawn to this country. Because moving to a country because of pop culture of probably not working out ...
I think of moving to Japan. Not because of anime or anything related to entertainment, I just think it's a better place to live than fucking Brazil. I will not be rich, but I'll certainly not be poor. I'll be able to live a economically comfortable life and buy some things I want as long as I'm single, and if I eventually decide to build a family, it'll be not as hard as it is in Brazil. Sure, that requires dedication to learning their language, culture and actually knowing what to do there, which job to choose for example. But that's an effort I'm willing to make.
@@pardolagames8994 I think they meant the discrimination you may face while in Japan may affect you. Some countries may discriminate against someone of a different skin color or race and try to get over on you when it comes to buying and doing something's. Hopefully that made some sense
Even eating out of garbage cans 3 times a day in America beats having to eat rice 3 times a day everyday forever in Japan but sadly that's all they can afford.
Well how many ways can you eat rice? Rice pudding, rice paddies, rice soup etc. Get the point? Who would want to eat rice the rest of their life but that's all you can afford when you live in Japan
It all depends how you make of it. When you move to Japan you cannot have a “tourist” mindset. You almost need to have a “business” mindset. Sooner rather than later, you need to make friends and acquaint yourself with Japanese locals and day to day activities. I think the longer the honeymoon phase, the harder it’ll be down the road.
+If you find a job that you absolutely love you're probably going to want to work on it more and more probably still going to Japan, just more prepared than others
@@jacobfredman9442 if you find a workplace or a department that already have a couple of foreign employee, it will make your experience better there, because the rest of the japanese employee already used to or expect to have a relationship with a foreigner so its easier to have a circle of friend there
Good thing that I life in the west. I was born with no natural interest in relationships with other people so a place in which you need to make friends wouldn’t work for me.
YES! This video is so helpful. I have tried living in other countries and found it very challenging. I moved to Mexico from the US last year. I have some advantages, I'm familiar with the city and have family here, but I don't speak Spanish, and I moved here in part to learn the language, something very challenging at my age. I miss my friends terribly and it takes time to develop new friendships. I'm so grateful to be here with my 84 year-old mother but I know it will take time to feel like home.
Im a Japanese that lived in both Japan and in the U.S. and personally know many foreigners living or wanting to go to Japan. This may sound a bit insensitive and judgmental, but if you’re the introverted and the anti-social type, you’ll eventually start hating living in Japan. I often come across some youtube videos or instagram posts portraying Japan as an “introvert paradise”, but thats simply based on the surface aspect of Japanese society without understanding any of the daily lives in Japan. Japanese society/culture puts ALOT of emphasis on group mentality, communication, and having to interact with others all the time. It is nowhere near an “introvert paradise” as some foreigners want to portray it. You have to understand that being alone in your private time is almost like a reward in Japan. This is more true if you live in the big cities like Tokyo, where you’ll often see restaurants and other services where they specifically cater towards single customers. Social phenomenon like the hikikomori(shut-ins) happen because they mentally “burned out” from having to deal with this daily life. I would even say that being anti-social and introverted is alot more easier and accepted in western countries than Japan. I think we can agree that alot of the younger foreigners wanting to live in Japan are the weeaboo types. I know Im being judgmental, but alot of them tend to lean towards the introverted side. Not every foreigner or weeaboo are this way, but it will be a huge hindrance for them to learn about the Japanese language, the cultural norms, and Japanese people’s behavior if you are an introvert. Alot of them simply cannot get out of their comfort zone(the gaijin bubble) and miss out on the opportunity to integrate themselves into the country. You HAVE to go through the embarrassing and awkward moments with people at the beginning if you want to enjoy living in a foreign country. Alot of introverted people avoid this without realizing that its part of the process. And if you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, or any type of mental health, moving to Japan isnt going to help. You’re going to be going through tremendous amount of language and cultural barriers in a completely foreign environment from your own home, while struggling with mental health. I seriously dont know why some foreigners think that moving to Japan will magically make their depression go away. It wont. And Japan isnt responsible for taking care of you. Theres a difference between being polite and being friendly, something you have to understand if you want to survive in Japan. Btw, the exact same thing could be said for Japanese people wanting to live overseas. I used to teach English communication as a part time job back in college, and you can already tell whos going to have a good time and whos going to struggle in foreign countries. Its usually not their language skills that matter, its their personality and having the right mindset that really determines whether they can adapt to a foreign environment or not.
Wow, very informative! 😁But what's a weeaboo? I was interested in Japan, to possibly move there one day. But they have winter. And some of the things you described would probably keep me from living there. Everyone thinks the grass is always greener on the other side. It seems to be at 1st, when you move somewhere. But societies issues are everywhere. 😟 And missing food from your former state, or country IS a problem!! 😳 When I moved from the N.E. of the USA down to Florida. It WAS like a different country. For several reasons. It literally took me 3 yrs to get used to it. North & South living is vastly different. By laws, living, people, work, foods, and the chaos is on another level in FL. 😳
@@wendysavvy4351 a weeaboo/weeb is someone one (usually western) who is *really* into japanese culture/anime/manga. I use to be in that stage but as for late I haven't touched anime in quite a while.
This post is pretty good, it's a great reminder that at the end of the day life is life, and Japan isn't just some fantastical place where these problems will magically disappear.
@@patrickstar8132 Thank you, for letting me know! 😀 I was always interested in Japan, and anime is definitely creative. I will probably visit Japan. My friend used to live there. He was on a base there for the military.
I lived in Japan nearly 10 years and was a permanent foreign resident. I repatriated only because of the economic bubble burst in 1993. I would go back to live in Japan now that I am retired. I agree about a majority of foreigners are short term residents. I have lived abroad and follow the proverb, “When in Rome, do is the Romans.
@@dean_l33 In Japan’s case, why would you want to take over them? The pros about them are definitely their ethos but that’s what makes them fascinating. We like that about them. They definitely add a different flavor of what it means to be human. If anything we just wish they’d visit everyone else more. It’s like counting on Americans to always bring the party or Latinos to bring on the sex appeal, the Japanese bring an unexpected elegance and control to the party that is humanity. They’re not perfect but don’t try to be. I think one of the pros about the Internet now is that it’s facilitating the need to respect and appreciate our differences. I like to think that’s how they view the rest of us, they can appreciate us without muddying the water. I always say the land people live in is what makes them. With Japan being so isolated from the world for the most part, plus their natural disasters (plus willingness to isolate themselves based on history), most people wouldn’t want to live there and certainly not if they knew there’s other options. No, I don’t mean this in an offensive manner as I’ve lived there and loved it. Japan is a bit daunting but not unmanageable if you have the right temperament. Again, introverts will adapt to it faster and come to love it. It’s a very introverted culture that places a high value on dignity so it’s a huge shock for Americans usually especially if they’re the golden retriever but human kind. The biggest threat would probably the sex appeal of foreigners if the Japanese were ever interested and most Japanese really have no interest in dating foreigners unless they find you particular exceptional and see you can handle temporary fun (if you’re extremely attractive anywhere the same rule applies there. Now if you’re obese, that’s where they draw the line). Beauty is beauty pretty much everywhere with few exceptions and every place has it’s overtly flirtatious horn dogs that are game if opportunities show. Japan’s no different. I think the biggest shock with them is that you expect them to be saintly and “cold”; they’re respectful, disciplined and aloof but asexual they’re not. Like everyone anywhere, they just size you up and see if you’re worth the effort/risk. If they decide to play, they’re blunt about letting you know that’s as far as it’s ever going to go. If anything, the Japanese are unique in that they’re likely the ones more interested in taking over other places or even going back to the mainland than the other way around, for good reason (I think the island is fine for now but in the long scheme of things it could put them in a precarious position if certain things don’t pan out, like rising sea levels).
@@AB-sm1qf Some other country in the area like China or maybe even korea would want to take over their culture. But here in the west it is besiged on multipule fronts already
honestly anyone who isn’t serious about studying the language and getting fluent is bound to have a bad time living in japan long term. those who are serious though, could have the time of their lives.
Its all about perspective. A lot of people don’t know what they’re getting into when they decide to move to japan. Romanticizing about a place and having unrealistic expectations is only gonna end up in disappointment. As long as you understand that the culture is fundamentally different and are willing to adjust, then thats all that matters.
I'm from India married to an Australian, he's caring and understanding. We got married and had two children within 15 months. I went through a big culture shock and loneliness, gradually I adjusted, it took few years though. This year we celebrated our 15th wedding Anniversary and 15 years in Perth, absolutely wonderful
I've been living in Japan for 4 years now and love it. I'm planning to stay forever. I’ve never been shocked or disappointed by my experience here. I think long commutes, low salaries, and not knowing the local language can make anyone frustrated, no matter where they are. But those things have nothing to do with Japan itself.
I just moved to a new country and hit the frustration phase immediately. Every little interaction was so high stress and difficult, from grocery shopping to buying a train ticket. The more I get used to it, now that I’ve learned a bit more, I’m finally starting to feel ok. Now that I can somewhat function I’m working on making friends. Absolutely right that learning the language is the key.
Yes the language barrier is probably the number 1 problem because I lived in the Uk wasn’t to bad since I spoke English since I’m from the U.S. but I would sometimes get confused because they called things differently but overall I understand everything I’m learning Japanese and I’m starting to understand I will watch anime now and I will understand what they are actually saying which encouraged me even more to learn I’m still not sure if I’m gonna move to Japan I think I’m gonna sign a contract to work as an alt for a year and if I like it I’ll extend it for longer
I’ve been living in Japan for many years, I felt all alone at first cuz I didn’t know any Japanese word. So I studied the language and work hard, and no regrets at all. Now having many Japanese friends and I enjoy living here Unfortunately, I observed that many of the foreigners who come to Japan were expecting to be treated like “prince” and “princesses”, look down on Japanese people just because they are English speakers.
yeah honestly this isn’t to brag or anything but learning a ton of japanese before coming here (about 500 hours of reading raw manga, studying new words and sentences with anki, shadowing japanese youtubers) is what has made these past 4 years living in japan amazing for me. not only do i always get compliments on my japanese but being able to actually communicate with japanese people without struggling just opens the world for sooo many friendships, not to mention makes daily life so much easier.
For everyone who got really demotivated after watching this video. A friendly reminder that this sort of feelings described in here can be observed while moving to almost every other country you live in. I admit that I've never been in Japan, but as someone who emigrated from one country to another (with quite different culture and a different language), I can tell you from my experience that that's just how it always is when you drastically change your environment. First you're amazed by all of the new experiences, than you began to get use to all of those "new things" and begin to see all the problems, and than you either quit by that point or stay and accept things how they are. That's just the reality. Does that means that we shouldn't move to a different places in the world? In my opinion: no. But it really just depends on your personality and your attitude. Again, from experience I can tell you that you are able to overcome obstacles you'll ran into, as every problem has it's solution, and once you do that you can enjoy living in the place you dreamed of for such a long time.
Yes, but Japan is also excessively xenophobic. For example, alot of landlords will refuse to rent an apartment or whatever out to foreigners and it is fully within their rights to do so. Japan is definitely one of the more difficult places to move to
I am a Japanese who left Japan to live permanently in Australia. It is really difficult to live in a foreign country, not only in Japan. Australia is a very nice country and I love Australia. I think it is a better country to live in permanently than Japan. However, it is still a foreign country to me, so I have had some very difficult times in Australia, and I still miss Japan. In Japan, the culture is quite unique and the society is very stressful, so it is quite difficult to live in Japan even if you are Japanese. Therefore, I think the best way to enjoy Japan is not to live there permanently, but only to travel there.
There's a reason why most anime's are all high school students, because once they go college or enter the work force they became robots, tied to a rat race and the never ending work-home-work lifestyle.
I've been living in Japan for almost 4 years. There is a lot of struggle, but I still love this country. It's not about making friends as much as possible or tolerate everything only because you are a foreigner. Very important thing is self-awareness, to know, who you are, what you want and your motivation. And then all difficulties become weaker.
That’s a very good advice. Thanks for that. Definitely feels like you need to have self-awareness of what you yourself are doing, what you want to do and what your motivation is to keep you in that country or whether it’s best for you for your lifestyle or career to live somewhere else. I would definitely want to give it a try living in Japan someday, but I worry that I wouldn’t have the motivation or strength to stay there long enough past any sort of honeymoon phase to actually maintain a career there for long enough and be able to get over that hump and start loving the country I was in again, but I still want to give it a try. It’s better to try and fail then to have never tried at all.
One reason I would not move to Japan, their "overwork" culture. I have a strong work ethic but I'm also a firm believer of not working more than what you're paid to do and not to work for the sake of working. I could easily imagine myself clashing with a typical Japanese workplace.
Karoushi has always been a problem in Japan. Murdering employees by overworking and underpaying them never helped the people in any way. Workers need to do strikes or sue the companies. Even then, some companies in Japan almost got shut down for tax evading to help workers.
@@wawawuu1514 Strong work ethic simply means you do at least what you're supposed to, show up when you're supposed to, and that you don't waver from that. It doesn't mean you go above and beyond, it's very important to make that distinction and it's what corporate tends to try to make you do despite not compensating you for that extra effort.
@@bubbag02 "do at least what you're supposed to, show up when you're supposed to" But why? Why should I do that? Barring jobs where to performed labour is actually useful or even necessary for society (like doctors, garbage collection, health services in general, etc etc), why should I lift even a single finger at work, assuming it can be avoided? I'd happily scam my way through flipping burgers at McExploitation and nobody would be off worse, except for the exploiters. I've called in sick at work before, despite not having been sick, why shouldn't I do that?
@@wawawuu1514 Ok, so you're what people call "a lazy bum". That's fine, knock yourself out. Keep working that low wage job because doesn't look like you'll be graduating from that any time soon.
I see comments like this a lot, but you also shouldn't underestimate the difficulties that you could potentially face just from being a foreigner, and not speaking the language 100%. A lot of people also don't really realize how good they actually have it where they live, until they leave. Though I also realize this is probably just a joke comment, I also feel like you're half serious 😶.
And here’s the thing, if it turns out you REALLY don’t like it in the end, at least you can go home/somewhere else without feeling that ‘what if’, surely having learned allot in the process.
I moved to Japan over a year ago, as soon as I got there had to admit it was amazing. Over time it got a little less exciting, but I still find it supper fun. Where I used to live.. (aka. America) my life was extremely bland. I lived deep in the country. So life now is still much better then where I was before hand. If you want to move to Japan make sure you know everything you need to know, research deep into everything and make sure you don’t get too excited.
I was tempted to buy a house in Japan after seeing those cheap ones in the countryside where there are very few young people and the locals consiser it isolated even though there is a train station nearby and in less than an hpur you can be in a major metropolis. Beautiful place with bamboo clad steep hills overlooking rice paddies like you alluded to though not so simple for a foreigner. If it was I would live there for half a year and enrol my kids in a local school.
@@fatwombat2611 With that you'd have to deal with a loot of racism. Most small towns in Japan are not very accepting of foreigners and you'll probably never feel like you belong. Unless you make a really good impression and have an Asian personality. (Not saying that out of racism Asian and Western personalities are very different)
I'm sorry, but gotta ask, why didn't you just move to one of the big cities in America instead of totally moving out of the country?? We have many.. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, San Francisco, etc
I have a lot of friends from the US and Canada who have lived here for over a decade and love it. They got married, had children, and cannot imagine moving back.
Key: adapt, immerse, have support system. Mistakes: not learning the language, not making local friends, living day to day life like when you're back home (where everything is established, support system exists, different habits and custom). You need to make extra efforts when you move to a new culture as an adult. Learn from kids how they can learn and adapt in new environment better.
@@manyamanhas5938 useless based on uninformative and untruthfull sources to considered it as useless. But this comment is making you realise what you lack in to live in different country. You need to adapt to the country you live in, or else you will get to the bottom and suffer.
I lived in Japan for seven years. Once the honeymoon period is up, it really comes down to how well the culture nuances suit your daily habits and social needs. It's also really hard to live somewhere that doesn't understand your native language. There's something to be said of being able to express yourself and be understood.
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I lived in India for two years. Talk about the "have and not haves". Incredible wealth - abject poverty. Scamming and violence everywhere ... I was extremely lucky as I was in an enclosed estate which had private security, and I had a driver who took me anywhere I needed to go. I also got sick and tired of hearing that every problem India had was caused by the British .... Nothing to do with the caste system, the original ruling families, the modern government .... We Brits, only left a hundred years ago. Sigh. But, in reality, the upper class Indians have homes in the UK and US and so have a wider attitude. Did I hate Indian? No. There was wonderful history, architecture, food ... But you need money.
"It's also really hard to live somewhere that doesn't understand your native language." Well my friend, unless you're a native english speaker, that's most likely ALWAYS the case, so welcome to the reality of the world, really. Truth is that native english speakers are just really lucky that that's not always the case.
@@ccrriissttiiaannoo I don't know why you're talking down to me. I speak two languages and have traveled to more than 15 countries and lived in three. I'm not your enemy. I don't know what you think you're teaching me. Such a weird comment.
As a kid we were taught to be disciplined just like japanese people. This culture shock thing is mostly for Western people and not for Asians. The part of the iceberg that we don't see is pretty similar in most Asian countries.
I have been in Japan almost 10 years. I still love it! It has gone by so fast!! I am raising my kids here and they don't know how different and uninteresting my Childhood was!
Living in Japan for 8 years now, and the friends coming and going is definitely the biggest thing. I’m pretty fluent in Japanese, but that don’t make making friends that much easier, especially during a global pandemic
After college, this is just the reality of friendships in general: people only befriend you for benefits or common interests, and then distance themselves once those interests change. It's why they say those who have one-two best friends for life are the most fortunate.
Japan is good for social introverts. Every country and society has their own pros and cons. If one likes to enjoy freedom of doing whatever you want to do without thinking of social discipline, you should never think of Japan. I am from third world country and for me Japan is a piece of heaven on Earth.
You can get much Japanese food and media locally on import stores or delivered online, even supermarkets offer some, much easier today than in years past. In many ways it filters a lot of cultural junk out for you that you simply have to deal with when living in a different country.
Whilst I'm not interested in living in Japan, I do appreciate your honest take on living there. I feel like a lot of RUclips videos paint Japan as a utopia when it can be just as difficult as any other country you move too.
Is just like that, also, some of those Positive people that tell too many positive things about live there, may it is because they want show a lot that they are please to be there as they are in love with the culture; or they are just promotional videos, haha.
I lived in Osaka for many years loved it, Not sure this is a honest take on anything just someone trying to earn a buck, Being happy is a choice not something that a fad or fetish is going to bring long term.
Who paints this picture? All the major Japanese channels give brutally honest opinions about living there... The only youtube channels that would do this are probably people who have never been to Japan and actually lived there. Maybe these people are just happy with their life? Maybe they dont feel weighed down by unpleasant culture propaganda??? I have lived in the US for 26 years, and I hate sooooooo many things about this stupid fucking country, but I am still happy, and can sure as hell make positive videos about my life (if I wanted to make videos)
4 years in and I'm still loving living in Japan. Stuff still frustrates but it's manageable. I'm lonely mostly because of the current world wide situation, not because of Japan itself. I hope to move to Osaka soon so I can live somewhere more friendly....and waaaaay less snowy than Aomori.
Yeah, anywhere in Kansai is good. I visited Kyoto a few days and had to use the taxi. Super friendly driver. We talked and he slowed down the meter so I got a discount for the ride. Taxi in Tokyo: *cricket sounds*
I am so impressed, this is not only a video about living in Japan, but ANYWHERE when living abroad in a different culture. I really appreciate the understanding of mental health and thank you for the insights!
I am Japanese who were born and raised in Japan. If it weren't for American base near my home town, I wouldn't have known how restricting our culture were. It's as if we are being programmed to act the same and be expected to act certain way. I found Western world to be liberating and this is why I moved out.
Too much freedom can be a bad thing. Because people in England dont hold themselves accountable for how they act, we now have hookup culture, gangs and extremists.
Yup, what Stuart Leslie said - liberation can be its own prison, really. That’s not to say that I’d rather not have it, just that it isn’t magic and won’t fix everything.
@@fanily4072 What suprises you ? Is "English teacher" a real job in your country ? I mean they almost all don't have the neccecary degree to become a "real" teacher. You wouldn't earn that much here either, we don't even have something like ALT.
I’ve lived in Japan for 7 years now. I’m still in the isolation phase, but I’d say I’m at the acceptance stage. There are some things that really irritate me about this culture, but a lot of the people I’ve met here and know always convince me I’m on the right path, even when I’m frustrated that I haven’t made any local friends and a lot of my friends who are only here for a few years make so many more friends than I have so far. Lol I’m still trying, and I’m definitely not ready to go back yet. I’ve got to say where you work makes a HUGE difference - finding a company that really works with your personality and work ethic is so crucial. I’ve been to both sides - the schools that are glorified play centers and schools that are so obsessed with the being the best their staff become monochrome in terms of personality and interests. (I settled happily at a school in between the two spectrums). Staying in Japan got a lot easier when I found a place I felt supported me and sincerely wanted me to stay.
There are absolutely things about the culture that are simply wrong compared to cultures of other countries, but you cannot fight the current. You will become angry and exhausted trying. No culture is perfect, but the things that are worse stand out the most to you. Try to only worry about things you can change, and accept those which you cannot.
Yeah I really struggled working in Japan. Work life balance there was so toxic. Meanwhile back in the states we are all working from home and the job market strongly favors skilled labor. I gave up on Japan but I may try it when I retire or something lol
Yeah me too I'm too shy to talk stranger, even on the univ, I can't seemingly make any friends :'( Especially when you know that they take some distances from me just because I'm foreigner lmao
It doesn’t always get better with time. I haven’t lived in Japan but I’ve been in Korea for 15 years, as soon as I came to Korea, I learned the language and the culture super quick to advanced (C1 level). I understand the culture really well, so well that Koreans don’t perceive me as a foreigner any more. But! There is still this kind of a wall between people. For years I used to think it was my problem, but then I noticed that Koreans themselves have the same problem. It’s such a lonely society. I used to practice marshal arts for 2 years in the same place with the same people meeting twice a week and we are still not real friends. It’s ridiculous. At home I would have really close friends there in a fraction of the time. But here it just doesn’t happen. And people don’t make time for each other. I’ve been trying for so long, but I’m just done now. I’m waiting for the time I can go back home and make some real friends.
From what I heard about new mom's leaving the work place, it's not just them quitting on their own, it's that their sometimes pressured or encouraged to leave...
As someone who's quite used to moving, it's usually the beginning that's hardest for me, the innate fear of change makes me slow to accept adapt and move forward but once I get over that I usually blend into my surroundings easily and make friends with some beautiful weirdos wherever I go
I lived for seven years in Japan, I’m on my way back next summer. Japan is not an easy country but it changed my life. I am happily married, we have two amazing boys. I never had a dull day, people were extremely friendly. Of course I had to work very hard to learn the language, the people, the cultural differences. I had to fight my way up to become something else than an English teacher. What an amazing journey. I love Japan, the people, the culture … but it’s not for everyone.
My co-worker was sooooo obsessed with Japan. All she could talk about was J-pop, Japanese food, how much Japan culture is better in every way, about her Japanese lessons and ofc how Japanese people are so much more beautiful. She said she would never marry anyone from Europe, she will marry only Japanese man. Well... she quit her job, her social media was literally a flood of content about her moving to Japan. After some time she posted less and less, then her profile went to private mode. I asked her close friend if Iggy is ok and she said Iggy came back and now she's in the therapy because she made her whole life about Japan and it turns out it was a nightmare for her and now she wants to forget about it. I think she came back during that frustration phase, there's a chance she would be fine if she waited few months more
Been here 8 years. I initially wasn’t really sure if I wanted to live here. My wife is from here and convinced me we should stay. Now I’m grateful. Insurance for our kids is great, it’s safer and schooling is great.
Hello ryan I’d like to ask you for advice if you don’t mind, I’d be grateful with any answer you see fit. I’m planning to moving out of my country bc of economic and social reasons and japan is one of the countries I’m considering moving to. I’ve put pros and cons to each country I’ve considered but I feel like I could really use the respective experiences of someone that has lived there and seen things from their point of view. thank you for reading 🙏🏻 like I said any answer you see fit would be appreciated greatly🌻 hoping to hear from you
@@x20fotab23 Learn to speak at least a little Japanese. Very few Japanese can understand English. Don't bother with reading and writing. Takes a long time. Having a good translation machine might help. They make mistakes but you'll just get a good laugh. The Japanese reputation for placing courteous social skills high on their "must have list" is true, but foreigners aren't held to the same standard. I see too many foreigners act like they are walking on broken glass. "Did I say something that offended him?". "Was I rude?". Relax. Japan is not America. You are not expected to speak Japanese. But knowing just a little Japanese goes a long way.
My son (14) has talked about moving to Japan since he was 6 or 7 years old. He's actually taking private lessons to learn the language. I think watching something like this could be of great benefit to him. I don't want to crush dreams, I just want him to realize it's not all novelty foods and anime books. 😅
Don't!!! I am 18 now with German as my first language, just a teeny bit better than my japanese, i am half german half japanese and always dreamed of going to Germany, Made online friends for 5 years before i came and now i met them irl and its awesome ive been here a while now not depressed yet. Of course, you'll miss your family, but if he genuinely likes it, and especially at that age, he will surely like it and see the reality for himself. Believe me, Germany had its own good share of surprises to me coming from Japan. My mum and dad always hyped me up to go to Germany that got me good grades and i got here and im doing well now :) Sure it's important to show your kid that its not all novelty foods and anime books but i believe he will learn that own his own, builds character. it did for me.
dreaming is one thing , 14 years old isnt a mature age to make decisions (dont get me wrong) , no person will hate : jdm drift cars , japanese food , feminine women , fancy holidays , bright colorful streets , anime...etc , but reality is something else , a proven fact that is really bad from my view about japan is working a full time job isnt sufficient for a small family , no one want a hard life and little time , my advice is go on a vacation with ur son to japan , search and ask while u spending time in it to see how life it is , my point is try to guide ur son , i love japan so much but i dont think it is an easy place to live in.
How about you talk to your damn kid instead and help him develop a healthy life framework from early on that he will be able to utilize and lead a fullfilling life in any part of this god forsaken world.
@@johnlake2545 Or heres an idea, support the kid, dont do what my Dad did and shit all over your dreams for no other reason than its not something you feel like is good enough, all i wanted to do was be a Paleontologist, I never had support at any point in my life, now im medicated for clinical depression, shitting on your kids dream causes depression that has lasting affects, his interest in Japan can be turned into a interest that becomes a Career, such as metallurgy, art, animation, farming ect.
I'm an American who has lived many years in Japan. The problem many newcomers have with Japan is that they thought the grass was greener on the other side of the fence. They came here looking for something better or different than what the were experiencing in their home countries. Then they find out that Japanese, like everyone else, have to work for a living. Those who come to Japan go through stages. First is the "honeymoon" stage, were everything is fun and interesting because it is so new and different. Second is the "reality" stage, in which you begin to realize that small housing, commuting on crowded trains, and spending 10 to 12 hours a day at work really isn't that fun. Then, there is the "regret" stage, when you miss the things you took for granted in your home country. If you are less lucky, you find yourself in the "trapped" stage, having lived and worked in Japan for long enough that you have grown roots (wife, kids, etc) and couldn't leave even if you wanted to. For myself, I still love it here. I enjoy the cleanliness, the lack of crime. As I have children, I am glad they go to school in Japan, were standards are still high, and where they can't get into drugs. I like the harmony and order of things in Japan, and how everything simply just works. I started my life in Japan as a salaryman working for a mid-size Japanese company. The company apartment was small, I had to commute from Chiba to Tokyo every day, arriving in the office at 7:30 in the morning, and leaving work at 9:30 every night. It sounds rough, but the work wasn't that hard, Japan has lots of national holidays, Golden Week, Silver Week, and the winter holidays. I enjoyed drinking with friends and customers in the evenings, and occasionally getting together on the weekends, life wasn't so bad. I do other things now. I started my own business several years ago, and can work from home, or anywhere else. I enjoy traveling around the country, cycling, skiing, swimming, and sightseeing. Japan can be a great place to live if you find your place in it.
I love your honest view about life in Japan! But can you tell me how to find “a place in Japan” to live or i just simply have to work it out myself? I love to live in Japan but im afraid of work culture here
@@MiracleNikki The work culture isn't as bad as people make it out. For people who come from outside Japan, they are unlikely to be hired as full-time, permanent workers. Most foreigners are part-time workers. If your part time work is in a profession, like teaching, you will earn around 250,000 yen per month, plus a housing and transportation allowance, which is enough to live comfortably in most of Japan. For those who come to Japan with a student visa and work part time, they'll generally earn minimum wage, which is around 1100 yen per hour. This isn't enough to live independently in most of Japan. If you are inventive and work hard, you can start your own business. Japanese are not very entrepreneurial compared to other nationalities, and it is not that hard to find a niche where you can work for yourself and earn a decent, or even very nice living.
I have been living in Fukuoka with my Japanese wife for 3 years. Can't get enough of it. We both agree that the kind of people who end up disliking Japan, are the extroverts.
@@kyky2185 I don’t live in Japan but I’ve been scrolling and I found someone who does live in Japan somewhat talk about this. So I think they would do really well in Japan because Japan has a lot of introvert aspects when it comes to physical things however they are mentally extroverted. (Sorry if this is confusing again I don’t live in Japan but I found someone who does talk and they discussed this. But take this with a grain of salt just in case)
I lived in Japan for six years, while I didn't hate it, all those things that were really cool the first year, just eventually become normal, then it becomes just another place to live with all the positives and negatives of any other place. I think some people have this fantasy that Japan is going to be some 24/7 fun playground of anime, video games and cute girls and are upset when real life sets in.
I’ve been living in Japan for 12 years and have gone through all the phases mentioned. But even after the acceptance phase, I don’t think this is the place I want to raise a family in. The societal pressures, the expectations to be a mere cog that fits nicely in this huge machine and the fact that my husband and I are foreigners who will never truly belong are reason enough. I was born and raised in a more laidback country called Malaysia, and while Japan is cleaner, safer, more convenient and has it together more, there is a certain warmth (literally and figuratively) to Malaysia that Japan will never have. Japan has been absolutely meh for me when it came to establishing emotional connections. I learned enough Japanese to befriend people, but man, it’s hard to maintain friendships here. It doesn’t help that this country is a introvert’s haven - you can be left alone and not be spoken to so damn easily. I thought this place was great for an introvert like me but it took me to the far end of the social spectrum when I wasn’t careful. I have experienced isolation, depression and anxiety numerous times here especially after entering the workforce (not an English teaching job but a 9-5 at a company). The crowded trains, the rush hours and the terrible work-life balance sucks. And I even feel guilty for taking any paid leave because I was probably brainwashed by Japan to believe that sacrificing oneself to serve the collective is more honourable. So I probably gaman’d more than necessary in my time here. Will be moving back to Malaysia in a couple of years, lol. Japan’s beauty and rich culture can be easily appreciated by anyone who comes as a tourist with no strings attached. As for living in Japan long term, it’s gonna be a gamble to see if this place is suited for you.
I'm from Malaysia too! I've been idolising Japan my whole life but now I don't think I can stand their work ethic since us Malaysian is more laid-back compared to them... Maybe it's time to appreciate our country and culture lol
I loved my time in Japan. I met my wife there, and the years since have been my happiest in my lifetime. I’m currently living in the US, and I miss Japan.
I moved to Japan 20 years ago after marrying my Japanese husband. . after he sadly died I starting feeling the frustrations especially having to fill in important documents by myself. . it has been tough but I always gambarimasu ❤
I’m a mixed race Japanese person who went to school in Aichi and the US then moved to Tokyo as an adult, and I have to say my experiences in Tokyo have been pretty depressing. It’s been a rough three years, and every day I contemplate getting out of this city where I’m treated like a walking commodity. People are constantly trying to push this Western identity onto me, treating me as though I can’t speak a drop of Japanese despite reality being being the other way around (I know little about Western culture, and English is my second language). It gets in the way of my daily life, such as making bank accounts, credit cards, ordering at restaurants, and receiving unsolicited comments. I plan on leaving for some place I can just… blend in and live peacefully, where I’m not seen as a threat. Japan works for those who can pass as Japanese or for those who are fine with being the foreigner. Most of my mixed race Japanese friends who were raised in Japan have plans to leave as well because it’s heartbreaking when you are Japanese but are categorized as a “gaijin” (and the treatment that comes with the stigma) based on how they think we look.
They don’t know better and they don’t travel like Chinese people do so they push identity onto things they don’t understand at least it’s not as bad as Americans ( American countries) . You should try traveling to gain better insight
Try telling that you feel uncomfortable directly to them. If they continue to harass you, maybe call the local police. This could be a serious situation.
I would move out of Tokyo. I am mixed Japanese too, barely look Japanese at all. I lived in Nagoya and I think since that city has less foreign presence I was treated much more equally, nobody spoke English to me unless I asked
I have heard that moving to a smaller town where you become well known will eventually remove the gaijin factor and allow you to be one of the locals and blend in. Before you give up on your homeland, perhaps give that a try?
As someone who's lived in Japan for 16 years (and still here) this is extremely false. Set your expectations accordingly as your personal experience may differ.
@@kimzeroen I kind of get that there was some sarcasm involved, but I just had to throw it out there that, these phases are real. I've been through them all and that people should be careful. Even in jest. Sorry if I came across too serious XD.
@Rocky-c5e yes. Here in Japan it's live to work. I just went from shain position to part time just to get some balance. I am still making good money but now I have my days off and can enjoy my time here. My old chef worked for 5 months without a day off when we opened a new restaurant. In the last month hw started to leave early before close but that was it I watched him lose cognitive function and weight fell off him yet he still drove himself to continue.
Moving from a semi-rural or even rural area to the "Big City" is usually frustrating and depressing for most people and in many cases the opposite is true.
Yes, something similar happened to me. My family has lived in a semi-rural region since I was born. However, three years ago, we relocated to a different city and now reside in a remote location. I don't think it's a problem because they moved when I was just graduating from high school. Last year, though, I was admitted into a university in the heart of the city. I assumed that everything would be fine, but as someone who grew up in a peaceful environment, the huge metropolis is a no-no for me. It's not as if I've never been to a big city before. However, spending a complete year in a big metropolis is a another storey. Spending 2 to 3 hours there is acceptable, but 24 hours is excessive for me. Too much noise and pollution have caused me stress as a result of my inability to adapt to this new way of life. Fortunately, the university had to go into lockdown, so I'm back at home.
Yeah, most of his frustrations sound like they're from the big city environment directly. I could never live in a big city, I've been to one a couple times and just all the tall buildings/skyscrapers alone give me anxiety.
Well there’s your problem. It’s essentially a universal nature for people to feel more connected with rural locals than city ones. Take Paris for example, went there and almost everyone had the vibe of “Oh great. Another American tourist.” towards me. But when I went to the more rural areas, mainly Normandy and Brittany. Almost everyone was pleasant, some were even excited by the fact that I was an American. Not saying city folks are bad people. Their environment is just built with a more “tough love” way of social interaction. If you definitely feel more comfortable living/working rural/sub-rural, my advice, stay there. Cities all around are tough places, that’s just the way it is.
as a Japanese i kinda felt guilty throughout this video lol. i’ve always wanted to live overseas, especially the US but i figure it’s not just fun and games. i guess we just want what we don’t have
becareful in the US we are having Asian hate problems here right now so before you come here make sure you are in a safe place and with friends. In reality we love people coming from overseas. I feel like I have to apologize for the bigotry/idiots here.
@@Nonyanomo yeah i’ve been following the stop Asian hate movement a little.. i have dreams of studying abroad in the US in college so i guess I’ll just have to bare myself😭
@@spanneng ohh yes i’d love to go to Indonesia! i’m also interested in Singapore. i love south east Asia, i’m even planning to major in Thai language in college lol
@@Nonyanomo Yet media is complicit because they won't call out a certain race's violent race crimes, whilst police also don't take it seriously, perpetuating it as OK.
This is why we should not romanticize cultures, countries, languages, etc. But at the same time not disrespect the culture, people or country because they did not live up to our expectations. I think we romanticize places because we want an escape. Remember that anywhere you go, it will not be dream like. It is a real place with real people just like the place you were born in.
Yeah. Lived in Japan for 3 years. I miss it, but I made so many good friends, and yes, I had my hard times. (Throwback to getting groped on trains, and getting assaulted in alleyways because in order to reach my apartment..)
have this problem with sweden now we have a active organization working with government to make my country look better then it is and its frustrating to explain to people that sweden sint as peaceful as shown (south i recommend all visiting sweden to stay away from so with all larger cities atm included)
The biggest mistake most foreigners make when they move to a new country is they probably have never left their hometown to experience different cultures and acclimate. I am a retired vet who has stayed in many different countries experiencing many cultures , these stays range form a year maybe up to three years I personal experienced cultures like Italy ,Guam, Spain, and even Bahrain, now I am married to a Philipina and staying in the Philippines, with my experiences with different cultures, I acclimate pretty quickly to their culture and have been here for about 4 years, and I love here.
I’m currently stationed in Italy and love it so much. I’m sure the honeymoon phase will pass eventually though. I would certainly love to come back here though and hopefully get stationed in Japan, at least for a few years.
Lord, I wish I could be that lucky to visit all those places. I’ve been to England, scotland, France, Austria Belgium. I had the chance to go to japan, but I was terrified of the flight time. I’ll prolly regret that the rest of my life 🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ but I absolutely fell in love with London and Cambridge. Beautiful cities, I felt like I was home. But thats going to another english speaking country. We struggled a bit in Belgium, the specific town we went to was on the german side of WWII so they were *NOT* fans of the americans. I say also have a Canadian badge stuck somewhere on your person wherever you go that way they think you’re Canadian instead.
Been living here for 9 years. I went through the depression stage somewhere in my 4th or 5th year--due to loneliness and feeling isolated. Japan does a good job at making you feel invisible. After that, I stopped caring, moved to the countryside, got a few dogs, and life has never been better. I enjoy the cultural differences and learning from my japanese coworkers. I think you need to let go of expectations and just roll with it. :) Edit: By rolling with it, i mean do your own thing, focus on your goals/dreams/hobbies and don't try to fit in. If anything, *don't* fit in.
Idk I was feeling the same way when I moved from Russia to Italy(it wasn’t my choice tho, my mother married italian and I was a minor so I couldn’t do much) I also felt A LOT of depression especially after 4-5 years and I just came back home to Russia and Im happy again I would never go anywhere from here 🙏 My point is you dont have to “roll” with that these emotions mean its not your place and you should move out. You story made me sad idk this “just roll with it” mentality seems pretty sad to me but hey if you truly happy thats great
@@Pirogok01 hi! Thanks for your concern. I'm glad you found a place where you truly feel happy and got over your depression--and for taking the leap and following your happiness. I've been to Italy once and loved it, but living there must be completely different. Dont worry about me! I'm pretty happy here. This is actually the 4th country I've lived in. And I appreciate Japan for making me a stronger, don't-give-a-sht person in general. my dogs also help me realize that sometimes, home is where you make it to be. Not the country (unless your country has become uninhabitable due to reasons ofc).
@@alexone7519 I think the large emmigration out of there might give you a clue that you probably should wait a little until things get better stabilized again if you plan on actually living there once more...
I moved from one EU country to another EU country and went through exactly the same phases. One thing I love about Japan (as tourist) is silence. The lack of background chatter at airports, subways etc. is a blessing.
As a Japanese, I would advice: Choose your job carefully, really carefully!! I guess you can assume that 50% of jobs here are super stressful not only for foreigners but also for Japanese-born Japanese. Luckily I don't feel much stress with my current job at a tech company, but I hear a lot about work related stress from my friends working at public schools, public hospitals, domestic banks, etc, etc.
As a 31 year old man I now know that I won't be running through the grass in inuyasha in Japan to save Kagome from evil spirits and I also know now that there is not a Gundam waiting for me and there's not a master roshi waiting to train me, and final fantasy is not happening somewhere on a island off the coast of Japan. but yall sure fooled me.
I've been here 8 years now, married, have a child and a house and could hardly imagine moving back. I absolutely love living in Japan!! That being said, I think your points and description of phases of adjustment are pretty accurate. Personally, I visited Japan many times before moving here. One of those times was for a full year as an exchange student to study the language. If possible, I would strongly suggest visiting Japan before jumping in head-first. Knowing you have the return ticket those first few times is a mental safety net when the culture shock hits, and then if you still are convinced you want to move here, you'll have that experience and it will be a much softer landing.
Yea seems kinda crazy to just move to a country for the long term without actually visiting it first. I would also suggest that people explore the different regions which have different feels to them to see where they may want to live. Not everyone is cut out for life in Tokyo and that is ok. Other parts of Japan are less hectic. Last time I was in Sapporo I felt like it was a place I could easily live.
@@tbs8006 It could, but in no world IS it considered immoral. The world would be unbelievably boring if cultures didn't interact with one another, the biggest superpower in human history with the biggest economy, some of the smartest people alive along with the biggest cultural effect on the rest of the world is a country of immigrants.
I first lived in Japan for 1 year after falling in love with the country. I never was, still ain't, a fan of anime or manga. That was never the drawing point for me. I really loved the overall culture. The people, the food, the language, the things you can do here etc. I learned Japanese and I speak nothing but Japanese with my girlfriend. I also had many many japanese friends since day 1. So I had a very very lucky start in Japan. With many amazing memories. But one year later, I felt I had to move back. Which I did. But I then felt regret, thinking that I did this prematurely. So I moved back to Japan 2 years later. This time, I've been here for 3 more years and now, once again, I'm moving back home. The main reasons are related to the hard working culture that I can't get used to (I come from Sweden). And for each thing I love, there are so many parts that get me frustrated. Many things in Japan, in terms of opinions and technology , are so behind. And it's not just because culture is different. You can see things heading the same direction as many things in the west, just way more slowly. I wonder if this is due to new ideas spreading more slowly in Japan due to the lack of english and the inability to consume non-japanese media. Sometimes I feel like it's 2002 or something. At some point, even the small things become irritating. Like filling out paper applications for everything instead of being able to do it quickly over the internet. Or even the "tatemae" part of the culture (how to behave socially, being supernice and showing interest even if you'd strongly dislike the person). At first, I thought it was really nice, but now I can't stand it. It feels so unnatural saying something trivial about yourself only to have everyone react like you've been to the moon.
Hi What is the difference between Japan and Sweden? What is the most thing you liked in Japan and Sweden doesn’t have it ? Would you prefer Sweden or Japan as a country you will stay in it forever? Do you advise me to travel to Japan? Thanks for your time ❤️
Well, I guess it's because westerns are more liberated and easterns (japan at that) are still and would be conservative. There is always a fault in every country. Maybe somewhere did too much or too less but nonetheless, there's no place like home, like the place you've grown up to.
We are often intrigued by other cultures, traditions, and looks while taking our own stuff for granted or even hate in comparison. But once we go into details, we often start seeing the bad and the ugly side of those things, and we may start feeling homesick. This might not happen with everyone, but this is my personal experience.
That should definitely be a main takeaway watching this. But Japan/Korea vs. western countries is a very specific case. Japan in particular because of its western-fetishization (e.g. Christmas-KFC; rampant English3 schools), that is just as strong as 'weeaboo' and 'koreaboo' obsessions. They had *so* much economic success in the 80s, and cultural popularity in the 90s, but still held on to more conservative cultural traditions. So it makes for the perfect circumstances to attract expats to live abroad and be disillusioned (in both directions)
Same here, the things I used to hate so much back home, when I lived in South East Asia I found out that yet they are in every culture environnement and family no matter the culture or the country, the way movie industry has portrayed their countries is full of bs. Unless you live in that country for 5 years average you wouldn't know
i love Japan, i was there for like a year and went back home due few things i had to settle, i cant wait to get back to Japan and live life as i wanted
I'm living in Japan now as an exchange student, the first month was amazing, but the second month has been one of the worst time of my life, I felt so depressed almost all time, you feel so alone, even if you have some friends, almost all of them are another exchange students, but japanese people don't talk to you, and if you don't know the language (as me) it will be worst, and you don't feel as part of the country or culture, but you need to make a routine in a strange country, with strange people. Another important thing, even if you have seen things about Japan (or any country) you won´t be able to experiment all of them, that is the difference between a tourist, and someone who moves for a long time, as a tourist you will see specific things, but in my case, as a student, I need to priorize my studies, and I can hang out as I'd wish, before coming here I was so excited, planning so many things, but now I'm not so sure if I'll be able to see all of them.. Now, in my third month I started to feel more confortable, I realize that is something normal, and there are so many people who feels in the same way, I started to understand the routine, the place, the traditions and the behaviour of the people. I started to feel more confortable, I understood that is my first time living alone, in a total different society, and even with the bad, I'm pretty sure that I want to come back again, knowing the language, and with less expectations from the country, and more expectations on myself. If you recently move to another country, and feel in the same way, don't give up, everything is gonna be better
Hi. We don't know each other and never will... But i just wanted to cheer you on in these hard times of yours. I know it's strange, pahaps a bit wierd, but i care for all people whom may struggle a bit. Remember that you do you, and while you ofcause have to fit the new box, you're still you, and doing a great job at being so! Life can be tough. Enjoy those around you, pahaps try to find yourself again instead of being lost within. It's easier said than done, that i know myself. This is nothing tricky thing to make you buy stuff, nor am i a bot 😅 Cheers from Denmark, and thanks for you being you 💪🥳
Yes I was also wondering which program you took, because I want to do a semester there as a highschool student but don’t know a lot of Japanese. Also how much have you paid? Thanks so much your initial comment helped too, lol
This is really well explained and they warned us about these phases at the beginning of exchange study. I was waiting when the drastic turn would come but my experience with Japan was fairly good and I never felt like I got into the frustration phase while I was living there for a year. But truth is I wasn’t working there but studying at university in the centre of Tokyo. And every day was an adventure. Perhaps a working experience would be very different. Although I admit there were times I felt alone (like when corona came to disturb the peace of everything…), there were days I realized I haven’t talked to a human being for two days as the automated cashier at supermarkets or automated devices for anything didn’t require social interaction. Sometimes I just went to shop attendants asking for goods acting interested as it’s their job to talk to customers so I could practice my Japanese even in times of corona and feel less alone…I know it sounds desperate but it wasn’t really. They can be really nice and kind even though it’s mostly just “tatemae”. In a land where a foreigner can never become fully accepted no matter how good their Japanese is you are grateful for little things. And once foreigners take off the pink glasses and realize this and accept Japan for what is things become much easier. Despite that one can still enjoy video games or anime.
Repent for your sins! Judgement is coming, believe in the Gospel an you'll be saved from your sins and hell! salvation is meant to be spread to everyone, especially to those u don't believe in Jesus.
Excellent video! I never was able to put into words what I went through when I moved to the US from the Philippines to go to college. I had wrongly assumed I was very westernized and could assimilate quickly. The culture shock feelings in the video are very universal! Thank you for this video!
So actually, as being pointed out. You may feel angry and frustrated when moving to Japan because you did not study up on it. Didn't take into account that you would be very much alone if you didn't work hard on establishing friends (Japanese friends, not foreigners in transit) And maybe it's good to have a slightly higher ambition than an English teacher. Moving to Japan for some good old food alone seems strange. If however you move to Japan because it is, despite the massive amount of people, almost silent on the commuter train in the morning, there is little to no litter in the streets, everyone is polite and goes out of their way not to bother anyone. And maybe even try to understand that there must be a different mentality that makes these things possible and that it must be quite different from the western world. I guess what I'm trying to say is that one has to understand that to enjoy the amazing parts of Japan and Japanese culture, you also need to understand how Japan has become the way it is and play your part at the same level as Japanese people do. You will never find hundreds of people organizing in neat rows down the train platform in the morning, matching exactly where the doors of the train stops, anywhere else in the world. If that's not for you, then yes, maybe Japan is not the right place.
Well said, that is the feeling I get when I was living there. I wanted to be a part of that society, where everyone is polite and minds their own business, and you on life enjoying all the fun things Japan has to offer.
You literally described everything I went through when I moved to the UK. That was some of the most sweet and sour times of my life, but once I hit the acceptance phase, life got a lot better. The key thing is to fight the urge to hole yourself away from everyone and become a hermit. Finding that friend base makes all the difference. Great video!!
As a Brit, I can only imagine what trying to adjust to the UK must be like. Well done, it's a tough place! Let us celebrate with some disgusting food and awkward smalltalk! :D
I occasionally receive some patients with depression from culture shock and other problems from immigrating to the US. I can imagine how much more difficult it is to move full time to Japan. If anything, living part-time in Japan during the year seems like a much more appropriate method for your quality of life.
I love both of your honesty, really appreciate it. What you said but making yourself happy first and then challenge so that you can recharge and try again - works with so much of life. I really needed to hear that right now. Thank you.
In my eyes the perfect example of culture shock is what happend to my friend, we where both born and raised in Brazil, but when we where around 12 years old, his family moved to Canada, I remember clearly how excited he was in the pictures seeing the snow for the first time, and how jealous I was because I never experienced something like that. Fast foward to recent days, we are chating on the internet, and I can feel his anger because its his turn to clear the snow in his house.
This is so accurate. I've been here years and whenever friends and family members ask how Japan is, they're so shocked at my less than enthusiastic "Meh, it's life, it's normal" response. I think the hardest thing for me was the depression and loneliness for the first couple year, the making friends as they were moving away thing was really hard on me. The income ceiling is now becoming more of an issue as I'm trying to figure out how to start a family in the future.
Big difference is you wanting to start a family. Moving overseas just doesnt sound like a good idea if you are wanting to build a family. Thats common sense…No matter where youre going. Travelling abroad not just for vacation is something a person is only going to do if they arent looking for a family. Its for ppl wanting to actually experience things. Having a family just cuts straight into that. This is 100% your fault.
I would be definitely upset if I kept making friends who were perhaps expats like me only for them to end up moving away. Plus the income ceiling would be very problematic. Especially as most likely a lot of us who wants to move there, on this we had a lot of money stock piled up, would most likely have to get a standard Japanese apartment and pay terribly high prices on everything except for perhaps food along with an average salary. That income ceiling is definitely a big worry and if I knew I wasn’t going to get a job that would start paying me higher within the first two years then I would definitely reconsider ever moving to Japan unless it was during my retirement years and would just stay in Europe if not move to New Zealand or Australia.
@@danielwhyatt3278 actually, the apartments here are super cheap, the food is really expensive though. Taxes are ridiculous. But the apartment situation is doable until you look into moving apartments. Then there are tons of fees.
@@bradkirchhoff8264 You're right. Me wanting to start a family now is exactly why I shouldn't move over sees, which includes returning to a country that I have no experienced skills to make a living in. In stead I should definitely stay in the country I live in, which is Japan. No unfortunately a TEACHER'S salary is very small. TEACHERS should be paid enough to be able to have families. Or do you want to argue that it's my fault for deciding to be a teacher?
I'm Canadian, but I grew up in Japan and was raised Japanese for the most part until the age of 15 when my family and I moved to Canada, for me to attend an English high school to be more "Canadian". After moving here, I got so depressed and felt so out of place that all I wanted to do was move back to Japan. I visit home (Japan) pretty often and am treated as a native there instead of as a foreigner because of my background and personality (perhaps a controversial opinion, but there are differences between Western and Asian personalities). I meet a lot of people here in Canada with plans to live in Japan, but I can almost instantly tell who'll be coming back and who won't, just from their reasonings and lifestyle. So I do think that a lot of people construct this idea of what it would be to live there based on pop culture, and instead hate it because they forgot to consider the social constructs within the country. And don't get me wrong, I'm not judging (except for weebs), because I did the same thing before moving to North America; by planning my new life around ideas built on western teen movies/tv-shows (hello Lizzie Macguire) and western teen magazines ('sup Seventeen). I love Japan and feel at peace when I'm there, but I am aware of the country's societal issues. I had a point before writing this, but I forgot what that was..so I guess what I'm trying to say is that any international move can come with turbulent culture shocks, and how you'll feel in the long run will really depend on your reasons for moving and how that country fits your lifestyle (if that makes any sense).
As a Westerner who has made Japan his home for half of his life, I've got to say that Japan has been very good to me. My professional work has been "niche" work, and Japan has been the "niche".The Japanese people have been very nice to me, and I show them my appreciation by bowing and smiling to them.
I agree in the sense that most of what he is describing is not necessarily specific to Japan but common across all immigrant experiences. The only thing that differs is the initial motivation for moving, which for most immigrants is economic or for the preservation of life, but for most expats from the first world its completely different.
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Has this video given you some ideas on how to make your dream of living in Japan come true? Let me know!
hello! :)
Great video! I experienced the same ups and downs when I moved from the US to Greece, and I'm Greek by heritage and knew the language fairly well when I went there. That 2/3 of unseen aspect of local culture really throws people for a loop. I even felt some of the same when I moved back to the US, because much of the Greek culture stuck with me. Moral of the story, prepare and have realistic expectations with any new country you go to.
Does bokksu have nuts I'm allergic?
@@tylerhampton376 I facepalmed at your question and was almost kinda rude / honest with you lol. but I only just woken up.
No, Japan is not a country in which I could live permanently. I think the saying explains it aptly: "You can get a Swabian to leave his homeland temporarily, but you can't get his home region out of his heart." After spending 3 weeks in Japan once in my life, it felt like something was calling me home. Even if those 3 weeks are among the most relaxed of my life, I know that my place is next to the descendants of the Alemanni.
My niece was always dreaming living in Japan. She learned Japanese and then moved to Osaka for her MB. After graduation she moved back to Europe and never talked about Japan again.
😂
oop-
😂 can TOTALLY get that ! hope shes living a great life in EU
@@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587 that’s exactly what I said lmfao
Danggg 🤣
I have a Japanese friend that moved from Japan to Sydney and he described Japan like a theater play. It’s good and entertaining when you’re the audience (tourist), but if you’re one of the workers at the backstage (locals and residents), it’s stressful.
After a decade in Japan, I concur with this view. Spot on
My Thai friend who lives and works in Japan also says the same thing. Japanese friendliness is superficial, you can't really trust anyone if don't know them since childhood.
@@khanitthanank7982 having spent 10 years in Japan and 15 years in Thailand, I would trust a Japanese person long before I would a Thai. Sorry, sad but true especially as I am currently married to a Thai and have Thai family.
@@jerry72 I agree and that's definitely sad ):
@@khanitthanank7982 it is mate. But at least my wife is the most honest person I have ever met and she's Thai, there are good and bad in all races.
This actually applies to moving to any new place. The novelty wears off and the honeymoon ends. Then everything is negative, irritating, or dull. Eventually the balance is reached and we get to accept things the way they are.
What makes the biggest difference is the people you may have around.
And the hobbies/things you do in your daily life, because real life actions have a huge impact on how you feel and think about the world.
I feel Japan is worse though. Most people just think of polite, food, anime, cool stuffs when come to Japan. A lot of people move to Japan have no intention to actually settle in with Japanese culture - outside of the food and pop culture, but expect this perfect place where they will be different.
Yep! And not just moves either.. New jobs, relationships, and anything new. Honeymoons don’t last forever. It’s about managing your expectations. Location doesn’t make you happy (it can supplement and help); what you choose to do with your time determines your happiness!
That’s why learning about the reality of the country you want to move to is extremely important. For example, I want to migrate to the US in a few years time and I’ve spent countless hours learning about the culture and rules that go on over there so I won’t be caught with my pants down just because I don’t understand the general stuff that goes on over there
@@KelRobbins Eventually we all have to take our own initiatives to find our own happiness
I've lived here for 18 years, still love it. The secret? I've never worked for a Japanese company. Remote and solo. Japan is an absolute playground outside of work life.
we cant all work remotely ?
@@daymenleo6895 this suggestion if for people that can lol, if u cant just don't live there, nobody said u had to work remotely
@@daymenleo6895skill issue
I’ve been to Japan. Loved it. What makes it an absolute playground for you?
You just stayed as a permanent foreigner.
You can hate anything after a while. People shouldn't romanticize places.
how do you romanticize a place the main reason people want to move to japan is because how good it looks in anime
@@noodle7515 I think that’s why people romanticize Japan
@@noodle7515 Exactly, people are romanticizing Japan because of what they see in Anime.
Too much anime if you ask me
@@sexturnsmeoff3401 no i’m pretty sure they meant romanticize. regardless the two words are nearly synonymous in this case
been here 12 years. have made lots of friends and even got married. my advice is find a hobby and pursue it, you will meet a lot of friends that way. my hobby was attending underground punk and metal gigs every weekend. people are more likely to attempt to talk to you if they already know something specific about you. I didn't feel much culture shock. i went in assuming everything would be different, and ended up being happy when it wasn't as different as I thought. I've been invited to go along on tours with bands in their van and have been able to travel all over Japan; from rural areas to big cities. It's been an amazing adventure.
Hell yeah 🤘
People at these shows are usually the more westernized types. Happy for you man :)
Damn they have underground punk in japaaan? Where were these shows? And did the japanese there speak good english?
As someone else who has lived here for a decade dude is 100% right. Especially in Tokyo its so easy to feel super disconnected
Sounds great men
When I moved to another country, I’ll never forget what they told us “Once you move out of your country or culture bubble, you will feel like you don’t fit in the new country because it’s not your people and the way of thinking and feeling will be different. But WHEN you come back home, you will feel like you don’t fit there anymore because your horizons have expanded, your way of thinking is gonna be WAY different from the one you used to have back home and now you will end up with your OWN bubble. Once you move away from your people, you will no longer have “people”, you’re now on your own.”
That really hit hard with me and saw it everywhere. Even internally in my country with those moving from the countryside into the city and then going back. Those expat phases are no joke and you need to be really mentally and emotionally strong if you’re ever gonna move to another country.
As a professional sailor this really hits home...
also apply to when you have new group of friends but it's more subtle
this is where family is important
Why do you want to make me want to cry
This happened to me back in the 1970s even though I stayed home. I simply got involved in soccer. Not many other Americans liked it back then, and I didn't really feel at home in America anymore. (In particular, people I thought of as open-minded and accepting of other cultures turned out not to be so open-minded or accepting of other cultures.) Nor did I feel fully at home in other countries because of other cultural differences. Today, however, there are enough soccer fans in America that I do feel more at home, but it was quite disorienting.
I work as a virtual English teacher and teach Japanese students and I agree. Most of the students they seemed exhausted but I still appreciate their politeness. Even though they are closing their eyes, they still answer all the given activities. 😅
Are you sure they were closing their eyes, and it not just their natural look
@@NotYourUncleRuckus pretty sure you can see when an asiatic person has his eyes open
@@NotYourUncleRuckusokay racist lol
Didn't want to laugh 😢
@@NotYourUncleRuckusstop!!!!! 😹😹😹😹😹😹😹
I moved to Germany close to 6 years ago, and I went through that whole process you mentioned in the video. I don't think it's really about Japan, the cultural shock can hit you anywhere you go. But I imagine the expectations are going to be way higher when someone is a big fan anything and everything Japanese.
I'm currently living in Germany and moved here 3 years ago. Hadn't made any high hopes here but for me Germany is boring.
@@luigi2837 I completely get what you mean 😁. But regardless of that, moving to a different country with a different culture and ways of doing things is always a shock. At the point in life I am, I only care about having a good satisfying job that allows me to live a comfy life, so I can enjoy my hobbies. I might not ever move to Japan, but I can go on holidays as often as I want 😎
@@luigi2837 Well, two years of the time you've lived here was under lockdown or semi-lockdown. That sucks. :(
Been born in germany lived here for 20 years and i still hate it.
So japan would be the same or better. How can rock bottom be below rock bottom
@@dageta7742 According to what I've heard from a few Japanese people I know, working conditions are really not so good. I've been working here since 2016 and never had a problem. Nobody came to bother me, or treat me any different because I'm not German. Salary is enough to live very comfy and I get 28 days of holidays a year. One of my friends works in IT and has like 8 days a year. And then there's the transportation issue, having to get into those packed trains and everything. I would love to live there, but not work.
My biggest tip for avoiding culture shock is to throw yourself into studying Japanese in an ENJOYABLE way during the honeymoon phase. The frustration phase will be a lot easier if you have Japanese friends who you can spend time with, adopt the culture from and not worry about them leaving the country in the next few months.
I struggle with talking to people. Making friends is very difficult for some reason.
@@d.o.p.d.o.p.1775 As someone who used to struggle with talking to strangers, I would suggest frequenting bars (you don't have to drink alcohol, but it helps) or partaking in hobbies. This helped me while I was in Okinawa and I went from zero Japanese friends to having more Japanese friends than American friends. I even learned a small bit of Japanese language and culture this way.
I never experienced culture shock, my trick is that I'm anti-social and not a tourist.
@@h2t26 You do sound miserable though.
Agreed. Hanging out with people who like what you like would help. From what I hear they like to have parades. So find some people to go with you.
Most people really underestimate just how different different cultures are.
"The cultural iceberg" is a good representation of this.
true
Precisely. People should learn those unspoken social norms instead of grammar when learning a new (culture and) language. It's far more useful.
I'm for instance learning many languages just for the hell of it, including Japanese, but I ain't going to pretend that I know anything about living in the country, because, yeah, the language is 80% of the way, but without the other 20% that is the culture, you are basically lost.
Goddamn truth son!
This was fun!
Replace "Japan" with "Los Angeles"
and "English Teacher" with "media/entertainment"
And what you mentioned pretty much applies almost exactly to anyone moving to LA to work in the business
Takes forever to get anywhere (replace the train with the freeways)
Work culture shock and politics - no one says "no"
Unspoken by rigid pecking order on any film/tv set, or music recording studio
(even the "become friends with LA natives" - it really helps)
@sashavie -- Good point! You don't have to change counries completely to end up in a different culture than you're used to! Difference is that you already mostly speak the same language, excepting any local idioms and slang, ofc.
Do you currently live in LA?! I do and I’m also traveling to Japan this next yr
So important to be realistic while one has this love/infatuation of Japan. Not everything is sunny and roses, no matter where you are. Thanks for the reality check!
Hi Langa! Long time no see! Yes, always good to have balanced view!
@@MrsEats I'll always come back to this channel! 😊
@@MrsEats the part where your husband had to sleep in the living room for saying the wrong thing was so funny 🤣🤣🤣
Exactly. No matter where you are
This reflects every country. There is no utopia...
A lot of good advice in this video. My own advice is this: early on, when you're in the "honeymoon phase", make as many Japanese friends as possible, join activities and clubs, and just immerse yourself in Japanese society as much as you can. (Do *not spend all your time with overseas friends at this point.) This will all be exhausting, but exciting as well, and your language and cultural skills will grow a lot because of it. Then later, when the initial excitement wears off, your will already have the skills and perspective, and local network to help you cope. At this point, also feel free to seek out a community of 'like-minded' ex-pats if you wish. Anyway, this is how I did it, and my experience living in this country has overall been fantastic. Oh, I've been here 20 years now, in case you were wondering.
While I ended up moving home after 3 years, I completely agree with your strategy. I'd recommend everyone to utilise that honeymoon energy. In the first month of being in Japan, I did exactly the same thing as you did and made great friends that helped me throughout my entire stay. Having semi-decent familiarity with the language and gaining the rest via total immersion early on was the way to go. Were it not my plan to marry my non-Japanese fiancé, I would have stayed much longer.
@@Curious-traveler That’s what I said. 😈
(evil laugh)
I would add that the “befriend as many people as possible while in the honeymoon phase” advice is applicable to any foreign country you are living in, whether it’s France, Mexico, Vietnam, etc...because in the end, we would find ourselves missing our home country more (unless you are a refugee from a war-torn country, of course)
Thank you so much for that great advice. If I ever get the chance to move to Japan someday I’ll definitely remember to do as much of this as possible.
Damn I can't even make friend in my own country
I always dreamed about living in Japan - as a kid. But as I got older I started to reconsider. Today, I don't think I'd just move to another country without doing a) proper research on living conditions and b) truly reflect on why I'm drawn to this country. Because moving to a country because of pop culture of probably not working out ...
Cool
I think of moving to Japan. Not because of anime or anything related to entertainment, I just think it's a better place to live than fucking Brazil. I will not be rich, but I'll certainly not be poor. I'll be able to live a economically comfortable life and buy some things I want as long as I'm single, and if I eventually decide to build a family, it'll be not as hard as it is in Brazil. Sure, that requires dedication to learning their language, culture and actually knowing what to do there, which job to choose for example. But that's an effort I'm willing to make.
@@pardolagames8994 you need to do quite a bit of research on discrimination and tacking advantage of foreigners. You may infact be worse off.
@@bethanydavis9023 Rewrite the last phrase please. What is "You may infected be worse off" supposed to mean?
@@pardolagames8994 I think they meant the discrimination you may face while in Japan may affect you. Some countries may discriminate against someone of a different skin color or race and try to get over on you when it comes to buying and doing something's. Hopefully that made some sense
This is the most honest channel I've ever come cross. Nice one guys
Even eating out of garbage cans 3 times a day in America beats having to eat rice 3 times a day everyday forever in Japan but sadly that's all they can afford.
Well how many ways can you eat rice? Rice pudding, rice paddies, rice soup etc. Get the point? Who would want to eat rice the rest of their life but that's all you can afford when you live in Japan
So the cons are: Loneliness, Depression and Lack of Money.
Well, I have these three since the day I was born, so I guess I'm prepared lol
Lol the answer is be Rich and you'll be fine.
Same...
Same
🤣
@@psyckknows not in 3rd world countries.
It all depends how you make of it. When you move to Japan you cannot have a “tourist” mindset. You almost need to have a “business” mindset. Sooner rather than later, you need to make friends and acquaint yourself with Japanese locals and day to day activities. I think the longer the honeymoon phase, the harder it’ll be down the road.
+If you find a job that you absolutely love you're probably going to want to work on it more and more
probably still going to Japan, just more prepared than others
@@jacobfredman9442 if you find a workplace or a department that already have a couple of foreign employee, it will make your experience better there, because the rest of the japanese employee already used to or expect to have a relationship with a foreigner so its easier to have a circle of friend there
@@skyh3r0es Thanks! definetly going to help me in finding an Ideal Job there :))
Well if you wanna Live in an ant Society japan is perfect. Prepare to find out how would a robot Society be like.
Good thing that I life in the west.
I was born with no natural interest in relationships with other people so a place in which you need to make friends wouldn’t work for me.
Japan is amazing for holidays. But not for living
I'm here before someone said "you are everywhere"
yea pretty much
Oh hi, Mak. Why am I not surprised?
Exactly
Same for Italy 🙃
YES! This video is so helpful. I have tried living in other countries and found it very challenging. I moved to Mexico from the US last year. I have some advantages, I'm familiar with the city and have family here, but I don't speak Spanish, and I moved here in part to learn the language, something very challenging at my age. I miss my friends terribly and it takes time to develop new friendships. I'm so grateful to be here with my 84 year-old mother but I know it will take time to feel like home.
Im a Japanese that lived in both Japan and in the U.S. and personally know many foreigners living or wanting to go to Japan.
This may sound a bit insensitive and judgmental, but if you’re the introverted and the anti-social type, you’ll eventually start hating living in Japan. I often come across some youtube videos or instagram posts portraying Japan as an “introvert paradise”, but thats simply based on the surface aspect of Japanese society without understanding any of the daily lives in Japan. Japanese society/culture puts ALOT of emphasis on group mentality, communication, and having to interact with others all the time. It is nowhere near an “introvert paradise” as some foreigners want to portray it. You have to understand that being alone in your private time is almost like a reward in Japan. This is more true if you live in the big cities like Tokyo, where you’ll often see restaurants and other services where they specifically cater towards single customers. Social phenomenon like the hikikomori(shut-ins) happen because they mentally “burned out” from having to deal with this daily life. I would even say that being anti-social and introverted is alot more easier and accepted in western countries than Japan.
I think we can agree that alot of the younger foreigners wanting to live in Japan are the weeaboo types. I know Im being judgmental, but alot of them tend to lean towards the introverted side. Not every foreigner or weeaboo are this way, but it will be a huge hindrance for them to learn about the Japanese language, the cultural norms, and Japanese people’s behavior if you are an introvert. Alot of them simply cannot get out of their comfort zone(the gaijin bubble) and miss out on the opportunity to integrate themselves into the country. You HAVE to go through the embarrassing and awkward moments with people at the beginning if you want to enjoy living in a foreign country. Alot of introverted people avoid this without realizing that its part of the process.
And if you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, or any type of mental health, moving to Japan isnt going to help. You’re going to be going through tremendous amount of language and cultural barriers in a completely foreign environment from your own home, while struggling with mental health. I seriously dont know why some foreigners think that moving to Japan will magically make their depression go away. It wont. And Japan isnt responsible for taking care of you. Theres a difference between being polite and being friendly, something you have to understand if you want to survive in Japan.
Btw, the exact same thing could be said for Japanese people wanting to live overseas. I used to teach English communication as a part time job back in college, and you can already tell whos going to have a good time and whos going to struggle in foreign countries. Its usually not their language skills that matter, its their personality and having the right mindset that really determines whether they can adapt to a foreign environment or not.
Wow, very informative! 😁But what's a weeaboo? I was interested in Japan, to possibly move there one day. But they have winter. And some of the things you described would probably keep me from living there. Everyone thinks the grass is always greener on the other side. It seems to be at 1st, when you move somewhere. But societies issues are everywhere. 😟 And missing food from your former state, or country IS a problem!! 😳 When I moved from the N.E. of the USA down to Florida. It WAS like a different country. For several reasons. It literally took me 3 yrs to get used to it. North & South living is vastly different. By laws, living, people, work, foods, and the chaos is on another level in FL. 😳
Thx for the info
@@wendysavvy4351 a weeaboo/weeb is someone one (usually western) who is *really* into japanese culture/anime/manga. I use to be in that stage but as for late I haven't touched anime in quite a while.
This post is pretty good, it's a great reminder that at the end of the day life is life, and Japan isn't just some fantastical place where these problems will magically disappear.
@@patrickstar8132 Thank you, for letting me know! 😀 I was always interested in Japan, and anime is definitely creative. I will probably visit Japan. My friend used to live there. He was on a base there for the military.
I lived in Japan nearly 10 years and was a permanent foreign resident. I repatriated only because of the economic bubble burst in 1993. I would go back to live in Japan now that I am retired. I agree about a majority of foreigners are short term residents. I have lived abroad and follow the proverb, “When in Rome, do is the Romans.
At least thanks to strict society they'll most likely never experience any foreign culture taking over
@@dean_l33 : I totally agree with you on that.
@@dean_l33 thankfully
@@dean_l33 In Japan’s case, why would you want to take over them? The pros about them are definitely their ethos but that’s what makes them fascinating. We like that about them. They definitely add a different flavor of what it means to be human. If anything we just wish they’d visit everyone else more. It’s like counting on Americans to always bring the party or Latinos to bring on the sex appeal, the Japanese bring an unexpected elegance and control to the party that is humanity. They’re not perfect but don’t try to be. I think one of the pros about the Internet now is that it’s facilitating the need to respect and appreciate our differences. I like to think that’s how they view the rest of us, they can appreciate us without muddying the water. I always say the land people live in is what makes them. With Japan being so isolated from the world for the most part, plus their natural disasters (plus willingness to isolate themselves based on history), most people wouldn’t want to live there and certainly not if they knew there’s other options. No, I don’t mean this in an offensive manner as I’ve lived there and loved it. Japan is a bit daunting but not unmanageable if you have the right temperament. Again, introverts will adapt to it faster and come to love it. It’s a very introverted culture that places a high value on dignity so it’s a huge shock for Americans usually especially if they’re the golden retriever but human kind. The biggest threat would probably the sex appeal of foreigners if the Japanese were ever interested and most Japanese really have no interest in dating foreigners unless they find you particular exceptional and see you can handle temporary fun (if you’re extremely attractive anywhere the same rule applies there. Now if you’re obese, that’s where they draw the line). Beauty is beauty pretty much everywhere with few exceptions and every place has it’s overtly flirtatious horn dogs that are game if opportunities show. Japan’s no different. I think the biggest shock with them is that you expect them to be saintly and “cold”; they’re respectful, disciplined and aloof but asexual they’re not. Like everyone anywhere, they just size you up and see if you’re worth the effort/risk. If they decide to play, they’re blunt about letting you know that’s as far as it’s ever going to go. If anything, the Japanese are unique in that they’re likely the ones more interested in taking over other places or even going back to the mainland than the other way around, for good reason (I think the island is fine for now but in the long scheme of things it could put them in a precarious position if certain things don’t pan out, like rising sea levels).
@@AB-sm1qf Some other country in the area like China or maybe even korea would want to take over their culture. But here in the west it is besiged on multipule fronts already
Yeah I'm more than happy to keep Japan as a travel destination.
Even Disneyland's magic would wear off if you started living there.
Disneyland's magic wore off the third time I went lol
honestly anyone who isn’t serious about studying the language and getting fluent is bound to have a bad time living in japan long term. those who are serious though, could have the time of their lives.
@@trapsenpai Yes they can have the time of their lives if only they have the money to do so lol
@@Dorimefasolatedo living in Japan since 10 years without having a lot of money. And I m loving it.
Legoland magic?
日本の文化は他国に共有できるものではないと思います！私は日本人ですが、
日本にはたくさん細かいルールがあります。
私でも難しいです🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
ぜひ旅行だけできて素晴らしさを感じて欲しいです。！
“So. I went to Japan for some Good old Japanese Fakkin “
- abe Lincoln, 1796
He probably hasn't been catched off guard - unlike.. others... ..
*Except it was* waaay less old back then. Also he wasn't born yet.
I rewind it multiple time just to make sure my ears doesn't decieve me
you mean grandpa *_ape lincoln_*
Stupid meme comment
Its all about perspective.
A lot of people don’t know what they’re getting into when they decide to move to japan.
Romanticizing about a place and having unrealistic expectations is only gonna end up in disappointment.
As long as you understand that the culture is fundamentally different and are willing to adjust, then thats all that matters.
erm but according to anime they already know what to expect cause anime is life and life is anime.
@@rjacks3284 lmao
Yes!
Adjust. Pffft, that's not in a weebs vocabulary. They expect everything handed to them.
@@rjacks3284 your life is a lie then.
I'm from India married to an Australian, he's caring and understanding. We got married and had two children within 15 months. I went through a big culture shock and loneliness, gradually I adjusted, it took few years though. This year we celebrated our 15th wedding Anniversary and 15 years in Perth, absolutely wonderful
Us Aussies are too bloody good lookin' not to stay 🤣
Hey my friends from Perth, that's cool
@@Immortal_Mentor cringe
How this relates to the video? lol
Oh tell me how difficult is it to adjust to a first world country, it's rather a privelage.
I've been living in Japan for 4 years now and love it. I'm planning to stay forever. I’ve never been shocked or disappointed by my experience here. I think long commutes, low salaries, and not knowing the local language can make anyone frustrated, no matter where they are. But those things have nothing to do with Japan itself.
Is it really that good?
I just moved to a new country and hit the frustration phase immediately. Every little interaction was so high stress and difficult, from grocery shopping to buying a train ticket. The more I get used to it, now that I’ve learned a bit more, I’m finally starting to feel ok. Now that I can somewhat function I’m working on making friends. Absolutely right that learning the language is the key.
Good luck and despite everything keep going forward 💪🏻
I also moved and it was quite hard in the beginning, but it’s a nice experience, I will c where my path Leads next :)
Yes the language barrier is probably the number 1 problem because I lived in the Uk wasn’t to bad since I spoke English since I’m from the U.S. but I would sometimes get confused because they called things differently but overall I understand everything I’m learning Japanese and I’m starting to understand I will watch anime now and I will understand what they are actually saying which encouraged me even more to learn I’m still not sure if I’m gonna move to Japan I think I’m gonna sign a contract to work as an alt for a year and if I like it I’ll extend it for longer
I’ve been living in Japan for many years, I felt all alone at first cuz I didn’t know any Japanese word. So I studied the language and work hard, and no regrets at all. Now having many Japanese friends and I enjoy living here
Unfortunately, I observed that many of the foreigners who come to Japan were expecting to be treated like “prince” and “princesses”, look down on Japanese people just because they are English speakers.
yeah honestly this isn’t to brag or anything but learning a ton of japanese before coming here (about 500 hours of reading raw manga, studying new words and sentences with anki, shadowing japanese youtubers) is what has made these past 4 years living in japan amazing for me. not only do i always get compliments on my japanese but being able to actually communicate with japanese people without struggling just opens the world for sooo many friendships, not to mention makes daily life so much easier.
For everyone who got really demotivated after watching this video. A friendly reminder that this sort of feelings described in here can be observed while moving to almost every other country you live in. I admit that I've never been in Japan, but as someone who emigrated from one country to another (with quite different culture and a different language), I can tell you from my experience that that's just how it always is when you drastically change your environment. First you're amazed by all of the new experiences, than you began to get use to all of those "new things" and begin to see all the problems, and than you either quit by that point or stay and accept things how they are. That's just the reality. Does that means that we shouldn't move to a different places in the world? In my opinion: no. But it really just depends on your personality and your attitude. Again, from experience I can tell you that you are able to overcome obstacles you'll ran into, as every problem has it's solution, and once you do that you can enjoy living in the place you dreamed of for such a long time.
Mah man spitting FACTS!!
me living in puerto rico. The stays of tourist, the land of scammers.
Exactly the correct take.
Yes, but Japan is also excessively xenophobic. For example, alot of landlords will refuse to rent an apartment or whatever out to foreigners and it is fully within their rights to do so. Japan is definitely one of the more difficult places to move to
lot of words but 0quality
I am a Japanese who left Japan to live permanently in Australia. It is really difficult to live in a foreign country, not only in Japan. Australia is a very nice country and I love Australia. I think it is a better country to live in permanently than Japan. However, it is still a foreign country to me, so I have had some very difficult times in Australia, and I still miss Japan.
In Japan, the culture is quite unique and the society is very stressful, so it is quite difficult to live in Japan even if you are Japanese. Therefore, I think the best way to enjoy Japan is not to live there permanently, but only to travel there.
Australia is a dictatorship right now lmao.
You god damn right
@@noirrain6005 I think you arę joking now
I'm thinking to go study to Japan for a year, can I ask you some advices?
@@feikschteizman5025 don’t fight with the images.
I lived in Japan for 4 years. Some of the happiest years of my life. If I could've lived there forever, I would have.
There's a reason why most anime's are all high school students, because once they go college or enter the work force they became robots, tied to a rat race and the never ending work-home-work lifestyle.
Like Americans I guess
Jesus Christ
@@Snowflake-j9d at least Americans enjoy their holidays and they can travel abroad. Japanese are secluded people and only few do travel abroad.
Yes it definitely happens there. Trust me japan is 98 %ethnic population and its very difficult for foreigners to live there.
Even in India its similar 🙂
I've been living in Japan for almost 4 years. There is a lot of struggle, but I still love this country. It's not about making friends as much as possible or tolerate everything only because you are a foreigner. Very important thing is self-awareness, to know, who you are, what you want and your motivation. And then all difficulties become weaker.
That’s a very good advice. Thanks for that. Definitely feels like you need to have self-awareness of what you yourself are doing, what you want to do and what your motivation is to keep you in that country or whether it’s best for you for your lifestyle or career to live somewhere else. I would definitely want to give it a try living in Japan someday, but I worry that I wouldn’t have the motivation or strength to stay there long enough past any sort of honeymoon phase to actually maintain a career there for long enough and be able to get over that hump and start loving the country I was in again, but I still want to give it a try. It’s better to try and fail then to have never tried at all.
I love how you said this. Pretty strong mental perspective you got there. 👌✨
Kira, give it another 10 years.
@@earlysda and that is, the receipt of unhappiness no matter where you are, which is being a pessimist.
@@earlysda I've been in Japan over 10 years and I have similar perspective to Kira Vi as do most of the expats that I know.
One reason I would not move to Japan, their "overwork" culture. I have a strong work ethic but I'm also a firm believer of not working more than what you're paid to do and not to work for the sake of working. I could easily imagine myself clashing with a typical Japanese workplace.
Karoushi has always been a problem in Japan. Murdering employees by overworking and underpaying them never helped the people in any way. Workers need to do strikes or sue the companies. Even then, some companies in Japan almost got shut down for tax evading to help workers.
" I have a strong work ethic"
I'm sorry, but that's just another way of phrasing "I believe in helping capitalists exploit me".
@@wawawuu1514 Strong work ethic simply means you do at least what you're supposed to, show up when you're supposed to, and that you don't waver from that. It doesn't mean you go above and beyond, it's very important to make that distinction and it's what corporate tends to try to make you do despite not compensating you for that extra effort.
@@bubbag02 "do at least what you're supposed to, show up when you're supposed to"
But why? Why should I do that? Barring jobs where to performed labour is actually useful or even necessary for society (like doctors, garbage collection, health services in general, etc etc), why should I lift even a single finger at work, assuming it can be avoided? I'd happily scam my way through flipping burgers at McExploitation and nobody would be off worse, except for the exploiters. I've called in sick at work before, despite not having been sick, why shouldn't I do that?
@@wawawuu1514 Ok, so you're what people call "a lazy bum". That's fine, knock yourself out. Keep working that low wage job because doesn't look like you'll be graduating from that any time soon.
I lived there for 6 years, and still love Japan even after I left. That’s why I brought my family there for vacation and we’re going back again.
Have zero expectations, you will never be disappointed. Best way to live.
I still get disappointed with that mindset
A.K.A the Stoic lifestyle?
These people are so soft
My country manages to dissapoint even when having zero expectations. We never reach the bottom rock.
I tried that with the USA. After 16 years the US cannot even reach that standard. I will be moving back to England at the beginning of 2022.
I mean, as someone who doesn’t want kids, doesn’t need “close” friends, and is ok with being single, it doesn’t seem so bad.
I see comments like this a lot, but you also shouldn't underestimate the difficulties that you could potentially face just from being a foreigner, and not speaking the language 100%. A lot of people also don't really realize how good they actually have it where they live, until they leave. Though I also realize this is probably just a joke comment, I also feel like you're half serious 😶.
@@bubblegumxo I think they are serious
@@bubblegumxo Whats wrong with that being a serious comment. I feel the same way
And here’s the thing, if it turns out you REALLY don’t like it in the end, at least you can go home/somewhere else without feeling that ‘what if’, surely having learned allot in the process.
No is not japan is racist lul
I moved to Japan over a year ago, as soon as I got there had to admit it was amazing.
Over time it got a little less exciting, but I still find it supper fun.
Where I used to live.. (aka. America) my life was extremely bland. I lived deep in the country. So life now is still much better then where I was before hand.
If you want to move to Japan make sure you know everything you need to know, research deep into everything and make sure you don’t get too excited.
I was tempted to buy a house in Japan after seeing those cheap ones in the countryside where there are very few young people and the locals consiser it isolated even though there is a train station nearby and in less than an hpur you can be in a major metropolis. Beautiful place with bamboo clad steep hills overlooking rice paddies like you alluded to though not so simple for a foreigner. If it was I would live there for half a year and enrol my kids in a local school.
@@fatwombat2611 With that you'd have to deal with a loot of racism. Most small towns in Japan are not very accepting of foreigners and you'll probably never feel like you belong. Unless you make a really good impression and have an Asian personality. (Not saying that out of racism Asian and Western personalities are very different)
I'll be ruining your 69 likes :) yw
I'm sorry, but gotta ask, why didn't you just move to one of the big cities in America instead of totally moving out of the country?? We have many.. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, San Francisco, etc
Hi I'm Rita I love you I hope you love and support meplease follow me🥰🥰
I have a lot of friends from the US and Canada who have lived here for over a decade and love it. They got married, had children, and cannot imagine moving back.
Key: adapt, immerse, have support system.
Mistakes: not learning the language, not making local friends, living day to day life like when you're back home (where everything is established, support system exists, different habits and custom). You need to make extra efforts when you move to a new culture as an adult.
Learn from kids how they can learn and adapt in new environment better.
Weak people can't cope or adapt, so they go back to what they are used to.
@@jinz0 congratulations, this is one of the most useless comment on the internet! 😊😄
@@manyamanhas5938 your one of them
Just like animals. If things difficult to live in. Just adapt.
@@manyamanhas5938 useless based on uninformative and untruthfull sources to considered it as useless. But this comment is making you realise what you lack in to live in different country. You need to adapt to the country you live in, or else you will get to the bottom and suffer.
I lived in Japan for seven years. Once the honeymoon period is up, it really comes down to how well the culture nuances suit your daily habits and social needs. It's also really hard to live somewhere that doesn't understand your native language. There's something to be said of being able to express yourself and be understood.
HELLO SIR COME TO MY CLEAN INDIA ITS BETTER 🤗🇮🇳 THIS WHY I AM VERY LUCKY AND PROUD TO LIVE IN INDIA 🤗🇮🇳 THE SUPERPOWER RICHEST AND CLEANEST COUNTRY, I CAN'T IMAGINE IF I WAS NOT BORN IN INDIA , WE ALWAYS RESPECT FOR WOMEN AND WE HAVE TOILETS ANYWHERE , INDIA IS ROLE MODEL COUNTRY TRUST ME 🤗🇮🇳 I KNOW MANY PEOPLE JEALOUS CANT LIVE IN INDIA 🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳🤗🇮🇳
@@indiasuperclean6969 Get a life my guy
I lived in India for two years. Talk about the "have and not haves". Incredible wealth - abject poverty. Scamming and violence everywhere ... I was extremely lucky as I was in an enclosed estate which had private security, and I had a driver who took me anywhere I needed to go. I also got sick and tired of hearing that every problem India had was caused by the British .... Nothing to do with the caste system, the original ruling families, the modern government .... We Brits, only left a hundred years ago. Sigh. But, in reality, the upper class Indians have homes in the UK and US and so have a wider attitude. Did I hate Indian? No. There was wonderful history, architecture, food ... But you need money.
"It's also really hard to live somewhere that doesn't understand your native language."
Well my friend, unless you're a native english speaker, that's most likely ALWAYS the case, so welcome to the reality of the world, really. Truth is that native english speakers are just really lucky that that's not always the case.
@@ccrriissttiiaannoo I don't know why you're talking down to me. I speak two languages and have traveled to more than 15 countries and lived in three.
I'm not your enemy. I don't know what you think you're teaching me.
Such a weird comment.
As a kid we were taught to be disciplined just like japanese people. This culture shock thing is mostly for Western people and not for Asians.
The part of the iceberg that we don't see is pretty similar in most Asian countries.
Yea whole asian continent have lot of cultural rules we are not like western people
I have been in Japan almost 10 years. I still love it! It has gone by so fast!! I am raising my kids here and they don't know how different and uninteresting my Childhood was!
Living in Japan for 8 years now, and the friends coming and going is definitely the biggest thing. I’m pretty fluent in Japanese, but that don’t make making friends that much easier, especially during a global pandemic
Friends are already like that for me, so it's already something I'm used to.
After college, this is just the reality of friendships in general: people only befriend you for benefits or common interests, and then distance themselves once those interests change. It's why they say those who have one-two best friends for life are the most fortunate.
@@punkgrl325 Sorry to hear you've had problems finding friends in your life, butterstix.
@@punkgrl325 oh how fortunate we are if we can a true friend who will see the goodness in us just as we do for them. 😩
Same in california. I have no friends here all my friends are through the phone / online. Don’t idealize any place.
Japan is good for social introverts. Every country and society has their own pros and cons. If one likes to enjoy freedom of doing whatever you want to do without thinking of social discipline, you should never think of Japan.
I am from third world country and for me Japan is a piece of heaven on Earth.
But isn’t social intervert literally most people who want to go there that would hate it. It’s more for business ppl
You will be forced into parties and social engagement by job
Brazilian?
@@TilleGaertner Probably Nepal or India
@@umapreciadordemacacos1001 macacos me mordam! Huahuahauhauahuahauahua.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
I can respect and love Japan just fine from a computer.
Yes for some people, Japan is good through video and food! For others, Japan is good for visiting! For Mr. Eats, Japan is good for living!
You can get much Japanese food and media locally on import stores or delivered online, even supermarkets offer some, much easier today than in years past. In many ways it filters a lot of cultural junk out for you that you simply have to deal with when living in a different country.
@@MrsEats I would never be able to live in a society where everyone wears masks (Tatemai)
Whilst I'm not interested in living in Japan, I do appreciate your honest take on living there. I feel like a lot of RUclips videos paint Japan as a utopia when it can be just as difficult as any other country you move too.
Is just like that, also, some of those Positive people that tell too many positive things about live there, may it is because they want show a lot that they are please to be there as they are in love with the culture; or they are just promotional videos, haha.
@@DarenKajiWolf or they are in their honeymoon phase..
*to not too
YOU SPELLED IT WRONG NOW ANYTHING YOU SAY IS INVALID
I WIN eeeeeeeeee
I lived in Osaka for many years loved it, Not sure this is a honest take on anything just someone trying to earn a buck, Being happy is a choice not something that a fad or fetish is going to bring long term.
Who paints this picture? All the major Japanese channels give brutally honest opinions about living there... The only youtube channels that would do this are probably people who have never been to Japan and actually lived there. Maybe these people are just happy with their life? Maybe they dont feel weighed down by unpleasant culture propaganda??? I have lived in the US for 26 years, and I hate sooooooo many things about this stupid fucking country, but I am still happy, and can sure as hell make positive videos about my life (if I wanted to make videos)
When you said "Water doesn't conduct electricity at all" with such confidence, I questioned my whole 3 years of me studying a science major🤣
Unless it is distilled water
Distilled water doesn't conduce current, as it's actually the minerals contained within water that can conduct current! The more you know^^
She blinked
I mean pure water shouldn't conduct electricity.
Same 😂
4 years in and I'm still loving living in Japan. Stuff still frustrates but it's manageable. I'm lonely mostly because of the current world wide situation, not because of Japan itself. I hope to move to Osaka soon so I can live somewhere more friendly....and waaaaay less snowy than Aomori.
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Yup, I like it too and just 20 minutes from Osaka.
Yeah, anywhere in Kansai is good. I visited Kyoto a few days and had to use the taxi. Super friendly driver. We talked and he slowed down the meter so I got a discount for the ride.
Taxi in Tokyo: *cricket sounds*
@@danielrebel1396 .....Not sure who you are asking, but I for one am not an English teacher.
OSAKA SUCKS, ITS AMERICANIZED AND VERY DANGEROUS
I was born and grew up in Yokohama. then moved to the US 30 years ago. but now I can't wait to go back to Japan and live there forever.
I am so impressed, this is not only a video about living in Japan, but ANYWHERE when living abroad in a different culture. I really appreciate the understanding of mental health and thank you for the insights!
I am Japanese who were born and raised in Japan. If it weren't for American base near my home town, I wouldn't have known how restricting our culture were. It's as if we are being programmed to act the same and be expected to act certain way. I found Western world to be liberating and this is why I moved out.
same with me but I'm from India
Too much freedom can be a bad thing. Because people in England dont hold themselves accountable for how they act, we now have hookup culture, gangs and extremists.
Yup, what Stuart Leslie said - liberation can be its own prison, really. That’s not to say that I’d rather not have it, just that it isn’t magic and won’t fix everything.
I'm still shocked at the 25k Max per year. My friends made 27k last year in America on unemployment not working.
@@fanily4072 What suprises you ? Is "English teacher" a real job in your country ? I mean they almost all don't have the neccecary degree to become a "real" teacher. You wouldn't earn that much here either, we don't even have something like ALT.
I’ve lived in Japan for 7 years now. I’m still in the isolation phase, but I’d say I’m at the acceptance stage. There are some things that really irritate me about this culture, but a lot of the people I’ve met here and know always convince me I’m on the right path, even when I’m frustrated that I haven’t made any local friends and a lot of my friends who are only here for a few years make so many more friends than I have so far. Lol I’m still trying, and I’m definitely not ready to go back yet.
I’ve got to say where you work makes a HUGE difference - finding a company that really works with your personality and work ethic is so crucial. I’ve been to both sides - the schools that are glorified play centers and schools that are so obsessed with the being the best their staff become monochrome in terms of personality and interests. (I settled happily at a school in between the two spectrums). Staying in Japan got a lot easier when I found a place I felt supported me and sincerely wanted me to stay.
Yes work life is really big factor of Japanese experience!
There are absolutely things about the culture that are simply wrong compared to cultures of other countries, but you cannot fight the current. You will become angry and exhausted trying. No culture is perfect, but the things that are worse stand out the most to you. Try to only worry about things you can change, and accept those which you cannot.
Yeah I really struggled working in Japan. Work life balance there was so toxic. Meanwhile back in the states we are all working from home and the job market strongly favors skilled labor. I gave up on Japan but I may try it when I retire or something lol
Yeah me too I'm too shy to talk stranger, even on the univ, I can't seemingly make any friends :'(
Especially when you know that they take some distances from me just because I'm foreigner lmao
It doesn’t always get better with time. I haven’t lived in Japan but I’ve been in Korea for 15 years, as soon as I came to Korea, I learned the language and the culture super quick to advanced (C1 level). I understand the culture really well, so well that Koreans don’t perceive me as a foreigner any more. But! There is still this kind of a wall between people. For years I used to think it was my problem, but then I noticed that Koreans themselves have the same problem. It’s such a lonely society. I used to practice marshal arts for 2 years in the same place with the same people meeting twice a week and we are still not real friends. It’s ridiculous. At home I would have really close friends there in a fraction of the time. But here it just doesn’t happen. And people don’t make time for each other. I’ve been trying for so long, but I’m just done now. I’m waiting for the time I can go back home and make some real friends.
From what I heard about new mom's leaving the work place, it's not just them quitting on their own, it's that their sometimes pressured or encouraged to leave...
As someone who's quite used to moving, it's usually the beginning that's hardest for me, the innate fear of change makes me slow to accept adapt and move forward but once I get over that I usually blend into my surroundings easily and make friends with some beautiful weirdos wherever I go
After that you get racist bullying
Fair Comment.Thnak your ro sharing. ♥️♥️♥️♥️
Lol, im the same, first i hate the place then i open up and find friends in the first month living there.
Love this comment :3
i guess this is why anime character are so persistent and determined
🤣🤣🤣🤣
and depressed lol
Isn't that same with every hero in the world?
LMAO😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I think that's why they wanna get isekai hahahha
I lived for seven years in Japan, I’m on my way back next summer. Japan is not an easy country but it changed my life. I am happily married, we have two amazing boys. I never had a dull day, people were extremely friendly. Of course I had to work very hard to learn the language, the people, the cultural differences. I had to fight my way up to become something else than an English teacher. What an amazing journey. I love Japan, the people, the culture … but it’s not for everyone.
Oh well, wish you a happy life
what do you do now if you dont mind me asking
@@habib3059 I’m an interpreter and a translator. :)
Good luck to you
Are you from India?
My co-worker was sooooo obsessed with Japan. All she could talk about was J-pop, Japanese food, how much Japan culture is better in every way, about her Japanese lessons and ofc how Japanese people are so much more beautiful. She said she would never marry anyone from Europe, she will marry only Japanese man. Well... she quit her job, her social media was literally a flood of content about her moving to Japan. After some time she posted less and less, then her profile went to private mode. I asked her close friend if Iggy is ok and she said Iggy came back and now she's in the therapy because she made her whole life about Japan and it turns out it was a nightmare for her and now she wants to forget about it. I think she came back during that frustration phase, there's a chance she would be fine if she waited few months more
Been here 8 years. I initially wasn’t really sure if I wanted to live here. My wife is from here and convinced me we should stay. Now I’m grateful. Insurance for our kids is great, it’s safer and schooling is great.
Schooling great in Japan? I really don't think so. More of a brainwashing and wasted brain power.
Hello ryan I’d like to ask you for advice if you don’t mind, I’d be grateful with any answer you see fit.
I’m planning to moving out of my country bc of economic and social reasons and japan is one of the countries I’m considering moving to.
I’ve put pros and cons to each country I’ve considered but I feel like I could really use the respective experiences of someone that has lived there and seen things from their point of view.
thank you for reading 🙏🏻 like I said any answer you see fit would be appreciated greatly🌻 hoping to hear from you
Reply to this guy Ryan!
@@x20fotab23 Learn to speak at least a little Japanese. Very few Japanese can understand English.
Don't bother with reading and writing. Takes a long time.
Having a good translation machine might help. They make mistakes but you'll just get a good laugh.
The Japanese reputation for placing courteous social skills high on their "must have list" is true, but foreigners aren't held to the same standard.
I see too many foreigners act like they are walking on broken glass. "Did I say something that offended him?". "Was I rude?".
Relax. Japan is not America. You are not expected to speak Japanese. But knowing just a little Japanese goes a long way.
My son (14) has talked about moving to Japan since he was 6 or 7 years old. He's actually taking private lessons to learn the language. I think watching something like this could be of great benefit to him. I don't want to crush dreams, I just want him to realize it's not all novelty foods and anime books. 😅
Don't!!! I am 18 now with German as my first language, just a teeny bit better than my japanese, i am half german half japanese and always dreamed of going to Germany, Made online friends for 5 years before i came and now i met them irl and its awesome ive been here a while now not depressed yet. Of course, you'll miss your family, but if he genuinely likes it, and especially at that age, he will surely like it and see the reality for himself. Believe me, Germany had its own good share of surprises to me coming from Japan. My mum and dad always hyped me up to go to Germany that got me good grades and i got here and im doing well now :) Sure it's important to show your kid that its not all novelty foods and anime books but i believe he will learn that own his own, builds character. it did for me.
dreaming is one thing , 14 years old isnt a mature age to make decisions (dont get me wrong) , no person will hate : jdm drift cars , japanese food , feminine women , fancy holidays , bright colorful streets , anime...etc , but reality is something else , a proven fact that is really bad from my view about japan is working a full time job isnt sufficient for a small family , no one want a hard life and little time , my advice is go on a vacation with ur son to japan , search and ask while u spending time in it to see how life it is , my point is try to guide ur son , i love japan so much but i dont think it is an easy place to live in.
How about you talk to your damn kid instead and help him develop a healthy life framework from early on that he will be able to utilize and lead a fullfilling life in any part of this god forsaken world.
@@johnlake2545 you're absolutely right
@@johnlake2545 Or heres an idea, support the kid, dont do what my Dad did and shit all over your dreams for no other reason than its not something you feel like is good enough, all i wanted to do was be a Paleontologist, I never had support at any point in my life, now im medicated for clinical depression, shitting on your kids dream causes depression that has lasting affects, his interest in Japan can be turned into a interest that becomes a Career, such as metallurgy, art, animation, farming ect.
I'm an American who has lived many years in Japan. The problem many newcomers have with Japan is that they thought the grass was greener on the other side of the fence. They came here looking for something better or different than what the were experiencing in their home countries. Then they find out that Japanese, like everyone else, have to work for a living.
Those who come to Japan go through stages. First is the "honeymoon" stage, were everything is fun and interesting because it is so new and different. Second is the "reality" stage, in which you begin to realize that small housing, commuting on crowded trains, and spending 10 to 12 hours a day at work really isn't that fun. Then, there is the "regret" stage, when you miss the things you took for granted in your home country. If you are less lucky, you find yourself in the "trapped" stage, having lived and worked in Japan for long enough that you have grown roots (wife, kids, etc) and couldn't leave even if you wanted to.
For myself, I still love it here. I enjoy the cleanliness, the lack of crime. As I have children, I am glad they go to school in Japan, were standards are still high, and where they can't get into drugs. I like the harmony and order of things in Japan, and how everything simply just works.
I started my life in Japan as a salaryman working for a mid-size Japanese company. The company apartment was small, I had to commute from Chiba to Tokyo every day, arriving in the office at 7:30 in the morning, and leaving work at 9:30 every night. It sounds rough, but the work wasn't that hard, Japan has lots of national holidays, Golden Week, Silver Week, and the winter holidays. I enjoyed drinking with friends and customers in the evenings, and occasionally getting together on the weekends, life wasn't so bad.
I do other things now. I started my own business several years ago, and can work from home, or anywhere else. I enjoy traveling around the country, cycling, skiing, swimming, and sightseeing. Japan can be a great place to live if you find your place in it.
was nice to read thank you for sharing your story :D
Great hsitory! Its very encouraging :-) Thanks for share your wisdom
I love your honest view about life in Japan! But can you tell me how to find “a place in Japan” to live or i just simply have to work it out myself? I love to live in Japan but im afraid of work culture here
@@MiracleNikki The work culture isn't as bad as people make it out. For people who come from outside Japan, they are unlikely to be hired as full-time, permanent workers. Most foreigners are part-time workers. If your part time work is in a profession, like teaching, you will earn around 250,000 yen per month, plus a housing and transportation allowance, which is enough to live comfortably in most of Japan. For those who come to Japan with a student visa and work part time, they'll generally earn minimum wage, which is around 1100 yen per hour. This isn't enough to live independently in most of Japan. If you are inventive and work hard, you can start your own business. Japanese are not very entrepreneurial compared to other nationalities, and it is not that hard to find a niche where you can work for yourself and earn a decent, or even very nice living.
What a great story thank you for sharing it with us
This psychology is universal,and i am grateful to have had the explanation.
I have been living in Fukuoka with my Japanese wife for 3 years. Can't get enough of it. We both agree that the kind of people who end up disliking Japan, are the extroverts.
how it's your work life?
Dang this gonna be perfect for me then!
say the weeb who speak perfectly japanese.
I’ve heard a lot about introverts and extroverts, but how well do you think an ambivert would do in Japan?
@@kyky2185 I don’t live in Japan but I’ve been scrolling and I found someone who does live in Japan somewhat talk about this. So I think they would do really well in Japan because Japan has a lot of introvert aspects when it comes to physical things however they are mentally extroverted. (Sorry if this is confusing again I don’t live in Japan but I found someone who does talk and they discussed this. But take this with a grain of salt just in case)
I lived in Japan for six years, while I didn't hate it, all those things that were really cool the first year, just eventually become normal, then it becomes just another place to live with all the positives and negatives of any other place. I think some people have this fantasy that Japan is going to be some 24/7 fun playground of anime, video games and cute girls and are upset when real life sets in.
You mean, I won't be playing gashapon machines every week if I were to move there?
@@cart172 hahaharr gashopan machine is always available there anyway.
nice 4d cube there mate
Well every country is fun if you have a lot of money.
I’ve been living in Japan for 12 years and have gone through all the phases mentioned. But even after the acceptance phase, I don’t think this is the place I want to raise a family in. The societal pressures, the expectations to be a mere cog that fits nicely in this huge machine and the fact that my husband and I are foreigners who will never truly belong are reason enough.
I was born and raised in a more laidback country called Malaysia, and while Japan is cleaner, safer, more convenient and has it together more, there is a certain warmth (literally and figuratively) to Malaysia that Japan will never have. Japan has been absolutely meh for me when it came to establishing emotional connections. I learned enough Japanese to befriend people, but man, it’s hard to maintain friendships here. It doesn’t help that this country is a introvert’s haven - you can be left alone and not be spoken to so damn easily. I thought this place was great for an introvert like me but it took me to the far end of the social spectrum when I wasn’t careful. I have experienced isolation, depression and anxiety numerous times here especially after entering the workforce (not an English teaching job but a 9-5 at a company). The crowded trains, the rush hours and the terrible work-life balance sucks. And I even feel guilty for taking any paid leave because I was probably brainwashed by Japan to believe that sacrificing oneself to serve the collective is more honourable. So I probably gaman’d more than necessary in my time here.
Will be moving back to Malaysia in a couple of years, lol. Japan’s beauty and rich culture can be easily appreciated by anyone who comes as a tourist with no strings attached. As for living in Japan long term, it’s gonna be a gamble to see if this place is suited for you.
Its great to read about experiences from someone from the same home country as me before I take my own gamble of living there
Exactly!!!
Although it's a bit early, but me as Malaysian wants to say welcome back
Tq for loving our country ❤️
I'm from Malaysia too! I've been idolising Japan my whole life but now I don't think I can stand their work ethic since us Malaysian is more laid-back compared to them... Maybe it's time to appreciate our country and culture lol
I loved my time in Japan. I met my wife there, and the years since have been my happiest in my lifetime. I’m currently living in the US, and I miss Japan.
I moved to Japan 20 years ago after marrying my Japanese husband. . after he sadly died I starting feeling the frustrations especially having to fill in important documents by myself. . it has been tough but I always gambarimasu ❤
So sorry for you loss. Stay strong!
I’m so sorry to hear that…;( 頑張って！！！❤️❤️
My condolences, keep that chin raised high, don't beat yourself up. 🙏💕
So what you're saying is that you never had to work a day in your life by yourself? Spoiled brat
Sorry for your loss.
I’m a mixed race Japanese person who went to school in Aichi and the US then moved to Tokyo as an adult, and I have to say my experiences in Tokyo have been pretty depressing. It’s been a rough three years, and every day I contemplate getting out of this city where I’m treated like a walking commodity. People are constantly trying to push this Western identity onto me, treating me as though I can’t speak a drop of Japanese despite reality being being the other way around (I know little about Western culture, and English is my second language). It gets in the way of my daily life, such as making bank accounts, credit cards, ordering at restaurants, and receiving unsolicited comments. I plan on leaving for some place I can just… blend in and live peacefully, where I’m not seen as a threat. Japan works for those who can pass as Japanese or for those who are fine with being the foreigner. Most of my mixed race Japanese friends who were raised in Japan have plans to leave as well because it’s heartbreaking when you are Japanese but are categorized as a “gaijin” (and the treatment that comes with the stigma) based on how they think we look.
They don’t know better and they don’t travel like Chinese people do so they push identity onto things they don’t understand at least it’s not as bad as Americans ( American countries) . You should try traveling to gain better insight
Try Russia or some Scandinavian countries
Try telling that you feel uncomfortable directly to them. If they continue to harass you, maybe call the local police. This could be a serious situation.
I would move out of Tokyo. I am mixed Japanese too, barely look Japanese at all. I lived in Nagoya and I think since that city has less foreign presence I was treated much more equally, nobody spoke English to me unless I asked
I have heard that moving to a smaller town where you become well known will eventually remove the gaijin factor and allow you to be one of the locals and blend in. Before you give up on your homeland, perhaps give that a try?
Basically:
Japan is so good that you get spoiled and expect more, then you get let down. but you'll accept it in the end and live a normal life later
Agreed mate
As someone who's lived in Japan for 16 years (and still here) this is extremely false. Set your expectations accordingly as your personal experience may differ.
@@Aphesia In which ways is this extremely false?
@@Aphesia ummm sorry? i was just making a summary according to the video? didnt mean to be taken seriously
@@kimzeroen I kind of get that there was some sarcasm involved, but I just had to throw it out there that, these phases are real. I've been through them all and that people should be careful. Even in jest. Sorry if I came across too serious XD.
I have been here for 4 years. Hard work is essential and be prepared to completely change your outlook.
the only reason why these weak lazy social media people dont like it.
Work to live and not the other way round. I wouldn’t be able to cope.
@Rocky-c5e yes. Here in Japan it's live to work. I just went from shain position to part time just to get some balance. I am still making good money but now I have my days off and can enjoy my time here. My old chef worked for 5 months without a day off when we opened a new restaurant. In the last month hw started to leave early before close but that was it
I watched him lose cognitive function and weight fell off him yet he still drove himself to continue.
Moving from a semi-rural or even rural area to the "Big City" is usually frustrating and depressing for most people and in many cases the opposite is true.
Yes, something similar happened to me. My family has lived in a semi-rural region since I was born. However, three years ago, we relocated to a different city and now reside in a remote location. I don't think it's a problem because they moved when I was just graduating from high school. Last year, though, I was admitted into a university in the heart of the city. I assumed that everything would be fine, but as someone who grew up in a peaceful environment, the huge metropolis is a no-no for me. It's not as if I've never been to a big city before. However, spending a complete year in a big metropolis is a another storey. Spending 2 to 3 hours there is acceptable, but 24 hours is excessive for me. Too much noise and pollution have caused me stress as a result of my inability to adapt to this new way of life. Fortunately, the university had to go into lockdown, so I'm back at home.
Yeah, most of his frustrations sound like they're from the big city environment directly. I could never live in a big city, I've been to one a couple times and just all the tall buildings/skyscrapers alone give me anxiety.
Well there’s your problem. It’s essentially a universal nature for people to feel more connected with rural locals than city ones.
Take Paris for example, went there and almost everyone had the vibe of “Oh great. Another American tourist.” towards me. But when I went to the more rural areas, mainly Normandy and Brittany. Almost everyone was pleasant, some were even excited by the fact that I was an American.
Not saying city folks are bad people. Their environment is just built with a more “tough love” way of social interaction. If you definitely feel more comfortable living/working rural/sub-rural, my advice, stay there. Cities all around are tough places, that’s just the way it is.
as a Japanese i kinda felt guilty throughout this video lol. i’ve always wanted to live overseas, especially the US but i figure it’s not just fun and games. i guess we just want what we don’t have
becareful in the US we are having Asian hate problems here right now so before you come here make sure you are in a safe place and with friends. In reality we love people coming from overseas. I feel like I have to apologize for the bigotry/idiots here.
@@Nonyanomo yeah i’ve been following the stop Asian hate movement a little.. i have dreams of studying abroad in the US in college so i guess I’ll just have to bare myself😭
consider Indonesia..visit Jakarta and Bali for a week.
@@spanneng ohh yes i’d love to go to Indonesia! i’m also interested in Singapore. i love south east Asia, i’m even planning to major in Thai language in college lol
@@Nonyanomo Yet media is complicit because they won't call out a certain race's violent race crimes, whilst police also don't take it seriously, perpetuating it as OK.
This is why we should not romanticize cultures, countries, languages, etc. But at the same time not disrespect the culture, people or country because they did not live up to our expectations.
I think we romanticize places because we want an escape. Remember that anywhere you go, it will not be dream like. It is a real place with real people just like the place you were born in.
Yeah. Lived in Japan for 3 years. I miss it, but I made so many good friends, and yes, I had my hard times. (Throwback to getting groped on trains, and getting assaulted in alleyways because in order to reach my apartment..)
have this problem with sweden now we have a active organization working with government to make my country look better then it is and its frustrating to explain to people that sweden sint as peaceful as shown (south i recommend all visiting sweden to stay away from so with all larger cities atm included)
france literally has psycholigcal place for japanese people that are EXTREMELY disappointed by france , just think about that lol
it's an hell on earth. cold people, rightist govrenment, overworking companies, stupid laws, tiny apparts, overcrowded streets, expensive services, xenophobia climate. more than some countries. don't go.
@@maegalroammis6020 it's better than woke leftist...
My old boyfriend went to spend the summer in Japan in 1986 and he never left. He loves it.
The biggest mistake most foreigners make when they move to a new country is they probably have never left their hometown to experience different cultures and acclimate. I am a retired vet who has stayed in many different countries experiencing many cultures , these stays range form a year maybe up to three years I personal experienced cultures like Italy ,Guam, Spain, and even Bahrain, now I am married to a Philipina and staying in the Philippines, with my experiences with different cultures, I acclimate pretty quickly to their culture and have been here for about 4 years, and I love here.
Filipina* :))
Ya ! Very funny.
I’m currently stationed in Italy and love it so much. I’m sure the honeymoon phase will pass eventually though. I would certainly love to come back here though and hopefully get stationed in Japan, at least for a few years.
Did i hear Philippines?
Bois!
Spam It!
Love from the Philippines 🥊😍
Lord, I wish I could be that lucky to visit all those places. I’ve been to England, scotland, France, Austria Belgium. I had the chance to go to japan, but I was terrified of the flight time. I’ll prolly regret that the rest of my life 🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️ but I absolutely fell in love with London and Cambridge. Beautiful cities, I felt like I was home. But thats going to another english speaking country. We struggled a bit in Belgium, the specific town we went to was on the german side of WWII so they were *NOT* fans of the americans. I say also have a Canadian badge stuck somewhere on your person wherever you go that way they think you’re Canadian instead.
Been living here for 9 years. I went through the depression stage somewhere in my 4th or 5th year--due to loneliness and feeling isolated. Japan does a good job at making you feel invisible.
After that, I stopped caring, moved to the countryside, got a few dogs, and life has never been better. I enjoy the cultural differences and learning from my japanese coworkers.
I think you need to let go of expectations and just roll with it. :)
Edit:
By rolling with it, i mean do your own thing, focus on your goals/dreams/hobbies and don't try to fit in. If anything, *don't* fit in.
Idk I was feeling the same way when I moved from Russia to Italy(it wasn’t my choice tho, my mother married italian and I was a minor so I couldn’t do much) I also felt A LOT of depression especially after 4-5 years and I just came back home to Russia and Im happy again I would never go anywhere from here 🙏 My point is you dont have to “roll” with that these emotions mean its not your place and you should move out. You story made me sad idk this “just roll with it” mentality seems pretty sad to me but hey if you truly happy thats great
@@Pirogok01 hi! Thanks for your concern. I'm glad you found a place where you truly feel happy and got over your depression--and for taking the leap and following your happiness. I've been to Italy once and loved it, but living there must be completely different.
Dont worry about me! I'm pretty happy here. This is actually the 4th country I've lived in. And I appreciate Japan for making me a stronger, don't-give-a-sht person in general. my dogs also help me realize that sometimes, home is where you make it to be. Not the country (unless your country has become uninhabitable due to reasons ofc).
@@Pirogok01 how is it living there now? I’m Russian too and wanna comeback to visit sometime
@@alexone7519 I think the large emmigration out of there might give you a clue that you probably should wait a little until things get better stabilized again if you plan on actually living there once more...
Very well said!
Japan in expectations: rich, animes, cool places
Japan in reality: living in your small apartment and work 72 hours per day and very depressed
work 72 hours per day?
@@art_ryan52 i mean per week
Sounds like the life in the New York
That's why they have suicide forest.
No waifus?🥺
I moved from one EU country to another EU country and went through exactly the same phases.
One thing I love about Japan (as tourist) is silence. The lack of background chatter at airports, subways etc. is a blessing.
As a Japanese, I would advice: Choose your job carefully, really carefully!!
I guess you can assume that 50% of jobs here are super stressful not only for foreigners but also for Japanese-born Japanese. Luckily I don't feel much stress with my current job at a tech company, but I hear a lot about work related stress from my friends working at public schools, public hospitals, domestic banks, etc, etc.
Totally agree with this. Most of my Japanese friends absolutely hate their jobs.
@@kimikokao In the Philippines, all of my friends hate their job lol
In my heart there is a big level of respect for Japan, Japan is my second home 🏡 ❤
As a 31 year old man I now know that I won't be running through the grass in inuyasha in Japan to save Kagome from evil spirits and I also know now that there is not a Gundam waiting for me and there's not a master roshi waiting to train me, and final fantasy is not happening somewhere on a island off the coast of Japan. but yall sure fooled me.
@@Clyjade_of_God_and_Putinthis made my day😆
I've been here 8 years now, married, have a child and a house and could hardly imagine moving back. I absolutely love living in Japan!! That being said, I think your points and description of phases of adjustment are pretty accurate. Personally, I visited Japan many times before moving here. One of those times was for a full year as an exchange student to study the language. If possible, I would strongly suggest visiting Japan before jumping in head-first. Knowing you have the return ticket those first few times is a mental safety net when the culture shock hits, and then if you still are convinced you want to move here, you'll have that experience and it will be a much softer landing.
Yea seems kinda crazy to just move to a country for the long term without actually visiting it first. I would also suggest that people explore the different regions which have different feels to them to see where they may want to live. Not everyone is cut out for life in Tokyo and that is ok. Other parts of Japan are less hectic. Last time I was in Sapporo I felt like it was a place I could easily live.
Japan belongs to the Japanese. It could be considered immoral to make it permanently less Japanese by reproducing there.
@@tbs8006 all living things evolve, i.e. change over time. Calm your tits , 👁️👄👁️
@@tbs8006 It could, but in no world IS it considered immoral. The world would be unbelievably boring if cultures didn't interact with one another, the biggest superpower in human history with the biggest economy, some of the smartest people alive along with the biggest cultural effect on the rest of the world is a country of immigrants.
bad paid job, overworking, loneliness, frustrating everyday life...wow I'm experiencing culture shock in my home country :o
@ROR MACHINE In Japan, X1000 times more as you feel now in your country.
@Rasta Fonz bro down atrocious 😭
Welcome to the club.
Was thinking the same thing....
Same. I'm a transplant to NYC . Five years and still no true friends....concrete jungle indeed.
This was a very nice video, and a lot of the things that are talked about apply to life in general also as well i think!
there are always ups and downs with living in a different country not just Japan. Preparation is always the key.
Japan has a high suicide rate and both students and workers are overworked and burned out.
How?
@@mikkey246 bro if you made it through my comment at least you can figure that out yourself
@@RPKD88 well, that doesn't apply me, but sure you do lol.
I first lived in Japan for 1 year after falling in love with the country. I never was, still ain't, a fan of anime or manga. That was never the drawing point for me. I really loved the overall culture. The people, the food, the language, the things you can do here etc. I learned Japanese and I speak nothing but Japanese with my girlfriend. I also had many many japanese friends since day 1. So I had a very very lucky start in Japan. With many amazing memories.
But one year later, I felt I had to move back. Which I did. But I then felt regret, thinking that I did this prematurely. So I moved back to Japan 2 years later. This time, I've been here for 3 more years and now, once again, I'm moving back home.
The main reasons are related to the hard working culture that I can't get used to (I come from Sweden). And for each thing I love, there are so many parts that get me frustrated. Many things in Japan, in terms of opinions and technology , are so behind. And it's not just because culture is different. You can see things heading the same direction as many things in the west, just way more slowly. I wonder if this is due to new ideas spreading more slowly in Japan due to the lack of english and the inability to consume non-japanese media. Sometimes I feel like it's 2002 or something. At some point, even the small things become irritating. Like filling out paper applications for everything instead of being able to do it quickly over the internet. Or even the "tatemae" part of the culture (how to behave socially, being supernice and showing interest even if you'd strongly dislike the person). At first, I thought it was really nice, but now I can't stand it. It feels so unnatural saying something trivial about yourself only to have everyone react like you've been to the moon.
😂😂😂
Hi
What is the difference between Japan and Sweden?
What is the most thing you liked in Japan and Sweden doesn’t have it ?
Would you prefer Sweden or Japan as a country you will stay in it forever?
Do you advise me to travel to Japan?
Thanks for your time ❤️
@@yman4925 i think the biggest difference between japan and sweden is that one is in europe and the other is in asia
Personally, I consider the slow adaptation of Western culture to be a selling point.
I'm sick and tired of Western culture.
Well, I guess it's because westerns are more liberated and easterns (japan at that) are still and would be conservative. There is always a fault in every country. Maybe somewhere did too much or too less but nonetheless, there's no place like home, like the place you've grown up to.
We are often intrigued by other cultures, traditions, and looks while taking our own stuff for granted or even hate in comparison. But once we go into details, we often start seeing the bad and the ugly side of those things, and we may start feeling homesick. This might not happen with everyone, but this is my personal experience.
That should definitely be a main takeaway watching this. But Japan/Korea vs. western countries is a very specific case. Japan in particular because of its western-fetishization (e.g. Christmas-KFC; rampant English3 schools), that is just as strong as 'weeaboo' and 'koreaboo' obsessions. They had *so* much economic success in the 80s, and cultural popularity in the 90s, but still held on to more conservative cultural traditions. So it makes for the perfect circumstances to attract expats to live abroad and be disillusioned (in both directions)
Same here, the things I used to hate so much back home, when I lived in South East Asia I found out that yet they are in every culture environnement and family no matter the culture or the country, the way movie industry has portrayed their countries is full of bs. Unless you live in that country for 5 years average you wouldn't know
i love Japan, i was there for like a year and went back home due few things i had to settle, i cant wait to get back to Japan and live life as i wanted
I'm living in Japan now as an exchange student, the first month was amazing, but the second month has been one of the worst time of my life, I felt so depressed almost all time, you feel so alone, even if you have some friends, almost all of them are another exchange students, but japanese people don't talk to you, and if you don't know the language (as me) it will be worst, and you don't feel as part of the country or culture, but you need to make a routine in a strange country, with strange people. Another important thing, even if you have seen things about Japan (or any country) you won´t be able to experiment all of them, that is the difference between a tourist, and someone who moves for a long time, as a tourist you will see specific things, but in my case, as a student, I need to priorize my studies, and I can hang out as I'd wish, before coming here I was so excited, planning so many things, but now I'm not so sure if I'll be able to see all of them.. Now, in my third month I started to feel more confortable, I realize that is something normal, and there are so many people who feels in the same way, I started to understand the routine, the place, the traditions and the behaviour of the people. I started to feel more confortable, I understood that is my first time living alone, in a total different society, and even with the bad, I'm pretty sure that I want to come back again, knowing the language, and with less expectations from the country, and more expectations on myself. If you recently move to another country, and feel in the same way, don't give up, everything is gonna be better
Hello, how you go there by exchanging program without knowledge of Japanese? Is it possible? And how much you've paid for education?
Thank you
Hi. We don't know each other and never will... But i just wanted to cheer you on in these hard times of yours. I know it's strange, pahaps a bit wierd, but i care for all people whom may struggle a bit.
Remember that you do you, and while you ofcause have to fit the new box, you're still you, and doing a great job at being so!
Life can be tough. Enjoy those around you, pahaps try to find yourself again instead of being lost within. It's easier said than done, that i know myself.
This is nothing tricky thing to make you buy stuff, nor am i a bot 😅
Cheers from Denmark, and thanks for you being you 💪🥳
Ok. Let me know what you feel after after 1 year living there. Because i love japan so much i want to work there
Yes I was also wondering which program you took, because I want to do a semester there as a highschool student but don’t know a lot of Japanese. Also how much have you paid? Thanks so much your initial comment helped too, lol
update: Thank you so much for the upport comments
This is really well explained and they warned us about these phases at the beginning of exchange study. I was waiting when the drastic turn would come but my experience with Japan was fairly good and I never felt like I got into the frustration phase while I was living there for a year. But truth is I wasn’t working there but studying at university in the centre of Tokyo. And every day was an adventure. Perhaps a working experience would be very different. Although I admit there were times I felt alone (like when corona came to disturb the peace of everything…), there were days I realized I haven’t talked to a human being for two days as the automated cashier at supermarkets or automated devices for anything didn’t require social interaction. Sometimes I just went to shop attendants asking for goods acting interested as it’s their job to talk to customers so I could practice my Japanese even in times of corona and feel less alone…I know it sounds desperate but it wasn’t really. They can be really nice and kind even though it’s mostly just “tatemae”. In a land where a foreigner can never become fully accepted no matter how good their Japanese is you are grateful for little things. And once foreigners take off the pink glasses and realize this and accept Japan for what is things become much easier. Despite that one can still enjoy video games or anime.
@RedJoker you are that teenage who watched oregairu, classroom of the elite, hyouka
4:11 god tier transition
Yeah but a question I have after it's been a couple days: Has Mr Eats been allowed back into the bedroom yet?
We need an update!
Repent for your sins! Judgement is coming, believe in the Gospel an you'll be saved from your sins and hell! salvation is meant to be spread to everyone, especially to those u don't believe in Jesus.
@@warsprite1888 They were just playing around for the audience, I'm sure they made up later that night.
Excellent video! I never was able to put into words what I went through when I moved to the US from the Philippines to go to college. I had wrongly assumed I was very westernized and could assimilate quickly. The culture shock feelings in the video are very universal! Thank you for this video!
So actually, as being pointed out. You may feel angry and frustrated when moving to Japan because you did not study up on it. Didn't take into account that you would be very much alone if you didn't work hard on establishing friends (Japanese friends, not foreigners in transit) And maybe it's good to have a slightly higher ambition than an English teacher. Moving to Japan for some good old food alone seems strange. If however you move to Japan because it is, despite the massive amount of people, almost silent on the commuter train in the morning, there is little to no litter in the streets, everyone is polite and goes out of their way not to bother anyone. And maybe even try to understand that there must be a different mentality that makes these things possible and that it must be quite different from the western world. I guess what I'm trying to say is that one has to understand that to enjoy the amazing parts of Japan and Japanese culture, you also need to understand how Japan has become the way it is and play your part at the same level as Japanese people do. You will never find hundreds of people organizing in neat rows down the train platform in the morning, matching exactly where the doors of the train stops, anywhere else in the world. If that's not for you, then yes, maybe Japan is not the right place.
Well said, that is the feeling I get when I was living there. I wanted to be a part of that society, where everyone is polite and minds their own business, and you on life enjoying all the fun things Japan has to offer.
@@yondaimehokage2281 like the cool working environment?
Best comment by far, thanks 🙏
@@xXDESTINYMBXx I loved it. Its not for everyone but it was for me.
Mucho texto.
You literally described everything I went through when I moved to the UK. That was some of the most sweet and sour times of my life, but once I hit the acceptance phase, life got a lot better. The key thing is to fight the urge to hole yourself away from everyone and become a hermit. Finding that friend base makes all the difference. Great video!!
As a Brit, I can only imagine what trying to adjust to the UK must be like. Well done, it's a tough place! Let us celebrate with some disgusting food and awkward smalltalk! :D
How much did it take? Still trying to get used to living in UK…
What part was so difficult?
@@r0semary21 why is uk bad
@@ankitsaikumar6866 It's not about if a country is bad or good. Any transition is hard mentally. Culture change is no exception.
I occasionally receive some patients with depression from culture shock and other problems from immigrating to the US. I can imagine how much more difficult it is to move full time to Japan. If anything, living part-time in Japan during the year seems like a much more appropriate method for your quality of life.
I wish that was true.nobody that is complaining and bitching about the U.S aren't leaving
Damn, I just moved here :(
@@shizukaaaa Japan or the u.s?
@@shizukaaaa how's it going?
it's nice that you help them when coming to the US
I love both of your honesty, really appreciate it. What you said but making yourself happy first and then challenge so that you can recharge and try again - works with so much of life. I really needed to hear that right now. Thank you.
In my eyes the perfect example of culture shock is what happend to my friend, we where both born and raised in Brazil, but when we where around 12 years old, his family moved to Canada, I remember clearly how excited he was in the pictures seeing the snow for the first time, and how jealous I was because I never experienced something like that.
Fast foward to recent days, we are chating on the internet, and I can feel his anger because its his turn to clear the snow in his house.
Hello fellan brazillian
Tmb queria ver a neve vei
A verdade é que você pode ser feliz ou infeliz em qualquer parte do mundo. Não é o mundo, é você
move to vancouver and you mostly have to deal with rain over the winter.
Eita, aí ferra, mas acho que ao menos é bom que os salários médios são bem melhores lá kkk
E neve parece ser legal de ver, mas acho que isso é mais porque eu nunca vi.
This is so accurate. I've been here years and whenever friends and family members ask how Japan is, they're so shocked at my less than enthusiastic "Meh, it's life, it's normal" response. I think the hardest thing for me was the depression and loneliness for the first couple year, the making friends as they were moving away thing was really hard on me. The income ceiling is now becoming more of an issue as I'm trying to figure out how to start a family in the future.
Poor thing. Try scientology?
Big difference is you wanting to start a family. Moving overseas just doesnt sound like a good idea if you are wanting to build a family. Thats common sense…No matter where youre going. Travelling abroad not just for vacation is something a person is only going to do if they arent looking for a family. Its for ppl wanting to actually experience things. Having a family just cuts straight into that. This is 100% your fault.
I would be definitely upset if I kept making friends who were perhaps expats like me only for them to end up moving away. Plus the income ceiling would be very problematic. Especially as most likely a lot of us who wants to move there, on this we had a lot of money stock piled up, would most likely have to get a standard Japanese apartment and pay terribly high prices on everything except for perhaps food along with an average salary. That income ceiling is definitely a big worry and if I knew I wasn’t going to get a job that would start paying me higher within the first two years then I would definitely reconsider ever moving to Japan unless it was during my retirement years and would just stay in Europe if not move to New Zealand or Australia.
@@danielwhyatt3278 actually, the apartments here are super cheap, the food is really expensive though. Taxes are ridiculous. But the apartment situation is doable until you look into moving apartments. Then there are tons of fees.
@@bradkirchhoff8264 You're right. Me wanting to start a family now is exactly why I shouldn't move over sees, which includes returning to a country that I have no experienced skills to make a living in. In stead I should definitely stay in the country I live in, which is Japan. No unfortunately a TEACHER'S salary is very small. TEACHERS should be paid enough to be able to have families. Or do you want to argue that it's my fault for deciding to be a teacher?
I'm Canadian, but I grew up in Japan and was raised Japanese for the most part until the age of 15 when my family and I moved to Canada, for me to attend an English high school to be more "Canadian". After moving here, I got so depressed and felt so out of place that all I wanted to do was move back to Japan. I visit home (Japan) pretty often and am treated as a native there instead of as a foreigner because of my background and personality (perhaps a controversial opinion, but there are differences between Western and Asian personalities). I meet a lot of people here in Canada with plans to live in Japan, but I can almost instantly tell who'll be coming back and who won't, just from their reasonings and lifestyle. So I do think that a lot of people construct this idea of what it would be to live there based on pop culture, and instead hate it because they forgot to consider the social constructs within the country. And don't get me wrong, I'm not judging (except for weebs), because I did the same thing before moving to North America; by planning my new life around ideas built on western teen movies/tv-shows (hello Lizzie Macguire) and western teen magazines ('sup Seventeen). I love Japan and feel at peace when I'm there, but I am aware of the country's societal issues.
I had a point before writing this, but I forgot what that was..so I guess what I'm trying to say is that any international move can come with turbulent culture shocks, and how you'll feel in the long run will really depend on your reasons for moving and how that country fits your lifestyle (if that makes any sense).
Yeah... You make perfect sense👍
As a Westerner who has made Japan his home for half of his life, I've got to say that Japan has been very good to me. My professional work has been "niche" work, and Japan has been the "niche".The Japanese people have been very nice to me, and I show them my appreciation by bowing and smiling to them.
I agree in the sense that most of what he is describing is not necessarily specific to Japan but common across all immigrant experiences. The only thing that differs is the initial motivation for moving, which for most immigrants is economic or for the preservation of life, but for most expats from the first world its completely different.
Totally✌🇿🇦
It's almost like there are differences between ethnicities...who would have thought.
Much as what you talked about is the experience everyone has when they move away from where they grew up, but to somewhere else in the same country