Japan: Good Move or Bad Move? (rent, crime, schools)

[xeRkx]

Tell me the ups and downs of Japan.
Would it be a good move or will I regret the decision?

I already know 2 ups.

1. Girls
2. Food! (I like weird stuff, and Japan seems like the capital of weird food.)

1 down
1. Not sure how it will differ from the freedoms of America.

[Steve Bagu]

Was in Japan in 1951 so cannot really compare that time period with todays improved society. Spent one year on Honshu...Tokyo...Yokohama...Mt Fuji etc.

Will say this tho...the girls will look different then what you may be accustomed too today but in six months they will be beauty queens.

Good luck in your venture. Steve

[5chevin5]

Dont move here for girls, that would be very stupid.

My question...Why Japan? There are hundreds of countries, why Japan?

Your "Ups" are that of a young mans fantasy, and will most likely disappoint you in reality.
Plus Japan is a very, very difficult place to just...move to.

Happy to lend advise, if you have more tangible reasons.

To answer your down....It is completely different from the US in both great,good and bad ways. depends what things you consider "negotiable" or not.

I love Japan, and will most likely be here quite a while.
5

[SEAandATL]

More important, I would be thinking about how to bring in the yen, and a good suggestion is being an English teacher, since that is in such high demand, and you might meet some girls in the process. So how long are thinking of living there? Do you want to just get a working visa, or do you want to become a permanent resident, which is more difficult. As far as laws and freedoms, it is about the same as the United States. Japan is more strict on drinking and driving, but that's something you shouldn't be doing anyways especially in Japan since it has so many alternative transportations. Other than that, there are some acts and behaviors which are not necessarily illegal, but are considered cultural taboos, like in the States.

[xeRkx]

Not so sure about a permanent move, i just want to go over for like 1 or 2 years, just to get a feel for the place. i just didnt know if Japan was like America, freedom wise.

and i want to move there for my obvious reasons, plus their culture just seems so deep, and i guess i just like that, btw im 17 almost 18, planning on going into the US Navy and hopefully hit the port in tokyo... but im not holding my breath.

[ABQConvict]

I'm not an expert on being an expat in Japan but I had a Japanese roommate in college.

He said that any westerner who stays in Japan for more than a few years is considered weird and that a lot of people are resentful or suspicious of westerners who want to stay in Japan for a long time. He also said that younger people were more open-minded about westerners, but older people were quite racist and you could go into a store and no one would talk to you or even ring up your order as happened to an English teacher he had.

He was from a large city but it was far from the tourist areas. Things may be different in Tokyo, but Japan is well known for having an expiration date for hospitality to foreigners.


ABQConvict

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by xeRkx

Tell me the ups and downs of Japan.
Would it be a good move or will I regret the decision?

I already know 2 ups.

1. Girls
2. Food! (I like weird stuff, and Japan seems like the capital of weird food.)

1 down
1. Not sure how it will differ from the freedoms of America.

Japan's about to get another winner of an expat!

[Andy CWS]

I was an exchange student at Nanzan University in Nagoya in 1982. I loved it there. Nagoya (2-mil plus) is considerd by most Japanese as a hick town but still many positive attributes. It lost 80% of the city in carpet bombing so it is VERY modern. it has lost the ancient charm of many other cities.

I returned in 1986 and stayed 13 years. 1/2 in the Japanese Alps in Nagano-ken (Komagane-shi) and 1/2 in Fukushima-ken (Nihonmatsu-shi) working for JOCV/JICA as a teacher. Living in the mountains was so much better than the city. Absolutely peaceful, beautiful, slow-paced and great mountain biking.

I would try to go to a more rural location if you want to stay longer and live with less frustration. Rent will be cheaper and you will actually get to know people and make friends. Many foreigners just hang out with other foreigners and two years goes by and they haven’t ‘experienced’ anything--just listen to a lot of complaints about how bad Japan is. Make your own path and get involved in at least one art, discipline or hobby with a Japanese---male or female. You will have no problem finding someone that will be pleased to share time, energy and direction with you.

If you like mountain biking...can't find a better place! Roads, paths, tunnels, bridges, monkey-filled forests! hot springs in isolated locations, 300-hundred years old inns at the end of long lonely endless mountain solitary trials will make Colorado look tame and domestic. Motorcycling is also a great fun but more expensive. You just get there faster.

I won't even get into the foods...... Not like Thai cuisine, by any stretch, but still wonderful. Love it.

Of course, I went during the economic bubble and it was a backpackers' paradise. Jobs were too easy to get and pay was great. $80 an hour to sit and talk to a group of housewives. What can I say!? It is different now. I would avoid the big language schools like NOVA and Interac as pay and hours are always a hassle.

Yes, there are girls and then there are girls. But there is also really great beer (Yebisu) and vending machines selling them that are cheaper than stores. There are smoke allies filled with yakiniku stalls hidden away from the crowd and can make a very comfortable niche to escape from yourself. There are photo opts and incredible hobbies and pastimes like martial arts, woodworking, bonsai classes, mountain biking (did I say that already?) and a really large host of things Japanese.

Japan, like anywhere else in the world, is all that you make it and by following the rules of the road, treat others better than yourself and things most likely will be great! I love Japan………………………….
Andy Christensen

[Synopsis]

Japan is a great place, and when I was there, it was very accommodating to people from the US. It's also very beautiful with a rich history.

[NihonKitty]

Freedoms of the US???!?! I don't know what you mean by freedoms but japan has one of the "smallest" governments that makes the US look socialist. Anyways this goes for japanese, foreigners in japan are more regulated. It is hard for you to permantly just "move" to japan. And dont move to japan just for the girls, you can get asian american girls, japanese tend to be xenophobic.

Anyway japan is clean safe and modern, our human development index is higher than the US, we have much lower crime rate, 2nd best healthcare in the world (US was ranked 27 i believe or lower), you won't need a car our mass transit is very well developed etc. The only thing you're going to have trouble with is the language, japanese tend to have a slightly negative view of foreigners so behave yourself, and definately don't move to japan just for girls, that will anger any japanese guy you meet (if you tell them that).

Also if you want to go to the "capitol" of weird food you should go to China, japanese food isn't actually that strange at all. The most common japanese food is the same as in the US in other words, fish,beef,pork. One of our most famous ways to eat is yakitori which is like a bbq in US where we cook beef/chicken. The only thing that might be odd for you would be sashimi or sushi and like food that are raw, but these are common in the US nowadays.