Hello guys,I'm thinking to move to Japan at age of 22 or so to study japanese seriously,and maybe living there for a while but...
The truth is that the idea a little(very much) scare me, I mean a new country with a new language(ok I'm studying it but),no friends...maybe no cappuccino^^
How was your approach with the idea to move to Japan? leaving your family,your comfortable home and your habit?
教えて下さい。 (^^)

Well I can't walk too far out my own house before getting freaked. Never had a passport, can't really speak with people in my OWN language let alone Japanese, and I'm the home-sickest person around. The idea of leaving my mum and dad has my stomach in knots, not to mention guilty.

But goddamn sir/sirettes, Japan is the one thing in my life I'm working towards/have motivation to work towards. I honestly don't care for anything else in regards to the future.

So against everything my mind is telling me, I'm trying to get the cogs in motion to move to Japan how ever little at a time. If you knew me that would sound so stupid but hell, you only live once. May as well go for it.

As for cappucino, I'm pretty sure they're mad for coffee over there (doubt it's as good as Italy's though).

I guess the mindset is different. In Sweden, you're considered boring if you don't study abroad for a while, it's a part of growing up here. I just decided it would be extremely cool to live in Japan for a while, so I signed up for a language program and studied at a Japanese language school in Tokyo for a year.

Best year in my life. Friends? You'll make them. Family? Come on, it's just a year, it's not like you'll never see them again. Language? Like you said, you're studying it. In the start, English will get you places and it will only be needed the first month or so, then you'll be able to go Japanese 100% of the time.

As for leaving your home and your habits, that's the good part. Enjoy everything new, it's an adventure. Eventually, your Japanese life becomes similar. You have a comfortable home (nowhere like Matsudo...) and habits (My god, sucks to commute by train 2 hours a day...).

Tobberoth...how works the things there?
It's an year in Tokyo and then?
I don't remember when but I saw your site somewhere...was like a diary from when you went in Japan and you set off on the journey with friends if I remember well...it's right?
Another problem for me is to find close people who would join with me in this journey...go alone is quite boring

cescoz Wrote:Another problem for me is to find close people who would join with me in this journey...go alone is quite boring

Going alone is better. If you go with a bunch of buddies who speak your language, all you'll do is go out with them and speak your own language. Thats what many people I know from my university in Japan did and most of them didn't improve their Japanese very much at all.

Remember that there are people who have lived in Japan for 14+ years and know NO Japanese. Just being in the country isn't enough, you have to get yourself out there and use it. Hiding in a comfort-bubble isn't going to help you do that.

I don't really know what you're referring to... I went on several journies in Japan with my friends, but it was friends I got to know in Japan, my girlfriend for example. Indeed, I also went WITH a friend to Japan for the whole year, we happened to have the same interest... That didn't make much of a difference though... I thought it would be nice support to have someone I know there, but I think it held me back a lot as well. You will get to know so many people at the language school so it won't matter.

I was in Tokyo for all of 2007. After that, I went back home. I wouldn't mind working in Japan in the future, but I want a proper university education here in Sweden... educating yourself in Japan is a bad choice, the education isn't very good if measured internationally, and it's also very expensive. Besides, working full time in Japan might not be so very great, much better if you work at a western company in Japan.

Got it!
I've a curiosity...you continued to study Japanese even in Sweden(after the year in Tokyo)?
or after return from Japan your level was so good that you started to do something else?

I continued. My level was good enough to pass JLPT2, but it was just barely (I was better at conversing anyway, a nice sideeffect from living in Japan for a year) and I certainly wasn't satisfied with that. At first, i didn't really feel like studying Japanese, I had been doing it all the time every day for a year... so for a few months, I did other things (I'm studying to become a system architecht in sweden, so that's mainly what i did). After a while though, I started to feel that my Japanese skill was slowly declining, so I started to study again and that's when I found this site. I'll be done with RtK1 next month and then I'm going to continue my studies, my goal is to pass JLPT1 next december. I'm simply continuing where I left of in Japan (I have some textbooks aimed at JLPT2 and JLPT1 studies) with the added strenght of SRS. I'm also going to try to read a lot of novels now that I recognize all the kanji.

If it wasn't a scary, different and unfamiliar experience there would be no point in going to Japan in the first place. All the things you listed are the reasons I'm moving there at the end of next year/beginning of 2010. I'll be quitting the FBI after 6 years of service to do it as well. I've got a limited amount of time here on this earth, as do we all, so I'll be damned if I'm going to waste it sitting around being "comfortable". Look at the fear of the unknown as a positive thing. It's FUN to be scared as long as you keep the right attitude about it all so get out there and try to scare the hell out of yourself.

Wow, you've worked at the FBI? What are you going to work as in Japan?

Tobberoth Wrote:Wow, you've worked at the FBI? What are you going to work as in Japan?

Let's hope he's not trying to find "Kira"!!!

Damn, the fuzz found us! run!

I think moving there to study is fine and I honestly don't see the problems. If you go to Japan and cannot meet people and build a student life, you may have a social problem(not to insult). Sure there are many obstacles, but its nothing that will hurt you really, after all its only a year. Moving to japan though....thats a different topic and I would have very different views on that. Simply put, mostly negative.

As a disclaimer, I've never been to japan, but the experiences of traveling/studying abroad aren't confined to that nation, so I feel the same situations arise.

One of the reasons I chose to be stationed in Japan was to learn Japanese. In hindsight, well, that's a pretty silly reason. You don't have to come to Japan to learn Japanese. Granted, if I had not come to Japan, I may not have learned that little bit of wisdom.

It's just as easy to not learn Japanese in Japan as it is anywhere else.

Tobberoth Wrote:Wow, you've worked at the FBI? What are you going to work as in Japan?

The main plan is to liquidate, so to speak, a few major assets that I've been holding on to for quite some time which should be equal to roughly twice that of my current annual net salary. I'll dump probably 10-15% of that into various retirement accounts on top what I've already accumulated over the years as my "safety net" of sorts and then I'll have the rest as money to live off of. I then plan to simply move over there on a tourist visa, find myself an apartment smack dab in the middle of Tokyo and then start job hunting. My savings alone should allow me to live comfortably for a few years without a job if I really had to (not that the government would allow that, nor would I want to) so I'll be able to job hunt under little to no pressure and really get a feel for things instead of having to rush out in the "OMG I just need to find ANY job" type of mindset.

I know it sounds crazy, which in some ways I guess it is but a while back I had an epiphany of sorts regarding what life is all about and it made me really assess the things around me. To most people getting a job at the FBI is a "dream" job of sorts but I've come to realize that "dream" is just a creation of society. It's not really "our" dream. It's what we've been taught. If you work with company X, with Pay X and have job title X then you've reached the "dream" regardless of how dull and uninspiring your work and life is as a result of it. Society tells us that if you work hard enough and follow all the rules of the "dream" life you'll be rewarded with a few years of retirement were you can finally do "all the things you've wanted to do" before you shrivel up and die.

Well guess what? I've seen all of the people waiting to get rewarded for "living the dream life" and after 30 years of sitting behind a cubicle they're still waiting. Their house might be a little bigger and their car a little newer but in reality their "dream life" and "dream job" hasn't given them any more happiness than anyone else.

I want to get out there and experience life for what I want to make of it, not for the reasons society tells me I should. Do I want to make lots of money? Of course I do but only if I ENJOY my life while I'm doing it. I want my trophy case of life to be filled with experiences.....not physical "toys" and if I can have those experiences with a fraction of the income then anything extra in terms of cash flow is just icing on the cake.

And no I didn't mean to go off on such a long rant but there it is lol.

cescoz Wrote:maybe no cappuccino^^

For your own sake, never even think about drinking coffee here. You should probably just start drinking tea, as I did.

cescoz Wrote:The truth is that the idea a little(very much) scare me,

It should scare you! I doubt there's one person over here who came thinking "well this is gonna be just like back home, but with lots of ramen. And Asians. Tons of those".

You're young, so you'll adapt quickly. Don't worry about being scared. It really does pass the minute you realize how kind and wonderful Japan's citizens are.

Quote:I mean a new country with a new language(ok I'm studying it but),no friends...maybe no cappuccino^^

If you smile a lot, show genuine warmth, and display an openness towards meeting new people, then you'll be surronded by new friends in no time.

Quote:How was your approach with the idea to move to Japan? leaving your family,your comfortable home and your habit?

I've been in Japan for about two years now. My main motivation was actually a fear. I had studied Japanese for about 5 years before coming here (and a couple study abroad stints here during the summer), so I already had a moderate level of fluency. I knew that I could go to Japan and finally nail down this language, or not go to Japan and let all my hard work shrivel up and die. The latter wasn't an option, so here I am.

As for leaving my comfort zone, it was easy for me. I had been living in the same city for my entire life, and I wanted to get the hell out.

activeaero Wrote:rant

I enjoyed it!

a lot of what activeaero said about the FBI is what i could say about me and nursing... i make decent money as an LPN ($23/hr) but the work i go through doing the actual job is not even nearly worth it.. people can't really understand what a nurse goes through unless they have worked the job before...

i wasn't scared the 1st time i went to japan (alone) at all... i was more grateful for just getting the hell out of my own country (USA)... the 1st time i went i didn't know any japanese at all except a poorly pronounced arigatou... if you have a fear of not being able to get around.. don't worry about it!! after all, everyone speaks body language and most of the trains are in english too in the big cities.

if you ever go by yourself to japan and want a cheap place to stay in tokyo i really recommend this place: http://www.yoshidahouse.net/en/index_en.html
as it says on their website:"At Yoshida House, the rates start at just 50,000yen monthly or 2,200yen daily and there's no key money. no deposit." that's dirt cheap for tokyo and its not really a bad place to stay either... i stayed there on a couple of my trips to tokyo..
they have several bilingual people living there who will be happy to help you if you need to know how to get anywhere or anything like that...

Evil_Dragon Wrote:For your own sake, never even think about drinking coffee here. You should probably just start drinking tea, as I did.

Eeeh, wieso das denn?

Well, I have to admit that I've been a fan of Japanese green teas (and Chinese Jasmine tea) for a loong time - way before I came to Japan, but if you're a coffee fan you won't be disappointed. Actually I stopped drinking coffee, cappu and the likes in Germany, but when I came to Japan there were so many interesting and good flavors that I started this bad habit again (of course I'm still drinking more green tea than coffee/cappu, but still .... especially now in winter I enjoy all the various cappu flavors (*__*) ....)

[/rant]



@samesong: Wow, that's interesting. May I ask what kind of job you're doing now in Japan?



@Topic starter: I didn't have any problems leaving my old life behind. Going to Japan was a great wish of mine for the longest time anyway and after I finally finished university I felt that it was REALLY time for me to go.
I don't feel lonely here at all. I wouldn't say that I have that many friends (well, most of them live in Tokyo which is too far away ;o; ...), but I'm so busy with work and studying that I don't have time to feel lonely at all. I enjoy my time here a lot and intend to stay a little longer, too (have been here for only 8 months so far).

The only thing that's kind of scary right now is that fuc****** cold weather. I have yet to learn how to deal with that while having almost non-existent insulation and no central heating x__X (*hugs kotatsu*)

chochajin Wrote:The only thing that's kind of scary right now is that fuc****** cold weather. I have yet to learn how to deal with that while having almost non-existent insulation and no central heating x__X (*hugs kotatsu*)

I hear you brother.

I'm freezing my ass off right now.


I think the Japan experience varies for everyone.

But it's easy to make friends, and you can really enjoy living here. There is some culture shock but other than it's fine. I love it here. Even without study your Japanese can improve a lot just by living here, assuming that you make even a little effort to speak to people in Japanese.

chochajin Wrote:@samesong: Wow, that's interesting. May I ask what kind of job you're doing now in Japan?

People fly me around at ultra-sonic speeds. I was also in a movie with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt once.

people bitching about cold weather in japan Wrote:bitch bitch

I saw SNOW today. It's not even December yet! Thank god for my kotatsu.

I never even had a kotatsu, just a hot carpet I had to stay bundled up with my moufu on.

「季節を感じながら暮らす」

Also, it snowed here like 3 weeks ago (but only lasted a day). Wonder if we'll get a day of -50C (/w windchill) again this year... ;_;

Hey cescoz- I know it's a big step to move to another country- you leave behind friends and family and step into an entirely different world.

I moved to Australia from the US in February of 2007 and lived there for a year and a half- it was great being in a different culture, and it wasn't too hard of a transition as they still speak English (though I maintain I'm now fluent in 2 languages- American English and Australian English). While I was in Australia I visited Japan twice and enjoyed it and ultimately decided to move here.

In August I moved to Japan because I wanted to improve my Japanese and live in yet another country. I miss my friends (both Australian, American and others I've met abroad) and family but I'm not one to get homesick. I don't regret coming here, but the first month or so was pretty hard- in Australia it was easy to make friends- in Japan it has been harder. I've been here 3 months now and finally have a reasonable friends base (it also helped that I started playing with a volleyball team 2-3 times per week).

I think it is worth it to move here if you want to improve your Japanese. My Japanese is still pretty poor, but living here has seen my ability increase exponentially. Having friends that are helpful and spending time with people who have worse English than I do Japanese also helps. Unfortunately, the volleyball team keeps teaching me local dialect, which is funny, but won't be helpful in the end

I planned to move to Japan about a year before I actually went. I saved up about 20 grand, and had been taking Japanese classes casually for several years. I booked an apartment online at Sakura House in Tokyo and that's all the planning I did.

I think the biggest mistake I did was paying about $500-600 a month for 3-days-a-week lessons in Shibuya. That was a waste of money but it was a good opportunity for meeting people.

Living in a Japanese sharehouse was the best experience of my life. Lots of drama... I recommend
http://borderless-tokyo.com/
There seems to be a ton more foreigners staying there these days though. Luckily when I stayed nobody knew a lick of English.