Is Japan a good place to live?

[Weavoid]

I'm pretty (Well, very) young to be thinking about this but I'm very serious. I just want to know if Japan is a nice place to live. Anyone who's lived, visited or just knows about Japan will probably be helpful. I'll need stuff like:

-Is it safe?
-Are jobs easy to come by?
-Which areas are convenient?

Any of that would be super nice. In terms of living areas, I'm thinking around Kumagaya and Saitama.

 

[Jas0n]

It is safe for the most part, but you will stick out and judged often simply for being a foreigner.

I don't think jobs would be easy to come by, from what I've heard it's hard for Japanese people to find jobs and even harder for foreigners. Unless you're thinking of teaching English, I doubt you will find anything. Especially if you're not completely fluent in Japanese.

Living arrangements could be difficult as well. It's a very densely populated country and also very expensive. You'd need plenty of savings before you moved there and you will most likely end up in a small apartment.

 

[Redlatios]

My sister lived there while studying japanese, and i visited her for a week. It's pretty much safe.
Japanese companies don't like foreign people, apparently.
apartments are expensive and small, they are made to be "comfortable" for only one person.

 

[kittenrobotarmy]

It is safe for the most part, but you will stick out and judged often simply for being a foreigner.

I don't think jobs would be easy to come by, from what I've heard it's hard for Japanese people to find jobs and even harder for foreigners. Unless you're thinking of teaching English, I doubt you will find anything. Especially if you're not completely fluent in Japanese.

Living arrangements could be difficult as well. It's a very densely populated country and also very expensive. You'd need plenty of savings before you moved there and you will most likely end up in a small apartment.

Pretty much what Jason said.

1. It's a safe country, although it's bound for tsunamis and earthquakes a bit more easily. You may be judged because you are foreign, especially if you don't speak Japanese.

2. If you don't speak Japanese, the only job you can really get is teaching English. However, you'd need to know Japanese in order to communicate with the students.

3. You're going to be traveling from Europe to Asia, and it will be quite expensive.

Furthermore, you could go to Japan. It's a beautiful country, but there are many cons of even getting there and settling down. I recommend someplace where you can speak the language, and preferably nearby so the costs aren't as much.

 

[bittermeat]

Unless you're fluent in japanese, I would not recommend it. If you the money, you could always take a trip to Japan and see if you're comfortable there and see if it could realistically work or not.

 

[Jas0n]

2. If you don't speak Japanese, the only job you can really get is teaching English. However, you'd need to know Japanese in order to communicate with the students.

This isn't true. There are plenty of people who don't speak Japanese well and teach English in Japanese schools. Don't ask me how it works, but they pretty much hire anyone qualified as they need the teachers.

 

[kittenrobotarmy]

Oh, I didn't know. Maybe the students already know some English, or are just learning so they can communicate slightly. It also helps if you know Romaji, which is the alphabet version of Japanese.

I recommend what bittermeat said. Take a trip to Japan and see if moving there would fit you. Think about it now. Will you have the money to move? Do you know how you will learn Japanese? Learning Romaji at least is very helpful.

 

[Chris]

Oh, I didn't know. Maybe the students already know some English, or are just learning so they can communicate slightly. It also helps if you know Romaji, which is the alphabet version of Japanese.

It's actually preferred that foreign teachers don't communicate with students in their native language! Many people (note: not all) who are hired to teach English in schools are more like classroom assistants and are there to provide oral practice, rather than teaching in the more traditional sense of the word.

Also, I'm not quite sure you understand what romaji is, Kippla. 'Romaji' (romanization) isn't something you can 'learn' - so it's not exactly a skill. It's just the Japanese alphabets transcribed into the Roman alphabet - anyone who speaks a Latin-based language (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, etc) can read it even if they don't understand it. It's actually encouraged that people studying Japanese go straight into hiragana/katakana and rely on romaji as little as possible. Romaji doesn't always get across the correct meaning, because words can be spoken/read in the same way but have different meanings based on the kanji used to write them .

 

[kittenrobotarmy]

OH! See, I'm not good at this stuff. Well, you should try to take a trip there and see how it works for you. Try planning this stuff out so if you do move there, you know what to do.

 

[BellGreen]

OH! See, I'm not good at this stuff. Well, you should try to take a trip there and see how it works for you. Try planning this stuff out so if you do move there, you know what to do.

Romaji is like "Watashi wa Jemezu*. Genki desu ka?" Romaji takes the character and is basically spelled of what it sounds like.
Kanji, Hiragana, and Katakana are like... SO MUCH CHARACTERS TO MEMORIZE

I do want to learn them all though XD

*James in Japanese

 

[Touko]

I'm learning Japanese because I want to live there one day, I did have a trip there last year though.
It's safe and the people are polite as well as kind. Some of the workers at shops attempt a bit of English if you don't know how to speak Japanese fluently.

But I guess it would be nice to live there if you can handle money, living arrangements and lifestyle.

 

[BellGreen]

I'm learning Japanese because I want to live there one day, I did have a trip there last year though.
It's safe and the people are polite as well as kind. Some of the workers at shops attempt a bit of English if you don't know how to speak Japanese fluently.

But I guess it would be nice to live there if you can handle money, living arrangements and lifestyle.

They know English because it's REQUIRED to learn for keyboards. Also, English is considered COOL in their songs lol!

ああ神様お願い
二人だけの
Duraemu タイムください
-----
English Translation
Oh God, please!
Give us some dream time just for the two of us
-----
Romaji Translation
Aa kamisama onegai
Futari dake no
Duraemu taimu kudasai

 

[kittenrobotarmy]

I'm learning Japanese because I want to live there one day, I did have a trip there last year though.
It's safe and the people are polite as well as kind. Some of the workers at shops attempt a bit of English if you don't know how to speak Japanese fluently.

But I guess it would be nice to live there if you can handle money, living arrangements and lifestyle.

That sounds lovely. I told my best friend's dad I wanted to live there someday, because I've always heard Japan is beautiful, and some parts are occupied and some are quiet.

 

[Vida]

Well, although I myself would love to visit Japan one day, actually living there is a totally different matter.

For one point, Japan's suicide rate is much higher than in most other industrial countries. Why? It has something to do with its culture. People in Japan are expected to surpress feelings.

The society focuses on precision and effort. In Japan, it's not that rare for workers to sleep at their workplace. Lots of stress.

Even (highschool) students suffer from a lot of pressure. In school, we once watched a documentary about Japanese students. School ends at about 4 or 5 PM. Afterwards, students receive private tuition until about 10 PM. Without private tuition, students won't be able to pass the year and get good grades. And it is extremely hard to enter university, so pressure is growing all the time. When they get home, they have to do homework and often, they won't be able to go to bed until 1 AM. Many students commit suicide because of too much stress.

The society requires group-minded thinking. Individiuality is not really welcomed. As that, it has to be said that foreigners (in Japan, they are called "Gajin") are often discriminated against... If you don't look Japanese, people will stare at you all the time.

Also, when it comes to homosexuality, Japan is even more narrow-minded than the western world. (Even though they have lots of anime/manga featuring gay/lesbian characters, actual homosexual parings are not really accepted in real life.)

So, I just wanted to stress some negative aspects. Of course, Japan probably has its benefits as well. I just don't know if I liked to live in a country where stress is a daily routine.

Like others have said, go there on a vacation or do work experiene there, if you have money. You will see for yourself if you like it. I wouldn't recommend moving there if you've never been there before.

 

[Mino]

Why do you want to move to Japan? People seem to think it's some sort of utopia for introverted anime nerds, which is absurd. I'm not laughing at your idea, I just want you to be more realistic about it.

Are jobs easy to come by?

Jobs are not easy to come by for any potential immigrant to a developed nation. For one, you can't exactly move there and then find a job, it doesn't work like that. You'd need to find the job first. You undoubtedly won't be able to immigrate without some very impressive credentials and a job offer. The exception to this is teaching English, for which there are bound to be quite a few more opportunities. It would only be temporary, but that's going to be your best bet. Start learning Japanese in some capacity now and look into teaching English abroad programs, their requirements, and approval process. Also, Japan is a very expensive country to live in and get to, so I hope you have extra money. If you did a teaching program it's likely your living expenses would be covered, but you probably won't have very much extra money. It's also likely you won't get to choose where you live in the country.

To your other questions.... Is it safe? Yes. Convenient? Probably, but this depends to some degree on your Japanese proficiency and location. I'm sure as you get further from the major cities what little English the locals know decreases.

Are your reasons for wanting to move to Japan beyond something like, "It's a paradise for otakus like me?" Maybe you just really want to live abroad someday. If so, then I'd recommend adjusting your trajectory a little south toward Bangkok. You'd have much better chances of finding employment, and Thailand has extremely lax visa policies. It's also considerably cheaper in most respects than where you live now, let alone Japan. Hundreds of thousands of Westerners live in Thailand and millions visit every year, so English is everywhere. You shouldn't need to learn much more than Thai numbers, transaction phrases, and salutations, (though you really should.) Oh, and for only a few hundreds dollars you can fly to Japan from there.

Edit - I should add that finding a job in Thailand would by no means be easy. Just that it's more likely for you than in Japan and you wouldn't have to find the job first.

 

[Hamusuta]

Ok so me and my asian famalam lived in Japan for the first 5 years of my life.
and well the community is definitely more dry than it is here in Uk and in Us.
I've noticed when people enter Japanese shops or generally walking around people aren't really that bothered who you are.
But in US AND UK people are always smiling and asking if you are ok and trying to make conversation.
as for jobs i doubt you will get one, my mother who might i add is japanese and is well known in the area we lived in struggled to get a job for 3 or so years, so i'd thought i'd add that.

 

[Aloha]

I don't know a lot about Japan because I never went there.All I know is it never hurts to learn some basic japanese in case jobs need you to speak japanese.

 

[kite]

Why do you want to move to Japan? People seem to think it's some sort of utopia for introverted anime nerds, which is absurd. I'm not laughing at your idea, I just want you to be more realistic about it.


Jobs are not easy to come by for any potential immigrant to a developed nation. For one, you can't exactly move there and then find a job, it doesn't work like that. You'd need to find the job first. You undoubtedly won't be able to immigrate without some very impressive credentials and a job offer. The exception to this is teaching English, for which there are bound to be quite a few more opportunities. It would only be temporary, but that's going to be your best bet. Start learning Japanese in some capacity now and look into teaching English abroad programs, their requirements, and approval process. Also, Japan is a very expensive country to live in and get to, so I hope you have extra money. If you did a teaching program it's likely your living expenses would be covered, but you probably won't have very much extra money. It's also likely you won't get to choose where you live in the country.

To your other questions.... Is it safe? Yes. Convenient? Probably, but this depends to some degree on your Japanese proficiency and location. I'm sure as you get further from the major cities what little English the locals know decreases.

Are your reasons for wanting to move to Japan beyond something like, "It's a paradise for otakus like me?" Maybe you just really want to live abroad someday. If so, then I'd recommend adjusting your trajectory a little south toward Bangkok. You'd have much better chances of finding employment, and Thailand has extremely lax visa policies. It's also considerably cheaper in most respects than where you live now, let alone Japan. Hundreds of thousands of Westerners live in Thailand and millions visit every year, so English is everywhere. You shouldn't need to learn much more than Thai numbers, transaction phrases, and salutations, (though you really should.) Oh, and for only a few hundreds dollars you can fly to Japan from there.

Edit - I should add that finding a job in Thailand would by no means be easy. Just that it's more likely for you than in Japan and you wouldn't have to find the job first.

This is definitely it. The people I know who have moved over there were interviewed here in the States, then hired. Unsurprisingly it is very competitive. I know around 3 people who have found jobs that are not related to being an English teacher because they understood and spoke enough English and Japanese to become useful assets to their companies. They worked hard to get where they were.

Getting hired as an English teacher is also usually under contract and doesn't mean permanent employment for English teachers. But you can enjoy your time there if you get hired!

Going there as a tourist or a foreign exchange student is also a great experience, though. My university is a "sister school" to Waseda and a few other Japanese schools, so yeah, if you're a university student you can look into foreign exchange programs as an option to be in Japan. ^^

 

[Zeiro]

I have a friend that moved to Japan and he said it can be very lonely. And making friends is not easy, especially being a gaijin and all.