Job Discussion Forums

[ravel]

Hi Everyone,

I am just getting settled into a position here in Japan. Now that I have a job in hand, I'm looking for a life here too. I have read and heard several stories from people who started in Japan, hated it for the first while, then loved it after awhile.

I have to admit that so far it seems to be basically an overpriced version of Korea, with a few different social rules (including the f**king retarded "you must be a trouble maker if you have a tattoo" prejudice (Yakuza my a** I'm white seen any white Yakuza lately??!@#))

I was refused membership to two gyms because I have a tattoo on my forearm about 2 cm by 8cm, so I just lied to my current gym and shower at home, I really hate lying but retarded rules like that make it necessary! People are generally courteous, except smokers are as, if not more inconsiderate here as in most other countries.

Does anyone have some personal stories about their experiences of first coming to Japan, how you felt, how the work conditions were, experiences or things that motivated you to stay, or leave?

So far I am in limbo about how I feel about Japan, prices are RIDICULOUS , and I have as yet not really found any communities or groups that I am interested in joining (any ideas?). I'd like to have a life here, not just a job, if it turns out to be just a job, then I may as well be in Korea where THEY pay for my apartment AND furniture AND I get paid better than here. What have other people done to make a life for themselves here?

Finally, I am in the Osaka area, and with Golden week coming I want to make the most of the time off....locally and without breaking the bank completely. Any suggestions?

P.S. I have purposely seen nothing yet (while looking for work) so it's all new to me.

[sidjameson]

Just curious, but what have you noticed that is "ridiculously" over priced? I live in Osaka and to be honest at current exchange rates I find Osaka to be pretty cheap these days. That maybe because I come from the truly ridiculous UK though.

I'd do day trips from your home for GW. Hotels will be fully booked and expensive and as it's your first year there is a lot to see around Osaka.

Go see the monkeys in Minoo.
Arashiyama
Hike up to the amusement park on Ishikiri mountain.

All of the above are 390yen train fares and then you have the obvious Kyoto, Nara, kobe etc

[seanmcginty]

Yeah, I don't know what Korea is like but I found things to be pretty reasonably priced in Japan too ( compared to Canada). There are a few things that seem overpriced but by and large the cost of living is about the same. The only real problem is if you have to pay key money to get an apartment. I guess if you are used to having everything paid for you Japan won't seem quite as cool, but you can earn a decent living as an English teacher there and have a fair bit of cash left at the end of each month.

I don't have a tattoo so I never had to deal with any of the social stigma that goes along with that. I spent 5 years in the country and thought it was great. Its just an interesting country to live in with no shortage of fun things to do.

The Kansai area is the best, like sidjameson points out there are tons of things to do that are just a short train ride away.

[Zzonkmiles]

Hi Ravel,

Good to see you've gotten a job and no longer have to watch your bank account reserves disappear.

Let me ask you something. Have you made any FRIENDS in Japan yet? I'm not talking about women for dating or other more obvious activities. I'm talking about actual friends. They can be other foreigners or they can be Japanese people. That will help you out a lot because it expands your social network infinitely. They will show you new places to hang out, new izakayas to try, and whatnot.

Since you have a bit of downtime coming up soon, I strongly recommend learning at least minimal Japanese. Not knowing any Japanese ensures that your only friends will be other foreigners, Japanese people who already speak English, or Japanese people who will take advantage of you and befriend you just because they know you can't speak their language (which means a free English lesson for them). Group #1 is fine, but you run the risk of being isolated into a "gaijin bubble" where complaining about Japan is common. Group #2 is okay also, but they might be more interested in learning more about your country instead of teaching you about theirs. And Group #3 will just make you bitter.

I think finding your own social scene and developing your own circle of friends should come before doing all the touristy types of activities. Unless you're a loner, going to Himeji Castle or Arashiyama by yourself isn't going to be much fun. But when your (sincere) Japanese friends invite you to drunken karaoke after a night of chuhai and yakitori at the local izakaya, I think your opinion of Japan will change considerably.

[Glenski]

ravel,
Congratulations on landing a job here. What kind did you get?

Sounds to me like you have already settled into culture shock. Get used to the rejection over tattoos; I think you were already warned.

Prices are not always "ridiculous" here. Bread gets me more than anything. Look carefully at the supermarkets in your area to see which ones have certain items that the others don't, and to find sales. They DO have them here. Also, the trick for meats is either go to a place like Costco or Cowboy, or go to the supermarket an hour or less before closing to get the stuff marked down. Buy soda from supermarkets, not vending machines. Those are just general tips, so if you have something more specific nagging at your pocketbook, let us know.

Since you've just gotten here, I'd suggest buckling down with the Japanese language studies and learning how your employer operates (and wants YOU to operate). Could be different from Korea. Also, with the holiday approaching, I wouldn't count on people you meet right now being in town, so focus more on yourself than making friends until the holiday is over. You're going to see an influx of travelers during the holiday, so expect huge crowds instead of complaining here when they come to ruin your first few weeks. After the holiday, get to know your coworkers a little more, and see what Japanese friends you can make outside of work.

You wanted personal stories of first coming to Japan. Well, mine is rather unique, since I first came here over 20 years ago and worked in Tokyo for a biotech company instead of teaching. That adjusted me to the country a little for my most recent stay (starting 9 years ago). Basically, becoming a teacher was a new experience for me, so I did what I wrote above. That is, I learned how to teach at my school first. I also learned what was in my neighborhood (bicycle helps), and started studying a little Japanese. I began writing a monthly newsletter (before blogs existed) to send to friends and family back home. That gave me a perspective on life here, and a purpose in learning what Japan is like, plus a self-imposed deadline. One of my co-workers was always gone with his wife trekking and hiking on weekends, and the other had a girlfriend out of town, so I had to rely on myself. Students were friendly enough, but I didn't do anything with them until December's end-of-year party (which THEY organized). I got involved in the local community a bit at first, with events sponsored by city hall for foreigners and locals to interact. I highly recommend that or finding a chapter of teachers who are organized (like JALT or ETJ) and who may have professional events like meetings or picnics (and those meetings may be the annual ones or just the weekly Q&A sessions for local bunches of people. Spread your name around with your personal interests that other people may share.

[gaijin4life]

Go to Nara and check out some of the temples, - if that`s your thing. It`s a great place, authentic old Japan .. I`d recommend visiting Todaiji and Horyuji in particular. - You`d also be likely to meet up with other travellors and or gaijin, if thats your thing too .. !

[jademonkey]

As for pricing. Imagine you are staying in your home city but know nothing of any of the cheap places, supermarkets, bars etc. I'm pretty sure you'd find it extremely expensive. In my 4 years in Tokyo, I never once found it expensive once I'd worked it out. for example:
* cinema tickets are 1200yen from the ticket shops
* there are lots of cheap places (yatai mostly) to eat and drink
* every tacky foreigner knows they can get all-you-can-drink from karaoke bars
* most convenience stores are quite cheap
* there is now a range of Lawson 100 yen convenience stores which sells everything for 100 yen

And so on.

[kdynamic]

I came for the food

[Apsara]

When I was working for Nova and saving every last yen to pay off my student loan and then put a deposit on an apartment in NZ, I can say in hindsight that I did not particularly enjoy those 2.5 years that much. Travelling overseas 3 times a year or so kept me sane. I left Japan after that not planning to come back.

After 6 months I was back here though (for the money), and this time I started practicing at a local "international" yoga centre (this was before yoga became popular here). It was very social, with a great group of people (Japanese and foreign) who regularly hung out together so it was a lot of fun.

Three years ago my yoga practice turned into a full time job as I was asked to teach. I have friends outside the yoga community of course but end up hanging out mostly with yoga people or other more "alternative" Japanese (most of them have escaped the sarariman track and are involved in really interesting things) and foreigners. Because of this the number of people I know with tattoos (I have a small one myself) and dreads, guys with long hair etc. is quite high, and it's great to spend most of my time with open-minded people. I was at the Earth Day celebration yesterday near Yoyogi Park and people with dreads/ piercings/ tattoos almost outnumbered those without!

This is what makes it possible for me to stay in Japan and enjoy it (9 years and counting)- I have really found my niche here (oh, and a Japanese husband!). I don't consider it that expensive either- apart from our rent, which is fairly high due to location, and things like apples, but in my absence prices in my home country have been soaring as well, so it doesn't seem that bad.

Hope you manage to find your "niche". If you are really hating it though, better to start looking elsewhere perhaps.

[-3E-]

I've been considering trying to work in Japan for sometime now... It will probably still be a couple more years though... I think I would like to learn japanese first... I hope more people reply to this thread... It will keep me from having to fish through all these other posts to get a feel of how people like it in Japan...

[gaijinalways]

Actually if you compare prices in Japan to much of Western Europe on the currently inflated Euro, some things are a bargain by comparison (let's not even talk about England with sterling).

Yes, learning Japanese is helpful, but to be honest I would take some of the language learning advice with a big grain of salt. There's some things in Japan that mastery of a language doesn't change .

[Glenski]

[-3E-]

Probably around 2 years, maybe even 3... So it's not really going to be anytime too quickly...

[Leon30]

To the OP.

I live in Korea and have only visited Osaka... but...

I found supermarket prices for meat and fish and good fresh foods to be cheaper than in Korea. Alchohol was only a little more expensive. Travelling and cinemas and coffees and the like though, yeah I know what you mean...

Of the places I ventured into alone at night until I hooked up with my Japanese friend (namba, minami, kita / umeda) I found the shinsabashi disctrict to have bars and clubs with a lot of friendly other foriegners, met some people from UK, US and even some Brazillians who only spoke a little English, but with that and my little Japanese, we managed to hang out a bit... You have to jus be brave and if no-one ventures to speak to you, just go up to them and make small talk (hwo long you been in Japan, where you from etc...) Some people will take you under their wing if they know you're new and show you the ropes, I'm sure. Just don't be retiring....

Um, what else.... Oh yeah - pick up a copy of Kansaiscene magazine also - www.kansaiscene.co.jp - I think that's correct. It will be handy for finding the bars and clubs where other foriegners will hang out and also there are personal ads of Japanese and foriegners wanting to meet people for dating / freindships etc...

I know once you get some of the language under your belt you might want to make Japanese friends also, but I think finding some fellow gaijin tomodachis never does any harm and is a good way to get initiated and expand your social circle...

Good luck!

[Angelfish]