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[Deicide]

I have never been to Japan and yet one day after a Masters degree it is an idea that I toy with....

What are the negatives of living in Japan? Are there things that irk you or you dislike? Or is Japan overall very positive? Your input would be appreciated!

[Gypsy Rose Kim]

1. Small apartments is number one for me. Thin walls. Ugly concrete buildings with wires hanging all over them. General architectural ugliness, actually. Ugly neighborhoods and ugly views. (Don't get me wrong. I know there are beautiful details all around, but such a rich country really out to work a bit harder on making pretty buildings.)

2. I hope to never live in a place with tamami again. It's nice to visit someone with tatami, but I hated the dampness and maintenance and such. I always felt like there were little bugs crawling around in there. Plus, I have cats, nuff said.

3. Many will go bananas over this one, but I think it's bloody preposterous that I can't smoke walking down the street when there is nobody around (save for nosy obachans peering over their balconies or people who give dirty looks from their CARS). I'll just leave it at that, though I could fill a thousand pages with all the reasons why I think it is bullsh.

4. Freezing cold apartments in the winter. Funny that when I lived in Korea, where the temperatures are lower and the people have considerably less money, I was warm and comfortable inside.

I could live without the above nuisances, but I've said it before: I think Japan is far and away the best place in the world to live.

[Quibby84]

I hate the fact that I work so much....I also wish I had a bigger kitchen and more access to cheap food that I could cook. My kitchen and my job are about the only things that make me angry though.
I love the people and atmosphere and the fact that it is so safe. I also love to save lots of money...hehe...

[Deicide]

[Glenski]

Plenty of positives.
Plenty of negatives. (People b-itch all the time. Haven't you seen the threads here and elsewhere?)

Focus on the positives; see if they pertain to you.

Plan on the negatives, and before you make the leap, really consider how much of an "inconvenience" they would be for you, compared to the people who posted them.

Do not address either of these with rose-colored glasses. You have to be as objective as possible.

[Deicide]

[AndyH]

Kanto summers: hot and humid, with cockroaches.
Tiny kitchens.
Lack of jobs outside ESL.

But, the positives by far outweigh these minor things.

[Glenski]

AndyH wrote:

[Sherri]

[J.]

Minuses:

Prejudice -- either pro or con. I also hate the phoney "cute foreigner" thing.

Needing a guarantor for an apartment IF somebody will rent to you and then paying key money for the PRIVILEGE of renting their apartment.

Bugs (c-ckroaches and slugs) inside.

Noise with nowhere to escape it, not even in my flat.

Pollution -- the air is terrible even in the "country" from so many cars and so many people wandering aimlessly from shopping centre to store to restaurant constantly. There seem to be very few "laid-back" people where I live. And they don't like to walk.

Lack of appropriate partners, at least in the countryside. Ditto friends although there are many acquaintances.

Difficulty of changing your driver's license.

Challenging language, especially to learn to read.

Terribly long wait to be able to APPLY for permanent resident status if you aren't married to a Japanese (10 years).

Not able to vote so no one in government pays you a jot of heed. Except to use "foreigners" as a convenient scapegoat whenever things get too hot for them during the latest scandal or before an election.

Not able to start a company without a Japanese partner.

Freezing cold winters and sweaty hot summers, as well as a rainy season where you better not stop moving too long or mold will grow on you. Literally. I had one student who had a mold "infection" growing in her nose.

Pluses:

An interesting culture with a long history.

Enough work in my chosen field -- teaching, with varied and challenging contracts and the freedom to make my own curriculum.

Some lovely students.

A living wage.

A living wage

A living wage.

[Gypsy Rose Kim]

[ReedNZ]

Great post there Gypsy Rose Kim. I think that shows a very unbiased view of both countries.

[Glenski]

J.
A lot of the things you wrote are either wrong or slightly misinformed.

You don't have to wait 10 years for PR if you are single. Case by case.

Pollution in all parts of the countryside? Not in Hokkaido, and I'm sure other places are relatively clean.

You don't always need a guarantor for an apartment.

Prejudice. Well, show me a country withOUT it.

What do you mean by "lack of appropriate partners"?

Difficulty of changing your driver's license. Take the test. Many pass on the first try.

Challenging language. But you knew that coming in.

Voting. Well, even back home, don't you have to be a citizen?

As for freezing winters and hot summers, not in all of Japan.

[J.]

your opinion.

But frankly, I think out of place to "correct me" on something that is clearly opinion-oriented. And "case by case", what the hell does that mean except "we let in our friends faster".

And why in heck would I be talking about other countries in a thread about negatives of Japan? I shouldn't have to explain that I KNOW it's not only in Japan that we have prejudice. It's, unfortunately, a human condition.

[Glenski]

Your opinion, too, I guess, but many of those things I "corrected" were facts, not opinion.

Case by case in terms of PR... it means that everyone's situation is different, and that many have gotten PR in less than 10 years. Be sarcastic if you will, but the facts are there. Immigration is a gray area.

As far as prejudice goes, if you want to call it an inconvenience in Japan, that's all right by me, and I would probably agree with you on some details, but you didn't give any. That's why I wrote what I did about prejudice being in all countries. Got a specific beef? Spill it.