[Closed] Anyone ever lived in Japan?

Fantastic place to visit - been there plenty of times with work. I love the culture, the people, the food and the challenge of getting around when we few people (especially outside the big cities) speak Japanese. Definitely on the holiday destination list too but it would be difficult to live there without learning Japanese.

I spent the best part of 18 months in Tokyo - was working and it was hard, but took most of the weekends off.

Anyway, to your question, yes definitely go there for a holiday. Even Tokyo isn't really expensive IMO, and although you won't find people speaking English much outside the big cities, Google Translate is very good and everyone is incredibly keen to help. It's surprising how wild and quiet it gets even not far out of Tokyo in the hills.

If you're fine with teaching English you'd manage a few years no problem in a big city without properly speaking Japanese.

James May Amazon Prime is worth a watch.

I visited in 2010. It's an amazing place to visit because there's little that is familiar. I loved their politeness.
I found few spoke English and even fewer to a decent standard. In a way I preferred it that way. You won't regret it if you ever go.

Been quite often over the years for work. As others above have said its a fantastic country and one I'd really like to go back and visit on holiday

Oh man - had ten days there in 2015, best holiday EVER. Tons of useful info from the lovely folk hereabouts in here;

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/things-to-do-in-japan/

Things I remember,

1 - Next to no-one speaks more than very rudimentary English - it doesn't matter, they are the most helpful people on earth to strangers.

2 - Do the JR pass before you go, do Suica cards - public transport becomes super-easy to arrange. Priceless.

3 - Send your bags between hotels. China Airways mislaid our bags on the way out - as Mrs Pondo is a creature of beauty AND foresight, we had a couple of days worth of kit in hand luggage, so we were good for two days and got the heavy stuff sent to some place two days down the line. This had been recommended to us as a strategy beforehand but we were too scared to bank on it in advance - as the big bags were where they needed to be when we needed them, we adopted that as a strategy going forward, just swapping kit into day bags which meant we never had to carry our heavy luggage until the day we left. Cost a few yen, but maxed out our time. Recommended.

4 - We booked a dongle in advance - cost a few quid (but not a lot!), was at the hotel when we arrived at gone midnight, simple to use and worked flawlessly, came with a prepaid envelope to send it back at the end of the trip and meant we had wifi pretty much everwhere. Invaluable.

You will have no problems finding places to go or things to do (and if you are, see the link above!). Loved it there and can't wait to go back. Read Walking In Circles by Todd Wassell for a great insight into the culture (and because it's a great read!). And Shogun (James Clavell). And Angry White Pyjamas (Robert Twigger).

Edit - be aware that green more likely indicates tea rather than mint, so be careful buying chocolate. Avoid natto (I think - fermented soya beans) as they taste utterly shit.

Further edit - I vividly remember wandering the streets of Hiroshima at 11 o'clock at night whilst Mrs Pondo slept, surrounded by laughing, business-suited Japanese on their commute home from work and thinking "I've never felt so safe in ANY city in my life".

PPS - The house we stayed at in Kyoto - for two or three nights, five years ago - sent us a postcard a month or so back. No place we've ever stayed at, before or since, has taken the trouble to do that.

I run training sessions for clients about to embark on projects in Japan, and I mentor Japanese project managers

A great place to visit - an extended holiday for a month or two would be great. I absolutely love it there.

But I wouldn't want to work there. Aside from the language barrier, the work culture is so completely different, and reflects very deep Japanese cultural norms - not impossible to navigate, but very difficult.

Visiting and living/working are completely different things. Japan is a pleasant place to visit, a bit sterile compared to other Asian countries, but very safe. Tokyo is an amazing city, but getting out to the countryside is a good idea. Keep in mind that Japan is roughly the size of Britain, so you aren't going to see all of it in one trip. Very few Japanese people speak any functional English, although decent hotels have English speaking staff. Spring and autumn are nicest. Summers are miserable. Deodorant and toothpaste suck. So do the pillows.

Lived there for 6 months and absolutely agree with all of the above.

As others have said, the language barrier is enormous, but (also as others have said), the Japanese are genuinely the loveliest most helpful people and even if between you can't understand a thing each other are saying you will generally end up where you need to be/with what you want/whatever as they will just keep trying until you are happy!

Tokyo is amazing and you could easily spend a whole holiday there but travelling around is where the real interest is - Tokyo, whilst still being utterly Japanese, does still feel like a big western city. As you go out from Tokyo that fades off significantly and you get much more of a feel for Japanese-ness.

Food wise you can literally just go wherever you decide and it will be incredible. Makes it both easier and harder to find somewhere to eat!

Travel is dead easy - the trains really are as good as they say. I had about an hour commute on a train and a bus and over 6 months got to my desk at exactly the same time +/- a minute max. As mentioned, book a JR pass beforehand and it makes travel really easy. Shinkansen (bullet train) is superb but quite expensive compared to air travel - but we'll worth it both from the experience and environmental perspectives. Local trains by far the easiest way to get around although taxis are also great (more like being chauffered than a taxi - all's drivers in suits etc).

So yes. Go there. You will not regret it.

If deep deep powder is your thing. Go. But then again if it is you probably know already.
Living in ski resort in Hokkaido you would find more English spoken but you would be living amongst a lot of Aussie ski bums.

A really good surfing friend lives in Miyagi in the north, and apparently it is all about the powder this time of year (not my thing, I know). He taught english, met a girl, came back, but they've ended up over there and have a kid in school now. He has a good time but is about about the most straightforward and down to earth person I know who'd get on anywhere. I really must visit - north coast of scotland takes longer to get to for a surf trip, apparently. (My impression - even if you're part of a japanese family you're very much a foreigner and it's not a terribly diverse country...)

I lived in the south of Japan for 6 months and it was an amazing experience. @speed12 sums up exactly my thoughts on the country and I couldn't really add anymore.

As said, going for a holiday and living/working is completely different. I only visited on holiday while my partner went out for work a few times. Very different from actually living there as he was looked after, but that meant being very cautious of being polite to your hosts.

It is very interesting because the society is so different, and the youth movements you see in the likes of Tokyo are testament to the way their society works. Please do try and learn some language and most importantly etiquette. Most Japanese in the hospitality industry or in international jobs speak some to very good English but many Japanese won't speak any at all. They will be - what we perceive as - ultra polite to you, but you could be being extremely rude. They won't let you know.

The societal norms are so very conservative, yes there is a bit of a backlash from the younger generations, but they are basically brought up believing the Japanese are a superior race, that men and women have roles, and there is an overriding sense of `Japan' not the individual. Many Japanese' views on suicide come from this ultra conservatism. I'll never really get my head around it. Japan is, systematically at least, racist and sexist, although of course each individual may not be and will always outwardly be polite.

If the place interests you, do go and explore. It will take generations but their society is changing because of the information available now with globalisation and the internet. The main cities now have Roman script alongside street names and train stations (Tokyo, Kyoto etc) so you can find your way around and Google maps downloaded will show you both scripts. The trains are very good, do get the nationwide rail pass. And tourist centres like where the snow monkeys live have tourist board people meeting foreigners looking lost off the train and helping them in English (and multitude other languages)! I would avoid the peak seasons like the cherry blossom.

I lived in Okayama for a year teaching English, deep in the inaka (countryside). I wish I'd stayed for longer, I adored it.

Okayama is beautiful (it's known as the sunshine state) and mega rural, and their accent is viewed as somewhere between Brummie and Worzel. So when I'd go to Tokyo and try out my very limited Japanese mainly picked up from farmers' kids in class, the people I spoke to would be like - why is this guy speaking like a bumpkin? 😀

This was my house: [url= https://www.google.co.uk/maps/ @34.8179717,133.7517229,3a,75y,92.79h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNlMqnPszQGg9Yh0u-s8n6xZjllTcjQkndswqQq!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNlMqnPszQGg9Yh0u-s8n6xZjllTcjQkndswqQq%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi5.0895886-ya86.59617-ro-9.286338-fo100!7i6720!8i3360]on the left[/url]

Alistair Urquhart did not like Japan, not keen on the food, or the racist attitude and the work was no fun.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Forgotten-Highlander-Incredible-Survival-During/dp/0349122571

I went for a 2 week holiday over Easter in 2019.

It was brilliant!

+1 for a wi fi Dongle. Having this ment we could navigate with Google maps. No problems with that.

It was just after peak cherry blossom season when we went, I thought it would be mad but it was fine 🙂

I'd love to go for another holiday, bit having talked to a Japanese teacher when we were on a train, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to be a regular teacher in a school.

The hours he did sounded absolutely mad. Planning until midnight 5 nights a week then back in at 8am and teaching. I'll stick to 50h a week- luxury!

Reading a bit of background, in the times of the samurai if you caused a public nuisance you could be beheaded. Might have a reason for the politeness and good manners today!

Have visited for work - a week at a time, and only to big cities. I much preferred parts of China (the only other place I've been in Asia). Its interesting from a cultural perspective, the language is a barrier - you can get by but you'll have no idea whats going on around you, and I didn't find the atmosphere very healthy. Sexism/mysogyny is rife. Older people are automatically respected and to be agreed with (at least in business) even if they are wrong. Everything feels sterile - like artificially "tidy" etc. One of my contacts out there (who I spent a lot of time with because English was so good) had studied in the US, and then gone back 10 years later and spent 5 years working in the US before returning to the family firm in Tokyo - he said that had been a really difficult transition to come back to Japanese family and business culture and took about a year for him, and his family to adjust.

From what I’ve seen (mainly social media and YouTube…) it looks like an amazing place. It looks to have stunning scenery, a general culture of being polite and respectful, the passion in the car and music scene etc etc

Is that everyone else’s perception? I’d love to hear any first hand experience?
And the typical British question that I hate asking, do many of the residents speak English?

I'd much prefer Scandinavia - although it might not have the same car/music scene (as not my sort of thing) but it has everything else you've mentioned with a much lower language barrier.

In 2005 I got offered a free ticket to the Japanese GP and a hugely discounted flight. I took both and had a week after the event to do a lot of travelling.
I found it fascinating and at times overwhelming. The contrast between the cities and country was amazing and I wish I'd had more than a couple of days to prepare.
I echo all the positives above. I only know two folk who've done a lot of time working out there.
One was in the oil industry and loved it as he was basically cosseted by the company. The last I heard he was retired but still living out there.
The other was in finance working on currency trading. He earned masses and loved his high pressure job and put his all money into buy buying a flat in central Tokyo so when he left he would have an investment to cash in on. Sadly didn't work out to well. Japanese economy took a hit just as London property prices soared so he came back - still with money - but basically he'd led a quiet life out there and didn't get the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Cheers for the replies everyone, it sounds pretty much how I pictured it - think I’ll need to start saving up the pennies for a future holiday!

Thanks for the shout on James May’s programme @Caher, I’ll give it a watch

@poly that’s a fair point about the Scandinavian countries. I’ve worked with a few Norwegians recently and they’re all brilliant people, always fancied visiting Denmark as well... the worlds too big and I don’t get enough holidays!

"The world's too big and I don’t get enough holidays!" Too true.

It is well worth seeing as a holiday as somewhere that is like nowhere else. And there is a great mixture of urban and rural, old and new, cities/infrastructure and wild spaces. It also doesn't have to cost that much, very good clean and comfortable 3-star business type hotels are about £60-90 a room, hostel rooms from £30-40, assuming once the country re-opens following coronavirus that tourism won't be that different. I would say though, whilst the land area is similar to the UK, the variety from Pacific sub-tropical islands to the snowy mountains of Sapporo is vast so don't try and do it all, concentrate on a few areas using the rail pass.

https://iainmaloney.com/books/the-only-gaijin-in-the-village/

Mate of mine from uni lives in Japan. Loves it.

Travel is dead easy – the trains really are as good as they say. I had about an hour commute on a train and a bus and over 6 months got to my desk at exactly the same time +/- a minute max.

What makes things easier is that if you are wanting the 10.47 to Kyoto, it really leaves at 10.47, and you don't get the delayed 10.13 to Osaka by mistake.

I love Japanese culture so managed to head over there for a one month backpacking trip during summer break when I was teaching English in South Korea in 2010. I wasn't disappointed; it lived up to all my expectations and if it wasn't due to the fact that I had to come back to the UK for a new work prospect, I would have happily done another year teaching in Japan too. In fact, if I wasn't married with a kid, I'd quite fancy that right now.

Like another poster mentioned above, the huge differences in culture are what really appealed to me. The countryside is stunning and I do urge you to get out of the cities as much as possible, even if that means paying a tour company for a guided tour in English. Not much English is spoken in general, but that was part of the charm for me. A pocket phrase book and a smile gets you far in Asia, especially in Japan. It's an old stereotype but the Japanese are genuinely polite to the point of parody sometimes, unlike Koreans and Chinese who can be a bit gruff.

It's certainly got a little easier/more accessible for foreigners to be there now. Active push by the government started about 10 years ago I think, in the knowledge of tourist dollars, rugby World Cup and Olympics, that it had to be just a bit easier and a little more signage in English.

In some ways this has taken a tiny bit of the charm off, as 13yrs ago when I first went it was completely, charmingly, unfathomable. tiny bit more westernised now.

Trying to figure out which 'gate' to go out of at Shibuya to get to my hotel was a 2hr epic that lives long in the memory.

Still, when jet lagged, getting cash out of the first cash machine and then trying to buy a ticket for a the journey, as well as required seat reservation, is always and wondrously complex experience.

Once you get into the swing of it, you won't want to leave as Devash says above. Its a parallel universe where they have everything we do (water, air, electricity, wifi, food...) but just 'shifted'

I (used to, hopefully will again soon) go there 5-6 times a year with work. I absolutely, no caveats, love it. Should mention I am mostly in Tokyo, there is of course more to see!

Some random shots of happy memories below:

After just getting off a packed commuter train at Shinjuku like you see in the movies - I'm 6'5" and 115kg, so I wasn't really bothered by the crush, but I didd feel for all the avg. sized people 😂

Cash machine at, I think Narita - WTAF? The machine also sing and bleep-bloop at you in Japanese in a very excited way, giving no clue as to why or what the hell you are supposed to do. Pick up the telephone? eh?

Could it be any more Japanese? Nakano evening in the rain

Nom nom!

Sorry, you what now?

My favourite menu, ever!

Sinkansen cleaning crew ready for ritualised rapid carriage cleaning

Quadruple nom at Chuo-Ku

I like the sound of Charcoal Grilled Sarcasm. Definitely my sort of dish

Not lived there but visited on business a few times. The word that always springs to mind is "Quality". Everything is done to a ridiculously high standard such as the food.
I think this comes at a social cost however, as Japan is such a conservative culture and there is an obsession with saving face, hierarchy in business meetings, and conformity. The culture of "men herbivores" who don't leave their houses is very real and my impression is that they are just nonconformists by nature who don't want to conform to a culture which offers material rewards but takes up all your time and energy.

Reading a bit of background, in the times of the samurai if you caused a public nuisance you could be beheaded. Might have a reason for the politeness and good manners today!

Just reading 47 Samurai at the mo, true story about how one lord attacked another and was ordered to seppeku - two years later, 47 of his samurai completed the job and killed the chap he attacked. What strikes me is that this wasn't a senseless act of vengeance, it's that the rules at the time say if two lords quarrel they should both seppeku, and one of them didn't, so the 47 were righting what they felt a genuine wrong. Curious and fascinating culture!

Edit - the 47 were all ordered to seppeku as well, as they knew they would - not finished it yet, but it seems suggested that they were honoured for doing the right thing, even as the law condemned them to death.

What makes things easier is that if you are wanting the 10.47 to Kyoto, it really leaves at 10.47, and you don’t get the delayed 10.13 to Osaka by mistake.

Someone told us before we went, if you're waiting for a train and it turns up a few minutes before you expect it - it ain't your train. 😉

Reading a bit of background, in the times of the samurai if you caused a public nuisance you could be beheaded. Might have a reason for the politeness and good manners today!

The Japanese word Tsujigiri means 'to try out your new sword on a random passer-by'

We spent 13 years working in Japan, it was mostly great (good enough to keep us there!) but we never thought we would stay permanently, and our Japanese colleagues never treated us like we belonged.

It would have been a lot tougher pre-internet. Skype, email, iplayer etc makes a big difference when you're a long-haul flight from "home".

Yes, amusing mistranslations abound.

@big_scot_nanny

That menu you posted above made me spit out my tea with laughter. Brings back many memories of unfathomably bad translations on billboards / restaurant menus / tourist maps.