Why Moving to Japan is NOT for You

Many people want to move to Japan. I don't blame them, I wanted to and I did. But here are some reasons why you should NOT move to Japan, and why moving to Japan might not be for you.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CHAPTERS

0:00 Visiting Japan is Different
0:59 The Honeymoon Phase
2:08 Japan is not your Anime
3:50 Work-Life Balance
5:38 Japanese Apartments Suck
6:33 Loneliness in Japan
7:36 You're Always a Foreigner
8:15 I love living in Japan

[DenshaOtoko]

The gaijin experience in Japan is the Asian experience in the US.

[callmezoran]

Well, I guess I’ll just have to stick to practicing my ninja skills in my backyard.

[JPinShenzhen]

5 years is a LONG time. Japan rocks. The people you are talking about, the ones that will hate and complain, are the kind of people who can’t live anywhere without complaining.

[KoteOkarun]

First time finding your channel, my fiancé and I are planning a 3 week trip to Naha. Currently studying Japanese as well. Even if we decide not to move there, I'll likely still learn Japanese regardless. Anime is goated, and once I am somewhat conversational I can hop into VR and speak with natives to practice as well. Frankly, if not Japan, somewhere else most likely, not liking how things are in the USA. The yen is super weak right now which definitely makes the trip more appealing. I enjoy most of those aspects you mentioned, would love to go in public and not be bombarded non-stop by everyone making their business everyone else's. Plus from what I've seen I love the concept of tatemae. It seems very essential to maintaining the peace, and I am all for that. I basically already do tatemae over here, it makes things run smoother when dealing with those you don't know. Plus needless to say the safety over there is very desirable, and I do like the lack of gun violence/mass shootings incidents compared to here.

[AverageBot]

Always great having a more realistic and down to earth take about the whole living in Japan idea.

[RSidd]

What I found from my recent solo trip to Japan as a dark-skinned Indian man is how immediately I stood out from the crowd wherever I went. There were so many stares inside metros and most public places. It kinda made me uncomfortable at times, but I think they were more curious than anything else and wondered what a person like me would be doing there. Although they make it abundantly clear that I am an outsider and will always be treated differently, there seemed to be no malice or hatred behind it. It's just built into their culture to maintain the homogeneity among their own people, but still be courteous and polite to other human beings. Wherever I needed some help, I always recieved top-class service with warm smiles and respect. When I got lost and asked for directions, even young University students wouldn't hesitate for a second to flip out their phones to check time schedules and location of buses/trains to help me out. And of course there's always the common incident of people doing a detour and heading in the opposite direction just to guide me to my destination. These are truly an inspirational bunch of people!

[andrewfrolley]

G'day! Ok, I'm convinced...I'm not selling up and moving over there. I have, however, booked a couple of weeks for another visit later in the year. Having done a number of the main tourist things previously, and with your words ringing in my ears about over-tourism and site bans, is there any chance you might consider doing a future vlog on the lesser sites - particular favourite bits of your region that tourists without cars could access? Thanks again for your videos and sage advice.... Sensei !!

[sherrykda]

I`m impressed, actually valid arguments with substance and not just crying around. I remember everyone warning me about moving and that it'll be horrible, but for me the only reals worry is that the homesickness will overcome me one day. Everything else always either seemed ok or a bit bad, but tbh at my home it wanst much better anyways

[fjorddenierbear]

So spot on, however soundproofing-wise I have experienced one exception recently:
I stayed in Minato-ku, Tokyo in two different apartments.
One was a "monthly mansion". About 180 000 JPY per month for a studio.
I _never_ heard my neighbors. I did hear the trains through the two balcony doors, but it didn't bother me.
I also stayed in another similar recent building, and I could hear upstairs neighbors just barely sometimes, but no big deal.
So, I believe that newer buildings will tend to be fine, but you'd want to avoid any studio built in the 80's and such.
The problem of course is that paying for a new studio in Tokyo is a waste of money, since it'll run you perhaps 120, 000+ JPY a month.
I'd rather at least get one in a suburb at perhaps 70, 000-90, 000 JPY a month.

[leroyybrown]

Appreciate your refreshing honesty. It’s actually quite challenging making friends in our home countries if we move to another city. Most countries are very diverse these days. Outside of Europe most places were former colonies. But in Japan they are a homogeneous block and this can be daunting at times. Even in Tokyo (away from Shibuya etc) there are long periods where you are the only foreigner. Most of the time riding the Yamanote line I didn’t see another foreigner. And as for fitting in- in a nanosecond they know you’re not Japanese. The flip side is if you want to feel remote or even live in a bubble then Japan could work. Personally it takes me about 2 weeks no matter where I go and the novelty starts to wear off. I wouldn’t last 6 months.

[halimech]

hey dude, i was curious if you could make another video covering what it's like to move to the japanese countryside, how much it costs, tax situation or unexpected things people might not consider when moving there.
personally I'm really interested in off grid living and homesteading and I know that there is a whole culture around traditional crafts and ways of living in the countryside in japan. I'd love to hear your opinion and maybe even a video about that whole topic.

great content so far, looking forward to the next one :)

[Remy]

You CANT stop me I moving japan!! (In all seriousness love ur content)

[danteinferno]

Five-year "honeymoon"!? Sounds more like a happy marriage.

[Keepone]

14 years in Japan here. Apart from the winter I find too cold (maybe I'll move to Okinawa one day lol), it's such a convenient and safe country that it's just pretty nice to be here overall. Gave up the salaryman life though for my sanity 😆

[bc_views]

Dumb Question .... how good was your Japanese before moving there? Did your language skills block you from ultimately doing what you wished to do? Ive been trying to get to Japan by way of the Government (US) and it has been almost 10 yrs, still I am always applying but realizing I may just have to bite the bullet and trying something different. I would appreciate your opinion, Thanks!

[Miguel-xp]

Hi I have a friend from school who lives in japan my dream is to live in japan for years I've been waiting for that dream to be come to true, I ended up choosing canada. Canada is one of my favorite countries to live, I was obsessed with canada I fallen in love with canada like 8 years ago. I did alot of research on toronto and vancouver and montreal ofc I wanted to obtain a dual citizenship in canada, I know what city I want to be. I started to dream about what will be my life living in canada looks like, But then. Reality kicks me in, canada is the same anymore as I've been dreaming about for 8 years, I decided not to move to canada anymore and idont want to have the Canadian dual citizenship, now I want to move to japan, I know japan is not a animeland, it's a normal country. I know some people who doesn't want me there and some people are trying to hide the truth of living in japan. But hopefully i will have that dream if I change my mind about moving to japan then there's sweden.

[Carpincho_]

Great video! Unlimited GaiJijn status seems pretty useful...😅

[lars]

Living somewhere with public transportation sounds awesome

[Dutch]

Good truthful video for foreigners considering moving to Japan, even for retirement which my wife and I are. So, at my age what do I know about Japan? Married 43 years to a Kansai girl with family in Japan and for us, the honeymoon was a long, long time ago.☺

[rorok]

I've been traveling to Japan for 25+ years and it's my favorite travel destination...but I personally, wouldn't want to move/live there. I go at least twice a year to see my friends, shop and eat. Knowing I can go pretty much anytime I want is good enough for me.