Why did you come to Japan? This is by far the most frequently asked question if you are a foreigner living in Japan. Here’s my story.
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What brought me to Japan?
I was part of an internship program at my university in the United States through which you can work at a Japanese company as an intern for a short period time from 2,3 months to a year.
It was quite popular program so I didn’t get in for the summer of my 3rd year. Then I finally got in for the summer after I graduated the university. Since I didn’t have to go back to school, I decided to take 10 months internship.
That was my reason to come to Japan. And I saw many other foreigner friends who came to Japan through similar programs or exchange student programs, etc.
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Why did you not go back to the United States?
The answer is simple. I just fell in love with the life in Japan. I don’t know if it was Japan or living as a fully independent person that made me feel so good, but I was definitely enjoying every moment of my life in Japan.
If I look back, my first couple of years in Japan is very different life than right now. I would say it wasn’t exactly a life a usual Japanese person would have.
It was full of fun and exciting, and sometimes crazy things to enjoy everyday. (Not that I don’t have fun right now but it’s just different nature of fun.) There were so many activities going on with my foreigner friends – BBQ, clubbing, outdoor activities, traveling, home party, birthday party, farewell party, party, party, party… 😉
Through those activities and gatherings, I made so many new friends. A lot of people I met eventually went back to their countries. But these days we have SNS so you can always stay connected. I still keep in touch with many of them and it feels good to know they are having their wonderful life somewhere in the world. 🙂
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Why are you still living in Japan?
After a couple of years living a “foreigner life” in Japan, it was time to live real life.
Then here are the things that really made me stay in Japan.
1. Is Japan safe to live as a woman? Definitely, yes.
I think you hear this often. But I do feel Japan is really safe. Now I am married and have a family of my own, back then it was important factor whether it was safe for a single woman to live.
But even after married and raising a kid myself, it is even more important factor than anything else.
Of course I am sure there are some dangerous areas that you wouldn’t want to go, but in your normal daily life, you wouldn’t need to worry about it much.
You sometimes see drunken people sleeping on the street or on a bench at train stations in Tokyo. They wake up in one piece with nothing stolen. Imagine doing that in any of the large cities in the world….. :-O
2. Above standard services you get wherever you go
This is what I like the most about Japan. They have a special word for service – “Omotenashi.” (I will cover what it means in a separate article.)
What I like the most about their services is that they provide good services without interrupting you. For example, let’s imagine you are at a restaurant. You will be provided with menu then staff will once leave to give you some time to decide what you want. By the time you decide and show a sign of being ready, such as turning your body a little bit or raising your hand, staff will come right away. Actually they were watching your movement the whole time without making you uncomfortable by letting you know they are watching you. This is just one of many many examples.
I don’t mean to discriminate anyone but sometimes someone who can look so punk provides you very polite and kind services. I think Japanese people have very high expectation for services they get, so when they are in the side of providing services, they are just naturally good at it. It must be buried under their skin.
Of course there is exception. But overall you would get a lot better quality services in average compared to other countries.
3. People line up wherever you go
Japanese trains are infamous for being packed with people during commuting hours. But even if the station and trains are full of people, you would see people lining up nicely and even walking in a line.
People always wait until people come out of trains or elevators before you go in. There is a line for getting on a bus or getting a taxi. I rarely see people cutting in line at a store. When it happens it’s usually a tourist. 🙁
At a public restroom, you never line up in front of each door. There will be a single long line, so the first person in line will go to the next one open.
The extreme case I’ve seen was when a huge earthquake hit Japan in 2011. It was really bad… and the street was full of people trying to head home from work. But they were still lining up and waking without panicking. Supermarkets and convenience stores were running out of stocks, but people would always line up. If Japanese people can line up even during such an extreme catastrophe, I believe there must be something special about them.
4. Sparkling clean wherever you go
Japanese people love Hanami in the spring (cherry blossom watching) and Hanabi in the summer (firework watching). It means a lot of people gather at one place like parks and drink alcohol and eat food. But Japanese people are naturally used to brining trash home. I am always impressed how clean it is even after so many people were there.
I like camping so I go camping a lot. But it’s the same at camping places too. After Japanese people leave, you won’t even notice there was a tent there.
I think that’s why Tokyo is so clean even if it is the one of the largest cities in the world with so many people.
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What you value the most might be different but above things are important for me because that’s where I get the most stress when I go outside of Japan.
There are things that I don’t like about Japan such as working too much in general, small houses, etc. but I will share about that some other time.
So enough about my story. What’s your reasons for staying in Japan? I would love to hear about what you like the most about living in Japan. Please feel free to leave me a comment!
