Anyone live in Japan?

[kadajkitten]

I have a few questions about Japan that I'd like to ask someone who is currently living there, I know there are sites out there for just that purpose, but each one I join has very rude members who are not any help.

[kaoskat]

Not me but good luck!

[kadajkitten]

lol thanks =)

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Ask away - there are several members who do live in Japan, or used to.  You just might get an answer! 

[Calico_Star]

I lived there for 4 months as an exchange student...but not anymore, sorry I know we have a few members who live there though, so I'm sure one of them can help!

[kadajkitten]

Just wondering if some places really have signs that say no gaijin because I'm working on a degree to move to japan and teach english there and I don't want to be 'unwanted' lol

[Corona]

I just got back to the US from a 7 month stay in Japan two months ago. I did a 2 month internship in Tokyo and a 5 month study abroad in Iwate prefecture. I can try my best to answer!

Just wondering if some places really have signs that say no gaijin because I'm working on a degree to move to japan and teach english there and I don't want to be 'unwanted' lol

As far as I know, this is pretty uncommon nowadays. It's not unheard of to have those signs on public baths in port cities (mostly out of the assumption that foreigners don't know the Japanese way of doing things.)


You should be fine if you learn about Japanese culture and what to do in various situations. Even trying and failing is fine, it's the effort that counts!

[Calico_Star]

I definitely didn't see anything like that. But then again, I was there as a student. (This was a couple of years ago.) I felt really welcome there. But I also didn't, I dunno, go too many places where I had much of an opportunity to "gaijin smash." (My group's little term for being dumb foreigners and treading on their customs.) If that makes sense. I'm tired, so it's very possible that it doesnt

I think since you'd also be there for educational reasons, you'd also be more likely to be in more gaijin-friendly situations, so you wouldn't have to worry about being unwelcome. My boyfriend is living in Japan now (also as an exchange student) and he's been there longer than I was, and hasn't mentioned seeing any signs like that either.

[kCherry]

Does it count if we wished we lived in Japan? I've heard that the Japanese people are very hospitable as long as you honor their traditions, but I could see how you might could encounter the occasional bad attitude in the countryside. Where are you interested in teaching in Japan?
  Good luck with that degree of yours! Sounds like you'll have some fabulous opportunities possibly knocking at your door soon! That's awesome! :3

[Taffeta]

Just wondering if some places really have signs that say no gaijin because I'm working on a degree to move to japan and teach english there and I don't want to be 'unwanted' lol

Do you speak Japanese?

I've not been out there [yet] so I can't speak authoritatively from that point of view, but my impression of the Japanese is that they're very proud of their history, traditions and culture and so its as others have said, a matter of respecting their way of life and they'll respect you. I imagine if you're looking to go out there, you speak Japanese already, which will help - I think that if you speak their language, and are teaching there, you'll become "part of" the community in a different way than say a tourist might.

There are cases of companies not employing people who aren't Japanese but then again, a girl in my classical japanese lit class just got a permanent job in Tokyo starting from when she graduates, and she's as English as I am, so I guess it's like anywhere - it depends on where you go.

I'm sure you've got a planned location picked out - probably the bigger the city, the more internationals there will be already living there and the easier you'll find it to fit in.

[Eviecorn]

I've only visited!  I've never really spent more than a week there, but when I went everyone was pretty friendly.  As with any foreign place, just conduct yourself with manners and you'll be fine. 

[Nussekanin]

I spent 4 months as an exchange student in Sapporo (Hokkaido) in 2010, and I never saw any signs like that.  I loved living in Japan!

But I also didn't, I dunno, go too many places where I had much of an opportunity to "gaijin smash." (My group's little term for being dumb foreigners and treading on their customs.) If that makes sense. I'm tired, so it's very possible that it doesnt

We used to call it "License to gaijin". (If you stay longer than 3 months in Japan, you need to get a special ID card, which we nicknamed "the gaijin license".)