[Nyororin]

Are lots of people disappointed? Yes. But you won`t find them hanging around places like this unless they`re here to bash Japan. Most people on this site are dreamers who see Japan as the embodiment of their dreams... Which is fine, I suppose, as long as they never come over here.

When I first came over here more than 10 years ago - I wasn`t disappointed. But then again, at the time there wasn`t a whole lot out there to inflate dreams and visions of Japan. I think my expectations were pretty realistic, and while they may not have always been spot on they were never particularly fantastical.

Obviously it was good enough to keep me here and lead me to decide to spend the rest of my life in the country.

There are far too many people out there who are depressed in their lives, and who see Japan as a convenient exit. There are also a lot of people who see Japan as the fulfillment of their dreams - most of which are rather childish and mundane. (Watching anime all day, playing Japanese video games before anyone else they know, etc etc.)
The thing is, even if you come to Japan your life is still your life. It doesn`t erase the past. It just changes your surroundings... And if you`re the type of person to become depressed or stressed easily - moving to a foreign country isn`t going to magically make those problems go away. You`re still going to be depressed, just in different surroundings with new stresses. I think that turns a lot of people against Japan. They see it as a life cure-all, when it`s just a location. You still have to fix your life with your own effort.

All that said - I`ve never been happier than I am here. I left a life that I was very unhappy with, and changed both location and my own thinking (in other words, I grew up) and am now leading the life I want to lead. As a responsible adult, with all the things that entails. Moving to Japan doesn`t grant you the ability to have an eternal childhood, as many people seem to think.

I am also one of those people who actually wants to obtain Japanese citizenship. Not for some immature dream of "becoming Japanese" - but because if I`m going to spend the rest of my life here, and raise my children here, I want to have a legal say. I want to be able to vote. I want to be able to hold public office (however minor) should I feel the desire. Those things many people cannot imagine giving up their citizenship because of are the same things that push me to want to have Japanese citizenship. This *is* my home, and there is no reason I should not be able to have a say. The wall there is citizenship.