[SHAD0W]

Hey Pete, fellow Brit here from Yorkshire.

I agree with the second post, take some time to get used to Japan first before you set things in stone. I stayed there for 2 months in May/June last year and it's like a different planet. Yeah it's every bit as awesome as you think, if not more, but it's a very different place to live. First of all, the weather. I hate hot temperatures and thats British hot, not tropical hot. Temperatures were always around 30℃, even on days where it was totally pouring down with rain, or days when theres a grey overcast (like a typical day in England) the temperature would still be that high and it's crazy humid - and that's just in Spring time! Then theres the earthquakes. I had never experienced one (appart from that random one we had in England about 2 years back in the middle of the night) and it's quite scary. There's also the bugs. They're HUGE!

Can you keep up with the speed? Most cities I went to are like being in London, very fast and stressful.

I know my comments may come across as negative, but I had the most awesome time out there and I have no doubt you will too, but please go visit before you commit yourself to a lifetime of living on a different planet.

Also, 1-2 hours a day is not enough for conversational in 3 years. I've been studying Japanese that long now and every day that I don't study, I loose about a months worth of practice.

Try alljapaneseallthetime.com

I hope I've helped.