[GoNative]

Living in Japan as a foreigner does have it's challenges. After nearly 8 years here my wife decided she wants to move back to Australia. This was mainly brought on after we had a child and she would really like some family support. Personally I think I could have continued living here forever. I live an amazing lifestyle working at a ski resort in one of the snowiest parts of the country. We live in a small town that has a very relaxed way of life. We don't earn much money compared to what we earned in Australia but living costs are very low here and we already had accumulated significant financial resources before moving here. I wouldn't want to come here if you are just starting out as it would be pretty hard to really get ahead financially, especially without a Japanese spouse.

The hardest thing about moving here is getting your initial sponsored working visa. Most people do this through teaching english as it is one of the easiest ways to get sponsorship. Once you have the visa it is pretty easy to start moving onto other things as it's a lot easier to get your visa extended than getting the initial sponsorship.

You can apply for citizenship after 5 continuous years here. You would need to be fluent in Japanese and have a very compelling story as to why you want to become a citizen. You would also be expected to give up your US citizenship. Most people just go for permanent residency which is a long haul if you are both foreigners (like my wife and I). You need to be here around 10 years and even then it's no guarantee they'll grant it. If you have made close ties within the community you live and can show a certain amount of integration and contribution to Japanese society then you have a reasonable chance. Can depend greatly on the individual immigration officer and what mood they are in on the day.

Moving to another country to live is a big move. As others have pointed out Japan may seem like an amazing culture from afar but after years of living here there are many aspects of it that can really wear you down. It is a very different culture to what we are used to in the west and not all of it for the better. I would suggest travelling here a bit first. Get a feel for the country and work out which part of it you would like to live in. I for instance couldn't live in places like Tokyo. You could triple my income and I still wouldn't live there. Anyway good to have the dream but if you are serious about it you need to be very practical. Living standards in Japan for many are not that great and life here isn't all easy.