It all started with a desire. After about 4 years of non-stop dreaming about Japan, I finally made it here. I finally live in my dream country. Only 19 years old and I've already been here twice in a timeframe of 2 months. Here's my story.
I met a girl on the Internet. She lived in Yokohama and started a pen-pal type deal. Eventually it led to romance and a desire to meet each other in person. I had absolutely no money to go seen her. So, she flew me put to Yokohama with her college loan. I left America, Japan-bound on September 9th, 2011. She was living with her parents in Totsuka at the time, but we spend the duration of the trip in Kannai, at APA hotel. Did everythig possible in Yokohama, and even went to Tokyo a couple times. Just breathing Japanese air was extremely fulfilling. Basically, was the most eye opening, once in a lifetime trip of my life; or so I'd though. I had no clue I'd be back here a month later.
After coming back to the states, we agreed to marriage. I sold my car for plane ticket money and left for Japan with no more than $200 in my pocket. Her parents agreed to let us stay in their house together until we could get on our feet here. Started a part time job as a Handy Man, doing various landscaping work around Yokohama. I was paid 5,000 yen everyday under the table. Doing everthing in this country is amazing. Even going to the ward office for marriag documets is an experience ill never forget. I can turn my head in any direction and immediately see something I've never seen before. Everything was find until various fights with her dad, who is Japanese, and even more with her mom who is a Filipina. In a nutshell, her parents are nuts. Yelling at the top of their lungs over nothing, threaten to kick us out in the middle of the night, act polite one day then call us trash the very next, went to her work and demanded my gf's paycheck so we'd be broke. Eventually, they kicked us out because we're too late getting their groceries.
With suit cases in hand, we walked across town to my gf's grandmoter's house. Begging for a place to stay, money, or any help in general. She told us the house directly across from hers is up for weekly rent, $100 a month. After a quick call to the landlord, here we are. We wrote contact information of a slip of paper and were given a key immediately. We were given various free things like a gas stove, a big rug, some toiletries from her grandmother and the landlord.
Here we are, typing this from the only communication source we have, my girlfriend's iPhone. I'm trying to enjoy every bit of this while it lasts. Living off of a few hundred dollars in savings and my gf's part time job check. I'd gladly give up any American citizenship for this poor life in Japan. Something about the air here.
Feel free to check Flickr for pics. I'm uploading them constantly now. Some are hi-res and some aren't.
Flickr: iShabutie's Photostream