What's it like for an American to live in Japan?

[GoNative]

I don't hate it or overly like it. It's just not something I overly concern myself with. I live here because of the incredble beauty of the region and the unbelievable amounts of snow that fall each winter. Those are things that are important to me and make me happy. If there was somewhere else in the world that got better quality snow than here I'd be living there. Just pointing out that not all of us living here do so because of some great love of the Japanese culture. Some of us live here for very different reasons that mean more to us. Believe me though I haven't lived here for nearly 7 years because I hate the culture...

It seems some people on here assume if you don't love something then you must hate it. Of course this is ridiculous. I'm just not into things like culture. Wasn't in my home country and I'm not here. The natural world is much more important to me than the human one. Landscapes and climate just mean far more to me than things like cultures.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by chiuchimu

If it works for you fine. People are different.

One point though: There is a huge and varied types of hair styles and fashions in Japan -Id say the fashions in Japan ranges from everything America and Europe have and much more. The Japanese industry is huge including lots of import labels too. You make it sound like people don't have choices in Japan. But sure, if nothing is to your taste in Japanese clothing or it takes away from your identity, you can always buy online from America and have it shipped to Japan. I live in the U.S. and as much as I like some Japanese fashion items, I buy all my stuff at the local mall. I don't have this great fashion need to import my clothes from Japan.

So you have gone from I should buy clothes in Japan in order to fit in, to American and European fashion is accepted in Japan. This is what I have been saying from the first place.

I am not the one who said people don't have choices in Japan-- YOU said that. (At least they don't have choices if they want to fit in, right?) Remember, I am supposed to be the guy that sticks out like a sore thumb because I don't adjust my American fashion to Japanese style? I don't want to rehash the argument, I am just saying that where you disagreed with me before, we now seem to agree. It is very easy to fit in wearing clothes from the US and Europe, as clothes from the US and Europe are also sold in Japan.

[siokan]

For chiuchimu

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[Sangetsu]

I have no real complaints, other than the high prices for food and the lack of good pizza.

I now live in Tokyo after a couple of years living in the countryside, it is a big change, but though I miss the quiet of the country, the convenience of the city is nice.

Before moving to Japan I lived in Miami, and the difference between large cities in the US and Japan is huge. In Miami I never left home without carrying a gun (I worked for several years as a police officer), I never had to draw it, let alone fire it, but personal safety is a real issue in some US cities. Here in Japan I have never felt the need or desire to be armed.

Getting around is much different. Public transportation in America is a joke in 99% of the country, but owning a car is convenient and rather inexpensive. Here in Japan it's quite the opposite. Housewives in Japan commute to the store and such by bicycle, often carrying a kid (or two), and at most grocery stores you'll find far more bicycles parked in front of them than cars parked in the parking lot. The lack of cars is both good and bad. Without a car you need to stop by the store several times a week, whereas those with cars (such as people in America) only need to shop once a week or so.

People in Japan are polite, but they are not especially friendly. It's not as easy to have a conversation with a complete stranger in Japan as it is in America. People of Japan have peculiar networks of friends who are generally coworkers or former classmates; they have few friends outside these circles.

Americans and Europeans who come to live in Japan usually find it do be different than what they imagined. There is a honeymoon phase during which Japan seems like a wonderful place because everything is new and different. But pretty soon the phase wears away and many (maybe even most) people begin to find it tiresome. Some even grow to hate Japan after a few years of living here.

Between America and Japan, I believe America is a better place to live. America is more dynamic, with far more opportunities, there is an energy in America which doesn't seem to exist in Japan.

But, I still like living in Japan. I have built a life here of sorts, and I have found opportunities to get ahead. Entrepreneurship in Japan is not popular, and the current generation of Japanese seem interested only in a "safe" career with a large company. People in Japan are afraid to take even small risks, which leaves more opportunity for those who will. For foreigners like myself who cannot fit into the common workplace, self-employment is more or less necessary to find success, and there are many such opportunities here. You just need to bring some money, some motivation, and a little intelligence and you'll do okay.

[steven]

That's an interesting perspective! You pointed out that you live in the city and I just want to make it clear that it is totally different in the inaka.

The whole thing about not taking chances is interesting. I do see a lot of that in younger people around here too... but people in their 40's and 50's (which is the age of most my friends) seem to have their own businesses. It could just be by chance, though. I've also seen a lot of people opening up their own cafes and barber shops and stuff like that in the area. I get the feeling that motivation to have your own business (or shop or whatever you wanna call it) is in direct correlation with land value (and land availability).

"People in Japan are polite, but they are not especially friendly. It's not as easy to have a conversation with a complete stranger in Japan as it is in America. People of Japan have peculiar networks of friends who are generally coworkers or former classmates; they have few friends outside these circles."
No offense to all the Tokyo-ans out there, but that is the image of Tokyo (from the perspective of the people from where I'm living). I'm sure that's not how everyone in Tokyo is... but it just seems harder to approach people there than here. The thing about networks of friends is pretty spot on though. Sometimes those networks seem to collide and intertwine though if you meet enough people. I think that as an American (or foreigner) it is decidedly easier to make friends in Japan than it is for a Japanese person to.

[chiuchimu]

Originally Posted by steven

Sorry to double post, but I thought this data has something to do with our conversation:

Japanese working overseas, and overseas workers in Japan | 世論 What Japan Thinks

Check out Q8 and all of its parts. According to the Japanese surveyed, a foreign worker's Japanese ability is obviously important. Understanding of Japanese culture and customs was above "specialist ability" (which I'm assuming is one's ability to perform in a job). I think that says a lot. The people surveyed are people interested in working abroad, so I'd imagine them to be the more relaxed type when it comes to those things.

I'd bet that a Japanese person's opinion on ability to do a job is directly related to a person's understanding of their culutre and customs.

As an aside, I found it funny that nearly 25% of the Japanese surveyed claim to be able to at least "get by on a holiday without problems". 95% of the people surveyed have never been to a foreign country (I say "been" because their opinion of "living" can happen in less than a year). Beyond that, over 8% of the people surveyed feel they are able to do everyday conversation and beyond... Granted those surveyed had an interest in working abroad. Those numbers seem a little confident.

Interesting pole. the results were as expected. Q8 and down were a bit surprising. Even though this was about the work place. I bit the overall feel of the numbers apply to foreigners in general.

Like 50% choose U.S. Nice to see America is still Japans favorite Country.




@MMM
For some reason. We are not on the same page or even universe. But I do respect your point of view. Lets stop it on this post.



@sangetsu
I think your observation of Tokyo is correct. just like in America, different states have different feels, Japan varies somewhat too.

I think Osaka would be one of the best places for an American to start in Japan because Kansai people are known to be more open and friendly.

[GoNative]

The point about Japanese being risk adverse is something that we have found very frustrating at the ski resort I work at. There's also been a great resistance to changing the way things are done which is part of not wanting to take risks I guess. To put things in perspective the Japanese ski industry has been in continual decline since the bubble burst all those years ago. The numbers of Japanese skiing are declining at a rate of around 10% per year. I put this down to a couple of things.

Firstly, obviously the economy has not been doing that well and peoples disposable income is not growing, if anything it has been declining so somewhat expensive sports like skiing suffer.

Secondly I think it's also that ski resorts in this country have changed very little in the way they are managed and run since the '80's. The sport itself though has changed dramatically over the last 20 years with the increasing popularity of snowboarding and ski shapes changing from long, skinny skis for skiing on-piste to shorter, fat skis for skiing all mountain off-piste and in parks. Japanese resorts though seem not to have realised this with few allowing access to off-piste terrain or building parks that are all that fun. This is the mainstay of most successful resorts around the world today. I feel their inability to keep up with the times has meant they've lost the interest of new generations of skiers and boarders out there. They just aren't providing the right product. But getting them to consider changing the way they do things is near impossible.

Here in Niseko over the last 10 years there has been massive foreign investment into property development and two of the 4 ski areas have been bought out by international companies, one from Hong Kong and the other Malaysia. 10's of thousands of foreigners now come to the resort each winter and it's probably one of the few resorts in Japan that has seen increasing revenue. The missed opportunties though of the Japanese company that owns the Hirafu area of the mountain (the most popular with international visitors) are just too many to list. After years of declining skier numbers suddenly there's this massive exponential increase of skiers from a brand new market and the company did virtually nothing at all to take advantage of it. They still have not hired any foreigner in any manaement position who has experience in management from a successful international resort that could have assisted them in profiting from the foreign influx. Most of the new businesses that have sprung up to service this new market are foreign owned.

I just think it's been a real shame that so few Japanese companies have taken advantage of the boom that's occurred at this resort (some construction companies have done quite well out of it) but they've no one but themselves to blame. They've done so little to change they way they do things to take advantage of this very lucrative new market. So far it's foreign owned companies that have taken advantage of most of the opportunities. The Japanese adversity to change and taking risks is mostly to blame from what I can see.

[Nyororin]

I`ve been busy the past few days so am a bit late to the discussion about "fitting in" - but I will add my feelings on it anyway.

I am pretty sure I know exactly what Chiuchimu is talking about. I don`t really agree with the way it has been said, but I pretty much agree with it.

In general, when people from Japan (or other countries) move to the US - either long term or for school, etc - they almost always switch over to a more "American" style of clothing and general fashion. They may not do it consciously, and it may happen over a series of stages... But it pretty much always happens.
Changing your wardrobe to fit in sort of implies a direct action on someone`s part to turn into someone else overnight - but it`s far more subtle in reality. Things like the cut of clothes, the fabric choices, combinations, etc. The same outfit can be worn in a more "American" style. This is something you can see in things like business suits. A suit is a suit, but Japanese suits and American suits seem different due to small details in their cut and how they`re designed to be worn. Someone we know spent a few years working in the US and recently came back to Japan. Their suits are run of the mill basic things, but they seem "different" - if only because they`ve been designed to be worn differently.

Anyway, it seems that people moving to the US shift over pretty quickly to a more "American" style of wearing their clothes. It may or may not be conscious on their part, but I do think it`s pretty true.
On the other hand, when people move to Japan it doesn`t seem like they shift their fashion at all. A classic example is the baggy t-shirt and shorts in April. Virtually no one Japanese wears anything like that in April, but you`ll see tons of foreigners doing it year after year. The same with tank tops, etc. It really does stand out. Yes, Japanese wear t-shirts. Yes they wear tank tops. But they don`t wear ones like that, and they don`t wear them in the same way... And when they buy clothes in Japan, it seems that they tend to look for ones that they can wear in the same way as they did before coming to Japan.

I think a good way to think of it is people wearing "tourist" clothes... forever.

It`s easy to say "I am not going to change who I am because I`m in Japan!" - but that`s not what it`s about. Whether you realized it or not, you did not just come up with your fashion style and sense of what looks decent (vs. old fashioned, out of style, messy, etc) all on your own. You were influenced by media and the people around you... But when foreigners (westeners in particular) come to Japan, they often seem to avoid the local media so are rarely influenced by it... And just stick with what is "in" back where they`re from.

It`s a bit of a fascinating phenomenon, really. I am wondering whether a lot of it has to do with the usual stronger desire to learn English while in the US than the desire to learn Japanese while in Japan. This will bring a difference in media exposure.

[GoNative]

Also for us bigger guys it can be very hard to find anything that even fits here in Japan. Getting shoes in my size can be very hard. Where I live I have to drive at least an hour and a half to find some shops that might have a few things in my size. It's fine if you're small yourself but not easy for those of us over 6ft tall and larger frames.
Anyway for me clothing is purely and simply about comfort, not brands or what's fashionable or any desire to fit in with those around me, be they Japanese or anyone else. Most of my clothes are multifunctional in that I could just as easily wear them skiing or hiking as I could heading out for dinner. Functional and comfortable, that's all I care about.

[jimeshten]

According to me!! I would like to tell something about the American people because It depends upon what kind of American you are. Japan's image of America is blond hair, blue eyes and really white. If, You are Asian-American, You are Asian and will be treated differently. Basically, If, You aren't white then you're not American until, You explain to them that you are American. Likewise, If you are white, You might be considered American and American people will be always help the Japanese man.