I live in Japan!

[GitarisutoKao]

I want to live in japan so bad..i think im gonna run away there with my friend bujio.....im just so unhappy at home....im just kinda scared....

[jasonbvr]

English teaching isn't so bad. I suggest going the ALT route, these are the teachers that work in public schools. You will be exposed to the language and culture more. You also learn what it is like to work with Japanese coworkers and the life that they had growing up in school. Check out ohayosensei.com and just do lots of google searching. Or sign up for the JET program.

As far as Japanese women, I agree that they are very attractive but have to insist that you don't just date them because they are Japanese. What I am trying to say is that I see too many guys over here who's main purpose is just finding a Japanese girl. These are probably the same a'hole English teachers that Nyororin has had trouble with in the past. They have these pumped up attitudes like they are the bomb and all Japanese women love and adore them because they are just so cool. You don't want to be like that. Being a foreigner you will attract a lot of attention from women because you are a like a rare commodity, but don't abuse this that's all I am trying to say.

Also far as dealing with prefudices, there are rare (extremely rare) instances where you will not feel welcome. One day I was on the train and this middle age guy kept on walking through the car and giving me and another foreigner dirty looks. It happens you know, but don't dwell on it and let it affect you. These types are a small minority. Like this type of thing has happened twice in the four months I have been here. It isn't anything physically threatening and maybe the guy just had a bad day and I became an outlet for his frustration or something.

As far as permanent residency I don't know that much about actually getting it, but I know a lot of foreigners who have been here for years and own bars, English schools and other businesses without being married to a Japanese woman.

Mixing with Japanese is fairly easy especially after they get a few drinks in them. I hang out at this tiny one room bar sometimes and besides the Irish guy that owns a bar down the street am the only other foreigner that seems to even know about the place. We hang out and drink beer and do language exchange. Trying to communicate with my broken Japanese and their broken English is always fun at six in the morning while you drink coffee and Baileys waiting on the trains to start running.

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

As far as Japanese women, I agree that they are very attractive but have to insist that you don't just date them because they are Japanese. What I am trying to say is that I see too many guys over here who's main purpose is just finding a Japanese girl. These are probably the same a'hole English teachers that Nyororin has had trouble with in the past. They have these pumped up attitudes like they are the bomb and all Japanese women love and adore them because they are just so cool. You don't want to be like that. Being a foreigner you will attract a lot of attention from women because you are a like a rare commodity, but don't abuse this that's all I am trying to say.

That is the absolute last thing I would do. I would date or marry a women of any race or nationality, depending on what she's like. I wouldn't just date a women because she is Japanese, what I meant is that if I ever lived in Japan (for a very long time) I would most likely get married to a Japanese girl. I said I think they are beautiful, because I was trying to make a point that I find women of all races to be beautiful (not just Japanese). What I was wondering about is wether Japanese women often would marry or date outside of their own race. Sorry if I gave the wrong impression there . If I ever made it to Japan, I think it would be realy nice to have a Japanese girlfriend or get married to one, but my main reason for coming to Japan is not just to get a Japanese girlfriend.
Btw thanks alot for your comments

[jasonbvr]

Didn't mean to imply that you are one of those, just wanted to voice my displeasure with these types because unfortunately they are around.

To answer your question though, yes Japanese women will date and marry foreign guys. Sometimes you will need to guard yourself a bit because there are those who are just like their male counterparts in that they go looking specifically for foreign guys. Being British you will be even more of a target because I think they like the accent, and Britains are more rare than American guys since they have the US bases. But hey, who is going to complain? The attention is quite nice at times.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by jasonbvr

Didn't mean to imply that you are one of those, just wanted to voice my displeasure with these types because unfortunately they are around.

I want to second this. There are tons of guys over here who are like that. And there are the female counterparts who just want the "thrill" of sleeping with a foreign guy, or the "status" of having a foreign boyfriend - with little intention of committing to them. If that`s your thing, then it`s fine, but I have heard too many bad stories of men who jumped into a relationship (ie. married them) and later found out that was the type of girl they were. Half-Japanese children are oddly popular, so some women will aim just for those.
But most of the time it`s pretty obvious, as the normal everyday Japanese girl isn`t going to come up and hit on you - those types however will. It goes the same way for Japanese men.

Once you get past the language bit, Japanese people are just people - like everywhere else.

[Daniel]

Thanks alot Nyororin and jasonbvr You have answered alot of things I was curious about. And trust me, I am not like one of those guys you describe, nor would I get involved with a girl like that. If I got into a realationship with a Japanese girl it wouldn't just be because she's Japanese, it would be because of the type of girl she is (personality etc) Likewise I would expect a girl to like me for the guy I am, not just like me for being a foreigner.
Also I have a few more questions.
How many foreigners do you encounter on a daily basis? And of what nationality are they usually?
Also do you have alot of foreign friends? (and do they speak Japanese?)
Which do you think is the best city to start off in? Or live and work in once you're settled?
I also read you can get free Japanese classes once you're there. I think that would help alot (even if I spoke abit of Japanese once I get there)
Concerning jobs. This might sound weird, but would someone turn me down for a job just because of me being a foreigner? (even if I speak/read/write fluent Japanese?) Have either of you ever experienced this?

[jasonbvr]

I think Nyororin can answer more about the non-teaching lifestyle and job opportunities better than I can, but I will give you my opinions/answers.

How many foreigners do you encounter on a daily basis? And of what nationality are they usually?
During the week I see absolutely zero gaijin because of my location. I am in a school that is on the outskirts of a rather large factory town (hometown of Subaru). I know a lot of English teachers that are spread out across the city and live north of me in a larger urban area. Somewhere like Tokyo, especially Roppongi, you will see a ton of gaijin everywhere you go (almost). How I met them all was that basically you get introduced through other teachers. English teachers, especially ALT's, are fairly close knit and tend to try to take care of each other. JET's, the ones hired through the government, are even more so. JET's have many parties and events that are held for them as opposed to the private ALT like myself where you're company drops you off at your apartment and shows you the school and says good luck. But all of us, JET or private, try to take care of the newbies the best we can by sharing info and socializing on the weekends. Sometimes though, I honestly would rather go it alone. A lot of the sightseeing I want to do many have already done so I just take off on my own.

Nationality of English teachers is varied but the majority are Brits, Aussies, Canucks (Canadians), Americans and New Zealanders. There is a small group from South Africa and then others that are from places like Denmark, Finland and other places like that. Those from non-English speaking countries face a little more trouble being hired as English teachers, but there are a few.

Also do you have alot of foreign friends? (and do they speak Japanese?)
Something like 90 percent of my friends are foreign just because I meet them easier, but even then we usually have Japanese friends who hang out with us too. Japanese level varies a lot but I think only a small percentage are fluent or close to fluent, majority of us have broken Japanese and there are those who know none at all.

Which do you think is the best city to start off in? Or live and work in once you're settled?
This depends a lot based on what you want to do. A lot of people say don't live in Tokyo but competition is pretty high for English teaching jobs there. In my case I chose to live in Gunma because it was as close as I could get to the ski resorts. I would love to live in the Kyoto area, maybe even closer to the mountains like Nagano or Niigata or more central Honshu, but I am fairly happy with my locale. If you go the JET route, you get placed in your school so you don't have a choice where you live.

I also read you can get free Japanese classes once you're there. I think that would help alot (even if I spoke abit of Japanese once I get there)
Many community centers offer these classes and if you work for a larger to mid-size private company they offer Japanese classes. The community centers are not free but are low enough to be almost free.

Concerning jobs. This might sound weird, but would someone turn me down for a job just because of me being a foreigner? (even if I speak/read/write fluent Japanese?) Have either of you ever experienced this?
You need to take the JLPT and acquire a level 1 for the most opportunities or level 2 for a fairly good chance. Here's the site JEES Japanese Language Procifiency Test Home

Ganbattene!

One more thing about teaching. Hiring of new ALT takes place three to four months ahead of the start time. Starting time for most positions is in August/September and April. JET's have to apply and interview a bit early, I would say five to six months before start time. JET's get paid more (300,000) and don't take a private position that promises less than 250,000 yen a month. You will have a hard time budgeting for anything less than this.

[Nyororin]

Jason gives a lot of good answers on the teaching side, which I really don`t know too much about. I`ll try to answer from the normal-everday-life side.

How many foreigners do you encounter on a daily basis? And of what nationality are they usually?

Very rarely. I really would only say I "encounter" foreigners around once a week at the most - if just seeing them walking on the street as I drive by, or walking past them at the store counts. If you mean actually encounter as in speak to, etc... Well, then maybe once every 6 months or so. I have no idea the most common nationality would be, but if I had to guess, I`d say I encounter more Brazilians than any other nationality.

Also do you have alot of foreign friends? (and do they speak Japanese?)

No. I only have one single non-Japanese friend, who is completely fluent in Japanese and in a very similar situation to mine. All of my other friends are Japanese. I`m sure if I tried, I could meet more foreigners, but it isn`t really a necessity. Also, my husband speaks virtually no English, so it would be a really uncomfortable situation to try and "mix". I`d also like to avoid the English bubble that seems to develop around groups of foreigners.

Which do you think is the best city to start off in? Or live and work in once you're settled?

I would say that is totally up to your personal preferences, and what it is you want to do. I just don`t think Tokyo is a good option... ever. I personally love the Nagoya area, and wouldn`t choose to live anywhere else. But of course, that`s me, so I can`t say where would be best for you.

I also read you can get free Japanese classes once you're there. I think that would help alot (even if I spoke abit of Japanese once I get there)

As Jason said, they are offered by most community centers, and in larger cities you will find volunteer groups offering them. There are tons around here and I imagine it would be the same in any larger city.

Concerning jobs. This might sound weird, but would someone turn me down for a job just because of me being a foreigner? (even if I speak/read/write fluent Japanese?) Have either of you ever experienced this?

I have never experienced this, but I also haven`t applied for that many jobs. From what I have seen, *if* your Japanese is at a close to native level there should be no problem. Of course, if your Japanese is awful when you apply they definitely won`t even consider you. Before you apply for any serious position, you should have the JLPT 1. The JLPT 2 doesn`t mean anything in a business situation, but might help you get a lower level job, ie. manual labor, etc.

[jasonbvr]

Yes I forgot about the Brazillians and other South Americans. Oizumi next to Ota is the highest concentration of Brazillians in Japan. There are numerous Brazillian restaurants and clubs in and around Ota.

[Mumitroll]

They asked about me and I told them I was married to a Japanese man, and had a son in the hospital. I was asked why I`d marry a monkey, didn`t I crave a big white dick? And that my son being sick was god`s way of telling me not to mate with animals. They all laughed at this, and continued on to ask which primate my husband resembled - an orangutan, like that guy over there? etc. Similar conversations happened almost any time I was asked about my personal life by a group.

That left me speechless for a while. Someone who said something like that to me would end up with a broken nose or a few missing teeth. And that is no joke - I'm Russian, and we do not hesitate long if we are angered. The only "excuse" I can come up with is that the person in question was seriously drunk and not controlling himself.

If what you said is actually common, it seriously makes me wonder what kind of people "teach" English in Japan...