Pros & Cons to Living in Japan 🇯🇵
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 มิ.ย. 2024
- Ever wondered what the positive & negatives are to living in Japan? Let us share our experiences with you!
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Would you guys have any pros or cons to add? Let us know!
For me, the big negative is the work culture. Related to work culture, for someone who would rather not give or receive gifts, the gift-giving culture is annoying. I also can't stand the summer heat/humidity. Finally, for someone who enjoys cooking, the tiny kitchens and lack of ovens in most apartments are difficult to accept.
emma/sarah comedic chemistry on point as always
I swear, they've done this video like 25 times. But I guess it always gets the views/clicks/comments. Emma and Sarah are just that good and cool
As time goes by things change, perspectives change. So an update now and then isn't a bad idea. Specially now with the Yen being low.
it's new to me
Oh god, Emma, that tiny apartment tour was 8 years ago?… I feel OLD, that literally sent me into a mild identity crisis
That's nothing. Just wait until you reach 40.
I liked those videos more 😅
Walking, biking, and transit absolutely blew my mind as an American visiting Japan for study abroad... honestly it's been over 15 years since then and I still can't look at US cities the same. Japan does it so well and the US does it so so SOOOO badly! Golly I miss Japan! Great Video Sarah and Emma!
"The Laughing Devil (Emma.)" I REALLY hope that becomes more of a thing in Tokyo Creative/Tokidoki lore.
Having a friend named Emma made me screenshot that instantly and send to her. I refrained from writing "This explains a lot", cause you don't really wanna mess with a laughing devil.
I like that Japan has kept so much of their heritage. I wish the rest of the word wasn’t so westernized. I want to be able to submerge into the cultures of different countries. Understanding our differences so we can learn from one another is important and makes us individually better people. We have lost so many wonderful differences by trying to be as one culture.
I travel the world almost indefinitely, and elements that make Japanese culture amazing, is pretty rare. There's few other places with rich traditions that are similar - Tibet being one of them - but there aren't many.
Personally, my theory is that Japan is unique because it was sealed off from the world for over 200 years. That gave time for its culture to mature - until some a-holes came along, and forced it to open its borders for trade. lol But that isolated 200 years was a boon for their culture and traditions.
While 'westernized' is the common term, I think a more appropriate term would be modernized? Maybe...I dunno. Because there's lots of countries east AND west, that are very similar. Not that Japan isn't modern, but their culture and traditions, I believe were born from their uniquely isolated history.
I think the more 'modernized' a country gets, the more homogenous is becomes with the rest of the world.
As someone that sees moving to Japan as a possibility in the future, I love watching videos like these. Amazing list of pros and cons. A great follow up video to this would be your experiences about some of the more “paper work” side of things. What were those things you had to find out on your own? What do some of those processes look like? What are some of the resources you have used as an ex pat in Japan?
Last year i finally came to tokyo after wanting to my entire life. I’m 34 and came on a student visa. It really sucks I can’t use the working holiday system but I’ll try to swap to a working visa next year because I love it here so much!!! It’s not impossible when you’re older, just a lot more hoops to jump through
I was in a similar boat. But I just decided to travel more. Sometimes I want to do the long term student visa thing (to even study Japanese perhaps), but it seems silly to spend thousands of dollars just to stay in Japan longer. That would only last as long as the course of study. I already work online, but when I considered getting a job in Japan, or worse - doing the obligatory English teacher thing - it just doesn't seem worth it just to be in Japan a few more months a year.
As an American, I get 90 days max per trip, and 180 days max per year. So, since I like travelling, I just go in and out of Japan every 3 months. It's a nice balance, and I still get to travel the world, and have my freedom to come and go. Other countries get up to 120 or 180 days per trip! (don't quote me, but I'm pretty sure other countries had longer visa-free stays)
Whatever you decide, I hope it works out, and you get to enjoy Japan again soon! :)
You had me at “Goodbye PR.” Anyway, the convenience factor at the metro cities is huge. Folks don’t put a dollar value on that until they go to a place where they have to own a vehicle to do anything.
I've been to Japan 5 times and this video makes me wanna go back again😂
Very important pros & cons!! Economy has its high and lows so I really hope Japan gets better for its citizens cause I still want to live there
Trying to get to Japan next year. Took forever to get my passport. You two make coming to Japan, let alone living in Japan, the adventure of a lifetime.
i just had 2 amazing weeks in Japan and loved every single thing about it. You're right the Yen to AUD was super amazing and everything was super cheap compared to here in Australia. Go now if you're planning on going.
I definitely relate to the points about walkability + cyclability of tokyo vs sydney haha. In sydney all the cycling rules and conditions held me back from getting a bike, but now living in tokyo it's so easy and convenient to casually ride anywhere using bike share (sydney tried to implement those but kept failing).
Oh, wow. I wasn't aware at all. I though America and Canada were the only car-centred countries.
I am more concerned about the poor attitude of drivers towards bike riders in Sydney. 😱
@@Don_Giovanni It certainty depends on where you live
The reasons that the hire bicycle system often fails in Sydney is because of the stupid Mandatory helmet rules, who wants to put a helmet on that someone else's sweaty head has been in, yes Drivers have very poor attitudes and whilst Sydney's cycle lanes are getting better, they are often broken and leads you straight onto another road or some clown has parked his vehicle on it. On saying this, I've ridden my bicycle in the Sydney CBD a number of times and it's a lot safer than riding in the Suburbs as there's a blanket 40kph speed limit with speed cameras about. I haven't ridden a bike in Japan yet, but as I'm married to a Japanese National, we are considering a move over there to live, i'll take my bikes over there with me. I'm retired so I don't need to work. To anyone thinking about moving to Japan for retirement, you can get your Australian Pension paid to you....which I believe could be more than the Monthly pay in Japan for an average job.
I am an American living in Japan and I went back to America 5 times last year so traveling is not too bad.
Your hair is looking lovely Sarah 👍
Aloha from Maui 🌈 I'm enjoying the last 10 days of my month in Fukuoka. I am looking forward to calling Japan home when I finish at UH Manoa in about 2 years. You both are great and I am always looking forward to your videos. Thanks for all the laughs, good information, and inspiration. 行ってきます 🙂
More Emma and Sarah!
All good things to know!!!
The walkability of Japan I can't even imagine how amazing it is 🥲 been living in SoCal my whole life and needing a car for everything SUCKS
I feel like the majority of this video was "Pros & Cons of Living in Tokyo" :P A lot of the points in this video work if you live in Tokyo or one of the other big cities, but even then, some stuff like food options or how nice things are for cyclists are thrown out the window if you go to a place like Nagoya.
Tokyo is considered bike friendly? For a Dane (from Copenhagen) it doesn't seem particularly so with what I am used to.
I am from Sweden and lived in a Tokyo suburb for a bit. I biked everywhere in the suburbs but i wouldn't dare to bike in central Tokyo 😅💀
Try Sydney/Australia...
They said compared to America and Australia.
💯% agree with your points 👌😊
Im a regular visitor to Japan. Love checking in with the Commonwealth expats, I can easily distinguish from tourists.
I'm a super persnickety detail oriented person and I actually weirdly kind of am... soothed... by all the paperwork and order that Japan has? I straight up enjoyed trying to figure out how to do our gomi correctly. I also am fully aware that I am not normal.
I wish my family would visit me/us more in Japan!
I watched a yt short talking about how certain restaurants up-charge the English menu prices when compared to the Japanese menus. Some of the commenters were saying how rude/scammy/anti tourist that was, though when placing it in the perspective of how little natives make it'd be bad if prices were increased in general for everyone. Since it may turn some everyday things into luxuries for locals. Such as how the abundance of tourists is increasing the prices of hotels due to limited availability, making it difficult for natives to travel within their own country on their salary & already very limited vacation days.
Yeah, since Japan is such a hot travel destination, and with locals struggling with a weak Yen, I wish Japan would just charge tourists more for everything. Like, an tourist entrance fee, or something. As well as tourism taxes at all establishments. It would cut down on the 'cheaper' tourism crowds, and the people still traveling would gladly pay the extra tourism prices. I think that's fair. It would cut down on over tourism, help out local businesses, and help the economy all at the same time.
As for the rude-restaurant thing, I think I've only experienced it once, out of a total of a couple years travelling there. I went into a place for lunch, and it was totally EMPTY - aside from just one or two other people. I sat down at a table, but then someone yelled at me to sit somewhere else - at a stool at a long bench, for where people alone should dine. I was like oh ok, my bad. But it was strange as the place was EMPTY.
Then, someone else came up to me saying something to the effect of, '...we don't take cards, only cash...'. By now, I just had weird anti-friendly vibes, so despite having cash on me, I just feigned that I didn't and walked out. It just didn't feel welcoming in the slightest.
Big con of Japan is that it's not handicapped accessible. Stairs are everywhere! Elevators are rare.
I disagree, they have similar accessibility laws that the US has. They even stuck a hideous elevator to the side of Osaka castle. Elevators are at most train stations, dining, and shopping establishments, as well.
They tried that thing with the rentable e-scooters and e-bikes here in Germany (and probably in many other countries), too. And let me tell you, this is something that I believe only really works out in a place like Japan where people actually treat stuff that doesn't belong to them with care and respect. Here, people just left their rented e-scooters and bikes standing around everywhere when they didn't need them anymore, threw them in rivers or vandalized them in other ways. Plus, the general carelessness of people using them and the fact that German cities aren't really built for cycling led to a lot of accidents.
Literally flying to japan tomorrow to live and the end was really reassuring 🥰
Don't forget to drop your pen, to make it really official!
My mum and my sister are very close, and stay with each other about one month a year, but from experience I know if they lived together or saw each other everyday they would fall out and it would be bad. Like being in a super hot onsen, it's nice for a while but you wouldn't want it forever.
how's the overcrowded in japan and diff charges from foreigners/locals?
Omg the public transportation ….I miss it from traveling in Japan. I am living in California and man, the public transportation is actually corporate transportation. It doesn’t work over the weekend. During the weekdays, I am taking the train to LA from Orange County and it is EXTREMELY unreliable, and the only choice you are left with is sitting in traffic or gambling with corporate transportation and wondering how long the delay will be today…..😢
There are some small towns in the US that are classified as cities that are also very walkable and are nice places for the most part (Bordentown City, New Jersey for example). The rest of the country is horrible for getting around without a car.
Would my name be too long for application forms in Japan??? My real name is Harold Albert Hanssen III. What does my name look like in Japanese???
Laughing Devil (kanji) made me LOL 🙂Change you name before moving here 🙂 Listed cons sounded so familiar. When Tokyo Lens presented hermit who lived in the countryside school it also felt familiar, because sometimes when you live in isolated area it requires skills to live (heat oven, carry water, make food,... just thoughts countryside vs urban life.. and they both have pros and cons..)
Leaving friends wasn't difficult for me, didn't really have any xD Paperwork is often considered to be a con, but I guess the biggest con is working here. Work pressure is high and companies for teaching English are often toxic underpaying places. ^^"
Very interesting. Would love to hear more points of view from people living and working in Japan outside of the content creator world
My favorite country to visit, by far... 😀
The cost of living in Australia is also bad right now along with many other countries.
Me doing a double take and having to rewind thinking they said:
DROP YOUR PANTS! COME TO JAPAN! 🤣
I feel like we have a reached an era of Emma being more comfortable with themselves and I love that
“Emma being more comfortable with themselves”? You’re mixing a singular “Emma” with a plural “themselves”. Try again.
@@warrenj3204It’s probably because of different pronouns.
Emma’s pronouns are literally in her bio you muppet. The irony of misgendering her…
six years ago the yen was 107 to the US dollar now its 161! (Borat voice) Very nice... king in the castle!
Filling out forms. The struggle is real.
working in Japan for two and a half years, when you wake up on Saturday, you are in Japan.
Thank you very much for your posting!
This theme is very interesting!
Well it would be a quick walk in a city for ice, a lot of cities have convenience stores no?
Love you girls
@ 10:35 True
My husband suggested moving to Japan, and man is it tempting to try and see if we can do it. Do you have any thoughts on Tokyo vs Osaka? I've heard Osaka is a bit more liberal, outgoing, and easier to live in as an ex pat
Great video! Just wondering...why don't you do videos with Chris or Sharla anymore??
Chicago is a walkable city and public transportation is very accessible
When you are not getting mugged, raped, or shot.
Girls, I'm subscribed to both of you. I was in Japan 1 time for a short time when I was a sailor. I even managed to buy a right-hand drive car, which I had to throw out as a result. I just have a question.: are you going to continue to connect your life with Japan or are you going to return to Australia and start your life from scratch.
The thing about the names is concerning...my last name is 12 letters on its own, and I've already run into occasional issues (even in the US) with fitting my full name on some documents. Deleting the middle name would probably help (especially since the namesake for it was kinda a jerk), but there still remains a first name of moderate length. I'd rather not shorten my last name, if I could avoid it: there's some historical significance to it (dates back more than 1000 years, and directly links to...some rather famous monarchs).
Well I have some problems booking stuff online with 2 names and 2 surnames... But aside of fighting forms online, no problem for the rest
So tempted to try living in Japan for a while. I've had enough of NZ lol
Almost 7 years for me and I still don't speak Japanese. Thankfully I still understand Australian. lol
"Bill Joe... BJ!!!" - 😂
yeah i paybills online so yeah i don't have to even go anywhere same with food or anything
Did you know that Japan has all 4 seasons?
The "maybe not Americans" visa comment has me scared. I lived abroad for many years in SE Asia and now my plan is to continue my career by working and living in Japan. I visited there four years ago and want to return to settle down there. I'd like to move there in the next year or two. Is it more difficult to find jobs as a teacher from the US or is it due to the situation here politically? Does it seem like it may be becoming more difficult to come as an American? I'd love to hear your advice. Love your channel by the way! Subscribed!
no kidding I had to write my full name four times in the same page when submitting my move out of city at the city hall. And I have 3 surnames lol
I am planning to go next year to study Japanese for 1 or 2 years (I'm 35!) but my biggest fear is that I have dysphagia (cannot swallow solid food, only liquids) soooo... kind of having second thoughts now
Actually bike parking can be a problem in tokyo if you don't know the rules, you can't just park your bike anywhere like you can in many countries
what happened to the dude with the fro?
Thanks for fixing the colors. 👍
My last Italian names would not go easy 😅 in Japan.
the paperwork, why must we fill out so much paperwork! 😔
お二人共、ずっと日本に居てくれるのでしょうか😂
Great as usual. Question: y'all were discussing how safe Japan is as it was 30 years ago too when I lived there. But in the early 90s unwanted touching on trains was bad. All my female friends had at least one story. Even I, a 6ft 1, broad shouldered guy was groped on a train. Is that better now? I know Osaka has women only train cars. I'm hoping this was better . It was no big deal for me but I certainly wasn't asking for it and can understand why it would be disturbing.
Worse now because there are more people.
@@Mwoods2272 that's very unfortunate
Many of the cons are just cons cocerning moving abroad, not Japan specifically. Other than that - a good video,as usual :)
too bad they don't make stamps with your address in kanji
What if your Japan name doesn't match your passport?
girl on right took laughing gas
I am in Tokyo on a Student Visa right now and I stayed on a working holiday visa before working at different places.
I am not 100% sure I want to stay after the two years yet ... I love Japan and I want to stay but sadly working for money is super important (I'd rather get money without working though 😅) and the working environment in Japan is sooooo bad especially if I compare to Germany ...
10 days off work vs 30 days
no paid sick days vs paid sick days
~1000¥ minimum wage vs 12€ ( ~2100¥) Minimum wage
and not to forget being kinda forced to go to 飲み会 after work and having to work overtime without getting paid for it and the strickt hierarchy and such.
Also where is the low rent? ^^V
I pay 100.000¥ for 24m² ... in my "expensive" home country I pay ~100.000¥ for 60m² in a big expensive city
I pay 74.000Yen for a 2LDK 44,5qm house in Tokyo. Just 15 minutes away(train) from Ikebukuro.
The salary is low, cause of the weak Yen and you forgot the lower tax and insurance costs compare to Germany. Here tax and insurance are just around 15 percent. In Germany it was 33 both are low wage jobs. For me to live in Japan is sooooo much better as in Germany. The people are nicer, the streets are cleaner, you can eat outdoors and haven't selling a kidney first, and Tokyo is soooo freaking quiet. There are so many people, but it's quiet.
@@SamuraiDoku 44m² near Ikebukuro for 74.000¥ ? thats not possible... you sure its not just 20m²?
Even if you are looking at the outer rim of the inner wards there is hardly ever anything below 100.000¥ for more than 20m²
Also tax in germany is over 40% plus 19% consumers tax
@@XYoukaiX Yes its 44qm on 2 floors. All Real estate agencies here in the near have cm's with around 30qm for around 60.000Yen one room. This is totally normal.
The contra is, normally there are flats in older houses or old houses. So the wall is a little bit thin. But it's cheap and still works and normally every flat has at least one air conditioner.
My salary in Germany(3 years ago)was 1500 Euro before Tax etc. and 1000 Euro after Tax and social contributions.
40% Tax are higher paid jobs or tax class 6.
@@SamuraiDoku yeah sorry this sounds like bullshit... I looked for many flats in Tokyo and could hardly find anything even close to the price you say only if it was very far away or shared with other people but not for a private flat... there is a reason why some Japanese stay in hostels or even manga cafés while having a job.
also in Germany even with super high taxes up to 49% they won't take that much from you ... even on minimum wage there should be at least 1200€ left.
@@XYoukaiX Ich schreib mal auf Deutsch, weil bei der Steuersache missverstehst du mich ganz offensichtlich.
Erstmal, natürlich musst du mir nicht glauben, da ich nur ein Randomdully aus dem Internet bin.
Aber ich weiß nicht wo du suchst, es hat mich gerade genau 2 Minuten gekostet und ich hab nur bei "suumo" nur in meinem Stadtteil über 6500 Treffer für Wohnungen unter 80.000 Yen im Monat. So eine Nußschale wie du hast würde hier um die 55.000 Yen kosten. Btw. Mr Nippon wohnt auch hier im Stadtteil und hat ein Video zur seiner Bude inklusiver Kosten gemacht.
Warum Menschen im Manga oder Internetcafe leben, kann unterschiedliche Gründe haben. Wenn da jemand tatsächlich aufgrund von Miete wohnt, dann ist das halt so. Denke aber eher, dass man dort eher Hikkikomori, Tagelöhner oder einfach Salarymans findet, für die ihre echte Wohnung zuweit ist und deshalb sich nach einem Nomikai in einem nahen Café niederlassen.
Jetzt nochmal zu meinem Gehalt in Deutschland... 1200 Euro mögen bei Vollzeit richtig sein, ich habe aber Teilzeit 20 Stunden die Woche gearbeitet. Der Stundelohn war damals auch deutlich über dem Mindestlohn.
Brutto waren ungefähr 1500 Euro und Netto waren es ca. 1000 Euro.
Steuern waren recht wenig, aber Krankenkasse, Rente, Pflegeversicherung etc. ballert.
Was ichcauf Englisch schreiben wollte war, dass Steuern und Sozialabgaben bei mir insgesamt 33% ausmachen. Hier in Japan sind es 15! Hier arbeite ich natürlich auch Vollzeit.
Will mich übrigens auch nicht streiten oder so, sondern wollte dir eigentlich helfen.
100.000Yen+ zahlst du hier eigentlich für eine moderne neue Wohnung im Monat.
Wenn du übrigens richtig sparen und platz haben möchtest ziehe nach Saitama, Chiba etc. ist immer noch sehr nah an Tokyo und dank der sehr guten Zuganbindungen eigentlich nicht wirklich ein Problem zur Arbeit zu kommen. Die Unternehmen zahlen i.d.R. die Fahrtkosten bis zu einem bestimmten Betrag.
Japan is nice, if you don't have to work at Japanese companies. Also rentable E-mobility is just a venture capital sink/abyss. None ofthese scooter companies are profitable, they are just fighting for who will be the one with the monopoly in the end.
As a side hustle, why don't the two of you start a business assisting foreigners in filling out forms? LoL!
Happone lition monton de lichion😂😂😂
at around 0:38 Sera looks off screen like someone is holding a gun and just waiting for her to not look enthused.
And let me tell you, I lolled.
A Foreigner in Japan will always stay a foreigner there.
Even Hafu's are considered as foreigners.
Tell me a country where foreigners are not seen as foreigners. Even in the U.S., about half of non-white Americans feel they don't belong in this country.
A bit disingenuous here - if you are comparing cities to cities then in the US, you can walk around New York City and San Francisco or Chicago. Of course the USA is a CONTINENT, as is Australia, so you are pretty much driving all over the place given the land mass. I know that as soon as you leave Tokyo or go into the suburbs of Japan, you will need a car to get around. And given you are both Aussies, might not want to make broad statements about the USA. We have biking paths pretty much everywhere and drivers here, at least where I live, are extra careful of bicyclists and give them a wide berth. I am not sure I would be that comfortable cycling in Tokyo - the streets are quite narrow and congested - are there really bikes paths? Of course, no one would think about cycling on the freeways but going around by bicycle is totally doable. Just that most people drive cars.
As an American who lives in a walkable city of 3000 people, that aspect of Japan really didn't impress me. Most Japanese cities of similar size offer similar levels of walkability, the difference is in the big cities and their suburbs, that is where it is noticeable. On the other hand The ice cream vending machines though were pretty nice, and some of the natural sites are incredible, although the US has similar sites as well.
I did not know sarah worked for black company :(
haha bill joe BJ
I thought Japan was good at limiting the inequality caused by capitalism and protecting the working class. But apparently they’re as bad as our politicians now. We really need global economic and political change to eliminate this “greedflation”.
Japan is expensive bro
Sadly America is not walkable. But for car owners it's their peace and quiet from going to and fro and jamming out to music. I wouldn't trade it to be in a city that forces me to walk just for something fast as a pickup at Walmart. My exercise is from HIIT workouts. No thanks.
Don't speak for all car owners. Not everyone shares your opinion.
BJ 😂
For Romanians, it is still expensive to visit Japan, even if the Yen is weak, as the Romanian leu is even weaker... 🫠 (and same as Japan, the salaries are stagnant and the prices keep rising...) still hope to be able to visit soon! 🤞 Great video as always! 😍
Also Tokyo is not Japan. Conibinis are not nearly as prevalent elsewhere.
wait, Japan has four seasons? NO way Spring exists.
Nah, we have deadly humid summer and a harsh winter now.
Forgot to mention Racism and Xenophobia
Tokyo isnt japan
When your in Japan and your name is Johann Gambolputty... de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle- dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz- ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer- spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-ein- nurnburger-bratwustle-gernspurten-mitz-weimache-luber-hundsfut- gumberaber-shonedanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm 😨😰😱🤯
Both your faces when you mentioned BJ 😂!