Q&A Guide on Moving to JAPAN 🇯🇵
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ค. 2024
- Ever considered moving abroad to Japan? Watch to hear all our TIPS and insider info on how to move to Japan 🇯🇵
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Anyone planning on moving to Japan? Let us know if there's anything else you'd like answered! 🇯🇵
I think for me the thing was always money focused, how much to have in savings in GBP/USD before starting the process?
@@Jimbob-iw7yq depends on you're plan, do you have a job lined up, are you back packing is you're visa 6 months or one year, do you plan on working or just travelling. Without any information I can answer for you save up as much as you can in your own country as the yen is weak and your own money Will go further.
Saw the part about wifi issues. That's would be a big headache for me. What about home internet? What speeds and costs are available? Here in the states I get 1200 MPS, but you'll need a DOCSIS 3.1 modem to get that sort of speed. After hearing about other issues in Japan I'm not so sure getting super-fast internet speeds is so simple. Do any of you stream like Netflix?
BTW: just hearing about the banking issue got me thinking so I made some inquires. I learned that Japan is considered a restricted economic/investing zone-they want to protect their economic interests so brokerage accounts would have restrictions place on them to limit what can be done. At least its not as bad as other countries where they would force you to close the account. Don't know if this applies to certain countries or just US.
I'm now researching banks that cater to international living to see if they would be able to assist in opening a Japanese bank account.
Bitcoin is officially recognized in Japan, but it will be interesting to see how the crypto brokerages handle it and if other crypto besides bitcoin is handled if you are in Japan.
May have to cross Japan off the list and do the 90 day visitor visa, which I see you can do back to back, but not sure how that works in practice.
I wonder how helpful is Google Translate? I found it super helpful in other countries where I can’t really read the language.
@@halcyonandon google translate is very helpful, but there are other apps i use papago, but one of the words i found most helpful to learn is ``How`` Doo yatte, if you are stuck and someone tries to help you, them explaining in japanease might not be enough by saying the word they understand you cant do it yourself and will likely do it for you for example, i was trying to buy a train pass from the machine but didnt see the option avaliable the staff showed me it was under discounts.
When I went to Hamamatsu last year to see a friend that's from Trinidad, who grew up in America, I've known for 20 years, and has lived in Japan for 11 years now, alot of places refused service to us until my friend started speaking fluent Japanese. A few of the places tried to apologize and get us to go in but my friend knew what was happening (even tho I didn't) so he refused. After he told me what happened I felt kind of bad because they were refusing someone who's lived in that town for so long just because of who he was with/what we looked like. I still absolutely love Japan and that didn't taint my view at all, it's still my dream to live there 🥰
Much love from Arizona 💜💜
This was very helpful. Thank you! Thinking of moving there when we retire and picking up an Akiya house in the country. I spent a few summers there as a child visiting relatives so I can speak and understand a little Japanese. Time to hit the books and learn to read and write as well.
Wow, I’m moving in April to continue my studies in Japan. This video couldn’t have come at such a good time!
I have a moving hassle story! This was more than 20 years ago, but I feel like it could still happen.
I got my job through a university exchange program, so there was a whole group of people managing my visa, my contract, my start date, my housing, all that. I expected to go as soon as I graduated, but it was December, which I think threw them off. So I'm hanging around my town, just on hold, waiting for my visa to get approved, knowing I'll have to get on a plane pretty much right away. By the time they finally approved it in June, I was sort of almost over the idea of working in Japan. My grandma talked sense into me, like when am I ever going to have this opportunity again.
So I booked the flight, shared all my information, and got on the plane. (It was probably two weeks later; I'm making it sound like it all happened immediately.) This thing was a double red eye ... I went from my flyover state to Atlanta at like 11pm, landing at 4am, four hour layover, and then direct to Narita. But I was too wired with expectation to sleep.
Nobody had told me what to expect when I landed, but I figured there'd be someone waiting for me, presumably one of those multitudes of suited individuals holding papers with names on them. Nope.
This being 2000, I had to figure out how to buy a phone card so I could hook my laptop modem into a pay phone in order to check my email and see if I'd received any new instructions in the air. Nope.
I waited around for three hours and finally called the local number of my organizers. Reached a delightful Japanese woman who spoke fluent English and said she'd get it sorted out.
At this point I'd been awake something like 40 hours. Not thrilled.
About ten minutes later, I get paged in English over the airport intercom. At the information desk, they had my Japanese company on the phone, and the manager apologized for not knowing I was coming that day. Like ... OK. But he gave me instructions to buy a bus ticket to Ikebukuro, where they'd booked me a hotel room and would meet me in the lobby in the morning. At least here I had exact, specific directions, and the rest of it went smoothly. But you bet your ass I charged room service dinner to my company that night.
I moved to Japan while in high school. It started as an exchange but almost 15 years later , I'm still here. I think in the beginning, for me, it was quite easy because I had help. As years passed I was able to do things on my own.
I came to Japan on military orders. I have my phone from the US and I brought my dog. If you're going to try to bring an animal, you need to get them prepared 9mo in advance. I still use my bank card from the US though there is $.04 transaction fee but you have to keep some cash on you because not everywhere takes a card. Before you eat at a restaurant make sure they accept a card lol.
14 right now, planning to move to Japan when I get older to train and start my family there 💪🏿
Just saw a short come up on my feed from Takashi where he interviewed that girl!!!
TBF, i compartmentalize my friends a bit too. i have my highschool friends and university friends and they're different groups that i dont mix together
I just confirmed a postdoc job (I'm a molecular biologist) to come to Japan - so will be coming this summer! This video was very timely and useful :)
Glad it was helpful! Best of luck with the job! 😁
When I got to Japan I was planning to stay with a friend until I found somewhere to live but then he told me he had a fever so he couldn't pick me up from the airport anymore so I decided to head into Yokohama and see if I could stay at a capsule hotel there but ended up getting stranded in Kawasaki because of last train. After searching around there for a hotel for a while and coming up empty handed I decided to just go to Karaoke until first train. I probably should have got a bit of sleep but I was excited to be at karaoke in Japan so I just sang for the next 3 hours.
Once it hit 5am I started heading toYokohama again, once I got there I put my suitcase and umbrella into a coin locker, did I forget to mention that it was raining incredibly heavy the entire time. I waited for the Starbucks at the station to open so I could use my laptop and then I got to work, I had been awake for almost 30 hours at this point. In this start I worked out accommodation, my sim card and had scheduled a tour at a sharehouse near my university. After this I just wasted time until 2 when I could check into the capsule hotel, where I had a bath and went straight to sleep
i’m here on an exchange and i’ve made japanese friends quite easily, even though i’m super shy and my japanese level isn’t high 😅 it’s usually because i go to events alone and people approach me, and we can talk quite easily about the event. i’m autistic, small and quiet and blend in quite well, so people tend to feel a bit more comfortable approaching me i think… and what i want from friendships is more in line with what they’re looking for too. i think i suit life here much more than i do back home, honestly.
hope you have her again actually, she seems like she'd fit well with TC if she wanted to.
Ananya. Props to you going to Japan. Ive seen you a lot before on learning Japanese and such. So it's cool to see you with all these youtubers. I've seen you everywhere now lol 😅 so it's nice to see you enjoy Japan. Take care
Nice cycle of life with phone number --> bank account -->Address cycle! Great Q & A with many important topics!
4:27 had that, I booked all my hotels via my banking app (FYI if you’re with Revolut you save over 10% on the price on booking, kayak etc by using the app)
But it’s my full legal name so everywhere I stayed thought my middle name was my second name. Was actually funny at a Ryokan, they had a shelf at the door for shoes. They had all the shelves labelled with big signs and put Mr. and Mrs. Terence …………. on the shelf lol
Ramen you can definitely get some good variety so it doesn't feel so stagnant. Last trip my last few meals were fuunji (thick meaty tsukemen), gonokami (shrimp tomato pesto tsukemen), honda noodle works (shoyu kelp tsukemen), sobahouse (clam mushroom tsukemen), santora (miso). It was all ramen, but such a variety of different flavors. It does take effort though, which can be tiring to do so much research.
That was a great interview/discussion! Thank you Ananya, and best of luck as you continue your stay!
calbee has really good granola cereal (but more expensive than western offerings), i recommend the strawberry flavour!
Thank you for this informative video I have been looking into moving to Japan for a while now and this video will help!, Thank you TC!
Such a great video! To this day I have this internal fantasy that some cool Japanese company would just discover me and offer me a job 😂
It could happen 👀
@@TokyoCreativePlay We can but dream 😁
I lived with a couple host families for the 9 months I was a study abroad student and moved into an apartment in Kyoto in June. I want to make a credit card but Yucho won't let me because my residence status is student until I get a work visa. Also can't use PayPay for some reason along the lines of my name on my bank account being in katakana but my name on my documents (residence card, MyNumber) being in English. Working part-time right now making a bit above minimum wage and I can barely afford food lol
i'm moving to tokyo in april for language school to this video came at a good time :) Can you guys expand on why Yuucho (JP Post) isn't good long term? It sounds like they only offer chequing accounts so you can't put any money into savings and make money off interest?
Like your videos. Good info. I'm in a different situation. I retired early and would love to move to Japan, but from my research that's not an easy thing to do if you're not interested in working full time anymore. I have a lot of marketable skills, but at this point in my life I have other priorities. Also my language skills are poor. My mom is Japanese and she knew basic Japanese as my grandmother only spoke Japanese and my dad was Chinese and spoke Cantonese, but growing up only English was spoken. I lived in Europe and the Middle East a long time ago as an expat.
After seeing your videos I got a better understanding of what to expect. Maybe another country will be more suitable, but in the meantime I'm still researching ways to possible move to Japan long term...
Just came back from 🇦🇺 to 🇯🇵and I already miss the apple crumble clusters from Coles 🥲 And hearing your stories about housing, banks, and restaurants reminded me of how amazinly foreign friendly Australia was 🥲🦘 I hope at least Japan changes its non-gaijin san policy/mentality 😢
Follow TabiEats they know where authentic Indian food is in Tokyo! Indian grocery stores too and
this was the most valuable resource anyone seriously thinking of moving to japan could see - i watched it 4 times already! thank you so much ;)
Glad it was helpful!
i’ll be moving there sometime late june! super nervous but also excited to finally be fulfilling my long time dream :))
For the bank, almost all of them require you to have been in Japan for at least 6 months 😅 Even Shinsei has this rule now! The easiest is definitely to start off with yuucho
I've worked with a few Mongolians, Chinese, Koreans, Russians, Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Kiwis in Tokyo. My impression was that people from non-English speaking countries generally have better command of Japanese and are able to culturally assimilate and socially integrate much better. Some did their undergraduate in Japanese universities or finished graduate school in Japan. Most Anglophones cannot survive outside of an English-speaking expat bubble, and as a result will not be able to be part of Japanese society. They don't really mix with the locals, so they usually leave in one or two years, since they're only extended tourists.
For Mongols and Koreans, they have a much easier time due to grammatically similarities, and Chinese know most of the KANJI used in Japan. Unexpectedly, I was most impressed by the Russians that I've met. Most were graduates of Japan Studies programs from Russian universities. Their grasp of Japanese language, culture, literature, history, customs, and norms was far beyond my expectations. They can read Japanese novels and newspapers, so it's no surprise that they have a far better chance with social integration and employment in Japan.
Hi Ananya, as a Cali girl do you miss Mexican food? Japan probably doesn’t really do Mexican and whenever I speak to Americans traveling long term abroad or ex-pats everyone seems to agree they miss Mexican food the most.
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it
If they rejected you, its mostly because they dont speak English and they didn't want to deal with language barrier. I have read it somewhere that its their reason to reject foreigners in restaurants
did you not even watch the video, they spoke Japanese
@@Nervous101 did you even read my comment? I said they don't want to deal with foreigners because language barrier
I heard Japan is launching a digital nomad visa where you can stay up to 6 months but still work for your original company so hoping to do that next year 🤞
oof, iykyk
I imagine a lot of these hurdles and inconveniences are easier to bear when you’re younger. I’m curious if you’d be willing to go through all the same issues now that you’re wiser? (same language skill, same knowledge/lack of knowledge about life and processes, that you had back then)
Whoa...this is the first I'm hearing about multiple rejections at restaurants...oh no! Sorry to hear that...yikes! How would that go over in Australia or the US? Probably go viral?
Ike’s Sandwich 🤤
Are there going to be issues with a double first name? Meaning e.g. my name in my passport in my ID would be e.g. "Anti-arktika Smith". Anti and Arktika with the "-" in the middle are my official first name. I could imagine them not getting that.
Be aware that Japan has no passable chocolate milk ANYWHERE (unless you want to pay for imported stuff at Kaldi)!
Someone should translate all those forms into English (and other languages) and post them online for people moving to Japan to use as a reference.
I love Japan, but living somewhere is very different from visiting, and I have a feeling that the benefits will be outweighed by the difficulties and the things I would have to give up. Even the work culture alone is enough to make me not consider moving there.
Very true as an American who moved to live in 2 different countries in 2 different regions as well as traveling quite a bit visiting and actually packing up and moving is a very different experience. There are so many things you just don't know and even if you're experienced, things change with time. When I saw this video and heard about the banking challenges I made a few calls and ended up going down a rabbit's hole of complications that would ensnare me so now I have to rethink plans or find work arounds.
I'd like to suggest you guys to try some BRAZILIAN foods. There is a good amount of brazilian mini markets / convenience stores in some prefectures over there, and I bet you may like a thing or two.
i have a double middle name, even my banks only put 1 of them on on the card (uk) so doing it in japan would probably be hell
I've been living in Japan for almost 11 months and still don't have a back account
This was really informative and helpful , the only questions I thought of which were missed was how to find jobs outside of teaching without degree requirement/with limited degree requirements ?
This is a whole topic for a video on its own 😅
Amazing how AI could help with immigration language barriers but every country won't allow that to be a free feature on your phone.
Yo editing team , what the hell are you doing with that slow zoom in on random intervals eh .
Editing team on this channel is not as par with the amazing hosts and content
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This is called ... being an amateur. 😕
.
Since the whole video is just them sitting on a sofa, the editor probably thought that would add some movement/action and make the video more interesting. Most viewers want action and not just 20 minutes of talking.
So, the consensus at 11:08 is that you will eventually run into Japanese people being people, in other words, reactive xenophobic racists, but "it is what it is." Thanks for the good information regarding establishing a physical address and telephone number. Those seem critical the world over. I remember some of Emma's earliest videos talking about the hardships of getting to and establishing oneself in Japan. It actually sounds a little bit more difficult now.
Interesting comment about compartmentalising friends... is that not normal?
why is JPBank so bad ?
Sara's outfit 🥵
Oh man I'm early! Hi from California
Is anyone here a freelancer who has experience moving to Japan?
I searched about diplomas translation but did not find much information. If I have a bachelor and a masters degree related to computer science and want to work in Japan, do I need to pay an agency to translate my documentation?
Unless there’s a very specific request for a translated version, usually your English one is totally fine
Thank you!
あっアナンヤさんだ
アナンヤさんの日本語は日本人が聞いても全く違和感がありません。
so now you gals need to start up a cereal subscription service for all those expats :)
That ! I frequently think that on the interview and ranking videos they could become the changes they want to see 🎉
Emma pointing out that there could be some better balance on foreign language support is universally true imo. There are some things that are not in your control and should not assume you “could do the effort to learn the language“ ( eg treating a health issue ). For those cases at least some English options would make a huge difference
Is registering your address only for those with long term visa?
Yes, that’s correct
@@TokyoCreativePlay thank you
Is this the same chick that's interviewed on takashi from japan?
Living in Tokyo can be cheap! Compared to US LOL
Nahh there’s a couple of Good a spots in Tokyo for Pizza
From NY
I’m having an anxiety attack just listening to the horror that is Japanese paperwork/red tape… lol
Sounds like Japan does everything possible to try and put foreigners off moving there, basically... And the acceptance of credit over debit is because the financial industry make a lot of money holding people to credit and the interest it accrues.
Actually DO bring tissues because Japanese tissues suck! lol
"Do not have a middle name" oh god 😅
"It is what it is", what it is, is racism.
womp womp
Free speech depending where you are from but also there country there rules, does that mean it's right no, but just because you don't like something doesn't mean it needs to change, I've been here a year and have never been rejected from a restaurant but I've also caused a nuisance on a drunk night out, but as the other guy said "womp womp"
1) Don't.
planning? no. endlessly fascinated with the idea? yes. 📔📔📔