Five Major Challenges That I Faced As An Expat In Japan – TSD Life in Tokyo | The Shopaholic Diaries

Hey everybody!

It has been a very long time since I shared something on this weblog, and it has quite a bit to do with what was happening in my private life as I used to be visiting India for about 6 months resulting from medical remedy.

Nonetheless,  I’m lastly again in Japan and I’ve determined to doc my life and experiences right here below a brand new collection ‘TSD Life in Tokyo‘. And whereas I used to be occupied with what could possibly be the primary matter I write upon, the challenges that I confronted after I first moved to Japan gave the impression to be a great start line.

I moved to Japan with my husband virtually 2 years in the past, out of which I wasn’t right here for essentially the most a part of this 12 months. It actually did not assist that we moved right here proper earlier than the pandemic hit the world, which although did not influence our transfer, however impacted our lives right here in some ways – particularly since we spent plenty of time indoors and did not get an opportunity to journey inside Japan quite a bit. 

However nicely, touring domestically is not one of many first challenges that you simply may face if you’re new in Japan. Regardless that Japan is an interesting nation with unmissable vacationer points of interest and pure magnificence, it’s possible you’ll throughout plenty of tradition shocks and unpredictable conditions that may make settling down on this nation a bit of troublesome.

Whereas I may spend in all probability a day speaking in regards to the challenges I confronted after I first got here to Japan, listed below are 5 main challenges that I feel you may additionally face once you first transfer to Japan : 

Throughout our first month in Tokyo, we stayed in a lodge suite and roamed solely round our lodge in Roppongi which is a well-liked vacationer vacation spot amongst foreigners. Subsequently, we did not discover any problem whereas procuring or going to eating places as most of those locations had one or two English-speaking employees.

The principle battle started once we moved to our condo and began going out & about for leisure, procuring, and each day life actions. Only a few supermarkets, cafes, or retailers had English-speaking employees, and we principally needed to depend on Google translate to get the job accomplished. That is after I realized that if one has to outlive on this metropolis, one wants to know Japanese at some degree.

After we moved to Japan, my husband’s firm was variety sufficient to attach us instantly with an English-speaking agent who confirmed us two residences within the first week of our transfer and we selected the one with none second ideas (additionally as a result of she strongly claimed that we’d not discover a higher condo than that one).

However I used to be fairly stunned about how small the rooms have been as in comparison with the spacious homes and residences we have been used to seeing and staying again in India. 

The residences (often called ‘apato’ or ‘mansions’ domestically) in Japan are abbreviated as 1R/1LDK/1DK – during which the ‘digit’ refers back to the variety of bedrooms within the condo and the ‘alphabet’ refers to room kind (eg. L- lounge, D- eating room, Okay-kitchen). 

These residences can range in dimension from as small as 25 sq.m. to upwards of 100 sq.m(which might be crazily priced). However discovering an condo that has trendy interiors, is situated in an expat-friendly space, and isn’t exorbitantly priced could possibly be a troublesome activity to realize. That is not all, the preliminary charges concerned in reserving an condo can really burn a gap in your pockets as this is able to usually embody Reservation Payment + Deposit + Key Cash + Service payment (and to not overlook plenty of paperwork).

Fortunately, there are various actual property brokers like KEN Corp, Resident First, and many others. that present English assist and will help you discover a home that matches your expectations. 

Opening a checking account in Japan not solely concerned plenty of paperwork however I additionally discovered the method to be fairly biased. As a foreigner, one is required to submit paperwork like a resident card, a Japanese medical insurance card, and a enterprise card or proof of employment to open an account with any of the foremost banks in Japan.

If this wasn’t all, some banks even have a requirement of getting accomplished at the very least 6 months of keep in Japan earlier than one’s software. And since I wasn’t working full-time, I needed to await six months to be lastly capable of open a checking account with Sony Financial institution which is among the few foreigner-friendly banks in Japan. 

This positively made issues very troublesome for me as I could not perform any on-line transactions or join tasks that particularly needed me to have a Japanese financial institution card throughout the first six months of my keep.

• Discovering work alternatives

I had determined to go away my full-time job at Tiktok earlier than transferring to Japan, and since our transfer was kinda last-minute (we moved inside 3-4 weeks of receiving our visa), I did not have sufficient time to search for work alternatives earlier than coming right here.

What I wasn’t ready for was that discovering a job and even part-time work alternatives are going to be actually troublesome right here, particularly contemplating I had zero Japanese language abilities. Whereas there are plenty of open positions right here for roles reminiscent of English academics and Engineers that do not require Japanese information, many of the different jobs have a significant requirement for native/near-native Japanese abilities.

Since most of my work expertise revolved round Content material & Social media, I could not apply for any positions as I had no information of the native tradition or language. This made my first few months right here actually troublesome as I typically felt misplaced and dejected, and did not know which step to take forward in my profession.

After I lastly gained some motivation, I made a decision to pursue freelance writing, and efficiently landed writing gigs with web sites like Tokyo Weekender, Tokyo Evening Owl, and extra. Whereas I’m glad that my running a blog journey and work expertise helped me discover these alternatives, I’d nonetheless suggest that you simply search for an appropriate job or at the very least analysis the job market earlier than your transfer, so you do not really feel misplaced and puzzled after you have moved right here. 

Discovering buddies in a overseas land, the place you do not even communicate the native language is a frightening activity. It took me a protracted whereas to get used to the truth that I did not have my buddies or colleagues (who made me really feel essentially the most snug) round me anymore. 

Since I felt too shy to strategy any locals fearing that I would not have the ability to talk with them, I reached out to a couple expat teams on Fb in order that I may join with like-minded folks. However I feel making buddies is simpler if you end up a baby, as as soon as you’re a grown-up you want those who share the identical vibe and do not disturb your internal peace.  

It took me a couple of 12 months to search out a number of folks whom I may belief, however they’re positively the closest folks I’ve in my life now and I’m glad I discovered them alongside the way in which. 

So, if you’re additionally dealing with a troublesome time making buddies on this nation, I’d say simply give it a while – be a part of a membership or group of your liking and you may positively meet like-minded folks ultimately. 

Until then, be sure you are nonetheless in contact together with your previous buddies. In spite of everything, if Covid has taught us one factor – it’s that distance would not matter in relation to wholesome and powerful friendships, and the way necessary it’s to keep up them.

by way of GIPHY

Love,
Nitika