BootsnAll Travel Network



Let’s talk about Japan!

Are you thinking about coming to the far-off nation of Japan to land a teaching job? Has the dust been collecting on your diploma, and your job stocking shelves at the grocery store lost its luster? Do you just want to travel? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your situation sounds a lot like mine was over two years ago.

I’ve met people from all over the world that came to Japan for a variety of reasons. There are the straight shooting travelers, the people actually interested in teaching, and those who have always been drawn to the overwhelming foreignness of Japan. There is the sushi nut, manga nut, and the karate/judo/reiki nut. Some with Japanese ancestry come to get a slice of the old country. I’ve also met my fair share of folks that soured on Japan pretty quickly, throwing in the towel after a few months for a variety of reasons. Ultimately, people come to Japan because it is a relatively simple place to live internationally for English-speaking foreigners with a degree.

I came because it was somewhere to go, the process of getting here was painless, and it seemed exotic. After arriving in Japan, I spent the first 16 months in a position with one of the “big three” conversation schools in the seaside town of Hitachi, northeast of Tokyo. After a two month travel break in SE Asia and China last spring, I returned and began teaching in elementary schools in a small rural town directly north of Tokyo.

The first year in Japan was characterized by the typical travel honeymoon; the literal and figurative Japan drunkenness. I suppose this feeling of exoticism is what most people feel when they live internationally for extended periods of time. You fall in love with every moment, trying to remember your days down to the last second as to not forget your experience. It is why we explore.

This blog’s goal is two-part. First, it is meant to be a quick a dirty guide for all you would-be Japanophiles or recent arrivals out there. If you’re thinking about coming and want to know what it might be like, or are trying to decipher your new surroundings, read on. If you need advice picking the right company, go here. The second goal is to engage the community of people who have been in Japan for longer periods of time, especially if you’re starting to get a little sick of the place, like me.

If you’re drunk on Japan the first year, your second year will likely bring the hangover. Little things have been slowing eating away at me since returning from my mainland Asia trip earlier this year, and I’ve taken my plentiful time to immerse myself in the study of Japan’s unique history, sometimes impenetrable culture, and current position in the world. Instead of becoming the pissed-off expat we all avoid in foreigner bars, I started to really delve into the reasons why Japan is so damn Japanese.

This has been a somewhat frustrating experience in two ways. First of all, many of the positive aspects of Japan that I had come to love and espouse have been cast in doubt. I have come to see both sides of the coin and now realize that many of Japan’s benefits such as low crime and meticulous order have hidden costs. Japan’s shiny modern veneer has become heavily tarnished in my mind. Second, I have set myself up to leave Japan in four months on a sour note. No traveler particularly wants this, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Frustration is the plight of idealists the world over who can’t seem to understand why everything seems to work in such a backward way, seemingly everywhere.

While many of Japan’s social and economic problems have been discussed extensively by the academic, political, and business communities over the years, I hear these concerns voiced less often by the travel community. Descriptions of Japan remark of it’s otherworldliness, shrouded in a neon glow; where people revel in the newness of illiteracy and get a kick out of pointing at their order from the plastic food display case. These descriptions are wonderfully entertaining, and often right on the mark for what it’s like to experience Japan. For the tourist or new arrival, Japan is constant, high octane entertainment. The flow of noise, lights, and cultural oddities is memorable to say the least.

Here’s how you know if the Japan buzz has worn off:

  • You arrive at the “natural attraction” displayed on your map and are disappointed by the elevator, tram, concrete tunnel, or vending machine serviced viewing platform.
  • The four minute conversation with the homeroom teacher at your teaching assignment is the cultural highlight of the month.
  • You start to notice that driving in Japan is like driving in a 1950’s black and white movie. The background is on a continuous loop consisting of: ramen shop, pachinko, MacDonald’s, big box electronic store, ramen shop, snack bar, repeat.

In this following series of posts labeled Brooding in Japan, I reflect on my experiences and frustrations over the past two years and attempt to start discussions among travelers about modern Japanese society, education, business culture, environmental issues, and the ultimate viability of Japan in the globalized world. This may sound like a formidable list of topics to conquer, but I know that those of us who have lived here for any significant period of time will have experiences and opinions to share. Those considering the move here will no doubt benefit from the discussions as well.  Let’s move away from the complaining that often goes on in the travel and teaching forums and start to analyze what makes this fascinating country tick.

With under four months left in a country to which I’ve devoted a decent amount of time, I’ve felt recently that I should have some body of work compiled, something more cohesive than a random thread of blogs. This series is my attempt to amass such a compilation.



Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *