Fresh off the Plane — Moving to Japan (A Useful Guide)
Even for one who’s had experience living elsewhere, you’ll realize how nothing else compares to living in Japan.
The very purpose of this post is to provide a useful guide for those who are about to move to Japan, a country very rich in culture, facets of which have been preserved for dozens of generations untainted; a country who’s a forerunner in the fields of technology and industry as it is the third largest economy in the whole world; a nation whose unique way of life will either leave you in awe and amazement, wonder or flat out confusion.
Japan truly is eccentric. It usually comes to a surprise for most how a whole lot of daily activities that we also usually do in our home countries such as business meetings, greetings, throwing out garbage, finding an apartment, or just basically living in general is done quite differently here in Japan.
There’s without a doubt a whole multitude of things to prepare for if you’re going to live in Japan and it could all be quite stressful as soon as they all collectively hit you in one blow and may potentially knock you back to immigration as you beg to be sent back to where ever you were coming from.
Oftentimes, one may ask, where do I even start?
So probably the first two major take-aways from this article if you are preparing to move to Japan are first — know someone reliable, trustworthy and who preferably currently resides in Japan to help you out and assist you throughout the moving process. Without knowing anyone and without possessing capabilities of communicating with the locals, you’ll basically end up stuck, left with very little options on how to proceed, some of which might not even be known to you. But people are definitely a lot smarter than this and will usually think it through and research prior to moving. But the second take-away is to exert a massive amount of effort in researching, even rigorously so that you may already plan out your settlement beforehand as this will obviously avoid stressing out too much over getting an apartment, knowing the routes to work and what not.
Housing
As probably already decided, you are going to rent an apartment! You might be familiar with how your home country rents apartments where a security payment is sometimes all it needs and then - poof - your rental contract is set up. In Japan however, a whole slew of fees and payments are introduced that could really get under your skin most especially if you’re a first timer at this. Bear in mind as well how these apartments, especially in major cities are quite small and not as spacious as your previous living quarters. Luckily for you, there are Real Estate Agencies running around like us, ‘Japanroomfinder’, that are especially directed to expats in Japan to help them out with finding an apartment, negotiation with local property owners and moving. It is advisable to get on with you research right away by checking out this comprehensive article about Renting Apartments in Japan found in our blog. Why it is so difficult for foreigners to find and rent a place? Many house owners are still very hesitant to welcome foreigners, especially if one does not speak Japanese. House owners are afraid they won’t be able to communicate with you if something happens or worse, you just lease the country and they have no means of finding you (to collect rent). This is of course the worst-case scenario and some stereotypes are involved here but the problem is, you always know someone who experienced exactly this. And unfortunately it did happen ( as we, as a rental agency, do know). Thing is, house owners can have reservations against anyone, even Japanese tenants, and this is where the guarantor system kicks in. Many house owners require you (Japanese and non-Japanese) to have a guarantor in case you are not able to pay rent but they still have the possibility to then get it from the guarantor. Where I come from, students were required to name their parents as guarantors. In Japan, this happens to full-grown people. A real estate agency can prepare you with these “cultural differences” and introduce foreigner-friendly apartments to you. This saves you tons of time and frustration from being rejected.
As mentioned in our blog, there are just a ton of jargon in Japan associated with real estate and there is a good chance that you will get lost in just trying to comprehend it fully, even if it’s already translated into English. For starters though, there are アパート(apato or apartments) two-story buildings and there are マンション (mansion) which are buildings over two floors. There are private apartments and there are share houses where the difference is basically whether you share that space with other tenants or whether you yourself are renting it out.
You’re in luck if you go into a shared house(advisable for students or individual tenants) or a private apartment that’s fully furnished as you don’t have to stress about buying furniture and what not. But if you end up in an unfurnished private apartment which even though might come with air conditioning and other appliances, you’ll still need to be well oriented with the more cost-effective shopping destinations within the vicinity for household items and furniture.
Shopping
We will forever be grateful to heaven for blessing Japan with Hundred Yen Shops as they have undoubtedly saved many lives all throughout Japanese recent history. It is what it is, a place where the prices of products sold there are at a hundred yen which equates to about a dollar. Although you will pay slightly more, because tax will be added at the cashier (it is not much, but would be so nice to just pay 800 Yen for 8 items. Just for the feeling).
For appliances and items that demand quality, Muji and Nitori are wonderful choices and have shops all over Japan. Bask in the minimalist and clean designs as designed by the Japanese. Ikea is definitely not a bad choice as well as it is the more popular one. These shops more or less do deliveries so don’t be afraid to ask.
Transportation
As mentioned in one of our stories, Tokyo Railway Commute, it could be quite the experience. And what we mean by that is a foreigner expat could potentially end up feeling violated, cluster phobic or somewhere between the spectrum of slightly dumbfounded and outright shocked.
The primary mode of public transport in Tokyo is the railway and subway network where residents close to stations are more benefited. Buses come in second. For long distance travel, planes and shinkansen (bullet trains) are commonly the standard.
It is best that one educates himself/herself beforehand of the transportation system and surveys the area via google maps street view or satellite view to be familiar of the nearest stations and bus stops in relation to the main train networks to work, some prominent leisure destinations as well as important places such as embassies or government offices. Because this brings us back to finding an apartment. If you move to a city such as Tokyo, commuting at least one hour one way is the norm. If you already know where your work place or school will be, search for an apartment that is close to a convenient train station. Use google maps and play around a little bit. If you find an apartment that is 10 minutes closer to work but you have to change train lines three times, then it might be smarter to get a place a little bit further away but where you actually don’t have to change. 10 minutes are not worth it, especially if you commute during rush hour when trains are often delayed because people think they can still fit in the already sardine-can-like wagons.
Food
Japanese Cuisine is world-renown and arguably one of the best when it comes to popularity. One has to admit that it is not for everyone as certain raw dishes might scare some audiences away.
Although Japanese cuisine per se isn’t for everyone, the food found in Japan are extremely wide in variety as numerous chefs of different cuisines from around the world have taken settlement here. And wherever you may be from, it is highly likely that you will find food from home here in Japan! Of course the more rural areas might not have it all but generally there’s Mcdonald’s or a Subway almost everywhere not to mention fast food ‘family restaurants’ with foreign influences but are Japan-based are readily available all across the country such as ‘Saizeria’, ‘Jonathan’s or ‘Denny’s. Don’t want to eat out? Fear not because you’ll more or less find the ingredients you’re looking for in Japanese grocery stores.
Japan might turn out as a shock for most. But as any activity that usually needs practice or adjustment, there’s a learning curve that needs to be overcome and once you’ve done that, you’ll better appreciate Japan for the gem that it is, a hidden gem situated far into the east of the world.
