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Japan--Anyone lived there?
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Anonymous
| My husband came home and dropped on me that his firm is asking him to consider a 2 year assignment in Japan. Anyone know someone who has lived there (ideally on a corporate assignment) with an experience to share? I've got friends in Hong Kong and they've got a cook/maid/driver and a huge expat community....so life isn't as bad as they had expected (and they have 5 kids!) I have a 22 month old and just found out I am pregnant and am freaking out a bit! Any experiences, good or bad, greatly appreciated. |
Anonymous
| will your child be born there or you'll leave once your baby is born? |
Anonymous
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You should definitely do it! I've lived in Beijing for six years after dh proposed moving here (for two years...) when our youngest was four months. We moved four months later and then I had my second born here (which was so much nicer than sibley!). We're moving back to DC this summer and while I'm excited, I will miss China and the great friends I've made.
The COL in Japan is way higher than China (HK included) so you won't have the full cook/maid/driver but if you're going on a corporate package, they're hard to come by now, so I'd do it. Your dh could ask for private school, housing (in a good area), and I'd also ask try to get tax equalization (since it's been hard on foreigners abroad the last few years). Even if you don't have the help you would in China, it's easier to get around in Japan, and the experience is once in a lifetime especially with kids. Your kid will pick up Japanese so easily and you might even want to stay longer since two years is so short, especially with a pregnancy you won't be able to travel much. There is a large expat community there, you could find out where the American embassy residences are and try to live around there. I know a few people who moved there from China recently, but most of them are returning Japanese and one State Department family. Japan is beautiful and the food excellent. I love visiting. The only difficulty I would personally have there is that generally speaking it's harder to get in with the locals than say in China, due to their culture. But you would be easily able to tap into the expat community and there are many Japanese families that have lived abroad who are more open to friendship. So much of this will revolve around your child's school, so be sure to get school covered or be prepared to pay for it. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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I lived there for 2 years during and after college, then again for a summer working as a law intern. I loved it. Then again I majored in Japanese and speak the language. I think it unlikely you will have a car and driver unless your husband is far higher on the corporate ladder than anyone I know. I haven't been to Hong Kong, so I don't know if it's anything like China, where I was struck by how much lower the standard of living was than in Japan. Japan is in many ways more modern than the US. And just as expensive as DC, or maybe more now that the dollar is so weak. There is a large expat community in major cities like Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka. But a fair number are students and recent graduates looking to teach English. Also lots of military (US) families if you are near Tokyo, but in my experience (I worked on a military base there) most of them keep pretty much to the base.
The up side - amazing food, amazing transit, good health care - you don't have to be a citizen to get health care. Large cities are fairly easy to navigate in English, there are always English signs posted and many people go out of their way to help lost-looking tourist types. Kids are well liked and indulged. If you'll be there 2 years plus, you might consider enrolling the older child in a Japanese nursery when he/she is old enough, to learn the language. Kids pick it up so easily. The down side - you may not have as much support (family, friends, colleagues) as you have in the US, which is tough when you have young kids. Unless you are Asian and can blend in, you will always be regarded as an outsider (though sometimes that is good - you get immediate attention if you need help). If you like travel and new experiences, I'd think you would enjoy it. Personally, I thought it was such a waste when the military families isolated themselves on post for 2 years. Some of them knew nothing about the city they lived in, refused to try local food, and counted the minutes until the next posting. In my opinion, large Japanese cities are no different from moving to, say, London or Sydney, except for the language issue, which I think most people find to be not as much of a problem as they expected. (Now if you were moving to Beijing, I would warn you about the truly horrendous toilets and the constant hawking and heckling on the street.) Happy to answer more specific questions if you have any. |
Anonymous
| Go for it! You'll be able to get in with the people easier if you stand out, eg, black or blonde with blue or green eyes. Have fun! |
Anonymous
| Japan is wonderful...a beautiful country, and very "1st world", just in case you're worried about that. I grew up there in the 70s, and have returned frequently on business travel. It will be a great experience for you and your family. |
Anonymous
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According to wikipedia, the world's most expensive cities for expatriats employees are:
1. Tokyo, Japan 2. Osaka, Japan 3. Moscow, Russia 4. Geneva, Switzerland 5. Hong Kong, China 8. NYC, US 9. Beijing, China 16. London, England 68. Washington, DC, US |
zumbamama
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I've only visited Tokyo a few times, but it is such an amazing city. I would go live there in a heartbeat! It is amazingly clean and safe. I remember people cleaning the sidewalks all the time, and bicycles were never locked up to the rack. Even the few homeless people I saw were clean, neat and always sweeping. My mom left her purse at a train station and found it in the same place 2 hours later!
The people are friendly, the architecture is breathtaking, the food is super healthy, excellent healthcare. The list of pros is a long one, IMO. |
Anonymous
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Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I'll likely be back with more questions! My husband has a call with another US Partner who is over there now tomorrow night.
My daughter is 22 months, so it isn't like she'll be in "school" other than preschool. And, I'd have the baby over here....I literally just found out I am pregnant. Wouldn't be due until October and I think they want us to move over the summer. |
Anonymous
| Sorry, I meant I'd have the baby over there! |
Anonymous
| I was in Japan for one summer, and I got tired of it quick. The cities are super clean, but public transportation was always advertising porn. It wasn't just booty call numbers that were listed... there were pictures of naked people. I thought the food in Japan was super bland. Even their version of U.S. food (i.e. pizza) was bland. Their ketchup is a lot blander than ketchup in the U.S. They do eat really healthy there though. I'm not sure what it's like living in a an expat community, but I thought the country itself got boring quick. I didn't think there were a lot of sightsee (and everything looked the same by the end of the trip). If you're into fashion, that's one good thing about Japan. They come out with the latest styles quicker they do in the U.S, but on the downside, their clothing runs a lot smaller than here. |
Anonymous
Everyone's different, I guess. But I'm just really surprised that you disliked the food so much. Japanese food is (IMO) soooooo good!! I love seafood (and not just sushi) and you just can't beat Japan for the freshness of the fish. And then there are tons of other food options for those that don't like seafood as much. Tonkatsu, ramen, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, curry, all the different breads and pastries, gosh, I'm salivating right now just thinking about it. True, the porn is a little unnerving. This is common in a lot of Asian countries, and I don't like it either. My FIL is Japanese, and he would always stand over the young men reading porn in the subways and say loudly, "That is disgusting! How embarrassing. What kind of person looks at that stuff on the train!" all loud to shame them. LOL! Not a lot of sightseeing? Nara and Kyoto alone would give you enough to see for a year! Personally, I preferred just visiting Osaka for the food and skipping all the temples. And I find the fashion in Japan laughable. It's so trendy that unless you're 15, you'd look so silly. But I'm an old 30-something who is most definitely not fashionable. Man, I would JUMP at the chance to live in Japan for a year. OP, I hope you do it! |
Anonymous
When I was pregnant, I wrote on a thread and someone responded about their experience giving birth in Japan. I remember she had her own personal chef at the birthing center/hospital, and she loved the experience of giving birth there. |
Anonymous
U.S. pizza is nothing like authentic Italian pizza. U.S. pizza is loaded with all that tasty crap! |
Anonymous
Yeah, I got tired of all the common Japanese foods really quick... Yes, the fish there is super fresh, and better than anything you could find here or probably anywhere else in the world, but I got tired of eating seafood. They do say Japan has some of the best restaurants in the world. I was younger when I was in Japan, so I didn't get to experience the high end restaurants.... but I have heard those restaurants beat out the best in France (which I have tried). I saw a lot of temples while I was there, and after awhile, they weren't so exciting. The architecture is amazing, and I know there are many temple styles depending on era, but they all started to look the same to me. They really are impressive, but they just didn't hold my interest. And I agree about the fashion. It wasn't my style... but if you were into fashion... Japan is probably the place to be (like France would be for fashion as well). Actually, the best part about Japan which I forgot to mention is probably their technology! Just like fashion, they are the latest on technology. THey have the coolest gadgets!! You could even find some that could be used in the U.S. as well. |