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This is why you shouldn't move to Japan
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So many people tell me they want to move to Japan,
which I completely understand cause I love it here!
I love the food, the culture, and how safe it is, relatively speaking
But obviously not everything is perfect in Japan
It's a small island with a lot of people living close together,
especially in the cities,
so there has to be some compromise
I think some foreigners moving to Japan
don't come in with that compromise mindset
and are rudely surprised when things aren't as they expected
I wanted to make this video so I can share with you
some issues that foreigners complain about when living in Japan
So maybe I can help manage your expectations before you decide to move
your entire life to Japan,
just to later realize Japan wasn't for you
But before I start, If you wanna see
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If you have any questions about Japan or your travels,
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Let me know in the comments if any of these are deal-breakers
for you to move to Japan or
if you think some of these issues are not worth complaining about
Alright, let's get started!
It's kind of true that homes in Japan are a little bit small,
especially when compared to Western homes
But it's important to understand that in
densely populated cities like Tokyo,
space is limited and the limiting factor would be rent
For example, a 1DK apartment,
meaning 1 room, dining and kitchen area,
about 25-30 meters in Tokyo's 23 wards
would be on average about $780 per month
That's $780 in US regiments
That would be about $780 for 270-320 ft²
On top of that, you may be paying
2 months deposit, 2 months key money, 1 month agent fee, plus misc. fees
averaging between 5.5-7 months of rent
before you are even handed the keys to your apartment
For some foreigners, that's too much to be paying
for that size of an apartment
Not only do some foreigners complain about apartments being too small,
they also complain about clothing
Obviously, many Japanese clothing stores
market to Japanese people who are
on average relatively smaller in stature
when compared to foreigners
So when larger foreigners try to find larger sizes in Japan,
it's usually unavailable
But you may get lucky with a few select stores
and there are 'big and tall' stores
that cater to larger sized people,
but usually they're not as fashionable
Interestingly, it's easier to find helmet sizes
In fact, I got this one last year
I was pleasantly surprised that Japanese helmets are sized larger
than what I was used to in the US
For example, in Japan a small sized helmet
is equivalent to a US large size
Go figure!
If you're a larger sized foreigner, then be prepared
If you've purchased any products from
bookstores, electronic stores, furniture stores, etc.
you generally can't return things
unless there is a product defect and
even then sometimes it's quite a hassle
Apparel shops though are a bit different and it really depends on the store
Some are ok with it, some are not
But in general Japan doesn't have that
shopping culture where you buy it,
take it home, try it out, and bring it back with a tag if you don't like it
Although Japan has gotten a little bit better over the last few years,
Japan is still notorious for paper pushing
Especially when it comes to official registration forms
such as with the local city hall, creating a bank account, and even
signing up for home internet connection
A lot of it must be done in person or
submitted via post as paper documents need
to be official signed or hanko stamped
Basically, Japan hasn't caught up to the digital age yet
When some foreigners finally start
filling out bank forms, or any other forms in general,
they soon find out that some of the forms
don't have enough boxes to fill out their name,
especially if they have a longer name
and even worse if they have a middle name
Japanese don't have middle names and they're usually only a few characters long
When Japanese created their forms
they never anticipated providing enough space for foreigners
Which creates a lot of problems down the line
especially when foreigners are trying to make transactions
The other party can't verify who the foreigner is because
their half-written down bank name doesn't match their government issued ID
Furthermore, as many businesses have moved online
you'll find the same issue with online forms that require
you to enter Japanese characters for your name or
again not having enough boxes to fill out your full name
It's a real headache for some foreigners and
it lasts their entire stay here in Japan
Portions served in Japan are generally smaller because
Japanese tend to eat smaller meals
This is one part of Japan that some
foreigners can't get used to when living here and
each meal becomes a cause for complaint
But on the bright side,
Japan has one of the lowest obesity rates in the world
at only 4.3% compared to the US at 36.2%
All I can say is that if you're really in the need for some more food,
just order another plate
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That said, let's continue on with the list
Many foreigners that end up living outside of the city in Japan
are gonna end up getting a car
and when they do, they're gonna need to get shaken
which is a mandatory vehicle inspection conducted to confirm
whether a car meets Japanese safety standards
The initial inspection is effective for 3 years and
renewal inspections are required every 2 years
The inspection costs about $960 each time for a standard car
The fee is always the same no matter the value of the car
And even if the car is perfectly maintained by the owner,
the inspection is still required
After 10 years, the requirements become even stricter and
some foreigners complain about this as well despite
every car owner in Japan having to do this every year
Well, surprise, surprise
Many Japanese don't want to stick out from the group
There's a heavy social pressure to be part of the group
which is very difficult for some foreigners to accept
Take work for example, many Japanese offices will ask
their employees to drink after work with the team
Most will attend despite not wanting to
in order to avoid being an outsider
Some foreigners argue that you lose your individuality in this case
But at the same time, this type of conformity
has shown advantages as most people in Japan this year
have been complying with wearing masks
That said, foreigners who have trouble working with a group
or those who don't notice how important it is to conform to the group,
may have trouble living in Japan
Some foreigners will claim that over-the-counter Japanese pain medication
is not as strong as their home country,
but from my experience it's probably more an issue of dosage than strength
For example, take this box of Japanese ibuprofen
Each pill is 200mg and it says take 1 capsule every 4+ hours
up to a max of 3 capsules in 1 day
While this US bottle of ibuprofen also has 200 mg capsules and it says
take 1 capsule every 4-6 hours,
but if the pain or fever is not reduced,
2 capsules maybe used
Up to 6 capsules in 24 hours
In general, Japanese medicine is prescribed in lower dosages
than what some foreigners may be used to
But there maybe an argument for over-the-counter pain medication in Japan
to be more expensive
This 240 capsule ibuprofen bottle from the US costs about $15
And this 24 capsule ibuprofen box from Japan costs about $14
In general when comparing prices in Japan to other countries like the US,
Japan is usually more expensive
So if you're gonna live here, you just gotta get used to the prices
When it comes to overseas products such as
technology, apparel, and even movies
it usually comes months, sometimes years, after it's original release
A lot of times it never even makes it to the Japanese market,
that's just how it is
At the end of the day when living in Japan
you're just going to have to appreciate Japanese products
Overall when you're living in Japan,
you're just going to need to accept how Japan does things even
though it's different from your country
If it's going to be difficult for you to do that
then you probably shouldn't move to Japan
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I'll catch you in the next one!