Getting out of Japan... (frequent updates)

[Rezz]

Ait: Thanks for taking the time out to post, but you're telling me things about *my home country* in which I grew up in for 25 years. Having said that, I think I know what I'm getting into.

The main reason I'm going to leave Japan for good is that Australia offers an infinitely better quality of life. Less population density, less pollution, less psychopaths that want to kill EVERYBODY (as opposed to teen gangs and wierd poofs like Ait pointed out) hell... I can even drink the tap water in Australia!

I totally realize why alot of you guys who've only been in Japan a short time find it hard to understand why I don't want to live here anymore. Japan is your magical place where everything has novelty value and is just so clean, efficient and... not like your home country. Yeas indeed, I did feel like you guys when I first came here. But I'm not healthy as a result of living here.

"What??? Not healthy? What do you mean?"

When I say not healthy, I'm talking physically and dare I say... mentally. Now kids, don't take 'not healthy mentally' the wrong way! It doesn't mean I'm a raving lunatic, it merely means my take on reality has somewhat altered for the worse since coming to Japan. Let me explain:

You other Japan residents... have you ever heard the old quote amongst foreigners in Japan "All people who come to Japan are just losers wanting a second chance" or "Foreigners who come to Japan do so because they can't make it in their own country", or even "All foreigners in Japan are wierd"... hahaha! Here I'm saying that there are an unhealthy amount of wierdo's in Japan, yet the foreigners here all think the foreigners are the wierd ones!!! This has had a negative effect on me, because I *have met more than a few 'scary' foreigners* in my time here. Those quotes above do seem to hold some truth now... and I don't want to be a part of that.

Heres the bombshell: I think all foreigners ultimately change, for better or for worse when coming to Japan long term. For better I mean financially and for international experience... and maybe language reasons. For worse I mean that every single day they spend here chips away at their inner self, having to put up with the fact that they have no status in society... no matter how long they stay here. This is the truth. Some people (very few Men, even women) can happily put up with this. I can't. I will NEVER be accepted as a Japanese person, so therefore they can go and fu(k themselves. My country accepts 1000's of Japanese every year, helping them mature and become people able to achieve much more than their parents would ever dream of doing, yet what do they do for us? Sure you can live here and buy our computers, cars, TV and other non-necessary bollocks, but you CANNOT have a passport, and you CANNOT vote. You HAVE TO have a JAPANESE GUARANTEUR in order to get a bank loan, because frankly, Japanese businessmen don't trust foreigners. This messes with me. I'm probably more trustworthy than half the Japanese in this country yet I'm classed as 'on par with Japanese women' which in Japan, is not that high compared to Japanese men.

The way the Japanese government treats 2nd and 3rd generation Koreans (Koreans who are born and raised in Japan who only speak Japanese) is pathetic too. They can't get a Japanese passport... yes, they're born and raised IN JAPAN, yet get issued a KOREAN PASSPORT. Talk to these 'Korean/Japanese people' for long enough, and you start to draw paralells between them and yourself. YOU ARE NOT JAPANESE, THEREFORE ARE NOT. One Korean/Japanese girl cut me to pieces when she told me about her story... I'm not going into it here, but rest assured that I had a newfound hatered of the archaic Japanese government after I was told. There you go, I hate the Japanese pathetic government, so I pretty much can'T live here any more. Some foriegners can happily ignore it and continue to live here... I can't.

[Intensevil]

i guess a lot of it stems from japan being a monocultural society. In australia foreighers fit right in, half the time you wont even notice someones from another country untill they talk. And even then, if they have learned the language their pretty much one of us. It's because we are exposed to all sorts of people from all nations our entire life's, right from when we goto kindergarden through to the job place, its in the australian culture to accept other races.

Japan seems to be the complete opposite, a monocultural society that isn't exposed to foriegners to the extent as australia. This is reflected in the society status or lack thereof that foriegners get treated to, which sadly IS a form of racism. Some peopel can turn a blind eye to this and accept it and others cant. Coming from a caucasion family i've never experienced any racism and what little remarks have been thrown in my direction didnt bother me in the slightest. However i probably wouldnt last very long in a non caucasion dominated society where the peoples ideals and morals differ from my own.

At the end of the day i think australia IS the best country to live in the world. There are a few small issues (High tax, water restrictions, inconsistant police force and inadequate police force, technologicly inept, government thats only concerned with money rather than the peoples well being... etc) but all countries face problems of some sort.

These are minor gripes when you think of the freedom and the society we have though. It's a country where everyone fits in, where everyones opinion is as important as the next, where we have a great education system, where land and housing is cheap, where the beaches are the best in the world etc.

Japan is probably a great place to visit but Australia is a better place to live

[akeenan]

rezz just wondering.

How does your wife feel about this? is she happy to move also?

[Laurence]

yeah Ive only been here a couple of years. Perhaps I put blinkers on to the more annoying aspects of Japan but without them it wouldnt be Japan. ie. If people didnt stare and treat you differently (sometimes better, sometimes worse) then it would be just another thing that is like home. This is actually a reason why I dont like Tokyo that much; its alot more of an international city and that seperation of foreigners doesnt seem as big as other places and to me it just doesnt feel like `real` japan.

I think that your lifestyle really dictates where the best place to be is. For me drifting and being a general nuisance is what I love and do most of the time. In japan its infinitely better than Australia for that reason... but I sure wouldnt want to raise a kid here. So Im in Japan for now and when circumstances change then I might think about heading back.

eg. At the moment I go out and drift and talk crap with D1 drivers atleast a couple of times a week... back home.... well I guess Ive got track days once a month or I could have interesting conversations with the cops LOL

For work I put in half the number of hours I did in my IT job in Aus and comparing to the amount I used to actually clear its alarmingly close.

Can I stay here being an english teacher and drifting till Im 50? certainly not... but at the moment Im drifting 3-4 times a week and putting in a whopping 20hours of work (talking to mainly uni/highschool chicks) so for me at the moment the positives of being here far outweigh the sh!tty parts.

[Streeter]

yeah Ive only been here a couple of years. Perhaps I put blinkers on to the more annoying aspects of Japan but without them it wouldnt be Japan. ie. If people didnt stare and treat you differently (sometimes better, sometimes worse) then it would be just another thing that is like home. This is actually a reason why I dont like Tokyo that much; its alot more of an international city and that seperation of foreigners doesnt seem as big as other places and to me it just doesnt feel like `real` japan.

I think that your lifestyle really dictates where the best place to be is. For me drifting and being a general nuisance is what I love and do most of the time. In japan its infinitely better than Australia for that reason... but I sure wouldnt want to raise a kid here. So Im in Japan for now and when circumstances change then I might think about heading back.

eg. At the moment I go out and drift and talk crap with D1 drivers atleast a couple of times a week... back home.... well I guess Ive got track days once a month or I could have interesting conversations with the cops LOL

For work I put in half the number of hours I did in my IT job in Aus and comparing to the amount I used to actually clear its alarmingly close.

Can I stay here being an english teacher and drifting till Im 50? certainly not... but at the moment Im drifting 3-4 times a week and putting in a whopping 20hours of work (talking to mainly uni/highschool chicks) so for me at the moment the positives of being here far outweigh the sh!tty parts.

[Rezz]

rezz just wondering.

How does your wife feel about this? is she happy to move also?

She actually wants to leave more than I do! She *was* going to go to Australia or the US regardless (had I not met her) so the fact that I can't/won't stay here for much longer suits her. I just wonder what it'll be like for her when the shoe is on the other foot...

Streeter: Lol, it sounds like you got it so simple .

[dopefish]

A bad experience i had in japan was that my girlfriends dad thought i was an asshole.

Basically, her parents decided that i was no good and becuase he was rich / knew the mayor and cheif of police for the prefecture he threatened to get the police to come and 'warn me' for being rude and disrespectful etc. The only reason he didn't do so is because he had to go to hospital.

I honestly did nothing rude and i was very polite etc just enjoying my holiday.

That kind of attitude really made me feel like a piece of dirt and that i was some kind of subhuman. After reading what you have typed, i can understand what you mean...

I think that there are plenty of nice japanese if you look around though. I'd definately go back.. I had plenty of experience with japanese legal / funeral / social problems. (eg, i even had a car crash into my building and someone burn down their apartment, my gf's dad dying them having to get out loans, them organising funerals, going out to eat / parks with her nephews and nieces etc)

I hope next time will be nicer!

I also know what you mean about the foreigners in Japan. Some of the guys (mainly) there are complete sleaze bags. I also hate the whole 'pro' thing that happens over there. Whenever a foreigner surfs/skii's/skates/rides bikes etc. they turn into PRO SKATEBOARDERS etc

[Streeter]

dammit why arent I a pro drifter yet

[Rezz]

I also hate the whole 'pro' thing that happens over there. Whenever a foreigner surfs/skii's/skates/rides bikes etc. they turn into PRO SKATEBOARDERS etc

Lol, I hear ya...

It goes like this: It's Japanese 'fangirl syndrome'. Foreign guys come here - more often than not - to screw J-girls. Period. And it juuuust soooo happens that J-girls want to screw foreign guys (for the experience, and the opportunity to a) get out of Japan and B) have what they consider a 'cute baby'). Now, if you were a J-girl wanting to screw a foreign guy but you only had limited English speaking ability, how would you go about initiating a relationship with said foreign dude?

Go crazy at whatever aparent skill that dude said he had!!!

eg:

Foreign dude: "I used to play drums in a band (in high school)..."

J-Girl: "Lee-ah-lee??? SUUUUGEEEEEEEEE!!!"

Foreign dude: [thinks] "Shit this girl thinks I'm a star"...[/thinks]

J-Girl: "Are you famous???"

Foreign dude: "Well... yeah! We aaaah... did some gigs...(at home)"

J-Girl: "Sugoi.. I wanna hear your song!"

Foreign dude: "Ok... maybe later. Hey you wanna come back to my place?"

And vice versa for the foreign guys... just string 'em along with whatever BS you can think of and you'll have them beside you in bed in no time. The funniest guys are the ones that are really overweight or whatever then tell everybody that they're 2nd Dan black belts in Karate or whatever... of course they're not gonna kick anyones ass to prove it. Or the total geeks that come here that have rudimentary C++ skills and all say that they're from SILICON VALLEY. Give me a break

Japanese staff: "Michiko san... this is our new teacher. His name is Ron and he's from SILICON VALLEY."

Ron: "How do you do... I'm from Silicon Valley!"

Michiko: "Whats Siricon Barrey?"

Ron: [bS]"Silicon Valley is where I used to work, designing computer processors and memory chips for Intel... Corporation!"[/bS]

Michiko: (I don't understand what he just said but...) "Suuuugooooooi..."

[akeenan]

im sensing a lot of hate in this thread.. a lot of which I can relate to

anyways good luck with the move.

[Demon Dave]

There you go, I hate the Japanese pathetic government, so I pretty much can'T live here any more. Some foriegners can happily ignore it and continue to live here... I can't.

Who likes governments? If everyone moved out of a country because they didn't like the government running it, then it's a safe bet we'd all probably be living in Antarctica...

Justin, it seems like Japan is no longer for you. Good luck with the move. I hope you find happiness back in Australia.

And as an afterthought - an observation:

It's a shame though, that after 2 years of "promoting Japan" , especially on this forum, you've suddenly gone all "anti-Japan" Yes, I agree with many of the points you've raised about living here, especially in the long term. And it nice that a more "balanced" picture of life in Japan is being presented, however as akeenan notes we're sensing a lot of hate in this thread.

I would encourage anyone reading this thread (who were thinking of spending some time in Japan) to not be put off by your (Justin's) comments and to come and experience this country for themselves...

My 2p worth.

Peace

[Rezz]

Just being honest Dave, and yes, after 2 years of 'promoting Japan' (I can't actually ever remember 'recommending' anyone coming here aside from the motorsport stuff) things have changed.

If I can give my 2c, Japan isn't a 'no rules, no care' wonderland for foreigners to come here and have the best time of their lives... thats all I'm saying.

If you guys can actually read into what I've posted, it's not hate but disappointment that you should be sensing.

After 5 years of helping this country, I'm still at square one with no options but to go home and start again. I admit, I'm probably most to blame (poor choices or whatever), but as I've been doing all along, I just want the guys on here to have both sides of the coin. I'll say it one more time, Japan isn't all rosey and smelling lemon fresh... it's just manufactured (advertised/public don't know any better) that way.

[Streeter]

If I can give my 2c, Japan isn't a 'no rules, no care' wonderland for foreigners to come here and have the best time of their lives... thats all I'm saying.

well there are definitely laws and drifting is not legal... but to put things in context I have been drifting a very illegally modified car here atleast 3 times a week on the street for the past 1.5 - 2 years and have had zero fines (touch wood)... Ive been fined more on my 50cc scooter! LOL

I take a 2 week vacation back in Melbourne and while driving my 180 I get stung for over $400 worth of fines while doing 40ks in a 60 zone... that incident must have added atleast 2 or 3 years to my stay here, it happened more than a year ago and Im still pissed off about it LOL so to me, yes Japan is a "no rules, no care wonderland"; atleast when you compare it to Aus anyway

sorry I wont contradict any more of your posts Rezz but just couldnt let that one slide

[Rezz]

so to me, yes Japan is a "no rules, no care wonderland"; atleast when you compare it to Aus anyway

Hmmm, I guess what you mean is "thank god the Japanese traffic cops are so lenient"? If they felt like it, they could throw the book at you... at anyone thats down there supporting illegal drift.

**Edit: I mean that above comment as in 'there ARE rules', so for all the guys who are considering coming here, please be aware that the Japanese authorities are very lenient towards foreigners to a point, but if you push the boundaries... you're out. Them being lenient is a kind of gift really, I think alot of foreigners here don't deserve it (not meaning you Jess coz of your drifting, more like the assholes who screw J-girls just to get money or whatever out of them).

[Streeter]

yeah they could but they basically dont and thats the big difference between here and Aus. I have been sliding past cops in 3rd gear and they dont give chase.... in Aus I do NOTHING and get raped. Hmmmm Japanese cops one thing I wish we could export! LOL

[Rezz]

yeah they could but they basically dont and thats the big difference between here and Aus. I have been sliding past cops in 3rd gear and they dont give chase.... in Aus I do NOTHING and get raped. Hmmmm Japanese cops one thing I wish we could export! LOL

Yep, point taken. LOL @ exporting Japanese cops

Btw @ everybody: I've had my rant for quite a few days now, and I'm starting to see exactly what I like and don't like about this place. If anything, I hope that you guys that are interested in this thread can see the frustration in my posts, largely due to me not being able to do very much to help my position right now. I'm not discounting the fact that you could spend a blissful 3 years here without a care in the world (quite possible).

My last piece of advice is: PLEEEESE make a back up plan before you leave your home country, I didn't, so when everything goes wrong you have a good platform to get out.

Cheers all those who replied, it's helped me alot.

Justin

[Ant]

After 5 years of helping this country, I'm still at square one with no options but to go home and start again. I admit, I'm probably most to blame (poor choices or whatever), but as I've been doing all along, I just want the guys on here to have both sides of the coin. I'll say it one more time, Japan isn't  all rosey and smelling lemon fresh... it's just manufactured (advertised/public don't know any better) that way.

You're not really back at square 1 regarding your options - if you do decide to return home you have valuable life experiences which many others back home don't have. So you instantly have an advantage career wise, regardless of what you decide to do. As a friend of mine who has recently returned from Japan has found out, in the job market the maturity and confidence that comes from living in another country counts a lot more than specific job experience in whatever field you decide to enter next.

And disappointment - that comes from pushing that part of your life as far as it will go before boredom with the same old frustrations sets in - definitely a sign that it is time for a change.

In any case, best of luck with your choices.

[TracidTrax]

i didnt ask that question on y would u live in Japan cause i was being a smart ass, i asked it because ive never been to an asain country and i would some day like to go to Japan cause i love the imports and its electronic heaven there

[PhantomS14]

Rezz, would you bring your car over with you to Australia, or would it be too much effort to import it?

[Rezz]

Rezz, would you bring your car over with you to Australia, or would it be too much effort to import it?

It's coming with me. All the Perth members can check out how crap it REALLY is... lol