I moved to Japan!

I did it, after spending a total of about 1 year in Japan spreading a period of 3 years I decided that I wanted to be here for a longer period of time and against all odds I managed to find a decent job with almost no effort at all. 2012 was indeed a very lucky and happy year for me.

I started work in January. The company I work for makes all sorts of marine equipment and I'm stationed at the satellite communications department in a support/''engineering'' role.

I first came to Japan about three years ago. After graduating IT college (junior level system admin, nothing to write home about) I decided that I wanted to study more. I wanted to do something totally different from what I've been doing up until that point and decided to go and study Japanese. Probably much to the surprise of my family and friends because I absolutely suck at studying languages. My Dutch is crap and I hated French and German with a passion up to the point I was extremely happy my German teacher didn't allow me into class anymore because I never bothered to study or do any homework. The only reason my English is somewhat half decent is because you have no choice other than to learn English if you like tech.

Anyway, after the first year at University, just making it to the second year (about 120 people join every year, more than half doesnt make it to the second year for various reasons) I wanted to go and see what Japan was really like. Reading about it and hearing people talk about it is one thing but to really understand a country and its culture, and to create your own image you really need to go there.

So off I went. Cleared about my bank account and went on a one month home stay. I didn’t really have any particular expectations. I just thought it would probably be a country I would feel comfortable in. It turned out to be a really great experience. Really nice family. It really boosted my motivation for the second year at Uni. Some people have really high expectations of Japan when they first go there. They believe it to be some kind of heaven and being exactly like anime or the JPOP they like and are disappointed when it turns out that Japan, at least on the surface, is a pretty normal country. Usually these type of people don’t last very long in Japan and end up disliking the country.

In my third year I went on a exchange program for 5 months. This was really awesome as well. In hindsight the biggest reason I liked it so much is probably because I started to do things more on my own. In Holland I would never go out by myself but now I found myself often going out alone to try and make new friends and practice my Japanese. Though I still ended up hanging out with mostly other foreigners who were in the exchange program as well. Not very strange as the level is usually very low, you don’t really need to study or do any homework. Universities realized a long time ago that with 10 euro “nomihodai’s’’ (all you can drink) most foreigners will spend most of their time either drinking, hunting girls or a combination of both haha.

Though that probably is the best way to practice your language skills and learn something about the culture hehe. Certainly the Japanese way of teaching (a teacher in front of the class, talking for hours on end with the students only listening, or more often, sleeping or playing games).
Those 5 months passed really fast and felt more like a long vacation than really integrating with the local culture. 5 months is just way to short for that.

After going back to Holland I had to find an internship. This was a absolute horrible failure and I pretty much gave up on searching. I was extremely lucky to be able to land a internship at Dutch government post in Japan. A classmate of mine contacted them months ago but they didn’t need anyone at that moment. Once they did they contacted her first. Stupid as she is, she declined to stick with her current shitty internship (I know it was shitty because my mates where there as well, saying she was acting like a mini Hitler all the time acting like she was boss and knew it all just because she started two weeks earlier than them). So I gave them a call, not expecting much. But as it turned out I was the only candidate and one day after giving them a call they gave me the internship :D

2 months or so later I was off to Japan again for another 6 months. The internship was really cool. We participated in an event called the Japan International Birdman rally. It’s a competition for human powered aircraft but unlike similar events like Red Bull flugtag the aircraft in the Japanese competition are really high end. Some manage to fly for tens of kilometers and they looks just masterfully crafted. Unfortunately we had very little time to make our plane (only 3 months, the top teams take about a year and use designs that they have evolved over the years) and our plane wasn’t designed for the Birdman rally either so we ended up failing from a competitive point of view (though not last place!) but the promotional side was very good with lots of national tv coverage. And it the end that’s why the Dutch government sponsored the Dutch team.

Because of my internship I also met my current company. A woman working at the Dutch post is there to get Dutch companies interested in Japan and visa versa and this is how I got introduced to my company.
The job interview was a joke. I spent over an hour’s telling them that while I could do the job they wanted me to do (network engineering) I really didn’t have much experience with it. They just kept going on about how stupid some of the customers are. After going on for about an hour the decided to hire me :LOL:

Reality is a bit different but that’s how I felt at the time. I was screwing up royally when talking to them but once they said ‘’Okay, we’ll call you for a second interview next week” I knew it was all good. All their customers are international so they hired me because I can speak English, know about tech and being able to somewhat speak Japanese probably was a plus as well.

Now that I’m working for two months I settled in. I felt miserable at first. Which was a surprise for me because the previous three times I went to Japan I didn’t need any time at all to fit in but this time was different. Even back in Holland I just felt a bit weird for some reason. When I came back it was bloody cold, I had to rush to get my apartment in order before starting work but because of Japanese (in)efficiency that didn’t all go as planned which annoyed me a lot.

Getting things done here is a drama. In the west we often think that especially government agencies are inefficient and take forever to get something done. Believe me, in Japan everything is much, much worse. At least in the west we make an effort to make things easy. In Japan they love to overcomplicate everything. Add in as many steps as they possibly can. Doesn’t matter if it’s usually.

For example: At work every month I need to tell them I want to get paid that month. Yes. I have to tell them I want the money I worked for. And if I don’t tell them, they’ll keep sending me emails until I do. WHY??!! Of course I want to get paid, why the hell do I need to tell them? Are there really people who go like: ‘’Oh yeah, I love my job so much, you know what? Keep my money! I’m happy just to be here’’. But that’s Japan. Generally very inefficient but sometimes they by accident get things right ;) Like the railway system for example.

Anyway the weather is getting better and I’m feeling more at home at work. My co-workers are nice (especially the woman next to me, she is really small but no push over and she seems to have more common sense than most Japanese. Plus, she can fly airplanes which automatically makes her very cool. She’s pretty as well, even though she’s 40. Gotta love those Japanese genes in that regard ;)).

The first month I didn’t do much and they didn’t have time to train me but I now have enough stuff to do to at least keep myself a bit busy most of the day which makes me feel a lot better. At first I just thought I was useless at work. Though still pretty low level, the work I’m doing keeps getting more and more interesting. There really is a lot more to it than I first thought. Not so much on the technical side but on the amount of companies involved that all need to work together to make things work.

For a Japanese company my company is also fairly relaxed. Weekends are usually off and official they have a 8 hour working day. Now once you get higher up you are screwed and need to work until eleven each day.

While I generally like Japan, the above is one of the things I dislike about Japan. They don’t understand that its absolutely pointless to work the hours that they do. You just can’t be efficient that way because your body has no time to rest. And this shows when I look at my co workers. There is no denying their dedication to the job but it all goes at a rather slow pace which in turn means they have to stay late to finish things. I often ask about this and while some agree there is no balance, most just say this is the Japanese way (remember, the Japanese way is ALWAYS the best way. In the mind of your average Japanese anyway) and no one has the balls to go against it. Well, that’s fine with me I suppose but I will never accept it. Mostly because I know there is just no point. After a month I’ll be tired and depressed and work slow. So really nobody wins by when they all work so late but hey…

I’m very happy that I got this chance. The job is what I wanted (tech + Japanese) and I’m feeling more and more at home again. I just hope I pass the two 3 month and one six month trial period. Oh well, no point in stressing about that. Just need to do a good job :)

It certainly is a experience I’m enjoying. Not that many people get a chance like this and I’ll do my best to make the most of it.

This turned out to be much longer than I though, hope that those of you who managed to read it all didn't find it too boring ;)
 
Wall of Text crits you for 50,576,938
You die.

:D

Congrats! Enjoy life in Japan. I would really like to try myself, but can't think of any way of actually realizing it in reality. Good luck with everything.

Oh, and asian girls = prettiest on earth. :p
 
Congrats!

Wondering if this getting paid thing is a way of dealing with demands from your wife, taxes (stay under a certain tax limit), mafia or whatever - just tell them to hold some money until you can hide it?

And eh ... 40s not that old. :p
 
Wow congratulation! :D
me myself have special interest in Japan and reading your post is awesome.

Now once you get higher up you are screwed and need to work until eleven each day.

9AM to 11PM ?

wow....
maybe you will go up high enough to change to company cultute? :D
 
Congratulations mate. :) And yes, the Japanese people that work in bureaucracy LOVE to have people do things a certain way even if there might be a better way to do it. But if you ever get into a more casual type of Japanese company, you don't see stuff like that as much. :)

Good luck with your trial periods.

Regards,
SB
 
At least in the west we make an effort to make things easy. In Japan they love to overcomplicate everything. Add in as many steps as they possibly can. Doesn’t matter if it’s usually.

I knew your wall of text was having something good! Now, I understand the Jap's software ways a bit better...
 
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You know 3 times ive been to see that Cary Oakey dude, and on each occasion he never turned up.
People from the audience had to volunteer to go on stage and sing his songs...
 
Wow, congrats. Really envy you. Not, that I had any possibilities to make it to Japan.

I actually went out of my way 9 years ago to go to Tokyo for a weekend when flying through to Sydney. Being 21 at the time and not being able to talk Japanese a single word (I still can't :(), it was pure excitement. Actually, I didn't even have a creditcard at the time and my booking was such short notice that all the hotels in Tokyo were booked out, so I ended up calling up a few and got one of them to take a reservation.

The funny thing was, at first the friendly lady said something like "sorry, we're booked out" and then suddently said something like "yeah, ok, we should have a bed". Not knowing what to expect and no written confirmation and a small printout on where the hotel would be (in Ikebukuro), I flew there.

Narita airport was easy, but once on the train to the city, all english turned to strange hieroglyphs and I felt so lost. Somehow, I managed. I got there and the room was there for me. Over the next 36 hours, I got to see Roppongi, Shinjuku and some other places. I love listening to JPOP btw - and on my last day, I walked into some music store and pointed to some CDs that I knew and liked and asked the cute girl at the check-out counter if she can give me some advice on what might be similar. She smiles, but probably didn't understand what I ment. I bet she rolled her eyes behind my back to... those horny for Japanese girls tourists... :oops: :devilish:

Anyway, that was sadly, my only visit to Japan. Actually, quite a shame, as I would love to go back there and meet people. Maybe I should try to find a way to go and learn Japanese. It's one of those countries that I find so fascinating.

tongue_of_colicab, I wish you the best of luck and success there!
 
Narita airport was easy, but once on the train to the city, all english turned to strange hieroglyphs and I felt so lost. Somehow, I managed. I got there and the room was there for me. Over the next 36 hours, I got to see Roppongi, Shinjuku and some other places. I love listening to JPOP btw - and on my last day, I walked into some music store and pointed to some CDs that I knew and liked and asked the cute girl at the check-out counter if she can give me some advice on what might be similar. She smiles, but probably didn't understand what I ment. I bet she rolled her eyes behind my back to... those horny for Japanese girls tourists... :oops: :devilish:

Anyway, that was sadly, my only visit to Japan. Actually, quite a shame, as I would love to go back there and meet people. Maybe I should try to find a way to go and learn Japanese. It's one of those countries that I find so fascinating.

That language barrier thing is a bit easier now for tourists that are able to read English. Most trains and train stations have destinations written in English now. Not all, but most of them.

It's so much easier to get around Japan now versus when I first started going there back in the early 80's. Back then almost nothing that wasn't near an American military base had anything written that wasn't Japanese unless it was part of a product name (like Walkman).

Regards,
SB
 
Where in Japan are you at?

Kansai area.

Congrats!

Wondering if this getting paid thing is a way of dealing with demands from your wife, taxes (stay under a certain tax limit), mafia or whatever - just tell them to hold some money until you can hide it?

And eh ... 40s not that old. :p

Eh what? which wife? I don't have one! :D I'm 26 though my gf (if she still is... she's been a bitch since I got back) is in her 40's hehe.

Wow congratulation! :D
me myself have special interest in Japan and reading your post is awesome.



9AM to 11PM ?

wow....
maybe you will go up high enough to change to company cultute? :D

The only way to get there is to work those hours and longer. So I doubt that will happen hehe. Though this week i've been out with all the company higher ups and apperantly they like me....

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting topic. Keep us updated on things and feel free to post pictures :)

I'll see if I can post some pics later. The sakura's are blossoming right now so outside is really pretty (if you can find a spot not ruined by roads are the usual terrible Japanese architecture).

Anyway, that was sadly, my only visit to Japan. Actually, quite a shame, as I would love to go back there and meet people. Maybe I should try to find a way to go and learn Japanese. It's one of those countries that I find so fascinating.

Try the books called "minna no nihongo". Just get the first two grammer and text books. They are pretty easy to follow and you can get to the level of having some normal conversations pretty quick.
 
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