A Gaijin's Adventure…
“Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.”
-Cavett Robert
So this is my last year in my home country, and honestly I couldn’t be more excited to leave. Yes i am planning to move to Japan but its not just because of my destination that I am excited; there are plenty of things I want to leave behind here and not in the personal sense either. Just last week I was walking past my place of work to see a policeman with his fingers down a girls throat trying to make her sick because of her intoxication- not that this doesn’t happen in other countries but this is normal here. I’ve seen this more than twice this year and its only February. Last night I was threatened by a gang to hand over my bag and once I did they gave me it back when they realised that all I had was my work uniform. Then week before last- actually, I could be here all day; you get the picture.
So you can understand my logic for wanting to leave ill break it down to the top 5 things I HATE about England- in no order.
Whats that Vin? No complaints about the English weather? Nope. The weather is something anyone can get used to, it rains a lot but who cares man? Stay inside and stop complaining- hell; go to the Movies or something. In actual fact the weather in England isn’t that different to any other north European country within it’s own extremes its just that the English complain…A lot. Our weather isn’t THAT bad, it doesn’t get drasitically warm or cold to kill anyone, its rare that we have a snow day and heat waves last two days at a time before we get a TINY storm- we got it easy. besides it beats being in Latvia where it’s either rain or snow.
Crime
Anyone living in the UK will know of Chavs and their wonderful ways, anyone outside of the UK will refer to them as ‘Thugs’. They range from the age of 3 (when you first gain a personality) to the age of…well DEATH. They are commonly between the ages of 16-30 in all seriousness and they are the biggest problem with the country. They impress each other to gain high status by the wrong deeds which they commit which includes drugs, drinking, theft, aggression, winning fights with strong AND weak people and much more. They generally walk around with their hoods up looking for trouble to make themselves feel more powerful. In terms of how much crime there is I was say the large percent of crime is due to these people. I live in one of the nicest places in the uk, I know this as I’ve moved 42 times (I wish I was kidding) and yet over the past two years I have been threatened randomly walking home, hit, mugged and chased by strangers on at least 10 occasions. I’ve got Japanese friends whom live in Tokyo that have never been subjected to this ever. Obviously not everyone in Tokyo can say the same but you get the picture…
Women and the drama that follows (in general)
“How sexist” honestly, I respect women with every part of my heart but in the uk; it’s a different story. Some reasons I’m not fully sure of, women here LOVE drama. And I’m not talking about the drama from the tv or a movie, real life drama which involves not only themselves but their close friends and loved ones. Girls here go out of their way to tell other people about their problems to gain sympathy. If a women here has an issue or a condition then everyone in her circle will know. This is okay for close friends and people looking for support from someone but it’s honestly not always like this. At least once a day I will look at Facebook and see something like “I hate that b******d, he’s done it again” I call these loaded updates because without fail there will be one of her friends replying with “what’s happened?” and this is public! Why not message each other? Because they want as many people to know as possible to feel more powerful. How many break ups, lost friendships and arguments which span months and years because of these moments in honestly impossible to calculate. Facebook is a good example but honestly it’s just the real world drama on paper; written into English culture to gain as much attention as possible and to receive sympathy. “I’ve had this problem, she said that, this happened to me, it was hard to me, I’ve got this condition, he did this” nothing here is personal, nobody has respect for not only others but themselves. They showcase this online, on tv, in magazines and through verb communication. Zero dignity.
Tv
Okay this is a big one as the tv effects probably 80% of the people here. In the morning the news comes on and it talks about Iraq or Afghanistan; “a British soldier was killed in action today” (thanks America) then the weather “RAIN.” then the women’s talk show called loose women (see previous point) they complain about everything for two hours then Jeremy Kyle comes on at 2 where he invites chavs to his show to settle their drug/thug/24 kids which have no father/jobless/jail problems; imagine springer with teenage thugs; I wish I was kidding. Google it. From about 3 – 5 it’s not too bad really; gardening shows, decoration program’s etc; normal things. Thennnn the soap operas. A Japanese soap Oprah last about 11 episodes, if it’s a popular show they make an extra episode as a special. Done. Start, middle, end and an encore. In the uk on the other hand; soaps have been going on for years! Eastenders is on its 27th year! And it runs for 30 minutes a day. It’s just the same stories on repeat over and over with different characters, and there are four major soaps here and they just show case the worst of England.
To wrap this point up; everything on uk tv revolves around one thing. Misery. Even our comedy is about highlighting points where we hate this island and it’s only funny because it’s ‘true’. All we do as a nation is complain, I know it’s ironic that I’m doing that now but honestly it’s bad how much it actually happens and the overall effect of it is that it bleeds into our lives and we forever walk in the rain thinking about how bad everything is. This is British culture.
Economy
It’s screwed basically. I work 40 hours per week, I pay rent, I’m not on minimal wage, I pay my bills and I save a little (and I mean about 1/5 of my pay check) after that I have about $50 to an American remaining. I could go out for one meal a week but then I would be broke for the rest of the week. It’s that simple.
Drink
So what hobbies do people have in the uk on average? We like football and drinking. To be blunt the uk lifestyle is this: work 9-5 everyday from Monday to friday (watching tv in the night times) then on Fridays and Saturday’s you go out and get drunk, recover on Sunday then go back to work the following day. If you have a family then it’s obviously different, you just stay in and watch the soap repeats all weekend. The fact that drinking is considered a part of uk culture makes me sick. Knowing different ales, who can drink the most? Who can stay out the longest? its honestly endless. My parents used to run bars and pubs as managers so I grew up with them and even though I no longer live in them the culture is still all around me and it’s stronger than ever. Why? People are escaping through it and it’s now their only real way to have fun. It makes me sad.
Conclusion
Everyday I awake to the rain or cloudy weather, I walk to work and avoid the chavs on the street corners and make it to work to feed the people who are filling up before a night of drinking, I walk home from work avoiding not only the chavs this time but also the drunken people, I get home and flick through Facebook and read the sea of complaints about this world then I do some art work and learn Japanese to escape from it all, and I never watch tv. I can’t wait to leave this place; I’ll never look back.
When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.
-Oscar Wilde
So why do you need money before you go? An average teaching job in Japan gets you about ¥350’000/£2800/$4500 per month; pretty high right? You wouldn’t need THAT much right? Wrong. Lets face it; you’re not going to swim, climb and hike across the land into the rising sun to get to Japan to build a home with your bare hands with bricks made of old manga books where you will find food on your new door step at the plenty, getting to Japan is expensive and living in Japan is expensive. “Plane ticket one way means half price Mr Road To Japan!” this is true if customs didn’t stop you at the airport “Err…..Return Ticket Mr Gaijin?” there is no way to get out of this one I am afraid “I am here to look for work!” that has flags flying all over it and the only piece of Japan you will be seeing is through your porthole on your plane journey back to your home country. Money for plane tickets, living for up to 3 months without income and general living are all the things you need to think about long before you move there.
For some money isn’t an issue, for me; it is. With 12 months to go before I set out, its time to save some of the green stuff. On a personal note; I work a 30-hour week job on minimal wage here in England and I study full time in University, the hours are long and I am left with little to show for it most of the time as roughly 75% of my income is taken from tax and bills. The cost of living here in England is rapidly increasing after the financial crisis we had a few years ago and for people like me on minimal wage just getting by; the cost of living is growing faster than than minimal wage is. Thing’s usually raise in price and the minimal wage is increased so middle class people such as myself can still get by without a problem, but over the past few years; not so much. A place to live with all the usual bills costs around £110 per week; i earn about £150-180 per week. So Saving £4000-£5000 to move to Japan is quite a task. That and I am not the worlds greatest saver of money. With student loans to help this is how ill achieve this.
When working things out I tend to break things down into months and percentages; this helps me see outgoings and incomings for my OCD inclined mind (Joke), I usually look at 25% of my income to be saved so I shouldn’t be effected too much in the long run, this or I take half of my remaining’s after bills. I am sharing this with you as you might be as strange as me and need a visual structure to get by. If on the other hand you think that i am a retard and find yourself asking “Why is he showing me his savings?” then go for gold and skip this bit.
October (2011) – Student Loan: £1086.00, Work: £600.00 -£300 Bills Etc.
With this I will save all the money I earn from work and use my Student Loans to settle any debts I may have and move home to a cheaper, more affordable place. I will also be getting an iPhone from this and not just because they are cool but because they are an extremely helpful tool; the sheer amount of Apps for Japanese learners and people moving to Japan are pretty endless.
£400.00 Saved in Total.
November – Work: £600.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc.
£550.00 Saved in Total.
December - Work: £600.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc.
£700.00 Saved in Total.
Jan - Student Loan: £1086.00, Work: £600.00 -£300 Bills Etc.
£1’600.00 Saved in Total.
Feb - Work: £600.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc.
£1’750.00 Saved in Total.
March - Student Loan: £1119.00, Work: £600.00 -£300 Bills Etc.
£2’750.00 Saved in Total.
April - Work: £600.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc.
£2’900.00 Saved in Total.
May - Work: £600.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc.
£3’050.00 Saved in Total.
June - Work: £600.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc. -£300.00
Take TEFL course online from Mid June – August.
£3’050 Saved in Total.
From This point on the move will be coming up closer so Saving will be higher and I will be spending less. My hours at work will be pushed to 40 per week instead of 30 bringing more in to save.
July - Work: £800.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc.
£3’350.00 Saved in Total.
August - Work: £800.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc.
£3’850.00 Saved in Total.
September - Work: £800.00 -£300 Bill’s Etc.
£4’350.00 Saved in Total.
October – Before the move most of my belongings will be sold so I am hopeful to get another £1’000.00 from that.
Why £5’000? (¥610’000) Half the money will pay for Flights and Three months accommodation, the other half will leave me to live up my time in Japan with as much fun as I would like; I’ve been told by many people that the first three months are the most stressful and money can remedy this by getting out and meeting new people and experiencing things first hand. Being stuck inside your guest house for two months just looking for work and staring at the wall can only be a bad thing.
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”
-Nelson Mandela
Okay; this is by far the biggest elephant in the room in regards to moving to Japan. Anyone living outside of Asia will find that this is the hardest language to learn out of them all and it is responsible for a large portion of ’Culture Shock’ which most people experience when you first get there. It’s a tricky subject matter as it is…well ‘Subjective’; each person learning Japanese will take several routes to get to a point where you are confident to live and communicate within a Japanese society but that’s not to say that you need to be fluent before you go, on the contrary; you need very little; which is good news even for the people whom cant yet pronounce “Konnichiwa!”. Take note that this isn’t my advice for learning the entire language; only a suggestion for people moving there and wanting to avoid culture shock and getting the basics locked down to get by. Once you are in Japan you should look into lessons.
It is true that people have lived in Japan for long periods of time, years in fact without learning a single sentence but you will find that these people rely heavily on friends whom can speak Japanese and English, they struggle with everyday simple tasks such as buying food, meeting new people, paying bills nor even answering the phone. My personal opinion on this matter is that it is almost arrogance when people choose to do this; going to another country and refusing to learn the common language is not only rude in the long run but disrespectful. If you want to live in your English bubble then why not stay in the west? Think about foreigners that are in your country right now and think about how frustrating it is for them to not know a single word of your language- It’s the same for the Japanese. If you don’t know a single word of Japanese then you will find that the Japanese will be quite reserved towards you; call it xenophobia if you will but it is actually down to the Japanese not wanting to feel awkward; harmony and a ‘Genki’ (Energetic/Upbeat) lifestyle are important in the Japanese culture so even if you try and talk to someone in extremely broken Japanese they will help you the best they can with compliments on how amazing and fluent your Japanese is.
So how much Japanese will you need before moving there? Only a small amount; You will need to learn some grammar and learn Kana.
The reason why you should look into Grammar first is purely so you can pick up sentences faster, if you know how ask a question, positive and negatives, possession and origin, past and present tenses etc. then it is only a matter of time while you are in Japan that you will pick up vocabulary, but understanding difference between a grammar particle and vocabulary will help you pick things up a lot faster. For example; “watashi wa igirisujin desu.” “I am British” When you listen to that sentence with a basic understanding of Grammar you will be able to pick out that ‘Wa’ and ‘Desu’ are particles and the “Watashi” and “Igirisu-jin” are vocabulary; even if you don’t know what is being said you can at least break it down to vocabulary and Grammar; this way you work things out a lot faster and naturally pick up new vocabulary.
Kana for me is the most important thing to learn straight off the bat; The Japanese writing system is split into three alphabets, Hiragana, Katakana and finally Kanji.
‘Kana’ refers to Hiragana and Katakana, there are about 50 Japanese characters each; Hiragana (The rounder more beautiful characters) is used for traditional Japanese words and grammar particles where as Katakana (The sharper, straighter looking characters) is used for imported foreign words. The reason why it is important to learn these is so you have a basic knowledge of how to read, looking for someone whom speaks English in Tokyo just to read a sign could become extremely frustrating and they only take a couple of weeks to learn if you put your mind to it. With each Kana there is a specific way of saying each character; unlike English where letters change depending on the word (ie: A “Ah” and “Ay”) this doesn’t happen in Japanese as they write and talk in syllables (Ka, Ki, Ku, Ke, Ko) basically this means if you learn Kana you will not only know how to read but also how to pronounce Japanese words accurately just after a couple of weeks. Unfortunately there is a third Alphabet; Kanji (The many stroked, complex looking characters). Kanji were originally Chinese characters imported into Japanese culture to shorten words down and express particular emotion with particular words, for example the Japanese for “I” or “Myself” is “Wa-ta-shi” or “わ た し” in Hiragana, this is then converted to an 8-stroke Kanji “私” for writing purposes. Which is good an all but the problem with Japanese Kanji is that there are over 30’000 in existence; although the Japanese government have stated that you will only need to learn a specific 2,136 kanji to read a Japanese news paper (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/2230_Basic_Kanji.svg) meaning you could get by without any problems; thankfully all Kanji can be written in Kana so don’t let them scare you, often there is Furigana which is the Kana written above or under the complex Kanji for children or foreigners to read which is very helpful but they aren’t always as common as you would like them. They will come over with time as you learn more and more vocabulary. The best way to go about Kanji is to write down every new vocabulary into a notebook, when you get home, look up and study the Kanji for it, this will not only ground the new vocabulary but also help you learn the new Kanji.
With a basic understanding of Kana and Grammar you can’t go too far wrong, with these I would suggest getting a survival phrase book; get used to sentences which you are likely to use; greetings, goodbyes, questions, directions etc. All of this could be self taught within a few months from an hour a day and once you’re there; your language will run faster than you could keep up with. There is a national language proficiency test (JLPT) which grades people on how good your Japanese communication skills are; N5 being the lowest and N1 being the highest (http://www.jlpt.jp/e/) N5 (The lowest) requires about 200 study hours and there are many practice exams online; take the test at N5 or even N4; once you pass then you know you are set to push past a large slice of culture shock.
I would say that the N5 test is a minimal but the more Japanese you know before you move there the better really, there’s no end to how much you can learn before hand but i know people have lives and are busy; putting 2 hours a day away is a large undertaking but the more you learn the better. Don’t mistake me; you could easily Move to Japan as an ALT and they will supply free Japanese language lessons for you so it really depends how much you want to struggle in the beginning.
Kana > Grammar Basics > Survival Phrases > Vocabulary > Lessons
The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.
-Albert Einstein
A few years ago I looked at all my options and found that getting a degree was important for a few things in my life; I knew I wanted to move to Japan and I knew I wanted to work in a creative studio of some kind; instead of pushing a pipe dream of becoming a Manga-Ka (Manga Artist in Japan) I looked at a more realistic road. The problem with the Japanese Manga market is that it is almost impossible to Gaijin/foreigners to make it big which is fine in my opinion; Manga is Japanese for a good reason. Instead i wanted to find something which would help me in the long run of things so I went for Games Design. Games design has a lot of transferable skills that can be used in all kinds of industries; that being film, Video Games, Illustration, comics, sound design- infact the list is quite endless. I am a fan of video games but that doesn’t mean i want to work for a games company one day, it’s just an open option. What I would really love to do is be an illustrator based in Tokyo; but enough about my dreams. It’s about me getting educated and getting to Japan and in this post Ill be explaining how important a University Degree is when moving there.
Typical Moments for a Gaijin when looking for a Job in Japan:
Requirements: “Oh no…”
Rule number one of going to Japan without a specialist skill to live; You need to have a University Degree. The reason for this is pretty simple; the Japanese like to have people whom are Educated work and Live in their country which is a valid and good point in my opinion. How you are educated on the other hand is not important and it is true that you could have a Degree in Gardening and you will be accepted when you look for work as an English teacher, obviously if your education co-insides with the job you are applying for this will increase your chances highly.
The only other ways into Japan without a Degree is one of three ways. The first way is to have specialist skills that are needed to a specific company, usually this is backed up by years of experience, references etc. Artists and Performers fall under this category also. The other way is illegal immigration; and as the title suggests; this is illegal and the final way is a spousal Visa which is self-explanatory.
This is an important thing to point out as it has flicked through people’s minds in the past and I am sure that if you’re interested in moving to Japan and you don’t have a degree then i am sure you have looked into all ways of getting there. It is illegal yes but that doesn’t mean it is unheard of, it happens and it happens more than you think. I have known people whom have moved to Japan on a 3 month Visit and found job’s in Private schools to teach English and just dodged immigration for years by frequently moving homes and moving jobs that don’t require working Visa’s. This is good and all for those without a Degree but if you are caught then you will be arrested, deported and stopped from re-entering Japan for a long time or indefinitely; If you are in Japan for four or five years and this happens then it would be a devastating blow to you and your lifestyle. Think about it for a moment; one day you are in the place which you love, making more money than you would in your home country, many friends and maybe even a loved one then suddenly you are thrown back into your home country starting all over again with little hope of returning. Bluntly; It’s not worth the risk.
The third and final way to live in Japan for a long period of time is to get married to a Japanese national or someone holding a Work-Visa; by all means this is easiest way to get into Japan but it is also the hardest in the personal sense; marriage is a huge undertaking and shouldn’t be done just for a Visa; that and Immigration will request evidence of your relationship for at least 18 months or so (Don’t quote me on this exact amount of time but they do check); asking for pictures from the past isn’t unheard of so they know you aren’t two people whom are just friends doing each other favours.
As an American; these are your only options i am afraid, get a degree or get married; failing that go illegal or just don’t go at all. On the other hand there is a final option which I have heard about for people whom can apply for a ‘Working Holiday Visa’ (Check here if your country can apply: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_holiday_visa#Countries_offering_working_holiday_visas) People in the US are not apart of this I am afraid due to reasons I do not know, but to be fair; you did drop two Atom Bombs on them 70 years ago so it’s all fair in love and war. As a UK national I would be able to Apply for this so i will explain the logistics of it; Fundamentally it is a Working Visa that lasts 12 months and you can only use it once in your life, you need to be between the ages of 18 and 30, need proof that you have up to £2500.00 in cleared funds in your account (so you can get a ticket home) and an essay explaining why you want to Visit Japan for 12 months and what it is that you will be doing in your stay. Now with a Working Holiday Visa you will be able to work part-time (up to 16 hours per week) which would be a struggle in terms of money but in that year you could teach English and build good relations with your employer, Take a TEFL course online which is a good teaching qualification in Japan, with that year’s experience and your TEFL you could get Sponsorship and a Working Visa out of it if you deliver good results to your employer- Once you have a Visa you are not bound to that Job, you would have free reign to Find another job with your Work Visa. This would take a lot of focus and effort, hard work and determination yet it is not a certain thing; people have done this in the past; been the best teacher in their school and their employers have said “Thank you for all your hard work, here is your final pay check, Sayonara!”. You could find yourself going home extremely upset and frustrated with putting everything into nothing- It is far from a safe-bet but it is also not unheard to be successful; keep this in mind when you are looking at your options.
In conclusion; Get educated. Honestly you might think 2 or 3 years might seem like a lot just to move to Japan but you really need to look at this in the long run; if you want to move to Japan for the long haul and don’t have any plans to move back then three years out of another fifty is nothing right? Why not get a degree in Japanese Language and History? Get prepared and educated in one and a lot of them courses have exchange options so you could be there in a year or two. The important this is that your not just moving to Japan to live in Japan- I know that sounds silly but it is true, if you just moved here with no career plans you would become bored as soon as you were used to the culture and language and it would become a static place just like the one you are used to right now.
A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.
-John Steinbeck
So here it goes; now you know my origin when it comes to being interested in Japan and you also know my intentions are realistic and genuine, not some self discovery trip to Manga-ville, i can begin this adventure. My plan is carved out from countless months of research through other people’s experiences, I am pretty sure that this is a solid foundation yet I would never say that it is set in stone; I have many ‘AND/OR’ situations where countless fork conditions that will kick in at certain points in my future, yet this is a plan- It is likely to get me there based on what I have learned or what people have told me.
Month Now: July 2011
Time to Arrive in Japan: November 2012-May 2013
Present-May 2012: Save Money £4000.00
June 2012: Finish University/Receive my Degree (BA Hons in Games Art and Design)
June-August: Take a TEFL Online course for £400.00-£500.00 http://www.teflengland.co.uk/course-options.asp
Option 1- August 2012: Visit Japan for 1 Month, Find a Job & Sponsor
Option 1-Novemeber 2012: Move to Japan, Gaijin House for 2-3 Months
Option 1-March-May 2013: Rent an apartment.
Option 2-August 2012: Visit Japan and fail to find a job/sponsor
Option 2-November 2012: Apply for JET
Option 2-ASAP: Move to Japan.
Option 3- Failure to Get into JET, revisit Japan and find a Job.
This may all seem quite simple and straight forward but honestly there is a lot of research in each of these points, each may fall through, twist and turn into another magnification which I or most other won’t be able to predict, hence the reason for this blog. Another aim for this ‘Plan’ is to go through each of these things with as much information as I can give; I’ll give insight and points which weren’t given to me when I asked, all of this is a guide to Japan. Keep in mind that I live here in the UK but in other English speaking countries you an take an identical route so just because i did it this way doesn’t mean it will be different nor would I agree that this is the ONLY way as that is far from the truth and the more you look into it the more portabilities arrive at your feet.
No man is an island.
One thing which I feel I need to stress are my reasons for liking Japan and it’s culture as I have come across many stereotypes in the past and I feel i need to point out what I am and what i am not.
Over the last few years i have been subjected to many things that are Japanese; I have joined a Japanese society here in the City that i live, I have taken Japanese language lessons, helped with charity work in regards to the Earthquake of 2011 which devastated Sendai and other coastal areas and I try to interact with actual Japanese people the best I can yet regardless of all this (and excuse the expression) I would never want to be an actual Japanese person. Don’t take me the wrong way but I am very much a westerner who wants to experience Japan, I want to live there and become apart of the culture which I have admired for so long but this doesn’t mean I will instantly dress, talk and Act Japanese as a statement to others around me.
This is a strange issue to raise but there are a lot of Japan-Fans in the west whom feel that Japan is more of a lifestyle and fashion statement rather than an actual place. I like Japanese Pop-Culture but there are many Westerners that watch Anime and Read manga occasionally think that they know what it would be like to be Japanese; they pretend to be Japanese by dressing like anime characters and putting up peace signs when they have there picture’s taken, this is mainly due to the international fascination with the Harajuku and Shibuya Stations and the pop-culture that resides at them (Google it), yes this is in fact a tiny part of Japanese culture but It is not the only Culture. A lot of these people have never met a Japanese person, haven’t known a single word in Japanese other than “Kawaii” (Cute!) and “Konnichiwa!” (Good day!), some of them even import Docomo and Softbank cellphones from Japan in effort to be ‘More Japanese’. Stereotypes have come to title people like this as ‘Japanaphiles’ or ‘Weeaboo’ my personal opinion on the matter is very mixed. In one hand it’s great that people in the west are so into Japan and small elements of its pop-culture and it excites me to see people enjoy extremely Japanese things. On the other hand it’s extremely frustrating to see people take a half-interest to elements which don’t reflect what it is actually like and still want to move there; I have met people that have said to me “I want to Move to Akiharaba and become a Japanese maid waitress without a degree, money or knowledge of the language”. Japanese Pop-culture is not the only culture. Keep that clear in your mind and you can’t go too far wrong if you want to move there. Truth be told; it’s not just Anime, Robots and Maids in Japan.
I’ve seen this more than a few times and it is a classic case of culture clash and more times than not it is a short phase that ends one of two way; they come out of this phase and realise that it was just another teenage phase they came across much like ‘Goths’ and ‘Emo’ OR they realise what Japan really is and look at the country and it’s culture and not just the Anime and Manga it produces; in a way you have to be western to really appreciate Japan from an outsider’s point of view; visiting Japan for the first time should feel like an adventure, not returning home.
The point to this is that there are good and bad things, the good things are widely known but often overlooked and the bad things are often obvious but not taken seriously. Both Cons and Pros to Japan are unknown to the very people that try to be more Japanese than the Japanese themselves.
Good Points:
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
Why immigration? Growing up i lived in Bars and Pubs which my parents managed, by the age of twenty i had moved over 35 times, I have seen many different parts of the United Kingdom and though they initially seemed different i began to not only see that it was all the same but i also learnt to dislike it, the idea that alcohol is apart of our ‘Culture’ is what sickens me most. People working 9-5′s only to go out on a Friday and Saturday night to spend on alcohol is everything that i hate, I also hate how inflation and England’s economic state has gotten worse and worse, people’s general depression and natural search for attention of others through sad tales has not only confused me but upsets me. Among other things; England has just pushed me to venture out of it’s walls on my own path; to see the world in all it’s differences and strange going on’s on the road to happiness.
When i was younger there was very little i knew of Japan and it’s ways, in fact; all i knew was that they made Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z and Final Fantasy. Samurai and things alike were present in my mind set but they were nothing special enough for me to pursue. For the longest time i was more interested in America, the overall conception of the States was clear in my mind from the sheer amount of media in which i was exposed to such as Movies, Music and Video Games. I always figured America to be vastly different in culture to England but to my disappointment i found that they were very similar.
Ultimately it would be 9/11 that would change my mind of America. A strange notion I agree but a year after 9/11 i began to see the death count of British and American soldiers climbing as the ‘War on Terror’ only grew larger, this lead me to look at other wars that were raged by the United States of America and I found that all but the Second World War in the past 100 years were not needed. After visiting the States in 2006 I came to the conclusion that the American person is Kind, Family orientated, loud but respectful in their own groups or parties, The American Nation on the other hand are greedy, war mongering and extremely patriotic to the point that they follow leaders choices without thinking much for themselves, following the idea of freedom and not realizing that they fight for oil. I quickly realized that in American history people were only fighting over money rather than freedom. Even in World War 2 the American people helped in the campaign against the Nazi party and The Empire of Japan but refused to join until they themselves were attacked; and even when the great war was over; they eventually presented various countries with repayment contracts for their war efforts, to this day the United Kingdom owes over $4 Billion which they repay each year. Is it so wrong of me to think that world freedom shouldn’t have a price? Is it so wrong to believe that Japan, Russia and Germany would have invaded America if the USA didn’t join the second World War? It’s disheartening to think that other countries maybe paying for American Freedom while they throw themselves into the middle east for the security of money and oil. Is this what Freedom is?
Don’t get me wrong, I like America, I have american friends; in fact I have a house mate at this very moment whom is American whom agree’s with me on these subjects but what i realized back when i was 15/16 was that I liked America, but the over all desission to live there had now escaped me; I liked American people but i did not like America.
I was actually introduced to Japan through this period as I looked at American Atrocities; the biggest of which was the dropping of the Atomic bombs on Japan; I agree that one of the bombs may have needed to be dropped, maybe not on Hiroshima but i more military orientated place. Japan were training their women and children how to kill invaders but on the other hand I have since read that Japan were preparing to surrender before the bombs but America wanted to win in an arm race and have plausible test data for future reference; which is true i do not know nor does it matter. What does matter that America made a decision to then drop another Bomb on Nagasaki just 3 days later before the Japanese government could asses the situation killing a further 80’000 innocent women and children for no reason at all. To avenge the 2,350 Military deaths at Pearl harbor the American’s saw fit to kill over 250’000 Innocent people at Hiroshima and Nagaski.
I was talking to a female friend about these facts and she passed on her favourite book telling me “If you’re interested in Japan you should read this; it’s a different perspective on things”. The book which was called ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ was initially a hard read as it was a romance novel; at Sixteen i wasn’t very open to Romance novels as a boy but this was to change my view on not only Romance, Novels and Books but it was to spark an interest in Japan which i had never had before. Without warning i had an overwhelming explosion in excitement for the place i had never been too; reading Memoirs of a Geisha lead me to learn about how Japanese people think, dedication to life, loyalty, their disregard to depressing matters and keeping a harmonious conversation, avoiding drama and it’s awkwardness, obviously all Japanese aren’t like this but this was a basis for me. A culture so different from my own that it was more of a Fantasy. A fantasy that i could live; it was perfect for where i wanted to go. Over time i learned that my future could more than prosper as i always wanted to work in Art, Video Games specifically, maybe an illustrator and before i had an interest in Japan i was already drawing in a Japanese style- This naturally influence was the seed that would grow into a plan. This plan which i will be sharing with you.
In this; I will talk about my Road to Japan:
