What am I doing in Japan? This is a question I ask myself often, and not in a bad way. But sometimes it feels surreal after realizing that I'm living in a different country. This is my new reality. There’s still so much to get through when it comes to living in Japan. You might be curious as to why I am in Japan in the first place, how I’ve gotten here, and what I plan to do afterwards. I promise you, nothing special was done. The way I’ve gotten to Japan is actually a common way many people have moved to the country. You can also take the same route if you’re interested in experiencing life here.
Firstly, why am I in Japan? Well, for a few reasons. I have been visiting Japan for four years consecutively since 2018. Japan is the first and only foreign country I have been to. I simply went out on a limb and got a passport, bought a ticket, and secured a hotel in Narita. My first trip to Japan made me realize that I could do anything and it was an empowering experience. I felt safe traveling the country by myself, and was inspired by being in the country. During my trips, I tried to visualize living in the country. Considering that I felt comfortable even though being completely different from everyone else (which will be explained in a future blog), the country was safe and beautiful, and I was familiar with the language to an extent, I was ready to try and make the move. As a kid, I’ve always wanted to travel to the country along with a few others and eventually live in Japan. That dream was fulfilled last year in 2021, but not without sacrifices.
My first trip to Japan made me realize that I could do anything and it was an empowering experience.
Secondly, how did I get to work and live in Japan? There are so many routes you can take to make your move to Japan. But the most common one is going through an English teacher dispatch company. I have gotten accepted to the two companies I’ve applied to, AEON and the JET Program. At first, I was just going to move to Japan and work through AEON, but many people said JET was difficult to get into. Knowing me, I took that as a challenge. Now here I am after two long years waiting to move due to the pandemic, teaching English through JET. I’m here to tell you to not listen to the hype surrounding difficulty. If you’re looking to teach English in Japan, the JET Program offers the best salary besides international schools here in Japan (these require teaching experience and qualifications). Don’t let anyone try to tell you that something is too hard - ever. Do what you want (if it feels right for you) by any means necessary.
Lastly, where do I go from here? I have been in Japan for almost seven months. I’ll be here for a year in October (I’m not counting September since I was in quarantine for two weeks.) I love teaching my kids here on the JET Program, but I wonder if teaching in the Japanese education system is something I really want to continue doing. The answer is simply no. So far, I really do appreciate what the JET Program has taught me in terms of working and communicating in Japan. However, coming from the tech field, I have a strong desire to go back full-time. Despite popular belief, Japan has a lot of gaps in their practical technology. Those things are calling to me to help fix them.
Being in Japan, meeting amazing people, improving my technical skills and studying the language actively has helped me realize and experience a lot more opportunities here. No country is perfect, but Japan is a country with a different set of issues I’m willing to deal with. It’s safe and beautiful. Going through the JET Program to get to Japan was actually a good choice now that I’m looking back on it. Many people have taken the same route and transformed their situation. I’m learning a lot, and I get to share it with all of you. I look forward to my future in Japan, thanks for joining me through the blog.
