Japan… The name conjures up images of glittering metropolises, blade-runner-esque skylines, small dainty plates of raw fish sitting atop delicately grated plates of daikon, and, of course, computer games. Some reading this blog must undoubtedly remember happy afternoons playing multiplayer sessions of Mario Kart or Bomberman with friends, or pouring solitary hours into developing characters in epic JRPG’s or mastering obscure shooters (Parodius anyone?).
In 1991, Akira was released in the UK with commercial success, and Manga Entertainment was started off the back of its success. Manga went on to (and continue to do so to this day) distribute successful animes throughout the UK, and as a youngster I watched as many of these a I could get my hands on (which wasn’t always that many, given the certificate and price tag most of them were given). Japanese computer games and films were a staple of my media consumption when growing up and it’s no surprise that their games industry holds the appeal that it does.
I think it’s important when considering big things like uprooting and working in another country, especially one as far away and different as Japan, to consider as many factors as possible, both positive and negative. So here below, based on my previous experience of living in Japan, and research to date, I present a list of some of the good reasons to live and work in Japan:
1) Culture
The culture of Japan is frustrating, fascinating, exciting, alien; all kinds of adjectives could be used to describe it. From choirs of shopstaff shout “Irrashaimase” when you walk into a shop, through to bizarre TV and the ever ubiquitous vending machine, Japan is a country that never fails to surprise, amaze and baffle.
While obviously it has it’s frustrations, living and working in another culture day in, day out is a fantastic experience that I’d recommend to anyone. Certainly, never a dull day passes when you start interfacing with a culture as different as Japan’s.
Perhaps one day I’ll crave only the familiar, but until that day, Japan is a country I would like to live in and experience at this point in my life.
2) Food
For the most part, Japanese food is excellent. From hearty pots of white stew and nikujaga, to deep fried treats with sweet sauces, and immaculately presented boats of sushi, through to exotic pots of steaming oden, Japanese cuisine really has a lot to offer a self-confessed food-head such as myself.
And it’s not just the countries cuisine that appeals, but also the attitude towards food. Food is communal, food is shared, and the experience of eating at ease with others is of central importance in Japan. I can remember occasions, camping with co-workers, where we would spend 10 hours around a stove and a big pot of stew, slowly eating, slowly drinking (yukkuri is a great Japanese word for this, encapsulating this ‘take it easy’ attitude towards food), before falling asleep only to light up the same stove again in the morning and continue eating from the same pot, the flavours now rich from the hours of stewing and marinading that has gone on over the last 24 hours. Japanese food is to be eaten at ease, communally shared with friends, in a good environment, and preferably with beer. You can’t ask for much more than that.
Speaking of good environments, if anyone reading has ever experienced a good bowl of ramen on a cold winters night in a roadside Yatai, they’ll know what I’m saying when I say I’d give up a lot just to be able to eat at a good ramen store regularly again.
I can safely say, food is one of the biggest considerations for me when wanting to live in Japan.
3) Learning a new language
I have a life goal that I wish to become fluent in Japanese. Having spent a year there, and being thrown right in at the deep end working in an office with very few English speakers, working in an area with very few English speakers, I found that I picked up a fair bit of Japanese out of neccesity. I’m nowhere near fluent, but I also figure that I’ve made enough progress that I might as well continue developing my skills in this area, it’d seem a shame to not take my conversational level through to a fluent level when I reckon I’m half way there.
Also, I find speaking another language fun. Like programmers report a pleasant difference in looking at a problem from the perspective of a different language, I find there is a (usually) pleasant shift in perception when speaking Japanese. I simply don’t have the gramatical constructs or vocabulary to say everything I’d like to say in Japanese, so the result is I ‘play’ with the language more in an attempt to make myself understood. In my experience, if the listener is receptive to this, then the resultant communication is usually pleasant and amusing for all.
The other week, when speaking to a friend in Japanese over the phone, I wanted to say “I’m at my friends helping him move his things into his new place”, yet my clumsy Japanese only allowed me to say “I’m at my friends. He needs help. Stuff is moving about”. The amused reply I got back was “What, like in the Exorcist?”. Hohoho! The essentials were communicated, and we both had a chuckle. The really interesting thing about the experience is, I could hear the mistakes I was making as I was making them, which was quite an odd experience in lingual self-awareness.
I’d recommend to anyone who only speaks one language to go out of their way to try and speak another, and learn of the benefits and enjoyment this brings.
4) Career Development
I am also doing it for career development. Some people might say that, as a non-major language of the world, only really spoken in Japan, Japanese is not the most beneficial language to learn for career reasons. However, the Japanese games industry is still has the second largest game industry in the world, and while the lingua franca of game development is English, the Japanese still fall behind in learning it. Not only that, but there’s been a definite trend in the last year of the Japanese games industry increasingly realising that they need to look to Western markets more to assure their continued position in the global industry. I’m fairly sure that if I persevere, I can use Japanese language successfully in my career, and the language will only become more important.
Besides, if I acquired enough of a second language to be conversational at the age of 23, I’ve no reason to believe my langauge acquisition is too low to learn another one after Japanese. I certainly don’t believe in that guff that people stop learning languages after a certain age. Perhaps Japanese is a good bridging language to learning Chinese, which surely is beneficial from a career perspective?
Anyway, that’s enough for part 1, I hope to continue this list further with talk of baths, the economy and the environment!
Until then, take it easy.
Ja ne~~~~~
