What it's like to live in Japan?

23-04-2021

What it's like to live on the other side of the world? What it's like to live in a whole different culture? What it's like to live in Japan as a foreigner? In this post you can find several pro's and cons about living abroad in Japan, things you'll want to know before heading to Japan.

The benefits about living in Japan

#1: Healthcare is one of the best in the world

We can say that the Japanese Healthcare system is universal and one of the best in the world, because of the advanced equipment, modern technology and highly trained doctors and nurses.

But because of the language barrier it is sometimes difficult to find the right place to go when you're sick. In Japan clinics are very often specialized in something. So if you end up at the wrong clinic you'll probably be sent away.

#2: Japanese food is delicious

If you think about Japanese food, you immediately think of sushi. But even if you're not a sushi eater there are still endless possibilities. Japan is well known for its quality fish, rice and vegetable dishes. You don't even have to go to a restaurant, department store, convenience store, you can even find food on the street in all kinds of different vending machines. You can hardly believe it, but you can find anything in such vending machine, from sushi, different kinds of rice to even insects and non-food.

#3: Transportation

When you think about transportation, you'll probably think to the overcrowded trains, but whom are fast and punctual. If a train is late once, which happens minimally, there are even apologies from the Japanese government. How can public transportation be so punctual and efficient? Japanese people even have certain etiquette for on public transport. For example, you have to queue up when you are waiting for a train, when a seat is assigned to you, you must sit on that particular seat, ...

The cost of public transportation is relatively reasonable, when you compare it with the cost of everything in Japan. The prices will of course vary according to what type of transportation you want to use to move around.

The disadvantages

#1: The cost of living

Japan is one of the most expensive countries when you look at the average cost of living. This is because of 3 reasons; Tokyo, the geographic location of the country, and the culture.

Because Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world, the prices of the whole country are affected
Because Japanese culture values very high quality goods and services, this naturally leads to higher prices.
Because Japan is an island, most of its goods have to be imported, which raises the price.

Because japan is one of the most expensive countries to live in, rent is also expensive. It does depend from city to city. The most expensive city in Japan is Tokyo, followed by Kyoto and Osaka.

#2: Work-life balance

The business culture in Japan expects their employees to treat their jobs as equally as their families. Because of that it is mostly expected that you work over 12 hours a day, even of foreigners. Because the bad work-life balance, it leads to over imbibing. After a long day at work, many Japanese employees, go straight to a bar to consume excessive alcohol.

#3: Natural disasters

Japan is definitely the most affected country by natural disasters. That because Japan sits on the ring of fire. The ring of fire is a horseshoe-shaped rift in the Pacific Ocean, where tectonic plates touch each-other. But when a natural disaster occurs, the people of japan are notified via their phones. as a result, they can take cover and be safe.

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Written by Tine Verbrugghe