Spring is HERE!

Hello all! We are now up and live and to kick things off I thought I would make my first post about some personal tips to follow before moving to Japan. I hope you enjoy the post and please leave a comment bellow with your thoughts, concerns, or just general feedback. So let's jump right into it!

Moving to Japan

So you are thinking about moving to Japan.

What do you need to know before you make the move? What are some things that you should have ready?

Today we are going to cover some of the common things that you should have ready before you make your move to start your new life in Japan. No matter the reason for your move, these tips will help you have an easy transition into your new life worry free.

Tip 1: Renew your passport

This may seem like a pretty common sense tip, but it can lead to a major headache if you find yourself moving abroad only to notice that your current passport is going to expire in the next year or two. The process of getting your passport renewed while living in Japan can be a bit of a challenge depending on where it is that you are planning on living. With embassies located in Tokyo and Osaka, the trip may take you a couple of days of your time in order to get your passport updated.

Tip 2: Learn Hiragana （ひらがな）and Katakana （カタカナ）

This will probably be the most time consuming tip, but one that will help you out tremendously.

The Japanese language is made up of 4 different writing systems: the Roman Alphabet, Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. If you are reading this then you already have the alphabet down!

The next step will be to learn Hiragana and Katakana. These are the equivalent of the Japanese version of the Alphabet and will give you the building blocks on which you can jump start your Japanese learning once you arrive in Japan. Even if you don’t intend on studying and learning Japanese at all during your stay in Japan, learning these two writing systems will help you in other ways too! While most of the important information is written in English, there are some things like restaurant menus and names of buildings or businesses where knowing these two writing systems will make your day to day life a little easier.

There are many different ways that you can learn Hiragana and Katakana. They all depend on your personal learning style.

Personally I have found that an SRS system works out the best for me. I have gotten tremendous help from Anki (available on the App Store and the Google Play Store).

However you decide to do it, learning these two writings systems is something that will give a big boost in your quality of daily life.

Tip 3: Get a credit card

If you don’t already have a credit card in your local country, I highly suggest that you do so. You don’t have to take out a huge line of credit, but taking out a $500 - $1000 credit line will help you out immensely. Being a foreigner living in Japan, it is next to impossible to get a bank to give you a line of credit.

There are some things, such as cell phone service, where you will need to use a credit card in order to set up your sim card and monthly payments.

Tip 4: Get your phone unlocked

Unless you are planning on purchasing a new phone here, you will want to make sure that your phone is unlocked so that you can use it on any of the networks available in Japan. This is not a complicated step and depending on where you bought your phone it may already be unlocked. If not, you can most likely go to your cell phone service provider and get them to unlock the phone for you.

Tip 5: Make sure that your driver’s license is not going to expire soon

This is tip is mainly for those who are planning on getting a driver’s license in Japan. While most of the world can convert their license over to a Japanese one, those of us from America have to go through a few extra steps in order to get a driver’s license. One of these steps includes proving that you have been driving in your home state/country for more than three months before coming to Japan.

While this does not seem like a big issue for most people, it can affect those who decide to get their driver’s license after being in the country for an extended amount of time.

In my case, by the time I decided to get my Japanese license I found out that my American license had expired. After getting it renewed, I no longer had the proof of driving for more than three months. This did not stop me from getting my Japanese license, I simply had to get a driving record from my local Department of Motor Vehicles (to prove that I have a history of driving longer than 3 months).

So save yourself the extra step and headache of dealing with the DMV and just make sure that your driver’s license is not going to expire before you decide to get your driver’s license in Japan.

Tip 6: Bring a decent amount of cash with you

This next tip is not true for only moving to Japan, but for moving anywhere in the world. In most of the Japanese company payment systems, you are set up on a month by month payment plan. In the case of the Eikaiwa (English clubs and after school programs) industry, your first month is going to be prorated on a training salary. This means that your first paycheck is not going to be a livable one and you will want that extra cash to help you stay on your feet while you are waiting to get your full pay rolling in.

I personally recommend bring around $8,000 - $10,000 with you whenever you make your move. This will give you more than a couple of months to be able to survive without pay. Once you start receiving your full salary, you can then either send the money back to your American account, hold it for future trips where USD is the local currency, or put it in your Japanese bank and have a head start on a savings account here in Japan.

Tip 7: Don’t stress and Enjoy your move

Here is probably one of the best things I can tell you. Moving is stressful. Coming to a new country is stressful. Leaving behind your friends and family is stressful. But you knew that when you decided to make the move to Japan.

So my last bit of advice for today is to just enjoy yourself. Get out there and see all of the wonderful things that Japan has to offer. Explore your local community and meet people. Even if your Japanese ability is weak or non-existent, you will meet plenty of people who are willing to show you around. Don’t let the stress of moving get you down, get out there and enjoy your new life.