Starting Your Life in Japan
Once you have gotten your job, you will want to attend to matters closer to home. You will have to decide whether you want to continue staying in a gaijin house or move into an apartment. Key money can be high and the rent more than a gaijin house, but it stands to be a much more decent place to live. If you don't mind a roommate, you might want to double up with someone, splitting the rent 50-50.
When and if you move, be sure to go to the city or ward offices and inform them of the move; changes will have to be made on your alien registration card. If you've already signed up for national health insurance, that will have to be changed as well. When you visit the city offices, be sure to pick up all the leaflets, pamphlets, booklets and any other -lets they have lying around that provide English-language information on services and support. You may find they have cheap or even free Japanese language lessons available, things like that.
For furnishings for your apartment, either look to sayonara sales, ads in the Tokyo Classifieds, or local "recycle" shops, which sell second-hand furniture and appliances. You might want to go to the nearest branch of your bank and arrange for them to automatically deduct your bills from your account, so you won't have to deal with that hassle every month.
So finally, you're all moved in, settled down, and ready to get on with things. What you might not expect is that this may be the hardest part of living in Japan: getting used to daily life and connecting with other people. Naturally, being able to speak the language is a great help, and smart people make their stay into a golden opportunity to learn the language, this being one of the best environments for just that. But even with language competency, some still find it difficult.
There are usually several stages of adjustment when you live in Japan, and they vary according to whom you speak to. First is the enjoyment of a novel place, second is disillusionment when you start bumping into negative aspects, and third is either acceptance or dislike. Some people decide to stay for life, some people get fed up and can't stand it any more.
One of the tricks of acceptance is to enter your new lifestyle understanding there are both positives and negatives here just like any other place. At first, you have mostly positive expectations, and don't run into much bad stuff, so you get a kind of rosy view of life in Japan. The trick is not to discard the positive view, but rather to understand there are negatives you don't see at first--so when you start encountering the negatives you can accept them for what they are.
One of the other pitfalls is not having the same order or style of social contacts as you had before. You are suddenly removed from your family and all the friends you've had. You not only have to start out new, but you have to do it in a country where people speak a different language, and--more importantly--communicate in a different manner. Many people who teach English fall into the easy trap of making friends only with their English-speaking co-workers. This can lead to problems not just because you're failing to connect with the people and culture that surrounds you, but also because when foreigners get together the #1 pastime seems to be moaning about how bad things are in Japan. You don't have to avoid your co-workers, but it would be a very productive step to make as many Japanese friends as you can. You may be surprised by how easy this can be.
First, it's traditional (but not at all expected) to give some sort of gift to your neighbors when you move into a new place--say, coupons for food or beer or something like that. People in Japan tend not to make much eye contact with strangers, making it easy not to meet people on the street--so establish yourself in your neighborhood! Start by smiling at people every time you pass them on the street, maybe adding an "ohayou gozaimasu," "konnichi wa," or "konban wa" where appropriate. Stop and make small talk whenever you can. Get to know your landlord if they live nearby. Attend local matsuri (festivals--they can be very interesting, and a lot of fun!), and so on. Try to give as positive an impression as you can, and when you talk to people, don't complain or put Japan down in any way (maybe later, when they're good friends, you can confide--if they ask candidly). Japanese people are very sensitive to how foreigners view Japan; it's very important to them. If you offend them, they won't show it or say it--but they'll still feel bad, so please be careful.
Second, try to understand and embrace all the positives around you. Learn the history of where you live. Visit all the neighborhood sites and get your Japanese friends to show you around. They'll probably appreciate the English practice (when you're not practicing Japanese, of course!), they will enjoy showing off their home, and you'll learn new things and maybe really get into a lot of it.
If you approach with the right attitude, make the right friends and give it a chance, you have a very good chance of having one of the best experiences of your life.
Good luck and good travels!
Starting the Job
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