4 reasons why I don't like living in Japan

Hey guys, it's Sally.
I've decided to write this article in English this time because the content is more like for people who are seeking to move to Tokyo (Japan). 

I am pretty sure not many people will find this article, but let me give it a try writing in English!

1. living cost

First of all, the reason why I don't like to live in Tokyo is the living cost. As it is not normal in Chicago, the utility fee (ex: water, gas, wifi, electricity, etc.) is excluded from the rent itself so you have to make multiple payments for each utility fee. 

The house, apartment room/ unit is very small compared to the one in the US. It's because Japan is a small country that has tons of people so you might feel that everything else is tiny. 

For now, the tax is 10% in Japan, so if you go grocery shopping, restaurant, etc. you will pay 10% of the tax. It is getting more expensive lately because of Olympics; however, the good thing about eating outside is that you don't need to give tips!

From my personal experience, living in Chicago is still cheaper than living in Tokyo. 

2. poor communication skill

As you might know, most Japanese people do not know how to speak English although they know how to write/ read English. 

We cannot blame them for not speaking English because it is the Japanese education system. We never really learn how to speak (communicate) with others in English at elementary, junior high, and high school, that's why we don't have the communication skill ever since we are kids. 

Now, the Japanese government is trying to kinda adapt to the US-style education system and trying to develop English education better, however, I don't think this is happening anytime soon. 

You will face difficulty to ask the direction or simply talk to people in Tokyo since we are not good at speaking English, but I promise you that people will try very hard to understand you and help you as much as they can. 

3. drunk people (Izakaya)

Izakaya is the place you can have alcohol and food (called otsumami), and have fun with people. It is a sort of a restaurant but more casual and focused on alcohol. The atmosphere is more chill than bars so a lot of people go to Izakaya after job or weekend night. 

The reason why I don't like it is that you will see drunk people on the road or on the train all the time, especially late at night or Friday night. 

Some people even have alcohol on the train. It smells bad of course, and people cause a lot of troubles (even become news). 

From my perspective, this is very bad behavior and something you don't want to see every day... it is completely okay to drink, but people need to know the limit so that they won't cause troubles. 

So please be careful guys! 
You can have fun with alcohol but stay away from drunk people. 

4. working culture

Japanese working culture is very very different from any other countries I know (such as the US, Australia, Singapore, etc.). 

People tend to work so hard and it is common to work over-time often. They come home after 9:00 pm or so, have dinner, go to sleep, wake up the next morning, and go to work again. 

It is not what everyone does of course, but it is kind of common sense here in Japan. No time for family after work or too tired to go out on weekends so it will be just a rest day every weekend. 

Some people love to work and for those people, working in Japan might be a great fit. However, a lot of people die because of depression due to over-time working and such. 

I personally feel that other counties such as the US are more flexible and chill in terms of jobs. People go home at 5 or 6:00 pm and spend time with their loved ones. 

Japan also has weird and strict rules that people cannot have tattoos (if it is exposing, its taboo), people can't dye their hair (if it's a bright color like pink or blue, no-no) or people can't color their nails (if you work at places related to "food" absolutely no). 

5. to sum up...

These are the reason why I don't like about living in Japan. 

I am not trying to be offensive ( I am sorry if you felt that way!) but as a Japanese, that's my honest feeling so far.

I hope this article helps you to figure out what is like living in Japan if you are considering it, and please leave me comments if you have any questions!

I will post about good things about living in Japan as well, and I promise you that there are more pros of living in Japan than cons. 

Thank you for reading :)