17 articles
Meet Lauren H, originally from Southern California and previously working as a graphic designer. After spending a short period living in Japan years ago and falling in love with the lifestyle, Lauren returned to Japan last year after finding a great organization to work for. Lauren’s story shows one of the smoothest paths: get a
Meet Danmarl Butad, originally from the Philippines. Danmarl didn’t move to Japan alone as an adult he moved here with his parents and ended up doing middle school and high school in Japan. Today, he works in Japan as a software engineer, but his moving journey story starts much earlier: with family, school life, and
Meet Hien, originally from Vietnam, who moved to Japan to study at a Japanese language school. The decision came from two places: wanting to learn Japanese seriously, and a long-time love of anime that made the language feel more personal. Hien’s move was smoother than many newcomers because a language school agency in Vietnam supported
Meet Issa, originally from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, raised in Arusha City, who came to Japan through a rare full scholarship route and later built a long academic path here—bachelor’s, master’s, and a PhD in Agricultural Science. Issa’s story is a powerful example of moving to Japan through education, and what happens after arrival: culture shock, language
Meet Keith, originally from China, who moved to Japan around 2015–2016 and has now lived here for over 10 years. Keith studied Japanese as a major back in China, and decided the best way to improve was to move to Japan and build real life experience through the language. In this interview, Keith shares what
Meet Vanessa, originally from India, with a life shaped by moving between countries and cultures. Before moving to Japan, Vanessa lived in Rwanda and later the UK, where six years in London included completing a BA in Fashion Design. In 2024, Vanessa relocated to Japan through a Japanese language school student visa, and started building
Meet Lin, born in Singapore and raised by Malaysian parents. She later switched nationality to Singaporean at 21. Lin didn’t move to Japan through a long-term plan or a company transfer. The move started after leaving a corporate job in Singapore that didn’t feel interesting anymore, taking a solo trip to Japan, and realizing Japan
Meet Joanne, a veteran English teacher with over 10 years of experience teaching preschool to elementary school students in both Japan and the Philippines. She’s worked in international school settings and is known for creating learning materials and supporting students with careful, level-matched instruction. Today, Joanne works at an international school in Tokyo. In this
Today, we will be speaking to Long “Ron” Hoang. A resident of the country for years, he loves living in Japan, despite the difficulties that it can sometimes present… especially when moving. We’ll be discussing some of the issues that he’s had, and surprises along the way — and why living in a share house
Allow us to introduce you to Tobias! He has been working as a writer and editor for over a decade, and is here today to take you through his process of moving to Japan. Like everyone’s journey, his was unique, but hopefully you will be able to glean some insights into not only that it’s
Meet Ang, from Canada, who studied at the University of Toronto and moved to Japan nearly two years ago. Ang came to Japan after years of traveling here during school breaks. Each trip made Japan feel more familiar, until the curiosity turned into a bigger question: what would it be like to actually live here,
Moving to Japan can be interesting, to say the least, for anyone. It can be even more interesting if you planned to visit on a working holiday visa for just six months — and then end up in the midst of being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with all flights home canceled! While