Which Japan Do You Live In?
Jason at j2fi.net posted something recently about overly negative foreigners living in Japan and it reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend over some beers last year. I remember commenting on how lucky I thought he was for thoroughly enjoying his working stay here in Tokyo. It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying my situation at the time; it was just that he seemed so much more jacked-in as far as having a fulfilling Japan experience. Anyway, upon hearing my comment, he replied with a question. “Which Japan do you live in?” he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders and waited for his follow-up. At first, I thought he was going to explain to me what I already had thought to be true; that he was just a bit more upbeat about life than your average Joe, and that he could even be happy at a time-share condo seminar. However, he let the subject drop and for some reason (I think it was because I was tired from a long day at work), I let it go too.
But, my mind didn’t let it go in the days to follow and more and more I let the question intrigue me and force me to try to find the meaning in the question. Before long, I came up with this:
A lot of foreigners come to Japan to live and work every year. Yeah, a lot of westerners come to teach English, but many more come to do other things to make their livings. Some have it better, some have it worse. I won’t draw this out by looking at all the cases, but just the one of an English Teacher, since that’s where the bulk of my working experience in Japan lies.
I’ve worked for a couple of big eikaiwa companies, and I doubt there are many people who would think of the eikaiwa instructor position as a dream position. Not to put down the ones who do, I’m just talking from experience here…
In the various schools I worked at, I noticed that the majority of instructors liked to gripe a lot. I’ve done my fair share, to be sure. For awhile, I was surprised by how many of them were bitter about so many more Japan-related things than just their jobs. But, considering how much more positive and upbeat I was working outside of eikaiwa, I started to see a connection. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that eikaiwa work turns even the best of people into bitter arseholes; just how the likelihood of that happening seems greater inside of eikaiwa than outside of it for a lot of people.
If this is true, then why? Well, as far as my experience goes (and actually the experiences of a few friends of mine who’ve been down the same path), I can honestly say that working outside of eikaiwa in Japan, I typically found the people in my workplaces to be agreeable and down-to-earth. And, when teaching in public schools, even the kids seemed more real and were easy to get along with, for the most part (I won’t say there weren’t some real turds, but hey, that’s not unique to Japan, is it?). In eikaiwa, however, I ran into some of the strangest people. Quite a few were socially retarded at best while others were just friggin nuts. I’m not saying the majority of the students were off (I’ve met some of the coolest people I’ve met in Japan during my eikaiwa work), but I’ve run into enough of the kooky ones to have had it have an impact on my thinking.
So, if a fairly sizeable portion of the Japanese people you meet in your workplace (i.e. wacky students and unscrupulous management-types) causes you to develop a less-than-favorable impression of the country, does that mean you’re weak-minded? Who knows? Throw in the constant complaining of your fellow foreign co-workers and it might be easy to see that you’re living in a different Japan than say, an ex-pat working at an import-export company or a large international bank.
Again, this is not a slam on the eikaiwa industry, the people working in it, or the students who study at schools in it. It’s just meant to get each of us to ask ourselves the question, Which Japan do you live in?
This post was submitted by billywest
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Which Japan Do You Live In? …
How does one’s working situation affect his/her outlook on Japan, its people, and its culture?…
I live in the Japan with limitless possibilities.
Sure, I’ll have one heck of an uphill battle with effective Japanese communication but, after living and working here for over a year, I truly believe that there are more long-term opportunities for me here than I ever had as a software engineer in Canada.
Perhaps the daily dose of Dakara 0 and ????????? has done something to my perceptions, but I see a very rosy future for anyone in Japan that wants to seize it and market their unique skills and talents
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Ack! I can’t write katakana on here!
Is Japanese not supported, or did I just do it wrong?
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Don’t know why it’s not allowing Japanese at this point. I’m using WP 2.6 now so maybe I need a plugin or something. Just another thing on an already-long to-do list.
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日本語の問題は解決になりました。
The Japanese language problem is fixed.
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I think your observation is correct Billy. Those that work outside of the eikaiwa system seem to have a better work environment and thus avoid falling into the “I hate Japan” pitfall. The one thing that worries me is that, at least for the moment, I feel like there isn’t much more for me to do here. My Japanese isn’t the greatest, I have few skills besides English and internet rabble rousing and I still need a bit more education to work in a field that I would find truly rewarding. In that sense, I live in a limited Japan, though I know the possibilities here are endless. The thing about that is that with a little work I think I could make it outside of the eikaiwa in no time.
I just have to put the bottle down long enough! Haha!
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As far as finding a better job in Japan goes, you know my take. I mean, if one comes to Japan just to find a stable long-term job working for a company, it should be work where everything done is like a labor of love. Otherwise, the Japan corporate environment isn’t really a great place to be. Personally, if I were just going to “do time” at a company, I’d rather do it back in the States. Fortunately for me, I’ve got a decent job at a decent company. I’ll be moving on toward my primary goals soon, though.
I don’t think you live in a limited Japan at all, Jordan. And, I think we’re all capable of living in a great Japan and feeling completely satisfied with our setups. Surviving eikaiwa and moving on to greener pastures is a worthy goal.
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Thanks, Billy! Ganbarimasho!
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I think another reason teachers there are bitter is because there is no where to go and they are set up as objects to entertain. I eventually found out that working at an eikaiwa can be as fun and as challenging as you make it, but for a long time I was disillusioned that I wasn’t a “real” teacher. I felt lied to.
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Well, I at admit that I have ran across some strange students working as a P.E.T.(private english teacher) but the students for the most part are nice enough. The brass does not give me too much trouble; which is very lucky for me. I have heard a few bad tales about working as a P.E.T. and the general union seems to always raising some hell. Overall, everything is going good for me. I came to Japan for many different reasons and I do not feel bitter at all. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into as far as the job market goes. It can be a tough place working in Japan at times but I am happy overall.
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I had the good luck to work in a tiny franchise eikaiwa in which no other non-Japanese people worked. My boss could only speak to me through the school manager, who translated; the school manager had no authority over me. For all intents and purposes, I had perfect control over the classroom and environs. There was nothing I could fairly complain about, and nobody to complain to anyway.
It wasn’t the most social of lives, but I came away from it appreciating the experience and eagerly anticipating the day I’ll be able to return to Japan in some other profession.
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Hi Billy,
I’m back in the UK now, but I’m still checking in with the Japan blogs. I read Jason’s blog on the moaning minnies and for the most part agree that the things folk whinge about in Japan are the things you could whinge about anywhere. I for one miss a lot of things about Japan that London lacks - clean streets for one and general politeness.
Eikawa-wise, I think you’ve got a point. I worked for a major one and hated most of my working life, and from then it’s easy for it to have a knock-on effect unless you do something about it. I made sure I made Japanese friends outside the eikawa, who gave me a different perspective. Plus many of the students became friends. At the end of my contract I had to fill in a form and rate my working time out of ten - I gave it five, but that five was awarded to the students who were great. The time “backstage” was mostly crap. I had the co-worker from hell, an American guy, at my second school, and the head teacher at my first school was hostile from day one. That’s not to say I didn’t get on with any of my Japanese or western co-workers, but when you’re working in a small school the behaviour of one or two people can impact greatly. I recently discovered, for example, that my successor quit my last school because of the staff atmosphere.
But out of the eikawa life was great, and that’s why I can always give Japan a good write-up when people ask me what I thought of the place. In the UK I design and make stained glass windows, and in Japan I added another string to my bow art career-wise. I had a successful exhibition where I sold some paintings - they were bought by a hospital! - and the fact that I had a lot of meetings before staging the show, plus had some very professional cards printed, hit home that this, too, was work. Everyone whom I came into contact with through my art was someone I’d be happy to work with.
Unfortunately, for most people the eikawa is the gateway to Japan. And if you can find something else to do while you’re there, or if you’re researching what you really want to do, you can at least remind yourself that they sort out your accommodation and ease you into Japanese life - and that it’s only for a year! I’m hoping to be back soon doing something I really want to.
Great blog, Billy!
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Thanks, Emsk!
Hope to see you back here soon
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I started reading this post, thinking you may be writing about a topic that immediately springs to mind when I think of “two Japans” - rural vs urban.
Being a JET and living in the inaka has certainly given me a glimpse into a Japan I never expected. And after 4 years here, I’ve really come to appreciate small town life and I’m not sure I want to live in Tokyo or Osaka. But part of me feels like I have yet to experience the “real” Japan - modern Japan with crowds of people and all the noise etc.
So I’ve been mulling over job options post-JET and I’ll eventually have to decide which of the “two Japans” i want to live in.
Interesting post.
-Jason (a different one)
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Haha. Thanks, Jason.
The question was actually more of a philosophical one, with no real answer other than the one each person asked gave. It was a bit abstract and was meant to make the person being asked think about it in the same way I did; not as a multiple-choice question.
But, I do hope you bring your own dilemma to a satisfactory conclusion.
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