7/14/2005

In response to Taro’s rather sardonic words of wisdom (see: “Getting a job in Japan, the hard way”) you gotta be a little harder than that.

True: it’s not easy starting off in a foreign country. You don’t know the people, the culture, the language or the lay of the land. You need to establish food, shelter, income, contacts. This takes time and only a little effort, if you’ve already made the decision to succeed. As Taro pointed out in his follow-up article (see: “Getting a job in Japan, the easy way”), there is the option of coming to Japan on an Ex-Pat package and having everything organized and paid for by your employer. But what if you decide to change jobs? You’re on your own. Personally, I’d rather be doing it my way from the first, rather than be handcuffed to a company that isn’t my own. Which brings me to another option: if you have the resourses, start a business in your home country and recruit yourself to scout prospects in Japan. Not the easiest or most realistic option for many people, but an example of available options nonetheless.

My thing is, you gotta have an open mind and a positive attitude. Those of your reading forums and blogs written by foreigners who have lived in Japan for a while may notice a common thread of pessimism and bitterness in many writings. Well, in the words of Eddie Murphy, “If you don’t like it, you can get the fuck out!”

Expect to meet hurdles, hardships and annoyances — things are done differently here. There’s red tape, there are lingual and cultural barriers, there are dickheads. That’s the world we live in. Again, if you’re open-minded, come with a positive attitude and are open to exploring and enjoying the differences, you’ll go far. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Just fuckin’ do it.