This is why you shouldn't move to Japan

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So many people tell me they want to move to Japan,

which I completely understand cause I love it here!

I love the food, the culture, and how safe it is, relatively speaking

But obviously not everything is perfect in Japan

It's a small island with a lot of people living close together,

especially in the cities,

so there has to be some compromise

I think some foreigners moving to Japan

don't come in with that compromise mindset

and are rudely surprised when things aren't as they expected

I wanted to make this video so I can share with you

some issues that foreigners complain about when living in Japan

So maybe I can help manage your expectations before you decide to move

your entire life to Japan,

just to later realize Japan wasn't for you

But before I start, If you wanna see

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Let me know in the comments if any of these are deal-breakers

for you to move to Japan or

if you think some of these issues are not worth complaining about

Alright, let's get started!

It's kind of true that homes in Japan are a little bit small,

especially when compared to Western homes

But it's important to understand that in

densely populated cities like Tokyo,

space is limited and the limiting factor would be rent

For example, a 1DK apartment,

meaning 1 room, dining and kitchen area,

about 25-30 meters in Tokyo's 23 wards

would be on average about $780 per month

That's $780! In US measurements,

that would be about $780 for 270-320 ft²

On top of that, you may be paying

2 months deposit, 2 months key money, 1 month agent fee, plus misc. fees

averaging between 5.5-7 months of rent

before you are even handed the keys to your apartment

For some foreigners, that's too much to be paying

for that size of an apartment

Not only do some foreigners complain about apartments being too small,

they also complain about clothing

Obviously, many Japanese clothing stores

market to Japanese people who are

on average relatively smaller in stature

when compared to foreigners

So when larger foreigners try to find larger sizes in Japan,

it's usually unavailable

But you may get lucky with a few select stores

and there are 'big and tall' stores

that cater to larger sized people,

but usually they're not as fashionable

Interestingly, it's easier to find helmet sizes

In fact, I got this one last year

I was pleasantly surprised that Japanese helmets are sized larger

than what I was used to in the US

For example, in Japan a small sized helmet

is equivalent to a US large size

Go figure!

If you're a larger sized foreigner, then be prepared

If you've purchased any products from

bookstores, electronic stores, furniture stores, etc.

you generally can't return things

unless there is a product defect and

even then sometimes it's quite a hassle

Apparel shops though are a bit different and it really depends on the store

Some are ok with it, some are not

But in general Japan doesn't have that

shopping culture where you buy it,

take it home, try it out, and bring it back with a tag if you don't like it

Although Japan has gotten a little bit better over the last few years,

Japan is still notorious for paper pushing

Especially when it comes to official registration forms

such as with the local city hall, creating a bank account, and even

signing up for home internet connection

A lot of it must be done in person or

submitted via post as paper documents need

to be official signed or hanko stamped

Basically, Japan hasn't caught up to the digital age yet

When some foreigners finally start

filling out bank forms, or any other forms in general,

they soon find out that some of the forms

don't have enough boxes to fill out their name,

especially if they have a longer name

and even worse if they have a middle name

Japanese don't have middle names and they're usually only a few characters long

When Japanese created their forms

they never anticipated providing enough space for foreigners

Which creates a lot of problems down the line

especially when foreigners are trying to make transactions

The other party can't verify who the foreigner is because

their half-written down bank name doesn't match their government issued ID

Furthermore, as many businesses have moved online

you'll find the same issue with online forms that require

you to enter Japanese characters for your name or

again not having enough boxes to fill out your full name

It's a real headache for some foreigners and

it lasts their entire stay here in Japan

Portions served in Japan are generally smaller because

Japanese tend to eat smaller meals

This is one part of Japan that some

foreigners can't get used to when living here and

each meal becomes a cause for complaint

But on the bright side,

Japan has one of the lowest obesity rates in the world

at only 4.3% compared to the US at 36.2%

All I can say is that if you're really in the need for some more food,

just order another plate

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That said, let's continue on with the list

Many foreigners that end up living outside of the city in Japan

are gonna end up getting a car

and when they do, they're gonna need to get shaken

which is a mandatory vehicle inspection conducted to confirm

whether a car meets Japanese safety standards

The initial inspection is effective for 3 years and

renewal inspections are required every 2 years

The inspection costs about $960 each time for a standard car

The fee is always the same no matter the value of the car

And even if the car is perfectly maintained by the owner,

the inspection is still required

After 10 years, the requirements become even stricter and

some foreigners complain about this as well despite

every car owner in Japan having to do this every year

Well, surprise, surprise

Many Japanese don't want to stick out from the group

There's a heavy social pressure to be part of the group

which is very difficult for some foreigners to accept

Take work for example, many Japanese offices will ask

their employees to drink after work with the team

Most will attend despite not wanting to

in order to avoid being an outsider

Some foreigners argue that you lose your individuality in this case

But at the same time, this type of conformity

has shown advantages as most people in Japan this year

have been complying with wearing masks

That said, foreigners who have trouble working with a group

or those who don't notice how important it is to conform to the group,

may have trouble living in Japan

Some foreigners will claim that over-the-counter Japanese pain medication

is not as strong as their home country,

but from my experience it's probably more an issue of dosage than strength

For example, take this box of Japanese ibuprofen

Each pill is 200mg and it says take 1 capsule every 4+ hours

up to a max of 3 capsules in 1 day

While this US bottle of ibuprofen also has 200 mg capsules and it says

take 1 capsule every 4-6 hours,

but if the pain or fever is not reduced,

2 capsules maybe used

Up to 6 capsules in 24 hours

In general, Japanese medicine is prescribed in lower dosages

than what some foreigners may be used to

But there maybe an argument for over-the-counter pain medication in Japan

to be more expensive

This 240 capsule ibuprofen bottle from the US costs about $15

And this 24 capsule ibuprofen box from Japan costs about $14

In general when comparing prices in Japan to other countries like the US,

Japan is usually more expensive

So if you're gonna live here, you just gotta get used to the prices

When it comes to overseas products such as

technology, apparel, and even movies

it usually comes months, sometimes years, after it's original release

A lot of times it never even makes it to the Japanese market,

that's just how it is

At the end of the day when living in Japan

you're just going to have to appreciate Japanese products

Overall when you're living in Japan,

you're just going to need to accept how Japan does things even

though it's different from your country

If it's going to be difficult for you to do that

then you probably shouldn't move to Japan

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I'll catch you in the next one!