Reflections on my first full-year in Japan

I have been in Japan for one year and 156 days now, a little over 17 months. 2009 was my first full year here, and while the rest of the country tries to forget about the past 12 months in their bonenkai (忘年会), I’m trying my best to understand just what has happened to me this year.

Work

I’ve been through a difficult learning curve. Teaching young kids from day one, I began to find my ground in 2009. I’ve discovered which students and classes I adore, and which ones cause me problems. I’ve found a rhythm of games and work that is serving me well. If anything, I am better than ever with my very young learners, but I’ve yet to find the correct formula for older elementary and junior high school kids.

As for my working life, I feel appreciated and largely respected by my bosses and peers. This is very important for me: in such a decentralised system, your relationship with your colleagues can change the tone of your day significantly. I’ve also consolidated my teaching days into three schools, two of which are close to my home. Working 20 minutes from home as opposed to an hour away is the difference between being home just after 9pm, or being home at 10pm.

That said, I am considering what will come next. The job market is idle at the moment, but if I were to see a full-time job teaching adults for about the same pay, I would start looking to jump ship. I’m in no rush though, I don’t hate my job, it’s just that it is the kids that can ruin my day. Adults much less so. Yet, like I said, there is no rush.

On Keiko’s side, her work is moving in the right direction, if not quickly and smoothly enough. The poor girl has been working solid and much harder than I have. She deserves a long holiday and a big bonus, but neither are going to happen.

Verdict: Positive

Resolution(s):

• Find a less dry way to teach higher-level concepts (such as tenses and adverbs) to older children.
• Consolidate more working days closer to home.

Family

We started off 2009 by purchasing Ebichu, our hamster. He’s been an adorable and lovely addition to our family. He never bites and is low maintenance. So far, he’s never been sick, and he’s great to have around (even if he’s a pain to arrange a babysitter for). We love him as a family member. He might even be considered a substitute for the child that we’ve long wanted and came close to having this year.

The day I found I Keiko was pregnant, my heart pounded with anxiety… the doctor doubted it would come to term and Keiko was suffering from pain. After a few weeks, another doctor told us we would probably be fine. I felt myself ready to burst out with joy: I was going to be a dad. Only, I wasn’t.

The slow and painful moments that it took to acknowledge the doctor’s news, the floods of tears that followed, and the inevitable dive into depression I will never forget about this year. We learned this just two days before we were to move home. Our new house still reminds me of our loss. We chose it knowing that we would have a baby here where they could spend their first few years pottering around our small garden, playing in the nearby parks, and walking along the river. The house is great (although it’s much colder in winter than we expected), but until I fill that gap in our lives, I will always be living in that moment.

Verdict: Negative

Resolution(s):

• None (yet).

Friends

This has been a pretty good year for catching up with friends. Chikara was here for most of the year so we spent a good deal of time together. Nori came back in the summer so I was able to see both of them together, a throwback to our Aberystwyth days. But now Chikara’s back in the UK and Nori’s hard at work, so it’s not easy to see two of my best friends as often as I’d like.

As for friends back home, Rory came over (twice in 12 months). Although I didn’t get a chance to get to know him while we lived in Aber, it’s great to have that chance even though I live abroad. On the other hand, despite deciding to get a job here, Andy hasn’t made it to Japan yet. I hope that 2010 changes that.

Finally, I’ve networked a lot more this year, and it’s paid off. Earlier in the year I met Bryan (sadly, just before he went back to the States) for a drink, and I love the idea of catching an after-work or Saturday night drink with anyone following me here or on Twitter. (Just no murderers, please!) In addition, after learning some lessons from last year’s Christmas parties, I’ve managed to get more people into my contacts list.

Verdict: Positive

Resolution(s):

• Try to get out for drinks more often and meet new people.

Travel

I still have many places to visit in Japan. I didn’t do much sightseeing in 2008 as I was adjusting to work and married life, but this year I’ve made it to a few places: Enoshima, Odawara, Sagamiko, and more. I like local tourism, seeings things that are nearby on a day-trip or long weekend. Whereas many Tokyoites jet off to far-flung regions of Japan, that just stresses me out. There are still many local places that I want to visit this year, and I’d like to arrange another longer-stay holiday at some point in the year.

Verdict: Positive

Resolution(s):

• Visit Nikko, Karuizawa, and Ikebukuro (I can’t believe I’ve still not been there).
• Try to go on at least one longer-haul holiday.

Language

This year has been difficult for my Japanese skills. I’m still improving, but for months I had no teacher after the move from Sagamihara to Kawasaki. Now I have one, but she doesn’t teach on national holidays which, when you have a lesson on Mondays, is a constant annoyance.

I’m still overly shy and embarrassed by my Japanese, but if the alcohol’s flowing then so can the language. On the plus side, I can to talk to Keiko’s parents on the phone more fluently than ever. However, I need to talk more to help overcome my insecurities, so I’m trying to find a local language exchange partner. No luck yet.

Finally, I’ve succumbed to the idea that I should take a Japanese test. I have two options: JLPT5 or the J-Test. I don’t feel like I would struggle too much to pass JLPT5, but I’d like the experience of taking that kind of test. The higher-level tests (Levels 1 and 2) are important to employers, plus a pass might increase my confidence.

Verdict: Positive

Resolution(s):

• Try to supplement my private lessons with a group lesson.
• Find a language exchange partner or someone whom I can talk to entirely in Japanese.
• Apply to take a Japanese test.

Health & Lifestyle

Finally, I’d like to note that 2009 has been an excellent one for my body. Having grown up a fussy child, I’m only now beginning to eat most common vegetables. In addition, I’ve been trying to lose weight: I started this year in the gym, but gave up my membership as work became busier in the summer. However, since finishing at the gym, I’ve been losing weight due to better eating and my better understanding of calorie intake. This is a first for me, and it’s something I really hope I can continue.

Verdict: Positive

Resolution(s):

• Go out running more frequently (at least in the warmer months).
• Drop 5kg in a sustainable fashion.

Summary

On the whole, I had a rather good year. I’m fitter and healthier than ever, living in a cosy apartment and getting on well in my work. The things I wanted to do in Japan are being done, even if it’s happening slower than I expected. Even though we went through the toughest experience of our lives in the summer, we are nevertheless stronger and more determined because of it. In sum, not a great year, but not too terrible either: there is still room for improvement in 2010.

Happy New Year everyone!

The New Place

Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes, we appreciate knowing that your thoughts are with us. I’m not really ready to write up anything big at the moment, but I want to show you some photos of our new place.

I took these the day we moved in, and they’re admittedly rubbish, but they give a taste of our place. I’ve put them next to photos of our old place for comparison (those too are from the week we moved in).

Old Bedroom (left), New Bedroom/Tatami Room (right)

Old Kitchen (left), New Kitchen (right)

Old Living Room (left), New Living Room (right)

What a difference a year makes!

Anyway, we’re settled in and have all the furniture we need (there is a desk, not shown above, and a sofa). The whole thing looks and feels like the home that it is. We couldn’t ask for much more. Despite the amount of junk everywhere in the above photos, by the third day, I had finished unpacking entirely. I’ll get some updated photos up when I’m up for it.

Going Radio Silent

On Sunday, we’ll be moving into our new apartment. The whole experience has been costly, but I hope that in a couple of months I’ll be able to confirm that it was all worth it. In the past two weeks, we’ve spent about ¥600,000 (about £3700) paying for either the apartment itself, or the furniture and appliances to go in it. Connecting the gas and hooking up the net will costs us a few ¥10,000 more. The price aside, however, the new apartment will represent the start of our new lives as parents. The better area and greater freedom should more than make up for us being out of pocket.

With the move, I will be largely offline for a couple of weeks. You will hear from me as soon as I am able to get on our new 50Mb fibre-optic connection (oh yeah!), but please check Twitter to keep up-to-date.

Until then, wish me luck!

Kawasaki-bound

More good news: We’re moving to Musashi-Nakahara (Kawasaki) on June 14th! As part of our efforts to find a new place, on Sunday we rode the Nambu line to the southern Musashis. Last time we considered applying for the place we saw but we were stopped by money and the two-month notice period for our current place. Having learned what we get for our budget, our expectations were more realistic.

If you’re looking for a place in Japan, and you’ve got a Japanese spouse and/or a guarantor, then you should start your search with Yahoo!’s housing section. It is the most powerful and comprehensive house-hunting portal I have come across. I narrowed 1000 properties down to just four by applying a few pre-requisites: supplied air-conditioning units, convenient layout, reasonable cost up-front, and distance to the station. Keiko sent our details to the estate agents (through Yahoo!) and two replied, one with three extra apartments to consider. .

We started our day at Housemate, a lettings agent in Musashi-Kosugi. We picked out three apartments that we were interested in and were to each by car (a rare treat!). The first was a 3DK (three rooms plus dining room/kitchen). It was okay, but flawed in that the third room, ideal for a child, had no air conditioner and would have been like a sauna in summer. The living room was also too big at the expense of storage space. It took a few moments for me to decide, but within 10 minutes we were certain: it was no good.

The next place was top of our list: a 2LDK in Musashi-Nakahara. Near a large park,this first floor apartment was unlike the others we saw that day. The wood-look linoleum flooring meant it would be easy to clean. The sliding doors had translucent glass windows creating much more light than I am accustomed to; our current kitchen has no windows. Everything was a good size, although it could all be bigger.

When viewing, I always look out of the windows first. I looked out to find a small fenced earth patch (4x1m). The estate agent said we could use itas a garden; it’s so rare to find something like that. Keiko soon told me she wanted it. She didn’t want to see anywhere else, but I was more level-headed: there was a cooker (very rare, and a great way to save money on appliances), and the sink and a few of the furnishings were brand new, but the cupboards looked a little old. There was no window in the bathroom, just like our current place where mould grows very quickly, but Keiko said that its complex ventilation system would deal with that. Also, despite supposedly having a living room, dining room, and kitchen (LDK), there was actually not that much room, and there was no TV aerial connector either. However, those were the least of my worries.

I need to give two-months notice before moving out of my current apartment. I wanted a place lined up before giving notice, and so we were looking to move in by the end of July. However, all the places we viewed were empty in a recession: the landlords wanted who could move in immediately. If we signed the contract, we would have to pay rent from June whether we moved in or not. There was no alternative: if we wanted the security of having a place to move into before we gave notice to move out, we would have to pay rent for two places for 6/7 weeks (nearly £1000). We needed the right place so we could find a hospital, and it was most important that Keiko felt comfortable: she’d be spending a lot of time here in winter.

Still, I convinced Keiko to look at the third place (a 3K), but when we got there, despite being stylishly and minimalistically presented with furniture, it was a waste of time: it was old, the third room was barely large enough for a single futon, it overlooked other people’s windows on both sides, and on the way out, the stairs were uneven and treacherous – I wouldn’t be happy with Keiko carrying  the baby and a pushchair down them. Keiko told me that she really wanted to go for the second place. We had another viewing elsewhere later that day, so I told her that if she was so sure, then we should cancel it. She was ecstatic, but my mind was filled with figures. It was a nice place, but could we afford it?

Moving in Japan is neither cheap nor pleasant. At the estate agency, Keiko had to write down full details of her company (it’s size and turnover), as well as her father (our guarantor). It felt very invasive. They said they would check the details and get back to us. The next day Keiko received a phone call to ask when she could sign the contract: we got it!

Before that, after leaving the estate agents, we discussed the figures over a burger. They wanted about ¥451,000 before we signed (1 month’s deposit, 2 months’ key money, 1 month’s rent, and another month’s rent as the agent’s fee). We would still need to buy a fridge, microwave, and furniture. Then there was rent for our current place too. We could afford it, but with the pregnancy it was a scary amount of money when we needed to be spending it elsewhere too.

For the rest of the day we argued it back and forth. Keiko really wanted the place, but the money was very worrying for me. I liked it, as a place to bring up a kid, it was excellent. We even walked back to the apartment to explore the area. Top of my mind was the baby: it really was a great place to bring up a kid. That alone convinced me, it was worth it. We signed the contract today and I can’t wait to move in now.

A Long Overdue Update

Life has been a little crazy for me. This week is my last 6-day week for at least 3 weeks, thankfully, as I’ve been getting really run down. It didn’t help that my first lazy day off in a long time was nixed by illness. I came back from Japanese class ready to cook chili for Keiko, my first time cooking for her since we arrived (as I am always home later than her). However. having been shopping for the final ingredients and after spending too much time in the drizzle outside (yes, proper British-style drizzle), the only thing I could do back home was succumb to a fever. My temperature raged. Keiko worried. Yet, by the time I woke up for work the next day I was back to normal. The Cosmic Joker strikes again, ruining my day off.

Chikara and Sawa came back a couple of weeks ago, which was nice. We had yakiniku (barbeque-style cuisine) with our fancy-schmancy grill-cum-hotplate, and then last weekend we met up with Chikara’s brother and family for a spot of grape picking, barbeque and dinner. It was great fun, although who knew that grapevines were such a mosquito hotspot? Chikara’s neice was feasted upon. Luckily the little buggars, the mosquitos not Chikara’s neices, only got me once.

I had some training days this week. The bad news was that they were early (for me) days, starting at 10am, unlike my normal 12pm (ish) start. The good news was that we finished halfway into the afternoon which meant I could actually go out. On the Monday, Chikara took me by car to Yamato for a spot of house-hunting. At the moment Keiko has to get up at 6ish everyday and travel over an hour to work, plus we don’t live on an express stop so I have to make an extra change every day when I go to work/come home. Yamato is on the Soutetsu line which Keiko travels on daily and would make life a bit easier for her. Hopefully taking a little bit of the edge off her daily routine’ll go a long way towards giving her some more time to herself/us. Anyway, Yamato is a bit of a dingy place, like my current town but writ large on a city scale. Still, it seems pleasant enough to live in (although we are not through looking yet).
After my second training day, I met up with Keiko and Yasuko in Tokyo for a walk around the Imperial Palace (to go in you need to book, and I already promised Chikara and Sawa that I’d go with them). I took some pretty decent photos which I will present in the next post. After that, we headed to Outback Steakhouse Shinagawa, Keiko’s old workplace, for dinner. It was delicious and very filling, so much so that we are planning to go again.

You see, tomorrow Andy arrives (he is blogging about this over at his blog: The Mind of Yu). I am absolutely stoked at seeing him, although his whistlestop tour will be tiring for us both. We’re taking him to Shinagawa tomorrow for Outback (what a seriously unhealthy week this has been for me foodwise: two lots of KFC, two lots of Outback, a BBQ a week ago… crazy). For Sunday I have planned an arduous day of geeking out in Tokyo, and on Thursday, another such day, ending in Yokohama Chinatown for dinner with Chikara, Sawa, Chikara’s brother (Makoto) and Keiko. Should be fun!

Anyway, I will get back to you if I have some downtime while Andy’s here, if not, then afterwards. I still have to talk about the Dark Knight (good film!).