living in japan

Interview with a foreign worker in Japan

2020-05-15 by Taka Leave a Comment

Hi, it’s been a while since I posted something here on my blog.

We used to have a lot of tourists from overseas in Japan but because of the virus, we have none these days.
I hope things will get better soon and everyone will be able to travel freely soon.

Although we do not have any tourists from different countries, we do have foreign workers living together in the community.
Me and my friend, Aya interviewed one of them and asked about life in Japan to share it to those who are planning to live in Japan.
Here’s the video of it.

Interview with Luke-san from the States

Interview with Luke

0:32 日本に来たのはいつ？When did you move to Japan?

2:19 日本の良い所は？Good things about Japan?

3:08 アジアで他に興味がある国は？ Interested in other Asian countries?

3:50 他国で働く事は普通？ Is it common to work overseas?

4:51 どうして日本を選んだの？Why did you choose Japan?

5:48 生活に慣れるのは大変でしたか？Was it hard to get settled?

8:23 日本の都会の生活はどうでしたか？ How was your city life in Japan?

9:34 日本の地方(高山)の暮らしはどうですか？How is your life in Takayama?

13:18 友達は作りやすい？ Is it easy to make frieds/meet new people?

13:55 これからも日本に滞在する？Are you planning to stay in Japan?

15:09 多文化共生に日本が必要な事は？ What should Japan work on to live in harmony with foreign workers?

16:42 外国人労働者が日本社会に溶け込むには？ Any good ways to get both Japanese and foreign workers together?

18:49 これから来る外国人労働者へアドバイス！Tips for newcommers.

I hope it will give you some ideas of living in Japan.

Feel free to contact me [email protected] if you have any questions.
I teach Japanese/Japanese culture online (private class using Skype) as well.

Have a great day and stay safe!
Taka

*I’m a professional composer by the way.
You can listen/download my album below.
Free Somebody
Skyhigh

How to be nice and polite using Japanese honorifics

2019-11-06 by Taka Leave a Comment

Hi, How’s it going?
We Japanese use many honorifics in conversation.
It is said that the idea of using honorifics came from the Japanese culture of honoring/showing respect to superior ones.

If you are planning to visit or stay in Japan, knowing how to use basic honorifics will help you make good relationships with locals. Here are some of the commonly used honorifics that you should know!

4 most commonly used honorifics (suffixes)

These 4 major honorific suffixes are attached to the end of names. They can be added either the first or last name, and are used to refer to the person one is talking to or a third person in speech.

They are hardly ever used to refer to oneself (except when trying to be arrogant or cute using -Sama or -Chan).

Calling someone without the honorific suffix is called Yobisute.
People usually use Yobisute if they are talking about someone who is close like a friend, one’s spouse, younger family, and younger person/social inferior (such as new co-workers, younger students, etc).

As a sign of the close relationship, some people prefer to be called without honorifics. However, dropping them is a sign of informalities and not preferred at workplaces. Below are the 4 major honorific suffixes.

-San （さん）

It is the most common of the 4 as it is a gender neutral (and often used for adults). If you are not sure what to call someone politely, you can simply add this at the end of the person’s name. It can be used to talk about a business/workplace/animal/ politely (such as Sushiya-san/Sushi restaurant) as well.

japanese lady — I would use -San for her as she looks mature.

-Sama （さま/様）

It is used to talk about someone who is respectful or of a higher rank, and is a very polite word. Also, it is used toward one’s guests or customers (they are called お客様/Okyaku-sama. It is the most commonly used -sama in regular conversation). Christian God and Shinto “Kami” are referred to as Kami-sama.

-Chan （ちゃん）

It is used to express that the speaker finds a person/animal charming or cute. It is commonly used for babies, young children (especially for girls), friends, lovers, and adorable female. It is not usually used for adults so it can be seen as offensive if you use.

A little cat — A cat(Neko) can be call Neco-chan.

-Kun （くん/君）

It is generally used for males, often to refer to younger ones like male children or teenagers (or among them when they call each other).If it is used for an adult male, it can mean that the speaker finds the male charming/cute.
Although it is not common, it can be used for females. Calling a female with Kun is not insulting, and it is often more respectful than -Chan.

A little asian boy — A little boy is -Kun.

Other honorifics

Common honorifics used in a company are 係長/Kakari chou :Subsection Chief, 課長/Ka chou :Section Chief, 部長/Bu chou :General manager, 社長/Sha chou :President, 会長/Kai chou :Chairman. As you can see, they are used to refer to a specifically ranked person.

A business man — It is always good to be polite at a workplace in Japan.

先輩(Senpai), 後輩(Kouhai), 先生(Sensei) are used in school (Senpai and Kouhai can also be used in a workplace as well).
Senpai is used to refer to one’s senior in a social circle, and Kouhai is for younger(when calling a senior, people use -Senpai at the end of the person’s name, but don’t use -Kouhai when calling someone younger. Instead, -Kun/Chan or Yobisute are normally used). Sensei means teacher or one with a lot of knowledge. More about Senpai, Kouhai, please refer to https://hidanotaka.com/japanes-student/

お/O- and ご/Go- prefixes are used for nouns/verbs to call them politely or make the sentence polite. (お茶/O-cha : Tea, お水/O-mizu : Water, ご家族/Go-kazoku : Family, ご覧になる/Go-ranninaru : (He/She) takes a look at something, etc).

Business men — A Kouhai of a company is asking something to a Senpai.

You may find it a little confusing at first, but just knowing them will help you understand how people are treating each other.

Even for a foreigner, -San can be normally used to make it polite so don’t be surprised to be called with -San.

Peple are very friendly here, so you don’t have to be too scared about making mistakes. Just have fun learning Japanese and enjoy communicating with locals!

See you next time!
Taka

*I’m a professional composer by the way.
You can listen/download my album below.
Free Somebody
Skyhigh

Cost of living in Tokyo for a single person

2019-02-01 by Taka Leave a Comment

Tokyo is one of the most expensive places to live in the world…!
For those who are interested in living in Japan, I wrote about the cost of living and contracting an apartment.
Below is the cost for a single person living in Tokyo and what you need to know when choosing a place to live.

Average rent in Tokyo

There are 23 wards in Tokyo and the rent differs depending on the area you stay.
For a single person, 50,000yen to 70,000yen per a month (100 yen is about 1 USD. The price is for a single room which is about 20 to 40 square meters) is the average price of the monthly rent in Tokyo.
Expensive wards in Tokyo are located in central Tokyo,
and Minato ward is the most expensive place to stay.
(The rent there is about 60% more than the average rent in 23 wards. To check more about Minato ward/Roppongi, check the link here: Roppingi)
Below is the list of the most expensive wards of Tokyo (Average monthly rent).

Minato: 130,700yen
Chiyoda: 123,300yen
Chuo: 113,000yen
Shibuya: 112,200yen
Meguro: 102,300yen
Shinjuku: 100,700yen

Below are the least expensive wards

Suginami: 76,200yen
Itabashi: 72,200yen
Nerima: 70,700yen
Edogawa: 66,700yen
Adachi: 65,100yen
Katsushika: 64,700yen

(The numbers are as of 2019. Reference: https://www.homes.co.jp/chintai/tokyo/23ku/city/price/)

Other expenses

Utility fees

Besides the rent, you need to pay utility fees every month.
For a single person, it costs about 10,000yen per a month.
(4,000 for electricity, 3,000 for gas ,and 2,000 for water)
※You will also have to start paying local inhabitant tax (called 住民税 Jyumin Zei) from the second year on in Japan. It costs about 16,000yen per a month in Tokyo.

Food

If you are eating out or buying food everyday, it costs about 40,000yen per a month.
You could save money if you cook ,but things are expensive in Tokyo.
At least 20,000yen per a month is needed.

Transportation

It depends on the work you do, but if you need to pay for the transportation,
you have to pay about 4,000 yen a month for your commute.
You can use train and bus to get anywhere, so you won’t need a car in Tokyo.
They keep time and very comfortable except the rush hour time in the morning and evening
(Around 7:00am and 17:00pm).

Internet and Mobile phone

They cost roughly around 8,000 to 10,000yen per a month.

Income Tax, pension and Health Insurance

The amount you have to pay varies depending on how much you earn.  For a person who earns 250,000yen per a month (which is the average income of a single person), about 40,000yen is needed to pay.

All in all, you will need about 160,000yen per a month to live in Tokyo.
(If you don’t go out for shopping or drinking!)

If you would like to save money, you could think about living outside of big cities.
Among all prefectures of Japan, Gunma, Yamaguchi, Tokushima are the cheapest places to live.(Average rent per a month is about 36,000yen in those areas)

Contract an apartment

It depends on the apartment, but there are usually 敷金(Shikikin) and 礼金(Reikin) that you need to pay when you move in.

敷金 Shikikin

It is a deposit. Usually the amount for 1 to 2 month rent is required to pay as Shikikin.
It is usually nonnegotiable as they are to cover any damages done to the apartment outside normal wear-and-tear.
When you move out, the landlord will check the condition of the room you used.
If you made no damage to it, deposit will be sent back to your bank account.

礼金 Key Money

It is the money paid to the landlord when moving into an apartment as to show the appreciation and the money is not returned after the lease is canceled.
It is an old custom started after WW 2 when everything was in the rebuilding phase.
It was very hard for land owners to maintain the building for living, so people would pay Reikin to help them.
This custom still remains to today, but it is negotiable.
If the place you would like to live in has expensive Reikin, you should talk to the owner.
In recent years, landlords and real estate agencies offer Reikin-free rental housing and they do not charge the amount.

更新料 Renewal fee

Contract is usually for 2 years and every 2 years, you need to renew your contract.
The average amount is about the 1 month rent of the place you are living.

I hope this helps you make a plan to move to Japan.
As I got a lot of help from locals when I was in the U.S, I really want to help you with your stay in my country.
If you are thinking about coming to Japan and need some help, just let me know!

Working and working everyday…!
Going to Tokyo for recording tom.

※Complete song is available here Skyhigh Or click on the band camp link below.<a href="http://taka09090909.bandcamp.com/album/skyhigh">Skyhigh by Taka</a>