Benefits from Living in Japan

Although Japan is certainly not a perfect place, in general there are benefits for gaijin who come here to live. First, it’s not uncommon for foreigners to receive certain kinds of attention or enjoy some small opportunities that wouldn’t be available to the locals, like the time I attended a concert given by my favorite band (Psy-s, if you know your 90s J-Pop) and was able to become friends with the singer because she’d happened to notice me dancing in the audience. As a foreigner you’re considered part of a group that’s outside the larger society of Japanese people — gaijin literally means “outsider” after all — and as such, it can be said that no one expects a lot from you at first. This allows you to either a) live up to their expectations and be a slacker, if that’s your thing, or b) surprise them by speaking their language, and if you’re able, quote rare kotowaza (traditional Japanese proverbs) that they don’t expect foreigners to know, for shock value. Since coming to live in Japan means being far from home, you can usually spread your wings a bit and let go of any social inhibitions you might have had in the past. Then of course there’s the small benefit you generally get with the opposite sex, since being a foreigner in Japan is something close to speaking with an exotic accent. I’ve had many instances where females found me more interesting than I really was mainly because of my gaijin status, and this allowed me to be more outgoing and have more fun overall. And have woken up after a night out drinking with an odd phone number scrolled on a chopstick wrapper. Remind me to tell you about the time I went flower viewing and met a girl who was boasting about what a good kisser she was…