Traveling in Japan vs. Living in Japan
Japan: You could totally live here, right?
Hmm. Yeah, maybe. Or, maybe not.
I get it. Japan is fascinating. Clean trains. Vending machines everywhere. Bowing instead of yelling. Ramen and sushi that make you cry a little bit because it’s so good.
But visiting Japan and living in Japan are two very different experiences. They’re not opposites, exactly — but the overlap is smaller than people think.
As someone who has traveled around Japan and also lived here, I’d like to share with you a few insights about what actually shifts once you go from short-term visitor to long-term resident.
Japan Is Not Utopia (But It’s a Pretty Great Place to Live)
Before we go down the list of what’s different when you live in Japan from when you visit here, I just gotta say…. I love my life in Japan.
I’ve lived here on and off since “Ron-Yasu” was a thing (IYKYK). All in all, I consider this to be one of the best places in the world both to visit and to live. But that comes with a whole boat load of asterisks.
Like anywhere else, Japan has its ups and downs. It’s not a perfect place (and such a place does not exist).
It’s not for everyone (again, no place is). But for those of us who’ve carved out our own little thing here, it ain’t too bad at all.
Moving to Japan (or anywhere) won’t make your problems go away. Trust me, those have a way of following you (wherever you go, there you are). But if you’ve got some ambitions and you’ve got a plan (and maybe a stroke of luck or two), you could do a lot worse than Japan.
But your dream (or goal or plan) to live in Japan? It should start with a visit — or two or three — plus a whole lotta serious consideration, planning, focus and effort. In this space, we’ll cover the serious consideration part.
1. The Magic of Japan Doesn’t Disappear — But It Definitely Morphs
As a traveler, Japan can feel like a cinematographically curated fever dream.
There’s a sense of wonder around every corner: Japan’s ancient temples and amazing shrines … efficient train systems … perfectly packaged sweets, meals & snacks… impossibly clean public bathrooms … people lining up politely.
As a resident? You still notice those things in Japan. But they kinda start to fade into the background.
The temples blend in, the konbini takes a back seat to better take-out or proper home cooking, and the line at a government office becomes your least favorite kind of queue.
The cherry blossoms? They last for a week. That hot, humid, steamy, sultry, sweaty Japan summer lasts four months.
It’s not that Japan becomes boring, or bad. It just becomes real. And in the big picture, that’s a good thing.
2. Japanese Language Becomes Less Charming, More Crucial
As a traveler, you can usually get by with a mix of English, gestures and the occasional app. People are patient and accommodating.
When you live here? Different ballgame.
Booking a dentist. Explaining a gas leak. Reading the fine print on a contract. Trying to resolve an issue politely but firmly with the bureaucracy. These are daily life moments that require a whole different kind of energy.
You don’t need to be perfectly fluent to live in Japan, but not having a command of Japanese creates a very real ceiling in your experience — socially, professionally, even emotionally.
3. Japanese People Are Polite — But Connection Takes Time
The kindness you feel from strangers in Japan is genuine, dare I say often quietly profound. But it’s not necessarily an invitation into the inner circle.
As a visitor, you’ll probably experience a warm surface: polite greetings, helpful directions, maybe even a “free” drink or two if you’re friendly and lucky.
Living here? Making deep friendships can take time. Especially if you’re not part of a workplace, school or neighborhood association. And even then, there’s a cultural nuance to relationships that’s different from what most North Americans, Europeans, Kiwis or Australians are used to.
That said, when you do connect with someone, it tends to be meaningful — and long-lasting.
4. You Start Caring About Things Travelers Never Think About in Japan
As a traveler, your thoughts are about where to go, what to eat, what time the last train leaves.
As a resident? Suddenly you’re thinking about:
Health insurance premiums
Garbage separation rules
Earthquake kits
Learning how to cook with local ingredients because eating out every day isn’t really practical
Why it’s impossible to find good Mexican food
You’re not a tourist in Japan anymore. You’re part of the system now, even if it still feels like you’re peeking in from the outside more than you’d like.
5. Travelling in Japan Itself Is Different When You Live Here
Turns out, you actually travel less once you live in Japan.
That might sound backwards, but it’s true for a lot of long-term residents. When you're visiting for two weeks, you’re maximizing every minute — Tokyo today, Kyoto tomorrow, Mount Fuji on the weekend.
When you live here, the urgency disappears. You tell yourself, “I’ll get around to that later.” And sometimes you do get around to that, to finding quiet places and (maybe just maybe) hidden gems of Japan. But sometimes you don’t. Life takes over.
That’s not a bad thing, though. It just means travel becomes more about discovering small, local places at your own pace, and less about checking off the big names.
A laid back onsen hot spring town. A tiny fishing village. A hidden little shrine in a part of the city you never noticed before. In other words, it lets you dramatically slow down your Japan travel journeys.
6. Visas: Japan’s Bouncer at the Door
Here’s something a surprising number of people forget when they start daydreaming about life in Japan: you need a visa. Not a tourist visa. Not a “just figure it out when I get there” plan. A real, legal, long-stay visa.
And for most people, that means you need a sponsor. Usually an employer.
Pro tip: Don’t fall into the “I’ll just teach English” trap . I mean, yeah, if that’s really what your passion is… maybe? But even then, the English teaching jobs come with crap pay… lots of redundancy, rules and structure … and a high burnout rate. While many come here with the idea of teaching English as a gateway to longer term success in Japan, relatively few make that jump.
If you’re married to a Japanese person, consider yourself a sweepstakes winner. The spouse visa gives you much more flexibility in terms of work and lifestyle. You can even start your own business, and/or make money in dollars or euros. But those situations can’t really “achieved” in life, now, can they? They sort of just… happen.
There’s also the Entrepreneur Visa — available in some cities like Tokyo and Fukuoka. It can be a good option if you have a solid business plan and some capital. But it’s not a casual, “I’ll open a café or start a YouTube channel” kind of thing. You’ll need to show real investment, office space, and revenue potential.
And now there's a new Digital Nomad Visa. Sounds cool, right? But it’s not as great as the name implies. It’s short-term (up to six months), requires proof of a high income, and you’ll still need valid health insurance and a place to live — and no, you can’t work for a Japanese company while on it. So unless you’re earning well from abroad and are content with a temporary stay in Japan, it’s more novelty than solution.
All in all? There’s no “just move to Japan” plan. If you want to live here, you’ll need to work out the legal and practical side first — and that part’s very, very real.
7. Working in Japan: So Much for Cheap, Fun & Exotic
If you’re thinking about living in Japan, chances are you’ve considered working here — teaching English, transferring with your company, or freelancing remotely.
The elephant in the room?
Once you're earning income in Japanese yen, you're no longer a visitor spending “funny money” in a “cheap” country.
You're living within the economy, not above it. That sushi set you used to rave about for being "only $12"? Now it’s part of your monthly budget, along with taxes, pension contributions, health insurance and that baffling paper bill from the utility company that you're still not sure how or where to pay.
Working in Japan also means putting up with a heaping pile of rules, structure and what seems at first like a lot of BS. It gets better after living here long enough, when we accept the things we cannot change.
Things that might feel small or flexible elsewhere (like showing up at 9:05 instead of 9:00, or questioning a policy) can be problematic in Japan. It’s not just about “doing your job,” but more so related to fitting into the system. Harmony is king, above freedom or sometimes even profit.
Even the commute can be a shock. If you’re working in a big city like Tokyo or Osaka, rush hour is not for the faint of heart. We’re talking shoulder-to-shoulder, no room to move, stand-still-for-30-minutes-or-more-in-a-packed-sardine-can kind of commuting. Every day.
These days, some workplaces are modernizing (the government just stopped using floppy disks!). Remote work is starting to become more common than it used to be. And once you understand the system, you can start to work with it.
But any clashes you’re going to find yourself having, either internally or externally? Those are what they call in Japanese, “user error” (take my word for it, I’ve committed a lot).
Expectations vs. Reality of Living in Japan
| Expectation | Reality |
|---|---|
| Japan is always serene and peaceful, like a Zen garden or temple scene. | Try rush hour on the Yamanote Line or traveling anywhere during Golden Week or Obon. |
| Life will be full of sushi, convenience store magic & cute cafes. | Supermarkets aren't open early, banks aren't open late, and the local government office is open exactly when you're at work. |
| Public transportation is so efficient, commuting will be a breeze. | It *is* efficient, but it’s also packed like sardines, sweaty and soul-crushing |
| It’ll be cheaper than the U.S. or Europe! | Until you earn income in that 'cheap' yen and realize how quickly rent, taxes & utilities add up. |
| People are polite and helpful 100% of the time. | Usually, yes — but social rules can be strict, and “helpful” doesn’t always mean “straightforward.” |
Should You Move to Japan?
Honestly? Maybe. But also… probably not?
Japan can be an amazing place to live. It’s safe, it’s clean, it’s orderly in ways that feel miraculous – one day, and then tedious or frustrating the next.
And if you’re patient and keep an open mind, living in Japan can be rewarding in many ways. You might even end up staying longer than you thought.
But if you’re basing that decision only on what it felt like to travel in Japan for two weeks – or worse yet, solely based on what you’ve seen on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube? Time for a deep breath and a reality check.
Visit, visit, visit again. Slow down, talk to people who’ve been here a while, maybe even test it out with a short-term stay.
Living in Japan isn’t a never-ending vacation. It won’t feel like the everyday exotic theme park that many experience when traveling in Japan.
But it can still be something special. Just different.
—
Want to visit Japan but feel overwhelmed where to start? Book a free travel consult from the calendar below.