Nowadays, moving to Japan is on many young people’s bucket lists and not only. While I suggest learning Japanese to make your life easier in Japan, we are here to show you how easy it is to survive in Japan with little to no Japanese.
In this article, I will show you ways to live in Japan without knowing the language in different situations.
1. Looking for a place to call home
Ideally, you should arrange your living situation before moving day. If you are moving to Japan for work, your company will help you out with this. But if you are moving on your own that can feel like a daunting challenge at first especially with a language barrier. Do not worry though, finding accommodation in Japan can be done easily due to the high number of English-speaking real estate agencies!
Many of the real-estate agencies are foreigner-friendly, though you may have to jump through a few more hoops than Japanese citizens. On the other hand, there are agencies that fear foreigners might up and run without fulfilling their financial obligations.
So in this regard, it is recommended that you bring a Japanese friend or colleague when you are looking for an apartment. This can benefit you in many ways, most importantly, it is going to put the agency or landlord at ease as well as you will have someone who will vouch for your seriousness as a renter. It is also very common for landlords to require a guarantor.
Finally, if you have a contact or friend in Japan, you should ask them to help you out when house-hunting. That will make the whole process easier.
2. When looking for a job
You have many options to find a job in Japan even with a limited command of Japanese. Though the majority of them are related to teaching English, there are places where they will hire you even if you don’t know Japanese well. Also, working as an actor or model in Japan does not require Japanese and many jobs in technical fields prioritize experience and expertise over language ability (although it may give you priority over other candidates if you have it).
Other places to look at are bars and restaurants in ex-pat areas like Roppongi. These places usually like to hire English-speakers to give their lounges an international feel. Although, these jobs are usually gained through personal networking and they are rarely posted online. If you don’t have any contacts like that you will have to find a job through job boards and websites.
3. Paying your bills
Like anywhere else in the world, while living in Japan you will be using water, gas, electricity, a phone, and internet. Usually, the hardest part about that is setting up utilities without knowing Japanese, though this is something your landlord and agency can help you with. Once you are done with setting up, paying your utilities will be very easy without having to know Japanese.
Also, another good thing about Japan is the convenience of their aptly named convenience stores. You can get snacks and drinks at these places at any time of the day or night but you can also keep the lights on at home by paying your bills there. Also, your residence tax can be settled at your preferred chain. If your bill is payable at a convenience store, there will be a barcode on the front and a list of the stores on the back that can handle the transaction, and you won’t have to speak any Japanese for that.
Of course, there are other options to pay your bills as well such as bank transfers or automatic monthly payments but you will most likely need the help of a coworker or a friend because these things usually require a paper application to be filled out.
4. Health care
Going to the doctor in Japan can be challenging without knowing Japanese. Luckily, there are lots of doctors and nurses in Japan that can speak English. First, when you go to a hospital clinic, you will hand over your residence and health insurance cards, then, you will be given a form to fill out. If the form does not have an English version, you may need to ask for help or you can also bring a friend or coworker with you.
Filling out the requires you to explain your health history, the medications you are taking, allergies, smoking and drinking habits or any other medical information. Some important words and phrases to keep in mind will really help to answer the doctor’s questions, such as:
- Yoyaku wa arimasu ka: Do you have an appointment?
- Koko ga itai desu: It hurts here (point to the area)
- Itai: It hurts!
- Kusuri: Medicine
- Yakkyoku: Pharmacy
- Odaiji ni: Get better soon!
5. Shopping
Shopping for your daily groceries can be quite difficult in Japan if you do not know the language because most of the products are labeled only in Japanese.
However, English has always been a bit trendy in the nation and many goods in your local grocery store might have a little English to let you know what’s inside. But most of the products are labeled only in Japanese. In this case, Google Translate can be a real lifesaver. This app will use your camera to translate any text just by hovering over it. While this app isn’t the best solution for long phrases, it works really well with food items or lists of ingredients.
Conclusion
Moving to Japan is a great idea if you are looking for a new experience and want to see the world from a different perspective.
As you can see, the language barrier will make your life a little harder, but not impossible to live in Japan.
However, we strongly recommend learning a little Japanese to get around easier and make friends. These are the most important aspects to consider before moving to Japan without knowing the language
