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Japan: Land of cheap booze and slippers in the office
No, the two aren't related, says chap who moved from Swindon to Tokyo
The eXpat files In this week's eXpat files, love is the motivator for British chap Stephen Chadfield to make a new start in Japan, where he endures daily workplace workouts and has the chance to drink cheap booze.
Over to you, Stephen ...
The Register: What kind of work do you do and with which technologies?
The Register: Where's home and why did you want to leave?
I married a Japanese woman and as she has children in school in Japan it was less disruptive for me to move to Japan than it was for her to emigrate to the UK with her family. Also the (then) new coalition government were making her potential immigration to UK more difficult with stricter requirements.
The Register: Why Japan?
The Register: How did you arrange your new gig?
As my contract for that job was coming to an end I was fortunate enough to find an IT job using the government run employment service "Hello Work". They have a Japanese language online vacancy database which I was able to search using web browser translation tools.
The staff at my local Hello Work branch were very helpful and arranged interviews for me. Having basic Japanese language skills was very helpful.
The Register: Pay: up or down?
The Register: How do workplaces differ between home and Japan?
The Register: What's cheaper in Japan? What's more expensive?
The Register: What will you miss about Japan when or if you go home?
The Register: What's your top tip to help new arrivals settle in?
The Register: What advice would you offer someone considering the same move?
The Register: How easy is it to watch your favourite sportsball team in Japan?
The Register: Expat communities: embrace, graze when you need a reminder of home or stay away from those grumblebums who always complain about being here?
The Register: And because this is the weekend edition, what can you do on weekends in Japan that you can't do at home?
The Reg is always on the lookout for more tales of expat adventure. If you are an expat or know one you think we should profile, click here for a good time. ®
Biting the hand that feeds IT
