“I never saw myself as an adult in my own country. I always thought I’d be living abroad because I just didn’t feel like I belong here. I was away for college in the states but had to return due to visa issues. And when I did, everything had changed. People think it’s easy. TheyContinue reading
“I used to suck at fighting and was no good at sports when I was a kid. I was this quiet boy who’d hide behind his older sister. But my dad, who was a judo practitioner, he encouraged me to learn kendo in elementary school. From there I moved on to judo, and eventually wrestlingContinue reading
“I was in my late 30s when I started wanting to have kids. But I was working for a major manufacturing company back then and I wasn’t sure if it was the right environment to raise a child. You see in Japan, a lot of people work until almost midnight every day. That’s just theContinue reading CareFinder
[Tiếng Việt ở dưới]“It’s always been my biggest fear to not be heard. I’m from Vietnam and when I was 10, we moved to Hanoi. I felt ignored by people from the big city because I was a ‘village girl’ who came from the countryside. I didn’t have that ‘city vibe’. Years later, I cameContinue reading
“I’m from a place in Japan that’s called ‘Ninja City’. I was a high school teacher for 10 years. While teaching social studies to Japanese students, I noticed how strong their stereotypes about other countries were. But they didn’t engage in deeper discussion and had the same opinion (or no opinion) as their peers. IContinue reading
Her: “We met on a dating app. When my friends got tired of me complaining about the dating scene, one of them helped me sign up to this Japanese dating app, which was different than Tinder. After a few messages, we went out for lunch on a Sunday. We only planned to have lunch butContinue reading
“I’m a 3D artist from Mexico. A week after our wedding, my wife and I moved here. So I’ve only experienced married life in Japan. Everything changed once we boarded that flight to Tokyo. All of a sudden, I can’t be just preoccupied with my hobbies anymore. I’m not just dating my girlfriend or livingContinue reading
***日本語は下記をご覧下さい***“As a working mother in Japan, I’ve been juggling work and family for a couple of years now. I’m a Japanese make-up artist. I work with professional models for fashion magazines, TV, etc. It sounds so cool with all the glitz and glamour, but it’s an industry notorious for a grueling work schedule. That’s whyContinue reading
“I’ve always wanted to live here from a really young age. Pretty much my whole life. So every decision I’ve made has been to get to where I am now. But now that I’m here, I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about what’s next. And being so separated from my support network in NewContinue reading
“I was demoted at work when I came back from maternity leave. My superiors didn’t seem to think I could still handle a job with responsibilities while raising my daughter. Instead, they had me answering the phone, photocopying papers, and sending faxes, which is unfair considering I used to do sales and marketing for moreContinue reading
“We met through a mutual friend at a party. She’s Japanese and I’m half Japanese, half Filipino. I was born and raised in Japan. But even though I’ve never lived in the Philippines, sometimes I miss the vibe of my Filipino side, and of course the food. My mom’s Filipina so she’d cook dishes fromContinue reading
“Japan recently acknowledged the work that I’ve done integrating foreign actors with the entertainment industry by writing a book on acting in Japan and bringing people across the board together. The biggest problem here isn’t someone’s ability to act, it’s their ability to behave. The small cultural things, like what questions to ask or notContinue reading
