Kasshaカッシャ★チカChika

Ginza Street in Osaka 2024

A few weeks ago, I joined a friend for a quick trip to USJ for the Conan Mystery Restaurant. Much like the One Piece restaurant, of which I am a big fan, this event is a Lunch/Dinner shows that features characters from the animated series Detective Conan.

Now, I know little to nothing about this series, but I do like dinner shows so I was willing to give it a go. Sadly, I think I was a little out of my depth as I found very little of the show entertaining.

At least we got food though.

This is a repost of a thread I made on Twitter, but essentially, it's a breakdown of how much I made working as a freelancer in Japan. Consider a cautionary tale if you're thinking about moving to Japan.

So i made roughly 5 million yen last year, right? Highest i've ever gotten after 14 years in Japan (higher than what i made at my old company even). Awesome, right?

Contrary to what you might think, the immigrants with a vested interest in Japan (be it thru games, animation, music, dramas, etc) seem to be the most well adjusted and they tend to stay longer. These immigrants were introverts in their home country, so moving to a country of introverts (not literal but used to illustrate the in-group, out-group social structure. If you don't know what this is referring to, it's simpler to just think of many of the ppl as introverts) requires almost no adjustment. As such, they are not terribly upset when Japanese people don't make some kind of concentrated effort at friendship. They are content to be in their homes, surrounded by their favorite things; they have a few local spots where they go to socialize if need be. But otherwise, they're just kind of vibing on their own.

Then there's the other immigrant. Let's call them extroverted outcasts™. Back home, they were viewed as awkward or strange, but, free from the confines of western social hierarchies (not always specific to western countries, but this particular thought came from interactions with other westerners), they become the life of the party here. Everyone (in the club or bar or school) wants to be their friend, take photos with them, drink with them.

They drink. A lot.

How well they drink becomes a part of their personality because hard drinkers are popular in a country of undiagnosed alcoholics (this is not literal, just painting a picture).

Unfortunately, these immigrants don't last long. Typically 4 to 6 years before the drinking takes its toll or they become disillusioned about their lives in Japan. They often make the hard turn into complaining about not having Japanese friends (which, yes, making friends is hard). But what did you expect moving to a country of introverts? Oftentimes, they don't speak the language well enough to make the kinds of deep connections they long for.

Night Sakura at Osaka Caslte Park