What is it like for a foreigner to live in Tokyo, Japan?

The answer to this question really depends on many factors: what country you are coming from, if you speak Japanese, what type of employment you seek/qualify for, etc. In my personal experience as an American living in Tokyo for 8 years, it's both interesting and challenging. Being a foreigner in Tokyo often means you are quite similar to a minor level rock star.. people will stare, ask you questions, and be overly polite to you. Just being able to speak native English is enough to warrant many a conversation.

As an American who lived the majority of my life there, living in Japan never quite seems "real". It always has a bit of a dream quality to it.(not always a good or bad dream, just a not quite normal feeling) It's quite hard to describe, but Tokyo just doesn't feel the same.. it doesn't even smell the same, not to say Tokyo stinks, it's just the fact that Tokyo is a tropical climate mixed in with a few million people and tons of concrete.At the very least it has a different feel from Midwest Indiana. Then there is Japanese society.

The general idea is that Japanese people are polite to everyone.. their enemies as well as their friends.In the U.S. , it's fairly easy to tell who doesn't like you. In Japan, not so much. Deciding if this is a good thing or a bad thing is pretty much up to opinion.

The next area of concern is food. Japanese food can be quite "foreign" to American pallets. I love Sushi and Sashimi as well as several other Japanese delicacies, but on average, I have difficulty finding something I WANT to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner here.It's not entirely a bad thing.

I did lose quite a few pounds during my first couple years. I will finish by saying a lesson learned by a few of my foreign friends who have been here longer than I have: Don't try to "become Japanese" because you never will (be accepted as Japanese) But take comfort in the fact that, while the Japanese people will always consider you as a "foreigner", for the most part they will treat you with respect and help you to enjoy your experience in Tokyo.

I have not lived in Japan, but from what I have seen and heard, it looks like it has worked out alright. I enjoy Japanese entertainment, so occasionally I hear stories of people who took the leap to become citizens of Japan. One example is when I listened to an anime podcast about otaku who also live in Japan.

I also discovered a blog about a woman who moved to Japan. That blog is called Chipango. There are some very amazing pictures of flowers and Japanese life in general there.

I'd advise you take a peek at that. These people were fairly fluent in Japanese before moving there, so that gap was closed fairly quickly. They all definitely mention their "gajin moments" where, you know, people are either wierded out or interested in a foreigner living amongst natives.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.