Leaving Japan...any tips?

[sillygirl]

Oh God, after 11 years here, I've decided to leave. It took me AGES to decide, but now I am ready to go and leave in March next year...

Would love to hear comments, experiences etc from FG's who managed to drag themselves away.

I started packing already and cannot believe how much crap I have, It's going to cost LOADS to ship stuff back Any tips on leaving Japan would also be appreciated!

Cheers!

[kurohinge1]

... I started packing already and cannot believe how much crap I have, It's going to cost LOADS to ship stuff back Any tips ...

So you finally made parole - well done.

How about a BIG farewell party, and then auction off your stuff (as omiyage) to friends, work colleagues and the odd stalker, etc. so they "will remember you". You'll get rid of the junk, make some money and have a big send-off.

[AssKissinger]

Don't go! We need more like you not less.

11 years here,

Your brain must be total Jello by now. You'll never be able adjust to life back home, will you? How the hell old are you? You came here on JET didn't you? Where's home, anyway?

[Taro Toporific]

Any tips on leaving Japan would also be appreciated!

Check the Gaijin "bonus" for leaving --- after 11 years I don't know whether the J-Govn't pension fund refund still applies.
See the old threads
Pension & Health Insurance payments
piggybank

Make "close" friends with a military person to ship junk via "space available -- surface rate" of the military post system.
See the old thread
good cheap shipping company?
Sending cool stuff back to the States?

[Mulboyne]

Time will fly quickly so make a list of people you want to say goodbye to, tell them when you can see them and stick to it. If you have a Japan bank account, don`t close it completely. You might not come back but it may come in handy some day and you don`t want the hassle of opening it again.

[sillygirl]

Don't go! We need more like you not less.

11 years here,

Your brain must be total Jello by now. You'll never be able adjust to life back home, will you? How the hell old are you? You came here on JET didn't you? Where's home, anyway?

V jello like...can't hardly talk English no more...when I went back to Uk this year, someone in a pub in my hometown asked me where I was from!

Nah, not JET. Came as a backpacker, hostessed, married a J guy, started Engrish teaching, got divorced, and as for my age, I'm a good looking 38 !

Adjust? Doubt it...will have to smoke lots of herb...

[American Oyaji]

silly girl, I smoked a lot of herb to cope when I left Japan too.

I left after 8. (I'm going back and will retire in Japan)

Anyway. First you have to figure out WHERE YOU"RE GOING

Will you be living with parents or friends?

Make sure you have enough money for herb and brew for at least 2 months (this includes food and munchies)

START Excersising now. Its easy to gain a lot of weight upon your return.

BTW, you're from the U.K.?

Start applying online for jobs now before you leave.

[sillygirl]

Thanks AO

Am saving like mad, already exercise loads, have applied to uni, will be staying at me mums, and my stepdad gets pen Jah.

My main worry is missing Japan, trying not to bow when I cross the road in England etc just coping back in the real world!

[devicenull]

run, run while you still can!

[mercutio]

run, run while you still can!

noone gets out alive!

[Taro Toporific]

run, run while you still can!

noone gets out alive!

I'm amazed why anyone (especially me) stays. There's nothing here after the third month except learning more of the language which only only serves to make you better understand the concrete heads of the Collective.

[prancer]

I have a question:

What happens to the people who leave not to go back to their home country, but to yet another country where they will be a newbie foreigner all over again?

Those countries where herb is not so illegal are looking better and better every day.

[Taro Toporific]

I have a question:
What happens to the people who leave not to go back to their home country, but to yet another country where they will be a newbie foreigner all over again?

Hell, let's ask Asskissingger and Caustic about their grade up going from Korea to live in Japan.

After living in France and Mexico, I often think of sending a Formal Letter of Apology for having said anything bad about either of those places. Conversely, every time I return to Japan from Shanghai on business, I feel I can breathe again.

[eneman]

Gomigirl - 11 years. You are a masochist. Will you be able to function again in Britain? Here`s my idea for keeping on the track at home.

Burn everyone here before you go and then you won`t be welcome back by those you call your friends
Or you could use the telephone test: think of who you would call regularly or semi-regularly after settling in at home again and only invite them to your goingaway shindig. burn all others. You might find then that everyone will be too busy for you if you feel like backsliding if they are Japanese, or too jealous if they are FGs
Enjoy the anticipation because there`s fuck all else to do.

[Taro Toporific]

Any tips on leaving Japan would also be appreciated!

Check the Gaijin "bonus" for leaving --- after 11 years I don't know whether the J-Govn't pension fund refund still applies.
See the old threads
Pension & Health Insurance payments
piggybank

A few more things on the J-Pension Refund...

There is a Y590,000 limit on the refund so if you have paid lot of money into the Japanese Pension system having the 11 years you paid into the J-Pension transferred into your UK-Pension program is a better deal (if the UK and Japan have that pension swap).
On the other hand, for folks who mostly worked "off the books" doing freelance work, hostessing and the like during their stay, the J-Pension Refund will be a good deal just as it is for 3-or-fewer-years gaijin. (The very name of the pension-refund scheme in Japanese refers to payments for "short-term" foreigners--the 90 percent who leave within three years.)

Also be aware of this possible refund...
I don't know if I would trust these folks with my money, but they do seem to have a "method" to get both the: "1. The pension refund itself (below) 2. The additional 20% tax refund."
Tax Representative Service Pension Refund
Also Irish Net Nippon presents Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The
JAPANESE PENSION REFUND SYSTEM
Adapted from an article originally published in the Japan Times.
[[ a bit old, but still valid]] Q. What if I have more questions?
A. In Japanese, call the government offices mentioned earlier where the pension payment application will be distibuted and ask to speak to someone who can tell you about pensions (nenkin). Specifically, ask about lump-sum withdrawal payments for foreigners (tanki zairyu gaikokujin ni taisuru dattai ichijikin.)

[devicenull]

run, run while you still can!

noone gets out alive!

i might be getting out alive if my study abroad rep likes my idea. found out really fast today that next semester here is gonna really suck. i will be the only vet, and will have taken all the courses that interest and help me this semester. might be going to beiwai afterall :P

[GomiGirl]

Conversely, every time I return to Japan from Shanghai on business, I feel I can breathe again.

That is exactly how I feel too!! I touch down at Narita and I feel much more relaxed. The first time I went to China in the mid 90's it was very different to what it is now and felt quite threatened in many places. Everybody was trying to rip us off from taxi drivers going the long way around Beijing to the "foreigner" prices in Shanghai markets.

But these days Shanghai feels more like Hong Kong which is a good thing.

[Andocrates]

When I came back to America I found it extreamly boring and mundane. In Japan every day is a struggle and a test, but we become addicted to that. I wouldn't burn all my bridges just yet.

P.S. I'm just offering a Point Of View, you know best. We all have to go home at some point.

[kamome]

When I came back to America I found it extreamly boring and mundane. In Japan every day is a struggle and a test, but we become addicted to that. I wouldn't burn all my bridges just yet.

Yep, I'm in the U.S. right now for the week and everything here seems white washed and mundane. Drinking beer isn't a passtime anymore. People go straight home after work and sit in front of their TV until they go to sleep at 11PM. But at least it's comfortable.

[sillygirl]

Well, I HAVE to leave now or I will never get out of here.


I might go to Portugal, I can get a teaching job easily if Engerland drives me nuts.

What about u guys? How long have you been in Japan and how much longer will u stay? And why?

[Mulboyne]

What about u guys? How long have you been in Japan and how much longer will u stay? And why?

I think it is illegal to ask all those questions at once. It tends to make people burst out crying

[American Oyaji]

I was in Japan for 8 years.

Then left. I've been gone for four and long to go back, but I wont go back without my degree so that I can live on my own without a spousal visa.

[sillygirl]

Good luck with that,eh.

Up until last year I was on a spouse visa, but it was dead easy to change to the Specialist in Humanities.

[American Oyaji]

How were you able to do that?

BTW, when are you leaving Japan?

[Watcher]

Well I really think how you adjust to going back home depends on your planning. Take me for instance. I lived in Japan (Osaka) for over 4 years and hit that age/length of stay where you either a) make a serious commitment to the country and your future there and stop screwing around, or, b) get the hell out and make that commitment to your future. I had a jgf who came with me, too. Now to balance things out we didn't run back to my hometown where she'd be thrown in with all my friends (if we still maintained the same level of relationship... and I wasn't being introduced as "good friend from college who ran off to Japan 4 years ago". No, we moved to the West Coast where we'd both be knew and everything would be "first time" for us. The big surprise, for me, was how many Japanese are here (in Vancouver). This is like a halfway house for reformed FG. As to the job sit... to each their own but you better be prepared to work. You just can't get away with the same crap most do in Japan (the FG factor is gone). And people talk to you all over the place... you are one of them and you can't hide behind your FG-anonymous status (it's gone). And we have morals back here... remember how you used to be shocked by the immoral nightly sights... no wonder it seems so boring. Drink up and go home. What are you doing here on a Tuesday night? Do I really have to tip?
On the plus side I took my savings from Japan and put a downpayment on a new car, got a sweet apartment with a great view at a great price, got a job with some real responsibility, and live in a great city with beaches and mountains.... oh yeah, cigarettes cost an arm and a leg but that's ok cause you can't smoke anywhere anyways... so I quit cold turkey, no problems, for the first time in my life.
So there are both good and bad things about returning... but you can always go back for a visit (if you maintain your bridges there).

[eneman]

Been here three years all up in two stints and am going to be here till Xmas, or thereabouts, next year. Will definitely be time to head home and try to reestablish myself there, but with a family in tow.
I`d go now if the missus would agree. Anyway family is more important than sanity.
Isn`t it?

[sillygirl]

How were you able to do that?

BTW, when are you leaving Japan?

Leaving next March.

Went to immigration and got a change of status form. My eikaiwa boss did the usual paperwork and 3 weeks later....ta da! If you have been teaching for 3 years or more u don't need a degree. My mate who works at immigration told me this.

Any questions re: visas etc ask me, then I can keitai mail him. I see him for coffee once a week...good contact to have!