Living in Japan: A Guide to Living, Working, and Traveling in Japan [Paperback]

Joy Norton (Author), Tazuko Shibusawa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2001

Living in Japan is a complete guide for foreigners currently living in Japan or contemplating making a home there. From the great expectations before arrival to the shock of actually being immersed in one of the most unique cultures in the hectic modern world, from finding housing to finding work, and from adjusting to the expatriate community to the many challenges of making a way into the heart of Japanese society and culture, Living in Japan will help the reader cope with the vagaries, anxieties, and uncertainties of an expatriate existence. Norton and Shibusawa explore the opportunities for foreigners in Japan, analyze the problems they're likely to encounter, offer practical solutions and advice to make the most out of an extended stay in Japan. This guide enthusiastically negotiates the potential roadblocks and pitfalls facing expatriate businessmen, children, traditional homemakers, students, and working couples and highlights the many opportunities for a rich and lasting experience. And finally, Living in Japan offers helpful hints to ease the transition if expatriates returning from Japan to their native lands, where they face a culture shock as strong as that they experiences upon first making their way to Japan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; Rev Exp edition (September 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804832889
• ISBN-13: 978-0804832885
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,023,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Totally unhelpful and a big downer., July 12, 2004

By 

"jet-1582" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living in Japan: A Guide to Living, Working, and Traveling in Japan (Paperback)

It's mindboggling that these authors found a publisher. This book touts itself as a full guide to living in Japan. This could not be farther from the truth. Lacking specific information about the process of finding a home, work, etc, it's basically a dreary account of all the difficulties that await you in Japan, with an intense focus on the psychological trials, which the book seems to portray as inevitable. Worse still, the only advice offered in coping with the pessimistic, matter-of-fact list of challenges is shockingly trite. I do not know why these two authors wrote this book, because it really seems as though their objective was dissuading people from living in Japan, rather than offering solutions.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great for mental well being, but not what I expected, February 14, 2004

By 

betilted (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living in Japan: A Guide to Living, Working, and Traveling in Japan (Paperback)

An easy read based on the psychology behind coping, culture shock, and how it will affect you and those around you when you move to Japan, or anywhere else for that matter! Not very helpful as a knowledge base about actual life in Japan, but it is insightful regarding how our minds work when presented with an alternate reality.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Depressing and no practical, specific information, August 19, 2006

By 

S. Hoefer "monkey" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living in Japan: A Guide to Living, Working, and Traveling in Japan (Paperback)

To be fair, I thought I was buying "Living Abroad in Japan". Please, don't make the same mistake I did.

First of all the entire mood of the book is depressing about how hard it is for foreigners in Japan all the time. Good luck finding something positive. The section entitled "Why go through it at all?" is a short paragraph. As someone who's spent a year in Japan and enjoyed most of it, this book made me think I must be hallucinating.

While the subtitle is "A Guide to Living, Working, and Traveling in Japan", it doesn't give any advice or tips in any of these things, other than saying it's possible. (I'm not even sure it ever mentions traveling. About 85% of the book seems to reference general culture shock and social research, with the remaining 15% being specifically about Westerners in Japan. Replace "Japan" with "France" and most of the book would make sense. It offers no specific advice like how to look for an apartment or open a bank account, but does have charts with labels like "Mortar shells of criticism" and "wall of hurt"

Lastly, the entire focus of the book seems to be for expats to fit in with the expat community. While useful for some, I would have liked to have some information on how to culturally explore Japan rather than form an American cocoon for myself.

The only general information that might be useful to some is exploring the motivations and reactions to tag-along wives/husbands/children (ie: People who didn't really choose to go to Japan) and how to deal with it.