141–150 of 179 posts
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Oh no, owning property and having a place in the community. What a nightmare.
A lot of us do not want to work in the family business but rather want to pursue our dreams. You only have the one life after all.
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> Tokyo is an amazing city, though it can be very lonely for an expat. Could you expand upon this? I've been thinking of moving there for a year or two to focus on my language skills and work on my startup. I spent a lot of time in Obihiro, Hokkaido in my late teens and had a blast hanging out at the university. Everyone was super friendly. When I traveled to even more remote towns like Hobetsu / Mukawa, Makubetsu, A…
Chinese culture and Japanese culture are very different related to this article and in the way we/they treat outsiders - the big Chinese cities are not good proxies. In the last 20 years, a lot of Chinese tradition and respect has been thrown out and attitudes towards business and family flipped on its head with the rise of Chinese capitalism - a lot of hustle and winner takes all at the expense of everyone else atti…
This reads like some "noble savage" rubbish about how the Japanese are better than us evil capitalists, but how exactly does one maintain a business in a steady-state for 1000 years when the neighbourhood around you gets gentrified, or the zoning changes, or your city made pension promises it can't keep for council employees so your land tax doubles every 5 years?
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I only lived in Tokyo for a few months, but I felt like there was a lingering loneliness paradoxically exacerbated by the high population density. Growing up around Southern hospitality set a high bar, but even compared to less friendly parts of the States, it was hard to strike up random conversations that were deeper than anything superficial. It's a hard culture to break into if you're obviously a foreigner becaus…
Tokyo has a reputation for being cold even to Japanese people from other prefectures. Osaka was more fun and friendly.
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maturity has nothing to do with your income level. Maturation is the integration of the individual into a community and the establishment of mutual responsibility. You can be livelong rich and at the age of 70 have not progressed one day at all, and you can be poor and be well integrated. The purpose of these Japanese companies is the latter, integrate into society in a way that strengthens the community they surroun…
Japanese companies massively exploit their employees and the presidents often live like kings. They might not get an SV salary but they get an expense account, cars, vacation homes, and other perks all provided by the company. Meanwhile their employees get paid shit and work 10-12hr days and don't get paid overtime. I'd chose SV over that anytime. SV at least pays on average 6x what a similar employee makes in Japan…
Does anyone have good recommendations for books on Japanese culture that I could put on my wish list for Christmas?
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> Tokyo is an amazing city, though it can be very lonely for an expat. Could you expand upon this? I've been thinking of moving there for a year or two to focus on my language skills and work on my startup. I spent a lot of time in Obihiro, Hokkaido in my late teens and had a blast hanging out at the university. Everyone was super friendly. When I traveled to even more remote towns like Hobetsu / Mukawa, Makubetsu, A…
Been living in Tokyo for near a decade, and I can add that despite it being a bustling metropolis, it does have this silent loneliness just in the background. It's hard to describe, unless you spend any significant time here, and the locals of Tokyo will tell you the same -- it's a cold city. With that being said, I love the place. However, if not for my cabal of really close friends, I don't think I would stay here…
A lot (if not majority) of foreigners fall for the image Japan has when it's observed from abroad. That's a very unfortunate illusion
A colleague took me to Tamahide restaurant in Tokyo, which opened in 1760 and is known for creating oyakodon, a chicken and egg rice bowl. (Oyakadon translates to "parent and child donburi" which somehow makes eating a combination of chicken and egg a little less appealing). Looking at reviews today, people apparently see the food as a mixed bag - some are clearly disappointed. In my opinion, it was excellent, with t…
A colleague took me to Tamahide restaurant in Tokyo, which opened in 1760 and is known for creating oyakodon, a chicken and egg rice bowl. (Oyakadon translates to "parent and child donburi" which somehow makes eating a combination of chicken and egg a little less appealing). Looking at reviews today, people apparently see the food as a mixed bag - some are clearly disappointed. In my opinion, it was excellent, with t…
Oyakodon is one of the blandest dishes in Japanese cuisine (typically made with no sauces or spices - or just a tiny dash of shichimi), so I'm not surprised foreign travelers found it disappointing. Growing up with the context of the dish helps - and so does a sensitive tongue!
Skeptic that I am, I wanted to see the proof. There isn't any - its just a claim. Its just a sweet story.
In fact, I suspect that this is some sort of tourism puff piece, PR of some sort, perhaps by the Japanese tourism board to drum up enthusiasm. Maybe they are planting seeds for when the lockdowns are over.