Expat Life in Japan: Interview with Expat Finder

Are you seriously considering moving to a different country? like Japan maybe? 

Problem is you're not sure where to start. I can feel you, mahn! (or womahn!) I've been in your shoes before. 

Before you decide to head out or chicken out with being an expat, find helpful information from Expat Finder. It's a wesbite that provides information for various information of expat life. It has a job page, housing info, insurance, money, education, credit and other things related to moving. 

Real expats from different parts of the globe also share their personal experiences and opinions of their life abroad. I've also shared my own take of expat life in Japan. 

Here's an excerpt:

''There are three things I enjoy about Japan- the safety, the seasons and the chance to meet foreigners. I can go home late at night and feel safe unlike in the Philippines. I don't have to constantly look out for my back. The changing seasons is also something I enjoy. In Japan, the lifestyle is heavily based on the seasons which I actually find exciting. We only have a tropical climate in the Philippines all year round. Lastly, I'm grateful for the chance to meet people from other parts of the world. It makes my perspective of the world broader.

Three things I don't like about Japan- the winter season, the indirectness of people and the inconvenience of going to the doctor. I love the seasons but I hate the winter in Hamamatsu. The coldness is bearable but the wind is deathly chilling. (Hamamatsu is the windiest city in the world.) I also find the indirectness of people frustrating. I have to always read the atmosphere or mood when I'm around the Japanese. I'm not quite sure when I'm saying or doing the right or wrong thing. I've never met an English-speaking doctor yet and I hate that fact. I always have to ask for assistance of a translator when I have to go to the doctor. (For some reason, I've gone to the doctor in Japan more than I did back home.''

More of the interview here:  

Faye Angeli Vitan - Expat in Hamamatsu - Japan

If it has always been on your mind to live in another place or maybe you're already preparing to move in a new place, definitely visit Expat Finder's site. 

Happy Moving! 

Disclaimer: Expat Finder did not pay me in any way to endorse them. I've personally browsed and analyzed the helpfulness of the information in their site. 

How to Make Friends in a Foreign Country

Adobo- Philippine's Unoffical National Dish
credit: http://philnews.ph/2014/02/28/adobo-proposed-as-philippines-national-food/

Question: How can you make friends in a foreign place?

Answer; Food!

Seriously. But not just food, like the one you find in Mc Donalds. (I don't even think it's proper food.) It has to be a foreign dish, preferably from your country, that you personally prepared.

This is what I've been doing since I started living in Japan. I'm making friends by making food.

How to Make a Japanese Hot Pot or Nabe

Steaming Nabe
photo credit: https://sg.sushiandsake.net/special/food/detail_15

Before the winter chill totally disappear, don't miss eating nabe. Nabe is the perfect Japanese winter food. It's a hotpot where any type of meat, seafood or vegetables can be used. (Well, as long as they compliment each other's taste.)

It's really easy to make. Slice some meat or seafood, and some vegetables. Boil them in water. Add some seasoning. Sip the soup and eat the rest. That easy!

Don't believe me? 

Here are some more websites talking about this food. 

1. Japanese Food 101: Let's Eat Nabe (from Gaijinpot)

You'll find the basics of cooking nabe in this site. 

2. Nabe- Japan's Answer to Winter Chill is Hot Pot Cooking (from Japan Info Swap)

Not only does this site have a "how-to-cook-nabe" but it also has helpful information on where to buy the ingredients, what to buy and what to do with leftovers. It also gave an overview of the different kinds of nabe.

3. Tori Nabe: Japanese Chicken and Vegetable Hot Pot (from Just Hungry)

Check this site for the simplest Nabe you can make. You can also make this nabe even if you're not in Japan. 

4. Yose-Nabe: Simple Japanese Hot Pot (from Kanako's Chicken)

If you'd like nabe with lots of seafood, you better check this site. 

5. How to cook Chanko-nabe (from Must Love Japan)

Do you want to know what sumo wrestlers eat? Then you have to try this chanko-nabe recipe.  

6. Nabe- A Love Letter to Japan's Most Underrated Food

To get a better idea of the "powers" of nabe, take time to read a foreigner's interesting perspective on nabe. 

So go and make your nabe now! (yum, yum, yum)

Why You Should Travel to Japan Now

Wisteria Tunnel at Fuji Garden
photo credit: http://inspired-tour.blogspot.jp/

No introductions needed on this post. Let's just get to the main point. 

Here are the "whys" you should visit Japan now. As in N-O-W. 

1. The yen is weak. 

This is the most practical reason why you should visit Japan now. Yen is hitting a 7-year low which means your currency has more value here now. You'll be spending less compared with others who visited the previous years. (In 2012, the exchange rate was 1 USD = 83 Yen. Now it's a whooping 1 USD- 121 Yen.) Some predicted that the Yen will get stronger before the year end so before that happens, visit Japan now. 

Cherry Blossom Season 2015

Cherry Blossom Schedule 2015
credit: www.tenki.jp

Japan is not Japan without its cherry blossoms or sakura. Although the cherry blossoms can also be found in Korea, US and Canada, Japan "owned" it almost like a trademark.

Starbucks Japan has started serving its seasonal sakura-flavored beverage. Nestle also just released the sakura-flavored KitKat. I started seeing sakura pudding, sakura mochi, sakura ice cream, sakura tapioca and sakura sake. Loft also started selling sakura-filled postcards. Sakura flavored "somethings" is abounding in Japan signalling the start of cherry blossom season.

I think cherry blossom season should be a season on its own. People in Japan just go crazy during this time- drinking under sakura trees day and night, eating sakura-flavored food, travelling for miles just to see lines of sakura and just uttering "kawaii" and "sugoi" endlessly when seeing a sakura tree. I can't blame these Japanese. Cherry blossoms are really pretty to behold. I think even tourists know this making the cherry blossom season the busiest time of the year in Japan next to New Year's celebration.

Because we don't want to miss cherry blossoms and all the craziness that comes with it, here are some helpful websites:

1. The Bloom of Cherry Blossoms

This site has a nice cherry blossom schedule map that I can't fully copy. (So frustrating!) It also has a table that shows the schedule of the cherry blossoms in the last 10 years.

2. Tenki.JP

This is one of the official agencies that predicts the blooming of sakura. However, it's originally in Japanese and is only translated by Google so maybe some sentences won't make much sense. But it has a detailed information for each prefecture.

3. Be Okinawa

This is Okinawa's tourism website. Okinawa has the earliest sakura season. Apparently, it started last month.

4. Inside Kyoto: Best Places to See Cherry Blossoms Away from the Crowds

Kyoto's a popular spot for sakura viewing. If you want to miss the crowd but not the flowers, here's a great article written an author for Lonely Planet. He's also a long-time resident so I'm assuming this article provides great information.

5. 10 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid During Cherry Blossom Festival Tokyo 2015

This is a great article on cherry blossom viewing in Tokyo. It provides inside information on where to go, what to do and how to have a great time during the sakura season.

So start marking your calendars, plan for hanami and don't miss the sakura this year.