Japan

I am going to admit for the 1st time, that I just got sick of living in Japan.

I used to make fun of people like John and others whenever they complained about moving back. If I decide to settle down, I would like to move back to America or a place where it would be a good place to raise a family. One thing which is definitely true about Japan, it is perhaps one of the worst place to raise a family.

Why to I say that? The living expense is extremely high, while the salary is very low. Yes, Japanese salary sounds good if you live in Vietnam or Thailand, but in Japan, it's really tight. I actually make more money than the average Japanese my age and I am still single. I think I am barely comfortable financially, but I can't imagine living in Japan with a wife and kids with my current salary.

An average Japanese my age makes less that Y5 million a year (less than $50,000US), can you imagine how financially miserable they are if they had a family to support with that pay? Living in an expensive country like Japan?

Most of my cousins are married with kids, and they are making far less than what I am currently making. I can't imagine living like that.

I guess most Japanese people consider that to be normal. I think most Americans living like that would start shooting themselves. Yeah, $50,000 sounds like good money, but try to live in Japan having a wife and kids. To Americans, that would be like living with $15,000 a year.

Now, I have lived in Japan for over 6 years, and it finally caught up to me. At 1st, it was fun and cool living in Japan having a single life. Now, you start thinking to yourself, "You can't do this forever!"

Don't get me wrong, I don't think America is the best place to live either. To me, America is the land of hypocrisy. They keep mentioning about living in the free world. What is their definition of "Free World"?

I spoken to my Japanese colleague at work. I mentioned to them that hostessing in America is considered as prostitution. In America, you are not allowed to pay a woman to serve you alcoholic drinks at a club. In America, that is considered as prostitution. Prostitution is illegal in Japan, but their rules are different. In Japan, if a prostitute sell herself in the street, only the prostitute can get arrested, not the customer. When I mentioned that to a Japanese colleague, he freaked out. He asked me, "How can Americans consider their country to be free?" Japanese men can not live without hostess bars. They freaked out about the American laws of prostitution. I told them that if you find a beautiful girl selling herself in the streets, beware she is most likely an undercover cop waiting to arrest you for soliciting a prostitute. I must have scared many Japanese men away about sharing my stories about America. I told many Japanese "Sukebe Oyaji", if you plan to visit America to satisfy your sexual needs, don't waste your time in America. America is not the place for that kind of entertainment.