this is my version of what its like to be a foreigner (外人) working for a japanese software company. please note that everyone's experience may be different, and ive only just begun working here, so mileage may vary.

i work for a software consulting company in tokyo. all of the developers on my project speak english fluently, but almost everyone else in the office, including the project managers, clients, and staff, do not. though my company appreciates developers who can speak japanese, it is not a requirement to work here.

as expected, the language barrier makes normal software tasks much more interesting. for example, every day we have a daily stand-up meeting where we all pile into one room and discuss the tasks we are working on and identify any problems we have. it usually starts with the project manager talking in japanese about high priority issues. he occasionally gets interjected by bi-lingual interpreters who try their best to translate the important parts of his speech into english for the half of the room who dont understand. this is usually followed by developers asking questions and discussing certain problems theyre working on, which then have to get translated for the japanese speakers to understand. its good practice for my japanese skills, but honestly, technical japanese is way, way over my head. i spend my time during these meetings trying to decipher an unintelligible language and hope that the crucial parts will eventually get translated later for me.

because we're working for a japanese client, all of our requirements documents are written in japanese. most of the older documents have already been translated into english for the developers, but unfortunately, there are always new requirements coming in which have not been translated yet. ive spent countless hours dealing with screenshots, flow diagrams, and spreadsheets that are still written in technical japanese. when google translate doesnt suffice, we have to track down a bi-lingual coworker or schedule time with an interpreter for help.

obviously, since i work in japan, i am expected to use a japanese computer. the operating system and my development tools all are all in japanese, but thats not too big of an issue. most of the time, i can either slowly read the japanese menus or just set the language to english when im in a hurry. but the one problem i didnt expect was using a japanese keyboard. this is kind of what mine looks like:


it looks basically the same from far away, but on closer inspection you can see that (a) there are a couple new keys (check out the ones near the space bar), (b) many of the keys have been changed to do various new things (hitting caps lock turns the keyboard into some kind of possessed japanese demon), and (c) some of the keys have been moved to new locations completely. go ahead and try to find the single or even the double quotes. now how about the caret (this thing ^). where the f did that key go?

of course, there are some frustrations to be dealt with working as a foreigner in most other countries - but working in japan offers some unique benefits too. for example, ive never experienced more respect towards others in the office and downright dedication to the job than i have here in japan. sure, i cant have real conversations with most of my coworkers, but i can still use my time here to learn something from all of them. ill be leaving here soon, but i hope to take with me the memories - both the good and the bad - of my brief professional experience as a software developer in japan.

another birthday has come and went (give or take 42 minutes or so). after reading some really nice things that friends have been posting on my wall all day, it really hit me hard how much i take my friendships for granted. even though i am severely independent and hard-headed, i wouldnt have made it half as far or become half the person ive become if it wasnt for the people who have supported me through these years. i am truly grateful for everything my friends have ever done for me. for all the times i left them hanging, spelled their names wrong, confused them, moved further away from them, or made bad jokes at their expense, i am genuinely sorry.

instead of partying all night and drinking so much i cant even tell which language im speaking anymore, i decided it was a better use of my time tonight to sit down and write out this quick post. even though i do a terrible job of showing it sometimes, i really appreciate the friends ive got. and i miss all of you. now, cue the emo music.

ive recently fallen into a great opportunity to witness the legendary japanese salaryman (サラリーマン) in person. before this week, ive only caught fleeting glimpses and heard rumors of how they spend more time in the office than out of it, how the only clothes they own are suits and neckties, and how they drink themselves stupid multiple nights a week. but now that ive moved to tokyo (東京), the breeding ground of said legends, i am surrounded by them all day everyday. and it seems that almost everything i heard is true and then some. i bet i could write books on all the peculiarities of salarymen, but ill try to keep it to just a couple of blog posts.

__japanese salarymen and comical sleep deprivation__
the salarymen that ive been meeting lately typically work about 12 hours day. one diligent person i work with didnt even go home one of the nights this week; he worked the entire night through, working more than 24 hours straight. on top of the long weekdays, salarymen often work at least one day of the weekend too. its easy to see how all those hours could make someone exhausted pretty quickly. but what makes it worse - at least in tokyo - is that many salarymen have incredibly long commutes as well. another person i work with commutes close to 2 hours a day.. EACH WAY!! so, if you add almost 4 hours of commuting to a 12 hour work day, these people are left with about 8 hours of free time. after factoring in the time spent eating meals, binge drinking because of the crazy amounts of stress, and raising a family, theres literally not enough time in the day for salarymen to get a decent amount of sleep.

and it shows!! not only do many salarymen pass out on the trains (sometimes even while standing) during their commutes to and from work, they also fall asleep at work. and because everyone is so sleep deprived, its become socially acceptable to sometimes take quick naps at their desk during lunch. just within my first 3 days at my new job, ive already heard 2 salarymen snoring at work.. IN THE BATHROOM!! thats right, some people were so tired they either purposefully or accidentally (im not sure which is worse) fell asleep while sitting on the john. one thing to note is that they werent silently nodding off either; these salarymen were so tired they fell into deep snore-tastic sleep. on the toilet. in a public restroom. at work. incredible.

i am here because i can be. but im also here because i dont know where else to go. i am young and anchorless. but i am also naive and careless. im seeking adventures and taking risks while i still can. but i am also saying more byes than hellos lately. im doing great things and making good choices, while constantly doing terrible things and making stupid choices. im hungry for new things, and im selfishly eating all i can.

im not looking down at anyones life plan nor am i trying to prop up mine. i have a friend whose full time job is a mom, and shes happy as a clam raising her family of cute kids. i admire the fact that she found what she wanted in life and i support her choices (even though she probably could have picked a much much better city to live in). i, on the other hand, have not yet found what it is im looking for. there will come a day when my responsibilities become too great that i wont be able to maintain this life of thrills and new experiences. but until that day comes, i intend on making as many blind, adventurous, pointless, and interesting decisions as possible.

im trying my best to learn, experience, and grow as much as i can before i grow up, grow old, or end up growing out of this phase.

ive been traveling to tokyo (東京) a lot lately.

last week it was for the job interviews. exactly one week ago, i put on the only suit ive ever owned, boarded a shinkansen (新幹線), and interviewed with some tech companies in tokyo. one of them was crazy enough to want to hire me. and so after a bit of negotiation, i had a beautiful job lined up. i start next week!!


this week im going to tokyo to look for apartments. i think i found a pretty sweet one in shinjuku (新宿), but the application process is crazy intense and can take weeks for some foreigners. the building owner is even going to research my new employer to make sure they are a solid enough company to employ one of their tenants (me). if i fill out the application correctly and there arent any problems holding up the process, i should know whether theyll let me rent their apartment within two weeks from today.

this weekend i plan on moving to tokyo permanently. since i wont have an apartment just yet, i reserved a hotel room for a week to give me some sort of stable roof over my head. hopefully i wont have to stay there too long. living out of suitcases is exciting and all, but im looking forward to getting back to a sort of normal life. emphasis on the "sort of."