I lived in Kyoto for six years. At first it felt like a postcard city — temples, lantern-lit alleys and tea houses. After a few months it felt like home. After a few years I realized Kyoto isn’t just “different” for visitors: it’s different for residents. The difference is subtle, cultural, spatial and seasonal all […]
Why Kyoto Feels Different From the Rest of Japan — A Deep Resident’s Guide Read More »
After six years of living in Kyoto, one thing became incredibly clear to me: Japan doesn’t communicate with words — it communicates with emotions, timing, silence, and shared understanding. It doesn’t matter how many vocabulary apps you use or how many JLPT levels you pass. Without understanding the emotional rules beneath Japanese communication, you’ll always
The Hidden Emotional Rules of Japanese Communication Read More »
After living in Kyoto for six years and working in several very different Japanese companies — a small family business, a mid-sized office near Kawaramachi, and a global firm with its Japan HQ in Tokyo — I’ve learned that the probation period (試用期間 / shiyō kikan) is one of the most misunderstood parts of working
The Truth About Probation Periods in Japan: A Kyoto Foreigner’s Experience Read More »
I’ve lived in Kyoto for six years now, and in that time I’ve learned that Japan has a way of dealing with neighbors that feels almost the opposite of what I grew up with. There’s no yelling from balconies, no passive-aggressive sticky notes in the hallway, no heated parking-lot arguments. Instead, there’s something quieter and
Why Japanese Neighbors Never Complain — The “Silent Agreement” Explained Read More »
Japan Looks Free, But It Runs on Unspoken Rules When you first visit Japan, it feels calm, clean, and amazingly organized—almost like the whole country is running on invisible software. But live here long enough (I’ve been here over 6 years now), and you start noticing something deeper: Japan works because everyone follows rules—written or
Why Japan Loves Rules (And How Foreigners Can Actually Adapt Without Going Crazy) Read More »
Dating in Japan Isn’t “Easy Mode” — It’s Just Different The biggest myth I see online is this idea that dating in Japan is easy for foreigners.It isn’t. It’s different, interesting, confusing, slow, fast, polite, indirect, and sometimes emotionally exhausting — depending on who you meet, how well you understand Japanese culture, and what your
The Hidden Challenges of Dating in Japan as a Foreigner Read More »
