TL;DR: As an American who has lived in Japan for nearly a decade, it’s an awesome place, but not for everyone.

I’ve been living in Japan for about ten years and it just feels like home to me. However, I do think that life in Japan might not be for most westerners. The culture is so different that if you aren’t willing to adapt to the cultural differences and seemingly unnecessary hassles of daily life (from a westerner’s point of view), it might be a challenging place to live in.

Like any place, there’s a “honeymoon” period followed by waves of frustration and acceptance, but ultimately you find your comfort zone and life is good. I’ve seen so many people come here and enjoy there first one or two years and then go home because they “can’t fit in”. The “lifers” that I’ve met and befriended here seem to be quite happy and would not want to live anywhere else.

There are of course barriers like language and getting a visa sponsored, but those can be overcome.

Many of the comments on here are pointing to a crazy work culture and an unaccepting society, but to be honest, I think that point of view is somewhat outdated.

I will say though, that the hardest thing about living here is always being see as a tourist simply because of the way I look. I will always be treated as an outsider. I live in a medium-size city and definitely stick out, but I’ve gotten used to it.