Are Foreigners in Japan Cold?

Today I was asked some interesting questions on Twitter. Someone, who lives and works in South Korea as a teacher was asking me about making the move to Japan. Of course, I have lived and worked in both countries and made a rather brief answer to her in a few tweets. I decided I wanted to sit down this evening and be a little more thorough with my answers.

Now, this Twitter follower mentioned to me that she is interested in moving to the Kansai area of Japan and has visited a few times. She commented that she noticed foreigners (gaijin) in Japan seem to stick to themselves as opposed to Korea where (waygooks) tend to socialize more. She is worried about being lonely when she comes here.

Being worried about the prospect of feeling lonely is a very legitimate concern. I also have to admit that when I first arrived in Japan a few years ago I thought much the same as she did. Within my first few months here I thought that gaijin in Japan were a cold lot and not at all welcoming. Although I didn’t miss Korea much, I longed for the foreigner camaraderie! Why don’t foreigners in Japan have that?

As I spent more time in Japan and was able to meet more and more people I made some interesting conclusions. Most of them had to do with the fact that the foreigner populations in the two countries tend to be quite different. Comparing the two is much like comparing apples and oranges.

To be broad, the variety of foreigners in Korea is much more limited. There are basically, migrant workers, brides from South East Asia, U.S. Army personnel and English teachers. The individual asking me the questions was mostly talking about the English teacher crowd I assume.

In Korea, English teachers for the most part, tend to stick together, move and party in packs and pretty much do everything else together. They normally come from the U.S Canada, the U.K Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. They are all university grads, or at least supposed to be, the only way to get a teaching visa and often are in their 20’s.

Many teachers come to Korea simply because they are not sure what to do after university, are looking for a “gap” year, are having trouble finding work in their native countries or would like to travel. Now of course there are many interesting stories and folks in Korea and many have left pretty amazing lives in their respective countries to simply experience Korea and try their hand at education.

Most people I met during my time in Korea never learn much about the country or language. They didn’t go to Korea to do that. They went there, worked and had a great time with like-minded foreigners. Every small town/city with any foreign population had a foreigner bar where most English speakers congregated on weekends to party.

That was my experience when I lived there from early 2002 to 2007.

Japan is an entirely different beast altogether. There are of course scores of young people who come here to teach English. There are also many people who come here to do other things as well.

If you are new to Japan or lived in Korea beforehand, you must be careful not to make the mistake I made. I assumed most foreigners here were assholes for not smiling at me or nodding their heads as I passed by. I suppose I know much better to think that now.

You quickly learn a lot about the different types of foreigners here and why they may not al huddle together in dark bars on Friday nights (there are many who do that of course, but not everyone). There are also many reasons why they may not want to interact with a friendly foreigner new to Japan and looking for friends:

1. The vast majority of foreigners in Japan are not teachers. Many of them (even if North American/European looking) don’t even speak English. For example, there are of Russian factory workers living around my neighborhood.

2. Many foreigners who came to Japan studied Japanese in school and are very interested in Japanese culture and language. They are keen to improve their language skills, learn more about the culture and would rather interact with the local Japanese folks (makes sense).

3. Unlike Korea, many foreigners in Japan have been here long term. They have set down roots, have families and simply aren’t interested in the bar life/foreigner community. They have created their own community with family and friends (both foreign and Japanese).

4. I have found that some groups of young people who work for the JET program, ECC, Aeon, etc. (not always of course) can be cliquey and mostly socialize with coworkers.

5. MANY foreigners you see walking around in major urban centers don’t even live here. They are tourists. Unlike Korea, Japan has a massive tourist industry (well, maybe not at the moment with the current nuclear issues). They have traveled here from other countries, have limited time here and are usually not looking to make friends I suppose. Their friends are waiting for them back home when vacation is finished.

6. Some foreigners are simply assholes. Yup, some are just not nice. There are many of foreigners who speak the Japanese language, but there are some who think that speaking Japanese better than others, makes them an actual better person. Believe me, you don’t want to hang around with a chucklehead who judges his/her own self-worth and that of others based on language ability (a little shallow me tinks!).

7. There are also folks who think they are better than others simply because they have lived in Japan longer than you. Their years of experience “in country” make them somehow better than others. I suppose if you met someone like that in your own country you would deem him or her obtuse or shallow or both!

8. Many people who live here are university exchange students. They normally come for a school year and tend to be busy with studies and having fun with classmates.

9. There are also many others I didn’t mention!

As you can see, there are all sorts here in Japan. Simply put, the variety and amount of foreigners living here is much larger than in Korea. With that variety comes a more complicated social tapestry I suppose.

Is there a strong foreigner community in Japan? Yes; just look at how so many foreigners in Japan banned together online and in person shortly after the earthquake and tsunami last month to help.

I suppose I should refer to it not as a “foreign community”, but as “foreign communities.”

If you are new to Japan, will you be lonely? If you are outgoing and willing to meet new people and try new things, probably not. Are most of the foreigners in Japan similar? Absolutely not! Can it be more of a challenge to make foreign friends in Japan than in Korea? I think so, but it is very doable. From what I remember, people teaching in Korea tended to make friends simply because they had "being foreign" in common. I have found that in my short time here, making friends is similar to making friends in Canada. I don't just befriend anyone. I tend to hang around people who have common interests, I think are dynamic, interesting, etc. I suppose with a broader foreigner population base (at least in urban areas), people can be more selective.

I have been here for more than three years and have some very good friends. Mind you, my own personal life has changed drastically. When I lived in Korea, I was single and always game to go out, met new folks and often both in clubs and bars. Now, I am married and have a young child. I no longer tend to go to bars and never clubs. I have also become a long-distance runner. My lifestyle is completely different than before. I may not have as many friends as I did when I lived in Korea, but I am still a very happy man.

Hope some of you thinking about living in Asia for the first time or moving from one country to another take something at least quasi-valuable from this post.

Things movin in Japan

It's been a long time since I have posted on this blog and there is of course a few very good reasons. First, the new school year in Japan has begun and I have been extremely busy getting used to a new group of students. I've also ben enjoying time with my family.

The thing that has ben very consuming for me of course has been my Running to Help Japan project. I decided last month that I would tackle a "homemade" ultra marathon in order to raise funds for Save the Children's Japan Disaster Relief Fund. I had been taking part in some group efforts and spent a lot of time promoting other people who were helping, but I wanted to do something more personal. I don't have a lot of money, but I do enjoy running. I thought I could harness my love of running with my social media "talents" and raise some funds.

I've made a few video on You Tube promoting Running to Help Japan and so have several other great video bloggers. Many people have been very kind to tweet about my run on Twitter as well. Last week I was also featured in a story in the Cape Breton Post, a newspaper from my hometown area in Nova Scotia. All of these efforts have helped a lot! As of the time I'm typing this, I have raised $1,662.00. That's 33% of my $5000.00 goal.

I have been waking up most mornings at 4:30am to get out and do training runs. It hasn't been easy adjusting to this new lifestyle, but my health is getting better everyday and I am doing it for a very good reason!


Some local media coverage (in Nova Scotia, Canada) about my Running to Help Japan Project. A story was written about me in the Cape Breton Post. Hopefully, I can get more media coverage like this. It certainly helped with donations!

For more regular blog posts by me in the upcoming months, it's better to follow my Running to Help Japan blog.


Here are some pictures I took in the past week during some of my training runs:


These are some fishing boats tied up in Nada-ku in Kobe. I often run past them in the morning.


Oe of the many bicycle parking lots you come across everyday in Japan.


Some police boats docked behind the Kobe HQ of the Japan Coast Guard. This is located downtown near Meriken Koen.

A Spring Week in Japan

With the addition of running to my life, things have gotten a lot busier. Since going back to work this week and training again, I have precious little time in the day to even think about blogging and even that time will be reduced in the coming weeks.

I wanted to share some photos I took this week with my iPhone.

A spring week in Japan:

Social Media used to Help Japan

It's been a few weeks now since the earthquake and tsunami struck Japan. with more than 12,000 dead and something like 17,000 people missing as well as an ongoing nuclear crisis, Japan is not in a good place! Obviously, people and governments around the world have been doing a lot to help this country. People throughout Canada, America and so many other countries are donating to charities, arranging relief supplies, starting fundraisers and volunteering to help Japan.

What has been especially interesting for me is to see how so many are taking hold of social media and using it to help. people have been spreading the word about what is really going on in Japan (often when foreign news agencies are getting it wrong). They are organizing fundraisers and charity events on Facebook. They are being creative on You Tube and blogging about it!

Some examples that have recently stood out in my mind are the "partners4japan" project on You Tube that was started by Japan-based video blogger Ciaela. Vloggers from around the world have been donating videos to spread the word about Japan. Also on You Tube, well-known vlogger "Gimmeaflakeman" has started a project called "Ganbare Japan" in which anyone anywhere can send him a video or picture to inspire Japan and he will put them all together into one collaboration video.

#Quakebook is another inspiring project. This book was the brainchild of Japan-based blogger "Our Man in Abiko." HE asked blogger via Twitter to write stories and of their experiences with the big earthquake. It will soon be printed and all proceeds will go to support the Japanese Red Cross.

Myself, I have just started my own fundraiser. I will be collecting funds for Save the Children and their relief efforts in northern Japan. I'll be running a 60km ultra marathon in June in order to do it and I plan to share my experiences leading up to that day through social media. You can check out my Running to Help Japan site here!

There are of course so many other examples of people helping using social media. these are just a few!

Crappy Media Coverage in Japan Explained

I had never heard of the British comedian Charlie Brooker until this evening when I saw this video posted on Twitter. Now I love him! He got it right!

Going in the Food Vlogging Direction

I’ve decided to become narrower in scope these days. I’m not talking about every aspect of my life. I’m talking about vlogging.

I have always known a few things that would probably bring a lot more traffic to my You Tube channel, but have never gone in that direction. I suppose I will focus a lot more on bringing a lot more people what they are looking for. I have always known that most of my most popular and several of my viral videos have been food videos. People love food! People also really want to see food from other countries. My food videos appeal to a much broader spectrum of people than my story vids do. I know that. I also know that if I made my channel food specific, I’d probably achieve a lot more success. So, that’s what I’m going to do.
I recently started a series of videos called, “Japanese Eats.” In these videos I plan to show a very wide variety of food you can find in Japan. Some will be traditional, others new.

Now, I’m not much of a cook and to be honest, my wife and I don’t go out to restaurants very often. I do however buy food at supermarkets and convenience stores. My wife is also an amazing cook and great resource for sharing Japanese cuisine!

So, from now on, my BusanKevin You Tube channel will be primarily for food video. Don’t worry though. For those of you who enjoy the randomness of the channel (former randomness), I do have another channel called “jlandkev.” That’s where you can go to watch story videos and check out the things I see on a daily business living here in Japan.

Here are the fist two installments of my Japan Eats series:




I think it's going to be a lot of fun for both myself and viewers to see the wide variety of cool, popular and off the wall food you can eat in Japan!

How You Can Donate to Help Japan

There are many ways you can donate to the relief and future rebuilding efforts in Japan. You of course must be wary. In times of tragedy, there are those who use it as an opportunity to line their own pockets.

if you are going to donate money to Japan, make sure you do it to a credible organization. Here are just a few who are helping Japan right now:


Canadian Red Cross

American Red Cross

Japanese Red Cross

UK Red Cross

Australian Red Cross

Save the Children

Salvation Army

Oxfam International

Meat Pie and Inarizushi 稲荷寿司

I can’t make all of my posts dark and dreary. I also can’t make them all angry because I am basically a very happy guy!

This past Thursday was Saint Patrick’s Day and I, being of Irish-Canadian descent, had to do something about it. With a new baby at home, I wasn’t really up to going out for St. Paddy’s this year, but I made a steak and Guinness pie at home. I did the same last year as well. I suppose it is becoming a tradition in my house. I of course enjoyed wit with several can of Guinness as well!

Take a look at my creation (served with mashed potatoes as well):











All pictures of my Steak and Guinness pie process were taken with the iPhone app, Instagram.


I also uploaded another in a new series of Japanese food videos called Japan Eats. I have long known that my most popular videos on You Tube tend to be food related. I also decided I need to make a lot more of them!

People Escaping Japan?

I have felt many emotions since last Friday when the big quake hit Japan. I’ve been confused. I’ve been sad. I’ve been grief stricken. I’ve been scared. I’ve been logical. I’ve been thoughtful. I’ve also been pissed off.

That’s right, a few things have made me very angry about the events that have unfolded during the past eight days.
I of course cannot be angry about the actual catastrophe because it was out of the hands of all of us. Mother Nature had a beef to grind and unfortunately the people of Japan had to face the brunt of it.

I can’t be upset at the people of Japan. They did nothing to deserve this. I also cannot be upset at the fact that there were nuclear reactors near the water. There are nuclear reactors in many countries throughout the world and aside from two notable cases; there have never really been major problems with nuclear energy (someof you will probably disagree). There was also a large tsunami wall built in front of the reactor.

Japan, one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world is BY FAR the most prepared for earthquakes and tsunamis. They have building codes unlike anywhere else in the world. They have a tsunami early warning system. They have FREAKIN Nintendo, Sony and Honda robots!

None of this could have prepared them for a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and what we are now finding out, a 15 meter high tsunami in some parts along the coast.

So, I have shared with you that none of these events have made me angry. What does make me angry though is the irrational and sensational coverage of this catastrophe by some news organizations and (mostly) the way some European governments have handled the situation.

I realize that the situation around the nuclear plant in Fukushima is bad. If I were anywhere close to there I would also want to get the “Hell out of Dodge.” Things begun to get a little out of hand when several European countries began telling ALL of their nationals, no matter where they were, to get out of Japan. That was irrational and exaggerated.

Today I listened to the March 17th episode of CBC’s (Canadian Broadcasting Corportation) As It Happens and got more than a little ticked off. I wasn’t angry about the show because I am a HUGE fan of the hosts, Carol Off and Jeff Douglas, but a person they interviewed on yesterday’s show annoyed me.

On the March 17th, 2011 episode (14 minutes into Part 1), a Japanese woman married to a French national was interviewed. Now they had lived in the area close to the Fukushima reactor and were evacuated to Kyoto. I can obviously understand that. What got me was the fact that the woman explained how they were fleeing Japan to France on an emergency flight arranged by the French government because all of Japan was SOOOOOO dangerous! This woman and her family were now in Kyoto and wanted to get further away. She said it was because of the way her husband and all of his French friends felt and the “knowledge” they had of the situation.

This woman, who is also pregnant, said she had to get away from Japan so her baby would not be born deformed! Jeesh!!! Come on!

I can understand this woman being somewhat scared, but her interview was very uncharacteristic compared to most Japanese people I’ve heard interviewed or spoken to in person (I live in Japan and am married to a Japanese person). She explained that she felt this way because of her husband and his French friends in Japan. They were all getting the “Hell out of Dodge”!
Now, I’m not writing this to shit on French nationals or France. I’m pissed off because it is obvious that French media and the government (and many other media organizations) are doing a piss poor job off telling this story accurately.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m sure that the Japanese media and government are guilty of, at times, underplaying things, but……COME ON!!!!! Let’s not just make shit up!

Most expats living in Japan have very upset families in their native countries. In some cases I can understand. I live very far away from this crisis and do not want my friends and family to worry about me. My Kansai-based friends and I are very safe. Shoddy media reports about Japan cause a lot of concern and worry for our families. That’s why I’m miffed!



Here are a couple of examples of media exaggeration during the past week.

This one is from a British newspaper.

This one is a comparison of the BBC and the Huffington Post.

By the way, I have listened to CBC As It Happens everyday this week (I download their podcast) and I have found they’ve done a fine job covering Japan(I was just miffed about that woman they interviewed).

You Don't Need Money to Help Japan

With the passing of each day I’m hearing countless stories of people all around the world donating money to the relief efforts here in Japan. I’ve heard of individual people donating via text message, online, at their churches, etc. I’m hearing of celebritities and major corporations donating massive sums of money. Canada’s own Justin Bieber donated a million dollars to Japan and Starbucks Japan donated 1.2 million.

I am of course more than pleased that so many are giving so much. Japan will need countless billions of dollars to rebuild after last Friday’s earthquake, tsunami and now nuclear disaster. Millions of people have lost everything, been displaced and infrastructure around most of northern Japan has been damaged.

Of course, donating money is a great thing, but not everyone out there has money to give. There are many people out there with warm hearts, but simply don’t have the extra cash to give away.

There are many ways that out can help the people of Japan without donating money. Here are some ideas I had:

1. Donate your time (volunteer): Even if you don’t have money, you can find the time to help. You can volunteer at an organization that is collecting clothes for the people in Japan. You can contact your local Red Cross and ask them how you can help. Maybe there is something you can do at your local Salvation Army to lend a hand. Don’t underestimate how important just a few hours of your time can be for those in need!

2. Create your own fundraiser: Start your own fundraiser. Start one with your classmates, coworkers or friends. It doesn’t have to be something grand. It could be something as simple as a bake sale. Why not organize a walk-a-thon at your local school track? Hold a yard sale and donate the proceeds to a reputable NGO helping Japan. Set up a table at a fleamarket. Run a race (marathon/half/10k/5k) and ask for donations. Have a carwash. I can even remember doing a 24-hour rock-a-thon (in rocking chairs) as a teenager. There are many great ways to raise money wherever you are!

3. Donate old clothes: The people in northern Japan have lost everything. Most escaped with only the clothes on their backs. They need clothes (adults and children), blankets and shoes.

4. Say a prayer: If you are a person of faith, any faith, this is always a great option!

5. Educate yourself and others about the situation: There is a lot of sensational and bad press coverage coming out of this disaster. I’ve seen some pretty bad stuff on major American networks like ABC News. Do your research. Learn about the situation from multiple news sources. Shop around so to speak. Once you have a decent grasp on what is happening over here in Japan, spread the word!

6. Donate Blood: If you live in Japan this is a great option!



Now, just a word of warning, there are many great organizations out there helping like Save the Children, Red Cross, the Salvation Army, etc. Mind you, there are also scammers out there. It is a sad, but true reality that some people out there will take advantage of an awful situation like this for their own benefit. Make sure you donate to a credible and well-known charity.