My very first experience in Japan was probably around 2012-2013 when I came here for a 10-day Vipassana Meditation Course.
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I had already decided to go to Japan since I was in my early 20s. My mother and many people around me were very pessimistic, if not completely opposed to the idea of a 20-year-old girl suddenly deciding to travel 8,000 kilometers away from my home country, Bulgaria. But I was determined and couldn’t, or wouldn’t, hear what everyone else was saying. It was the kind of strong determination that maybe everyone feels at least once in their lifetime. In the beginning, of course, I had no money, no knowledge of Japanese culture, language, or lifestyle, but that didn’t affect my decision. Since I couldn’t come to Japan right away, I left my country and went to the United Kingdom for a voluntary program. With my limited English, I was supposed to stay there for 2 years, but I ended up staying only 1 year. There, I met a very dear friend with whom I became inseparable. She was from Hungary and told me that she had been studying Japanese and had even visited Japan. I can’t imagine what my face looked like while listening to her stories, but there might have been stars in my eyes while she was speaking...haha
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Next, I went to Denmark, where my older sister invited me to start working as a stairwell cleaner so I could save up some money for a ticket to...Japan, of course! It’s surprisingly easy and quick to earn money in Denmark, that’s for sure! Having spoken some English in the UK, I was a bit embarrassed at first, worried whether my English would be good enough, but it somehow worked out without many issues. My sister helped me a lot in the beginning—giving me a place to stay, food, and even finding work for me. I’m forever grateful to her for everything she did and continues to do for me! After living and working there for a little more than a year, I had already saved up enough money to buy a ticket to Japan. However, just getting to Japan wasn’t everything, so I had to carefully plan where to stay, what to do, food, and so on. That’s when I found a program that provided a place to sleep and food for free, just for participating in some meditation sessions for 10 days! Of course, it was on a donation basis, so I had to prepare some money to leave at the end of the 10 days. I quickly came up with a plan, and since my dream was finally coming true, I began getting myself ready.
After these 10 days I had to go back in Denmark, but this time after realising my dream to go to Japan.
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Upon returning to Denmark, I made another decision—to go back to Japan, but this time not just for 10 days, staying in a place where I wasn’t allowed to leave (as that was part of the rules for participating in the meditation course), but for a longer period! So once again, while working as a cleaner in the freezing cold winter days, I spent hours in my room searching for a way to return to Japan. After days of searching, I found a way—this time with a student visa for 1 year to study Japanese. Of course, I had to pay for my studies, but while studying, I found a place where I could stay and eat for free—unsurprisingly, yes, it was another meditation center.
This meditation center also had a lot of rules, including no going out after 10 PM, waking up at 4 AM, doing meditation most of the time, as well as cleaning the grass outside, cooking our own meals, no meat allowed, and so on. I had enough money to pay for my studies for 1 year, as well as some extra for food and necessities, so without wasting much time, I got ready to go back, this time with some freedom to explore the city, eat whatever I wanted outside the meditation center, and study. However, I was told many times after that year that my Japanese level wasn’t improving at all, and the reason was undoubtedly that while studying Japanese, all of us foreigners only spoke English! So, yes, if you want to learn a language, you have to speak it, even if you’re embarrassed, worried, or not in the mood—this is my personal opinion on the surest, fastest way to learn a language.
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Unfortunately, at some point during my time in school, I began to feel... lonely. While I was at school, everything was great, and I was really enjoying myself, talking with everyone. But when I had to return to the monastery, I started to feel a bit off. I would listen to my classmates excitedly share stories about the fun they had at karaoke, their late evening walks along the Kamogawa River, all the games they played, and before I knew it, I was... envious. I wanted to go out and have fun with everyone too, so I decided I had to leave the monastery. My money was running low, so I needed to find a job as well. With a student visa, I wasn’t allowed to work full-time, so after six months, I left the monastery, moved into a room, and started working part-time. Finally, I could go out with everyone and create many unforgettable memories.
As that year was coming to an end, I had to leave Japan and return as a tourist because I still wanted to stay here. After a few trips in and out, I finally managed to get a full-time job as a receptionist in a hotel—or rather, in a guesthouse
They accepted me in the Guesthouse with working visa for 3 years at the beginning. I had to wait in my home country until my work visa was ready, and with almost no patience left, as soon as I was called back, I took the next flight and returned. Little did I know what it would be like to work full-time in Japan, especially without good Japanese!
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I had no choice but to start learning Japanese while working because the program we used was only in Japanese. A large portion of the inquiries also came from Japanese people, so even though I initially thought I could mostly rely on my English for foreign tourists—and I did—I was often looked down on and scorned because of my low level of Japanese. During the first 2-3 months, everyone was very kind and understanding, but after that, their attitudes suddenly changed drastically. I started hearing things like, 'If you can’t do that much, why are you earning the same salary as us?' or 'You came here on a work visa and are living in Japan, so you need to be able to speak, understand, write, and communicate well in Japanese,' and 'Are you stupid? Can’t you think logically?' Hearing things like this made me depressed. I was even made to write an apology letter in Japanese for a really simple mistake, and I began to hate myself. I did my best to learn as much Japanese as I could and passed all the levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test except the highest one. I became good at speaking and understanding, but my reading and writing, as I was later told, were 'lower than junior-high school level.' I stayed at the same job for five years, constantly trying to improve my Japanese, but even now, after ten years, I don’t have the confidence to say I’ve become good enough.
I’ve spoken with many Japanese people recently, and many have complimented me on my Japanese, but my opinion of myself probably won’t change. However, I’m really grateful for this experience because now I know for sure that I don’t want to be in a toxic environment, and that relationships with colleagues are the most important thing to me. I dare say I’ve gotten over it.
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I started working at a guesthouse in Kyoto in November 2016. As everyone knows, COVID-19 started spreading at the end of 2019. Shortly after the pandemic began, we were all dismissed from work and told to stay in our rooms and not go out until further notice. Well, working in a guesthouse, it’s no surprise that I caught COVID-19 around that time. Since I was living alone, I had to go out from time to time to buy necessities. A few months passed, and I couldn’t stand staying alone in that small room all the time, so I started looking for a part-time job just to get out and talk to someone. I found a bar in the Gion area and went for an interview. I was accepted and started working there occasionally. It was a really enjoyable place, and the owner of the bar was an amazing person. I never got tired of listening to him, and I never worried about how I should speak or what to do around him—he was so easygoing and cheerful. I really admired him. A few months later, the main company that owned the guesthouse where I worked informed me that, due to the pandemic, there were no visitors or tourists, and I had to be let go. I had no choice but to return to my home country, Bulgaria, where I ended up staying for almost two years.
While I was working at the guesthouse, I managed to save up some money, so when I first returned to my home country, I spent my time just relaxing and not doing anything significant. My family kept asking me what I was going to do when my money ran out and told me I needed to start thinking about getting a job. But the working conditions in Bulgaria are not exactly favorable, so, inspired by my older sister, I decided to start studying graphic design. I never thought that this one year of learning all those Adobe programs (Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, After Effects, UX/UI) would connect with what I’m doing now! I never imagined I would sit down and start writing about myself and my life like I’m doing now. I was—and still am—more interested in the animation side of things, bringing images to life using After Effects, and creating interesting videos by combining different clips together...
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Well, I earned all the certificates for completing the courses, so it was a productive (if I can be bold enough to say that) year. However, I really wanted to return to Japan and maybe, this time, finally settle down there. After a few intense conversations with my mom about starting a serious full-time job in Bulgaria, which left me increasingly agitated, I decided I was going back to Japan. It might have been a coincidence, but during those conversations with my mom, I got sick with COVID-19 again. While I was alone in our apartment in Bulgaria, I started searching for jobs in Japan. I sent my CV to over 100 places, and within less than three months, I was already accepted at three of them. I have to admit that my previous experience in Japan and the long time I spent at one job probably helped me a lot in this success.
I think it’s important to mention that in Japan, they take people who can stay at one job for a long time much more seriously, as it shows that the person can be trusted not to quit, no matter what. From what I’ve heard, in some other countries, frequently changing jobs not only doesn’t affect your chances of getting a position, but in some places, it’s even considered a good thing.
So, yes, I was accepted for a job in Kyoto again as a Front Desk staff member, this time with a much larger company that offers far more benefits than the previous one.
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2 years in Bulgaria
Graphic Design Certificates
During the Zoom interview, I was pretty nervous, which I hope is understandable. However, it seems that my way of speaking Japanese and, as they put it, 'my good personality' were what led them to accept me. For a receptionist in Japan, being bright, smiling, helpful, and easy to talk to are important qualities. I was completely honest and mentioned that my reading and writing skills in Japanese were not at a very high level, but even so, I was accepted. I decided that being based in Kyoto again would be beneficial for my job because I have some experience here and know a bit about the city’s events, restaurants, sightseeing spots, and so on...
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Well, everything was decided, I got my second work visa, and I came here at the end of August 2023. I had to find a room to rent, register my new address, get a phone number, and handle many other things, all within a week before my official start at the beginning of September. Let me explain what was most frustrating for me at that time, though there might have been other options I still can’t imagine. To rent a room in Kyoto, you need a valid, registered Japanese phone number. But to get a valid, registered Japanese phone number, you need a registered address. And to get an address, you need a Japanese phone number. You can imagine the kind of distress I went through at the beginning. Japanese people are very strict about these things, and I needed all of this to be fully registered in the hotel as well. I also needed to open a Japanese bank account for my salary and handle many other exhausting tasks.
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One friend I met while working at the guesthouse really saved me! I am deeply and forever grateful to him—thank you, Ryo-san, for everything!!!
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Finally, I was able to move into my room on September 11th. Of course, the room was completely empty, so I had to get all the everyday necessities like a fridge, washing machine, bed, and so on. It took me a few months to get everything I needed.
I started working at the hotel, and my schedule was day shifts for the first 15 days (until September 15th) and then only night shifts. The night shift lasted 17 hours with a 2-hour break, from 4 PM until the next morning at 9 AM. For months with 31 days, I had 8 days off, and for months with 30 days, I had 7 days off. After the night shift ended at 9 AM, I wasn’t scheduled for the next night shift on the same day, so I had the time from 9 AM until the next day at 4 PM off. The normal working time for a month was about 160-170 hours. The job covered 70% of my rent, which was really helpful. However, since my room was near the workplace and the workplace was in the central part of Kyoto, all other expenses (gas, electricity, water, etc.) were quite high. Despite this, I don’t usually spend much, so the salary was acceptable, and I was even able to save some money.
Shizutetsu Hotel Prezio Different Branches
TO DO
List
Of course, the food and drinks here are of a very high quality. There are 24-hour convenience stores all around the center of Kyoto, so I can guarantee you’ll never go hungry or thirsty as long as you have some cash on hand. Most shops close around 10 PM, but you can often find izakayas (Japanese pubs), bars, or 24-hour McDonald's and other places. Some of these spots might even have an English menu. Beer and highballs are available everywhere, and you’ll commonly find potato salad, cabbage, and sliced tomatoes or cucumbers. Cheese lovers might have a bit of trouble, as good white, salted cheese (like feta) is not very common here. During the day, the variety is so vast that it's hard to know where to start.
Of course, there are many places serving traditional dishes like shabu-shabu (a Japanese hotpot dish with thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water), okonomiyaki (a pan-fried dish with batter and cabbage), teppanyaki (grilling meat, seafood, and noodles on an iron plate), and yakiniku (grilled meat). Kyoto is also famous for its kaiseki cuisine (a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner), which can be quite expensive but offers some of the freshest food you can try.
My personal downtime is after work when I get home, relax with a cold beer in hand, and watch anime, or take a stroll around the city. I’m what you might call an otaku—a big fan of all kinds of Japanese anime. I especially enjoy isekai (reincarnation), fantasy worlds, action, and some deep but funny shows. I plan to post a list of my recommendations, but since I've watched so many over the past 10 years, I’ll have to do it bit by bit.
As for activities in Kyoto, there are plenty of things to do and enjoy. You can go mountain climbing (which is very well organized and relaxing), bike riding (though there are no dedicated bike lanes, so you need to be very careful), try clay pottery, swim at private pool places like Kyoto Aquarena, where you can also engage in various sports. Round One Spocha offers all-you-can-play sports, and recently, the Kyoto AEON Mall at Kyoto Station has a variety of interesting and fun sports activities. Walking around the city, visiting over 2,000 temples, and enjoying the atmosphere of the historic parts of Kyoto are also relaxing and enjoyable activities.
AEON Mall Kyoto
Spocha - Play All You Can
Kyoto Aquarena
Round One
Regarding the culture, many people will quickly realize that the culture in the Land of the Rising Sun is quite different from that in Europe. For example, there are no trash bins anywhere, so it's best to be prepared with a plastic bag to collect your trash until you find a place to dispose of it. For smokers (like me), you can't just walk around and smoke; you risk being stopped by the police and having to pay a fine. There are designated smoking areas where you can go if you really need to smoke. (Additionally, Japanese people consider it rude and inconsiderate to make everyone around you breathe in smoke.)
In every shop or restaurant you enter, if you follow basic manners, you'll be treated with the utmost respect, especially if you know a few phrases in Japanese. Be extremely mindful of others, keep quiet at night, respect everyone's rest, and everything should go smoothly. After 10 PM, avoid making loud noises, or you might find yourself face-to-face with the police or, at the very least, receive a complaint against you.
Don’t forget—tipping is not customary in Japan! If you want to show appreciation for good service, the best way to do so is to visit the place again. Of course, there are a few places where tipping is acceptable, and you’ll see a jar or sign indicating that you can leave a tip. Otherwise, tipping may be seen as inappropriate. If you want to know more, I’d be happy to share or answer any questions (within my knowledge, of course). You can contact me via email or you can just check with the others as you will see the section "Reach Out" below.
​I’ve spent around 10 years in Japan, and my conclusion is that, despite the many interesting and breathtaking places, delicious food and drinks, fun events, and plenty of spots to relax, Japan just doesn’t seem to be the right place for me to live or work. Of course, I will definitely return, but just as a tourist. I’ve never had the chance to visit Okinawa, but that’s something I plan to do soon! I also want to explore many more cities, visit more places, and meet more people.
Perhaps it's because I'm more of an introvert that I didn’t make many friends, but I did make a few truly irreplaceable ones, so I’m completely satisfied with my experience here.
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I have to definitely say at the end that all of the above mentioned is only my PERSONAL SUBJECTIVE opinion - I am not trying to convince anyone in anything. This information is only for the people who want to know a bit more.
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THANK YOU!!!
This week's recommended Top 10 animations
1.Solo Leveling - Korean anime
2.Kumo desu ga, nani ka? (So I am a spider, so what?) - Japanese anime
3.Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the down) - Japanese anime
4.Kusuriya no hitorigoto (The Apothecary diaries) - Japanese anime
5.Hataraku Saibou (Cells at work!Code Black) - Japanese anime
6.Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou Desu (The Saint's Magic Power Is Omnipotent) -Japanese anime
7.Jidouhanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu o Samayou (Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon) - Japanese anime
8.Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu (Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy) - Japanese anime
9.Higeki no Genkyou to naru Saikyou Gedou Last Boss (The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen) - Japanese anime
10.Goburin Sureiyaa (Goblin Slayer) - Japanese anime
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