Imagine
yourself living in Japan. You head home past vendors selling ramen to
a traditional wood house, open your sliding door, and take off your
shoes before stepping onto your tatami mats. You know the locals and
speak Japanese with ease. You show visiting friends around with the
confidence of one who belongs. Author Ruth Kanagy shows you how to make
your dream take shape. She left her life as a Japanese teacher in America
to live in Japan. While some give up—daunted by the financial,
bureaucratic, and decision-making issues that accompany a move so extraordinary—you'll
be led step-by-step through the information you need on visas, money,
jobs, housing, safety, language, culture, and history. Alan has done
the research and made the mistakes—so you don't have to. There's
a place that matches your budget, needs, and dreams: perhaps it's an
apartment in the urban mecca of Tokyo, a seaside abode in the Hokkaido
prefecture, or a home in the slow paced and traditional island of Shikoku.