Traveling to Japan Inspired Me to Learn Japanese
At first, I occasionally watched Japanese Anime with English subtitles because of my brother’s influence. It was just a form of entertainment. I never thought about working in Japan until I experienced its unique culture and opportunities. However, after traveling to Japan in February last year, I began seriously considering studying Japanese with a goal of working in Japan. During my week in Tokyo, I was captivated by the beautiful environment and the warm hospitality culture. Additionally, I was impressed by how people in Japanese society respect each other and take both work and life seriously.
My experience of Japan made me want to truly understand their culture. More than observing and reading about them, I knew that the best way to deep dive into their culture was to learn their language, to be able to see and articulate their perspective. My experience of Japan, the curiosity and drive it inspired me, made me feel like I couldn’t help but study Japanese!
Understanding Japanese Culture and Values Beyond Travel: Choosing to Work in Japan
As I learned the language, my understanding of Japanese culture deepened. I read Japanese books, novels, and news, and watched Japanese content on YouTube. From this, I realized that strict adherence to rules in Japan leads to a more harmonious society and better relationships with those around you. Moreover, the attitude of “doing things properly” is ingrained in daily life. For example, many Japanese girls are quite serious when striving for their “cute” aesthetic. It seems very trivial, but the amount of effort and dedication that they put in is commendable. Japanese idols, for example, are the embodiment of this.
Given my tendency to be influenced by my surroundings, I believe that a serious and harmonious environment like Japan would provide me the best motivating environment for my professional and personal growth. Thus, I chose the path of working in Japan. My interest in Japan morphed from being just a travel destination to somewhere I could grow my career.
Enjoying Learning Japanese Through Interesting Content
To achieve my goal of working in Japan, I diligently study Japanese every day. Luckily, getting the pronunciation and accent was easy for me as a typical Malay bilingual who speaks Malay and English already. But that’s not quite enough to learn a language. At first, I bought textbooks, but I found them completely unenjoyable and quickly gave up. Just as the joy of traveling in Japan inspired me to go on this journey, I believed finding joy in the process was also important. Here are the fun methods I used to learn Japanese:
Reading
I find books that I like on amazon kindle or any other sites, change it to an epub format, read books on ッツ. Then there I could do a quick look up on words that I don’t know using the pop-up dictionary extension on Google Chrome called Yomitan. Or alternately I use Kindle and their dictionary to read.
I love reading self-improvement books in Japanese. They are relaxing, sometimes have really good advice, and for the language (Japanese) its relatively easy to comprehend compared to other materials so I recommend these to start with. Comprehensible input is really important. I also from time to time read light novels, there I got to encounter a lot of expressive writing in Japanese and a broad usage of vocabulary and sentence structure. But I have to say, light novels are really hard to read as a Japanese learner, but they do contribute to maintaining my motivation to study. I do track things I read throughout my learning journey using bookmeter.
Listening
I love watching Japanese videos on YouTube like vlogs, cooking videos, food review, or anything I find interesting, and I use these as listening practice. I’ve never been so eager about study material.
Grammar
I enjoy reading books on Kindle. When I encounter unknown grammar or words, I look them up in the Kindle dictionary. I was never a fan of deliberately studying grammar. So, a more relaxed way for me was using context to comprehend the sentence while having fun in Japanese. I don’t worry about forgetting or not understanding, as constant exposure helps it stick with time. After all grammar is part of a language and is not math or science. I believe humans can acquire language naturally if given the right environment.
Conversation
In my final year of university, I joined the Japanese class of FAST OFFER International and practiced in class. It was a great opportunity, so if you’re interested, I recommend applying.
Quantifying Your Efforts to Work in Japan
I maintain my motivation by quantifying my efforts. I once saw a study on Reddit from a sample size of 70 people on the correlation between Japanese proficiency and immersion-based study hours. According to their result an average of 2500 hours of study are required to pass JLPT N1. So I started recording my Japanese study hours every day in Excel, and this let me see my efforts at a glance. Seeing the data gamified the experience, unlocking achievements with every hour I amassed. If you’re like me, I recommend trying it.
Thanks to FAST OFFER International, I Got a Job Offer in My First Interview!
In August this year, my younger brother was introduced by his university about FAST OFFER International’s Japanese classes and so he told me about the program. However, I had never participated in an interview in Malaysia, nor had I had any experience with interviews in Japanese, so I was a bit worried about whether I could get a job offer. In early October, I was selected by a company and got my first interview opportunity.
Since it was my first Japanese interview, I was very nervous. But I told myself a few things that helped calm me down:
- The interviewer just wants to know about you, it’s not an interrogation.
- The interview is not all about you; it’s about both parties finding the right fit. The interviewer is also trying their best to hire an employee that’ll fit with their company.
- Hence, let’s try our best together in the interview and trust in the process! It’s just a matter of both our interests aligning.
Being level-headed greatly helped me pass the first interview which was completely in Japanese. Considering that I am a foreigner, they were kind during the second interview as well, and I enjoyed the hour. Finally, I received an offer to be a development engineer at an IT company! Looking back, it still feels surreal and makes me wonder if it was fate. Who knew that traveling to Japan would lead me to this path? My dream of working in Japan has finally come true.
Preparing Thoroughly for Common Interview Questions
The opportunity to work in Japan though, didn’t just fall on my lap. Achieving such results is due to thorough preparation.
First, FAST OFFER International gave me list of anticipated questions to prepare for. Here are some questions that are commonly asked in interviews with Japanese companies and appeared in my actual interview:
- Why do you want to work in Japan?
- What project would you like to participate in at our company?
- What did you work hard on during university?
- What was your graduation thesis about?
Things that helped me succeed for the interview:
- Upon getting the interview opportunity, FAST OFFER International held an online meeting with me to offer very helpful advice and information about the company.
- I used the flashcard app Anki to help me memorize answers to the anticipated questions.
- I watched YouTube videos on engineering type interviews in Japan. As I was applying for a fresh graduate position though, the interviews didn’t get as technical as I expected it would.
- My brother mock interviewed me as part of my final preparation.
- Partnering with ASIA to Japan’s FAST OFFER International in hindsight was the best decision I made. They gave me the correct, accurate information about the company, and lessons on business manners, while helping move the process smoothly in the short two months it took for me to succeed with them without spending a cent.
I Challenge You to Turn Your Vacation to a Vocation
I bet a lot of folks who’ve traveled to Japan must have felt what I felt. How they wanted more from Japan: to not just be a tourist and see what else the country has to offer. So, I challenge you: why not take the first step towards working in Japan through FAST OFFER International?
