Sick of formal dress? Japan wants you.

[AmigoMac]

I personally run away from formal dress, I mean (Jacket and tie) ,
I usually have business meetings with customers but the most I can do is a
formal sweater (Kinda serious) and a nice formal t-shirt under it, pretty
formal shoes, but tie? no, thanks... Hello Japan!!!

 

[5300cs]

Why do you have pictures of high school girls on your comp?

I don't. Er, at least not with that much clothing on

And I see nothing wrong with these Harajuku girls.

Neither do I my friend, neither do I

No matter what Koizumi says or wants to do though, this is still a formal country. This society and it's rules are so complex: what to say, when to say it and who to say it to, that it's mind-boggling at times.

 

[Eastend]

I don't. Er, at least not with that much clothing on

Neither do I my friend, neither do I

No matter what Koizumi says or wants to do though, this is still a formal country. This society and it's rules are so complex: what to say, when to say it and who to say it to, that it's mind-boggling at times.

Tell me about it, it took me 15 years to get used to it over here, now when I go back to the states I go into reverse culture shock and cannot wait to get back home. Where are you, are you in Japan?

Brian

 

[5300cs]

Where are you, are you in Japan?

Yep, going on my 5th year over here. At first I really liked how nice it was, but the young people- and old- are becoming just as rude as back home Other then that though, I'm having fun

The pattern I've seen with ex-pats is this: They come over and almost all start in a language school (eikaiwa.) Those that really hate it quit before their contract expires (bad, bad idea.) Those that finish their contracts either go home or find another job. That's a threshold for some; if they leave after the first year, chances are they're not coming back to Japan. The ones that stay, once they've been here for about 4 years there's another threshold: go home or start to become permanently attached to this country. Once someone has been here 8 years or longer I think it's REALLY hard for them to go back to their home country and fit in again (and even if they do, they end up getting a job related to Japanese.) I'm on year 5 and will probably be here until 2008 so I'm pushing it.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

My company is pretty free-form when it comes to dress code. Basically, as long as your clothes are clean and aren't offensive to anyone, you can wear it to work. I've never seen anyone wear sweatpants to work though; I see jeans all the time here as well as suits and ties.

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

I think it's supposed to be "Harajuku" girls; Harajuku is an area of Tokyo.

Here's a picture of some high school girls to give you an idea

i could deal with lots of japanese school girls...

 

[Eastend]

Yep, going on my 5th year over here. At first I really liked how nice it was, but the young people- and old- are becoming just as rude as back home Other then that though, I'm having fun

The pattern I've seen with ex-pats is this: They come over and almost all start in a language school (eikaiwa.) Those that really hate it quit before their contract expires (bad, bad idea.) Those that finish their contracts either go home or find another job. That's a threshold for some; if they leave after the first year, chances are they're not coming back to Japan. The ones that stay, once they've been here for about 4 years there's another threshold: go home or start to become permanently attached to this country. Once someone has been here 8 years or longer I think it's REALLY hard for them to go back to their home country and fit in again (and even if they do, they end up getting a job related to Japanese.) I'm on year 5 and will probably be here until 2008 so I'm pushing it.

Do not worry about it, your analysis is very good, but it is stereotyped, I do not fit in to any of your analysis, so you probably do not also, good luck. I did it the other way around, I studied Japanese for 1 and half years, been here over twenty and still do not speak fluently, do have Kansai ben though

Brian

 

[revenuee]

The only rule that should be written into stone is:

"No sweat pants if you have to work with people or meet the public."

you suck

i'll wear sweat pants to a wedding

 

[Simon Liquid]

Anarchy....Anarchy....Anarchy!!!!

Indeed. This is one step away from Battle Royale

 

[5300cs]

Do not worry about it, your analysis is very good, but it is stereotyped, I do not fit in to any of your analysis, so you probably do not also, good luck.

Yeah, there are always people who don't "fit the mold"
I fit in that I did eikaiwa, then a dispatch company and am now an ALT. Other than that though, I'm not your typical Foreigner. If you speak Kansai-ben then you aren't, either

i could deal with lots of japanese school girls...

Bring a lot of cash, them's EXPENSIVE chicks. Those kinds of girls are expecting a LV, Chanel or Hermes bag in return

 

[mkrishnan]

"No sweat pants if you have to work with people or meet the public."

Can there also be a law against 40-year-old women wearing Juicy suits and big gold hoop earrings?

 

[kasei]

I will believe it when I see it. When I lived in Tokyo I wore a suit 7 days a week. It has actually taken me some time to get use to not wearing one, especially in Los Angeles, where formal attire is Khakis and a white button down shirt.

 

[kasei]

Do not worry about it, your analysis is very good, but it is stereotyped, I do not fit in to any of your analysis, so you probably do not also, good luck. I did it the other way around, I studied Japanese for 1 and half years, been here over twenty and still do not speak fluently, do have Kansai ben though

Brian

I too did it the other way around. Studied Japanese for 3 years before going to Japan. Could read and write pretty well. Worked on my conversational Japanese and got good at it. Returned to the states after living in Japan for almost 5 years. I travel to Japan on business and for vacation every years. I know a lot people there who got trapped by the easy money and that is why they don't leave.

 

[Eastend]

I too did it the other way around. Studied Japanese for 3 years before going to Japan. Could read and write pretty well. Worked on my conversational Japanese and got good at it. Returned to the states after living in Japan for almost 5 years. I travel to Japan on business and for vacation every years. I know a lot people there who got trapped by the easy money and that is why they don't leave.

I've been here over twenty, but I wish your friends could clue me in to the easy money, every Yen I earn is hard and I earned it. If by easy you mean English teacher, there are a lot of those here.

Brian

Like easy please give me easy.

 

[SiliconAddict]

link
Score one for thinking outside the box

My workplace already does buisness casual but as far as I'm concerned anything more then teeshirt, shorts, and sandals is too much. I've quit jobs that have required ties (or as I call it buisness leashes.) I've found that, at least for me, the more I dress down the more productive I am. To a point of course. I don't think I would get much work done if I was walking around the office naked fixing computers. Then again that might be a good way to get people to leave their computers while I work on them but the whole screaming in terror thing might not work well.

 

[5300cs]

I almost never wore suits until I came over here. The first English school I worked for required us to wear suits everyday, even when teaching kids; some schools even frowned on us taking our jackets off This was teaching like, 5 year old kids. In a SUIT. After teaching say, 3 kids classes, the rest of your shift was then teaching adult classes. I wasn't about to buy Armani or Ralph Lauren when I had to then roll around on floor mats with a bunch of 5 year olds.

My second job was for a dispatch company. I used to teach at Toyota, Mitsubishi, Pfizer, etc. I was teaching at their factories and I got to ride the train and taxis and all that, so wearing a suit became almost fun. Getting ties and tie clips, vests and all that was fun for a while. You get to appreciate casual clothes a lot more though when you wear a suit 5 days a week.

My job now lets expects me to wear a "shirt with a collar" but since no one checks I just wear Apple t-shirts I've got one for every day of the week.


This used to be the land paved with gold, but not anymore. One of my co-workers taught here in 1983 or 84 and was making up to ¥23000 an hour, that's like $200+!!

That was right near the height of the bubble though, which has since burst. Even 5 years ago it was still easy to get a pretty good paying job, but not anymore. You can't just waltz off the plane and have people just waiting to give you work. You have to go out and look hard, and there are a lot of crappy paying places, and places that are just crappy. "We'll just hold on to your passport for safekeeping." then when you try to quit, they won't give you back your passport There are still places like that.

When Eastend says he's working that hard, I believe him.

 

[kasei]

I almost never wore suits until I came over here. The first English school I worked for required us to wear suits everyday, even when teaching kids; some schools even frowned on us taking our jackets off This was teaching like, 5 year old kids. In a SUIT. After teaching say, 3 kids classes, the rest of your shift was then teaching adult classes. I wasn't about to buy Armani or Ralph Lauren when I had to then roll around on floor mats with a bunch of 5 year olds.

My second job was for a dispatch company. I used to teach at Toyota, Mitsubishi, Pfizer, etc. I was teaching at their factories and I got to ride the train and taxis and all that, so wearing a suit became almost fun. Getting ties and tie clips, vests and all that was fun for a while. You get to appreciate casual clothes a lot more though when you wear a suit 5 days a week.

My job now lets expects me to wear a "shirt with a collar" but since no one checks I just wear Apple t-shirts I've got one for every day of the week.


This used to be the land paved with gold, but not anymore. One of my co-workers taught here in 1983 or 84 and was making up to ¥23000 an hour, that's like $200+!!

That was right near the height of the bubble though, which has since burst. Even 5 years ago it was still easy to get a pretty good paying job, but not anymore. You can't just waltz off the plane and have people just waiting to give you work. You have to go out and look hard, and there are a lot of crappy paying places, and places that are just crappy. "We'll just hold on to your passport for safekeeping." then when you try to quit, they won't give you back your passport There are still places like that.

When Eastend says he's working that hard, I believe him.

I guess I was one of those people in the 90's who waltzed off the plane with a 4 year degree in hand. Sure we had to look but we ended up at a really good company. I taught English for a short time and then I began to design training courses for executives and embassy workers. The pay was pretty darn good.

I knew a few people who almost lost their passports because they wanted to leave a teaching post. I love living in Japan, but got tired of the working 6 days a week though the money was good.

I moved back to the states about 8 years ago. I have been talking to companies about going back to Japan to do some managment consulting right after I finish my MBA. It looks like we will be moving back to Tokyo in August.

 

[Eastend]

I moved back to the states about 8 years ago. I have been talking to companies about going back to Japan to do some managment consulting right after I finish my MBA. It looks like we will be moving back to Tokyo in August.

This is really not in my field, but the timing may be good for consulting here. When Japan was doing well economically, many people were concerned that they would buy up the US, example would be Rockfeller center was bought by the Japanese. Now Japan is in hard times and it is the reverse. Tokyo has been in a building boom the last 10 years or so, many new skyscrapers are going up with tenants. Guess who is buying? Foreigners.. foreign companies are buying many of the new skyscrapers in Japan(Tokyo), a very good investment, this may be a place to look into for you. Strangely enough, in the Osaka area this is not happening too much, probably because the area is in a bigger downward trend and it is a conservative area when it comes to money, they think more long term. Tokyo is more like America, instant gratification is where they are at. Beware, August is hot over here. (Do not go to Fukuoka, they have been having small earthquakes there for almost 1 month now.)

Brian

 

[kasei]

This is really not in my field, but the timing may be good for consulting here. When Japan was doing well economically, many people were concerned that they would buy up the US, example would be Rockfeller center was bought by the Japanese. Now Japan is in hard times and it is the reverse. Tokyo has been in a building boom the last 10 years or so, many new skyscrapers are going up with tenants. Guess who is buying? Foreigners.. foreign companies are buying many of the new skyscrapers in Japan(Tokyo), a very good investment, this may be a place to look into for you. Strangely enough, in the Osaka area this is not happening too much, probably because the area is in a bigger downward trend and it is a conservative area when it comes to money, they think more long term. Tokyo is more like America, instant gratification is where they are at. Beware, August is hot over here. (Do not go to Fukuoka, they have been having small earthquakes there for almost 1 month now.)

Brian

Believe me I remember what it is like to be there in August especially standing on a crowded train in a suit. Actually I am usually in Japan around that time anyway for an intensive practice.

Actually this is a good time to return to Japan before the economy really picks up and takes off again. The foreign companies appear to be the only ones bringing in people to help them set up. From the companies I have spoken to, it is either China or Japan. I have been to China and the growth is incredible, but most of it is for show. Unless you are looking at Shanghai or Xiamen every where else is not what it appears to be. Beijing is the same way. It is all show to bring in FDI, but very little else. It took me a couple of days to get use to sitting in a meeting knowing some one was watching and listening to the conversation.