Transcript
Speaker: I think Linda, you're like way more proactive than the standard person that moves here. And I think that's where you found a lot of success. It's something that probably developed with the experience. For example, ah if I hadn't go to the barbecue a couple of years ago ah and I wasn't really feeling like going because i mean, my Japanese was non-existent. If I didn't really leave my comfort zone, I wouldn't have met you guys. Pushing a little bit and going a little bit over the comfort zone. ah I think it's it's a good exercise.
Speaker: Welcome back everybody to another episode of the buying a house in Japan podcast. Today we have a special guest, our lovely neighbor, Linda. Linda has been such a big help to us over the past, I don't know, two years that we've had the house in Tama. She has been property managing the place for us, but has really gone above and beyond on almost every single um task or every time, you know, we've ever needed help here. So I really want to give a big thank you to you, Linda, and welcome to the podcast. Thank you.
Speaker: Thank you very much. It was a pleasure. So Linda, a lot of this house, a lot of this room you've helped us maintain. We really appreciate it. It feels like every time Joey and I come back from a trip, we're like, oh, it feels so good to be here. You know, that you've done such a good job with the outside, the inside. It's clean. So, I mean, first off, thank you for all your help. it It has made our business trips here like 10,000 times better. We keep saying if when if if and when Linda moves out the neighborhood, like we have to sell the house too. there there's no There's no way. It's too perfect right now. Everything's working too well. So Linda, we want to talk today. A lot of our audience is thinking about moving to Japan, maybe with a family. I think you are a prime example. So do you mind giving us a quick origin story? like What made you and your family move here? How long have we been in Japan? a little bit of background. We wanted you to to experience Asia ah and we really wanted to to try to move to an Asian country. And we didn't have um many ideas, but ah my husband got a job offer with a company who which ah could send him to Japan eventually. And so, yeah, we we took the opportunity and and then, yeah, we it was like maybe 10 years ago, 2016. 10 years ago? Yeah. Whoa, okay. Yeah. With like a visa, a working visa for my husband and a spouse and a dependent visa for me and ah my daughter.
Speaker: ah So that was kind of like an easy move because ah yeah with the job ah everything goes a little bit ah smoother.
Speaker: ah and the ah yeah Then ah we stayed here a couple of years ah and we really you really love it. So um we discovered many things that we we liked a lot and we really need from Japan. And so here we are again. So where did you move from or where you and your husband from originally?
Speaker: Originally, I am Italian and my husband is ah French and ah we moved ah from Finland to Belgium and then here in Japan. Finland to Belgium? Yes. And then to here? Yes. And then where was where was your daughter born?
Speaker: ah My daughter was born in Finland, in Helsinki. And then after a couple of years, we moved to Belgium. And after a couple of years, we moved to Japan. Did you see it as like this is a good time for our family to go on an adventure?
Speaker: I know with like my family when my parents decided to move to Japan it was kind of like this is a good time to go on an adventure before me and my brothers kind of grow up Is that sort of the the feeling that you had? It was just natural, like we really felt the um the need for some kind of, ah ah yeah, for a different place, so for something exotic. Yeah, exactly. yeah My daughter, so I think she felt ah ah our excitement and she shared it. Even though she was she was very very young, she was like three, four years old. ah she She was really looking forward to arrive to Japan because of all the stories that we told her. so You guys had moved here and lived here a little bit first, and then she went back to Finland, and then she was born in Belgium. And then you guys came back. Yes. Had you experienced a of Japanese culture before that? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Nothing. I didn't know a single word of Japanese, so it was, yeah, for me, it was, ah everything was new and, you know, I wasn't really into manga or into anime or so. you are though.
Speaker: So yeah, it was, yeah, no, no, I had the really no idea. I started and reading a little bit, of course, when ah when I got to know that we were actually moving ah there, here, I mean, ah but but before that, and no, I was. What about Tim?
Speaker: little bit? A little bit, yes. A little bit more than me, yes. anime mainly and he even took a language course before to come here. So yeah, he was a bit more prepared. So you mentioned that you were looking for um and kind of like an adventure move to somewhere in Asia. Were you considering other countries at the same time? Japan was not ah our ah first and main ah idea. and ba Tim, my husband, ah always had a fascination for ah for Japan. So he wanted the two to try to come here anyway. so ah But me, I was open to any any country. And what was the job search like? Did you apply to jobs in other countries as well? And it was it just like Googling or how did you... Actually, was a company was ah which has like a different ah um ah headquarters ah ah in different countries in the world. ah And so he got employed by ah the Belgian branch and the the deal was that he would work there for a couple of years and then it would have been sent to to Japan.
Speaker: But yeah, the the search, ah yeah it was really open to any any country. Interesting. So did you guys visit before you moved here or you just like straight moved here? straight. Wow. Okay. What was that like? like What was the culture shock? It was amazing because ah I could not really delay think ah of something ah so different than And so hard that to ah fully understand. ah Yeah, it's it's it's the beauty of ah of ah the difference, right? I think so. um It was a bit difficult in the beginning ah because ah of ah all the administrative steps that you need to to take. Did they help you through there or they had someone probably? We had some help, ah but um we ended up anyway to do many things by ourselves because we found it a little bit more efficient. Although there was a huge language barrier, but still... ah ah We were ah managing ah quite a well. ah And let's say that ah that for the registration parts, ah it was really helpful to have somebody who was speaking the language, yeah helping us.
Speaker: that's so That's for sure. Yeah. And then we are talking about 2016. Google Translate was okay, right? Yes, it was okay. So thanks God we had the Google Translator. yes and but But still, it was ah it was still another another time. and The translation was not ah that good. Not nowadays. So now it's much much more, I think ah it's it's a bit the easier. How old was Lea when she first came here and like did she just go straight into school or? Yes, straight to school. Straight to school? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe, maybe. She was almost four. Okay. And yeah, I think that maybe for the first two weeks, so ah ah maybe she was with us looking for a place to stay. ah But then ah as soon as ah we figure out the the area, we registered her to a Yochien, like ah kindergarten. ah and um And so she started her Japanese school journey. yeah yeah ah she was ah
Speaker: She was very, very happy. um But she didn't speak ah a single word ah for ah ah three months at the kindergarten. So she was super happy to go. ok Like a sunshine. yeah Really? Yeah, yeah, yeah. she But the moment as she was ah entering the school, that she would just ah observe and ah like ah ah read or anyway, look at picture books and ah she wouldn't interact with anybody. And then it was like one week of like ah end of the year holiday break. And then ah from January, she went back to Yotian and there was a switch. She started speaking and she never stopped. What's the main language you guys speak at home right now? I speak Italian to her. My husband speaks French to her. And among us, so we speak English. So you three speak English at home? Yes. and then um
Speaker: and then yeah And then she she speaks a Japanese also, but we we don't really. i mean Her Japanese is really good. Yes, because she learned it from the kindergarten. She was the only foreigner there, so there was no other way than Japanese. So she wore the hats and had the backpack. oh Yeah, of course. So cute. Those are like priceless. like there When they're getting pulled in the cart or they're holding the rings and they're crossing the streets. Kids are so cute. It's like when they raise their hand across the street. Yes,
Speaker: Yeah, I know. I think that ah she she learned a lot of um a lot of things ah from those two years in the Yochien. I think those were among the best years of her ah childhood and in the sense that in ah in Japan, I noticed kindergarten is really child-centered. It's not just daycare where you drop your kid and, okay, there are some activities and They are really um they are really putting the child ah in the middle and giving ah the child all the attention that he or she needs. And um so it makes ah like ah the the the day like a special. ah Were you like worried for those first couple of months when she maybe wasn't
Speaker: No, because ah the feedback that I got from her were all positive. and so ah So, yeah, the teacher was telling me that she was not the speaking, but but she was super happy to go. And she was really talking a lot at home about all their friends. So I wasn't worried. I think it was ah normal for her to just record, record information and then process them and then Do you look back on those first, like that first time that you came to Japan, those first years and think that like, do you like, wow, that was tough. like ah Like, I don't know how we got through that. Or do you look back and think like more people should do this?
Speaker: but Have you told friends kind of, i don't know, back in Italy, like, I think you should bring bring your kids to Japan. Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, I think this is really my my personal opinion. and I think kids should travel a lot because ah it really ah opens ah their mind and and they are so, um when they are young, they are really open. They can absorb ah um many, many things ah much better than ah than adults. And um yeah I understand also that it's not easy for everybody to to make this kind of move. And again, I felt ah privileged because we moved thanks to a job offer. If you have to move here without a a job, then it's kind of more challenging, I would say. I think we are pretty flexible ah people and um yeah we we are used to travel a lot, ah to change places a lot. We never had our like ah fixed place. So for us, ah it was not ah an obstacle or a challenge. It was more like, an ah, it's another adventure because we like it. But of course, ah it it depends. um So Finland was a new country for all of you, new language. none of None of you in your family spoke that language. Like comparing moving your family to Finland versus moving your family to Japan. this Was one easier than the other? or ah But I guess Finland would be easier because ah it's Europe and we are ah yeah we were born in Europe. ah The culture is similar. Alfo, there are lot of differences and the language is totally different. um Still, ah you find a lot of common things.
Speaker: You can relate ah to to Finnish people more than... Culturally closer. Yes. Yes. 10 years ago when we arrived, ah there were no other ah foreigners ah in the area where were we we moved in. We were the only one. So um ah it was, ah yeah, it was very exotic ah and for us, but also for the people who were living here because ah they they never yeah they were not used to seeing foreigners ah and going around. the And yeah, he
Speaker: Especially with a kid. yeah Yes, exactly. And i also... She's got like bright blonde hair. eyes. Yeah, blue eyes. Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, she was quite... a um ah What did you say? Like, ah um yeah i don't know, like a doll or something like that Japanese as well. It's interesting, like, Joey, how did you two meet? It seems like the foreigners just naturally, once you get a neighborhood, get get ah connected, right?
Speaker: Yeah. Same kind of story. Yeah, so our neighbor here, Hada-san, you were at a barbecue, a community barbecue, and Hada-san, I guess, came up to you and said, oh, some foreigners just moved in next door to me. You got to meet them. And and he brought you over. Yes, yes. Yeah, yeah. He was very proud. I'm going say, I you also have a gaijin cross-team. He also had one.
Speaker: So Linda, have you been in this area, like western Tokyo the entire time? Did you move straight to Tama or you moved little further down, right? and Before I was living in Tama, but the ah west side. Were you happy about that move when you got here or were you expecting to move into like central Tokyo with the sky? No, no, no, no, no. I was ah actually trying to avoid that as much as possible because I don't like um very much the city life. So I was looking for for something the more rural ah or um like residential, but not not central Tokyo for sure. and um
Speaker: then We had a very limited area into which we could look for a house because the second time when we came back here, um ah we had my husband's workplace ah and the the my daughter's school. And they were quite ah far apart because ah my daughter could not go to a Japanese school anymore because he kept ah ah the language ah skill. ah ah She could speak Japanese ah and understand Japanese very well. um She could not read ah and she could not write. And she was already quite old, let's say, ah to be able to join ah the last year of elementary school in a Japanese ah um school. So we had to opt for an international school and they were far apart. So we had to look ah for ah ah a house it in a small area.
Speaker: Tama. yeah Yeah, which is Tama, yes. And it's fantastic, but um that it was ah hard to find a place. Very hard. Well, glad glad you make it to Tama. We had no idea really too much about this place before we we bought the house. Good thing we moved here. I think this place is so much better than central Tokyo in our minds. and that we don't It's like just way calmer. We have so much space. Did um the employer that you're with the first time, did they help you find a house or an apartment? Or you you were completely on your own finding place to live? the employer ah ah in the relocation package put an agency, which is like ah expert in ah ah handling ah ah relocation cases. ah So they help you with the paperwork, registration and so on. And they also are the link with the real estate agencies.
Speaker: Usually they work preferably with one or two ah real estate agencies. And so, um ah yeah, of course, ah they they can they help you to find out what you describe ah you wish to to to find. the ah We found this process anyway quite lengthy and time-consuming because ah you you know there is no direct contact. You always have to go through intermediary.
Speaker: um So, for example, for us, it was much easier just to look for it by ourselves on the web and then take ah direct contact or ah ask ah the help ah of this intermediary. I think Linda, you're like way more proactive than the standard person that moves here. And I think that's where you found a lot of success. yes Like, I feel like you've done so many things for our house that was like, No, I think he i probably yeah it's something that ah probably developed with the time and with the experience. I mean, I was always thinking that, ah for example, ah if ah ah if i never had the
Speaker: if I hadn't gone to the barbecue ah a couple of years ago and I wasn't really feeling like going because, i mean, my Japanese was non-existent. and And there were a lot of people ah and I didn't know anybody. So I was like, what am I doing here? But if ah if I didn't push myself a little bit, if I didn't really leave my comfort zone, ah I wouldn't have met you guys. So I'm glad that that I did it. ah And I think, yeah, just now pushing a little bit and going a little bit over the comfort zone. ah it's I think it's it's good. It's a good exercise. um
Speaker: Totally. I'm like surprised. You're part of the PTA, Parent Teachers Association. i'm not sure what it's called. ah yeah for your school You're like the head of ahead of it or like i don't know. We are we are just volunteers, ah ah parents. ah But it's like all in Japanese, it feels like, right? and you're You're finding a way? Not really. No, no, no, no, no. Actually, most of the kids ah who are ah attending this school are ah Japanese ah kids. so But they come ah from ah families ah that um ah often ah have a mixed ah um parents. are So like ah maybe one Japanese ah parent ah and and a foreigner.
Speaker: So we always find a way to communicate in English. Not just the PTA. We got lunch with Linda um a few weeks ago. And then it's like this kind of cute little street and there's a a lunch spot we went to. But then across the street, there's the embroidery place. And you're like talking to them like you had some business with them. Like you had a little conversation. And then we go across the street again to the cafe and you're talking to the lady there like you had some business. like Like you kind of know everybody in the community too. and Yeah. Yeah, I try to speak. I speak really, really badly, but I try to speak with people ah to to engage. Seems like you're popular you're you're the most popular person in the neighborhood. i guess that there are not so many other foreigners in this neighborhood, does so I better i better ah yeah keep a good profile. ah Because they will they will ah see me, they will yeah ah spot me immediately if I do something wrong. so I think that I will never be able ah to go deep ah inside ah the Japanese society, even ah if I could speak perfectly the language. ah
Speaker: it feels like you've you've successfully built a community here, which I feel like is is hard. ah You know, and when we're out here in Tama, it feels like we're so isolated and it's kind of nice. But I feel like meeting the neighbors, I feel like you've met a lot of folks yes through that kind of like effort. Yes. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. it takes It takes a little bit of efforts, but I think it pays back a lot. a lot of our audience, I think, you know, they have young kids, they're thinking about relocating here. How did you find the international school or what do you think about the international school system here? The closest international school ah around here ah is the American school.
Speaker: and And then there is another one where my daughter is ah going ah and they are okay. ah The problem is that they are yeah ah serving ah mainly the community, at least downtown in Tokyo. So if you are living a little bit far from ah the the center of Tokyo, then it's not very easy to yeah to have a like a direct connection to the school ah in terms of commuting and so on. So you drive? I drive to the bus stop about twenty twenty five minutes. And then from there, ah my daughter ah takes a bus ah another 30 minutes. How do you feel like, uh, maybe it's hard to gauge but how do you, how like rigorous is the curriculum at the school? or you feel like it's pretty, like if she were back in, let's say Italy or Finland, you know, how would that compare to where she is you think right now in Japan? I think the since it is an international school, it's really made ah so that, in fact, ah if you quit ah and you change school or country, you can easily go back to the same level, ah the same class ah without losing ah too much education.
Speaker: Of course, every country has different curriculum and ah i did geography or ah history will be a little bit different, ah but ah yeah mainly literature or ah like a language, ah mathematics, so those kind of things, they are like... ah Does she go to, like, the cram schools after? I feel like that's a popular thing and for Japanese students. Yeah, no, she doesn't. The cram schools are all for passing the just passing the exams anyways. It's not really for learning. There are a lot of kids are from ah her school who are ah going still to to this... Juku. Because ah ah I think it's it's popular ah among ah ah Japanese families to ah send... ah and their kids ah to international school, um maybe during ah um elementary school, so they can ah um learn English.
Speaker: But then once ah elementary school is over, er they wish them to move ah into the Japanese system. And so they ah from middle school, so from junior high school, ah ah they like to move them ah into the Japanese system. And for that, ah you need to be prepared because you need to to do exams to enter like the the best school. ah And that's why after school, they usually all go to the name of Jirja. Yeah, like so I went to kind of like an international school in Shizuoka. They taught the international baccalaureate program in the high school portion there. And remember the kids that... So, yeah, it's like a kind of international curriculum, and it's really great if you're applying for schools, say, in Europe or North America. erka It's basically the same curriculum you're getting there.
Speaker: But the kids that were applying to schools in Japan, they wanted to go to Japanese university, they basically had to go to Juku because the curriculum was just different enough And the entrance exams are just different enough that they basically need to study a whole separate system just to apply to Japanese universities here. yeah So I would see that.
Speaker: I think it makes sense that a Japanese parent, maybe for elementary school, it's good to put their kid in to learn some English. But if they're expecting their kid to go on to a Japanese university, they got to go through the Japanese schools. yeah indeed she She loves Japan. you know Is that how how you yeah do you think she feels? her ah She feels really, really good here. yeah she She does feel and really naturally good. ah And um yeah she has a lot of friends. ah And for us, the most important thing is the the safety that to this ah and this country is giving us. so So there is no other place ah we experience this kind of... ah
Speaker: Yeah, safety. So it's incredible to be able to leave your kid, your small kid going around the their way out, the super Asian. Yeah, yeah. And yeah, so it's really, yeah, it's really good that that's indeed you have ah this ah community who is really protecting you and the um Yeah, it's it's priceless. It's something that really I cannot um imagine to find anywhere else. So so that's that's one of probably probably the main reasons why we we decided to come back here. to us yeah How about you and Tim? How do you feel about it? You've been here for so long at this point. Are starting to get tired of Japan a little bit? or like No, not really. Not really. Yeah. ah Well, Tim is working a lot, so probably would have something else to say. yeah ah but But yeah, um no, we we still have a lot of ah lot to learn, a lot to discover here. so
Speaker: So I guess that for a while ah we will ah we will be around. We got to talk to Tim next working for a Japanese company. yeah yeah yeah Indeed, he will have ah a different perspective there.
Speaker: What do you wish someone had told you before you moved here? I ended up to bring with me too many things. And ah yeah, once so once you realize ah how small the the spaces ah are, ah then ah you really have to make a selection of what you want to bring with you. Because it's not... um ah yeah It's not even thinkable ah to find that the same kind of square meters ah you ah would ah think ah you or you yeah you will think about ah in Europe or yeah I guess the US even more. so ah
Speaker: yeah spaces are as smaller here, much smaller. So um I think this is a mistake that ah we we did. yeah ah Yeah, we ended up with too many things. Bedrooms are smaller, bed sizes are smaller. Yes, yeah.
Speaker: It's hard to throw away things. And those yeah, and that's sort but that's but that's also the thing, like because maybe indeed you make a selection before to come here, because ah if you end up to have many things here,
Speaker: And you say, okay, I can get rid of them, but then yeah you have also to to pay a lot to get rid of them. It's not easy to find ah places ah or ah people who are ah taking them ah or who are buying them. ah so yeah So yes, it's good to come prepared.
Speaker: For someone who's kind of like in a similar position where they're young family, they are bringing a kid, like what? And they're thinking in their head, like, okay, maybe we can do it. What kind of advice would you give them?
Speaker: who's fantastic, just do it. ah And I mean, yeah, it's yeah it's a fantastic experience ah for ah for a kid, especially small kid.
Speaker: um They will see something totally different. ah ah They will grow up ah in a in a different ah environment ah ah and also the nature ah is so is so much difference they will learn ah they will learn a lot really a lot by spending ah even like one or two years and not to the the rest of their life and then ah yeah you move ah and you see how it goes and if it doesn't work out ah okay, you can step back. But I think still that small amount of time the kid will spend here, it's fantastic. It's it's the best gift. How do you feel about that, Joey? I agree. I mean, like like I was saying when i when my parents were on the podcast, like change the trajectory of my life for sure. And like, I can only imagine starting at a younger age, like Leah, being, you know, going to a Japanese school and having, learning the language at such a younger age too. Yeah, it it really opens a new pattern in your brain. Yeah.
Speaker: Leia's one of like the coolest kids I've ever met, actually, too. She's so well-behaved, and I think you've done a great job. And she's absorbed a lot of like these Japanese mannerisms, too, that I think are like he's very, very good. She she lectures us. She lectures you. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, she's really Japanese inside when she was little and people were asking her, so you were born in Finland, but now you are living Belgium. So what? ah I'm Japanese. That was her answer. So it's funny. But yeah, she she feels Japanese. oh Well, awesome, Linda. um I mean, thank you so much for everything you've done for us. We're really excited. We'll have you on again. and We'll have Tim on again. We definitely want to talk to him about his ok his job here, but um it's cool. yeah I'm excited to come back here. Every time we come back, we see like small, we have the raccoon, mess. We have like a hole in our fence to the U.S. golf course. Customs, yeah. I'm like, I think Leia, I'm not sure who, Leia made like a little sign and we have some raccoons coming in and out and it's a customs sign. We'll take a photo of it. But um yeah, thank you so much. And we're ah thankful to have you here in Tama with us. I'm really thankful to have met you. Yeah.
Speaker: Thanks, Linda. All right.
Speaker: Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Buying a House in Japan. If you find the show helpful or at least entertaining, give us a five-star rating. Takes five seconds and really goes a long way. If you or someone you know is looking for a Japanese home, check out Akiyamart.com, our English-friendly site that lets you browse over half a million listings. That's A-K-I-Y-A-M-A-R-T.com to find your dream home in Japan. If you've got questions or feedback, drop us a line, email contact at akiamart.com. You can also find us on Instagram as well as TikTok, where we post properties, tips on the home buying process, and updates on our own purchases and renovations. Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next week.
