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From Tourist to Local: How One Trip to Japan Changed Everything
20 Plays10 days ago
At 21, Kay A. boarded a flight to Japan that would quietly alter the course of her life. What began as a simple trip turned into something far more profound — a decision to stay, build a life, and raise a family in a country she now calls home. In this episode, Kay shares what it’s really like to move abroad, navigate cultural shifts, and discover who you are when everything around you changes. If you’ve ever felt the tug of a place pulling at your soul, this conversation is for you.
Follow Kay on her journey at https://tinytotintokyo.com/
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Kay's Background in Japan
00:00:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
Hi, hi everyone. Thanks so much for joining us today on Go Far Girl. Today I'm here with Kay A and I'm so excited for you guys to hear about her because she lives in Japan and Japan is such a hot spot for tourism right now. And it's a spot that not a lot of people have been to from um USA. So I'm really excited to talk to her. You guys are going to love this.
00:01:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
um Kay is a Canadian freelance writer. She's an occasional voice actor, which is also super cool. who has been living in Japan for more than a decade. She writes about what it's like to raise a child in Japan and to travel with them on her website, Tiny Tot in Tokyo, which I'll have a link for you guys in the description so you can check that out as well.
00:01:24
CHANTELLE KINCY
So anyway, Kay, welcome. I'm so glad you're here with us today.
00:01:27
Kay
Thank you so much for having me.
00:01:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
oh course. So let's start back at the beginning. You were 21 when you first visited Japan.
First Impressions and Growing Interest in Japan
00:01:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
Where did you go? What were your first impressions? Talk us through that initial trip.
00:01:41
Kay
oh man, it was like so long ago.
00:01:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
I know. um then
00:01:44
Kay
um Yeah, this was, yeah. um back when I was 21. this was back in 2008. And you know, Japan was not a nearly as popular as it is now.
00:01:57
Kay
um ah So back then there wasn't, I think the internet was around, but there wasn't as much information. We did not have smartphones, nothing like that.
00:02:07
Kay
um You know, you just had your little guidebook. ah So Yeah, i I just followed the guidebook and I did the golden route, which is Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoro.
00:02:22
Kay
And I went around the end of March and so I could see the cherry blossoms because there were no cherry blossoms in my hometown and it seems so you know romantic and beautiful.
00:02:33
Kay
And I really wanted.
00:02:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Is that what led you to Japan in the first place? Was the the blossoms?
00:02:39
Kay
that's Ah, that's a really good question. I mean, a when it comes to my relationship with Japan, that goes like way back.
00:02:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
oh
00:02:48
Kay
and should i yeah i don't Should I delve into that?
00:02:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh.
00:02:51
Kay
Okay,
00:02:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. if you want If you're up for it, let's hear it.
00:02:54
Kay
okay yeah. I mean, um when I was little, I had an exchange student, a Japanese exchange student at my elementary school. um Her name was Momoko.
00:03:06
Kay
I think that was like my first introduction to Japan. Like she had all these cool comics and all these adorable stationery. And
The JET Program Experience and Language Challenges
00:03:15
Kay
I'd never seen anything like that before.
00:03:18
Kay
um And then around the same time, um Sailor Moon started showing up on um TV. And in Canada, we had um and network, a children's ah television network called YTV.
00:03:31
Kay
So... It was on YTV. And again, I was so mesmerized by it. And then yeah it started building from there. i um I started playing video games and those originated in Japan.
00:03:45
Kay
And then when I went to high school, I became friends with like um and people who liked anime and they and manga and they would let me borrow, ah you know, their their media.
00:03:57
Kay
ah Yeah. So it's,
00:03:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
So it was building for a long time. And then you're 21, you're like, get me out of here.
00:04:02
Kay
Right, right.
00:04:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
I'm going.
00:04:06
Kay
Exactly. Yeah, actually, um in high school, think grade 10, my social studies teacher, she mentioned that niece um was teaching English in Japan.
00:04:17
Kay
And that's when I first thought, oh, okay, maybe I should go visit. Maybe I should see what it's like. um And maybe eventually I can teach English there.
00:04:29
Kay
ah So yeah, that was one of the main reasons I decided to visit. I wanted to see whether or not it would be a place I would like to move to. But at the time it was, um you know, going to be a temporary move.
00:04:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
So you were there initially for like, what, ah how long were you there? A couple of weeks. And then you came back home and then decided to move.
00:04:49
Kay
Yeah, what exactly? Yeah, I was only there for three weeks and I felt really comfortable if you know, it was a safe, comfortable country. So ah thought, okay, yeah, I'm going to make the move. So I applied to the jet program. I don't know if you've heard of it before.
00:05:10
Kay
um It's a Japan exchange and teaching program. And it's, ah i believe if it's run um between governments, the government of Japan and other ah governments around the world.
00:05:23
Kay
um And, you know, they, it's,
00:05:23
CHANTELLE KINCY
OK.
00:05:25
Kay
It's a very strict and I guess difficult process to get in. They're very selective. um You know, you have to do like two, I think it was two interviews. My goodness, was so long ago.
00:05:38
Kay
um And I think maybe like 50% of people are accepted who apply.
00:05:38
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right?
00:05:42
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh my god.
00:05:43
Kay
it's It's, yeah, it's probably the most prestigious English teaching program. Like if people want to teach English in Japan, that's the best program to do it through. They pay you really well. They take care of everything for you.
00:05:56
Kay
So yeah, that's when I wanted to, yeah.
00:05:57
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's really cool. Did you speak Japanese when you went there the first time?
00:06:05
Kay
Not really. I like i watched anime and I watched Japanese dramas, like i don't television shows. um
00:06:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. Yeah.
00:06:15
Kay
So I was familiar with words, but I could not speak it. I could you know say like very basic very basic things that I think everybody...
00:06:26
Kay
probably knows now, like, you know, or things like that. Like, excuse me. Exactly. Yes. Yes. That's very important.
00:06:30
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right, right.
00:06:31
Kay
Yeah.
00:06:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, the basics to get through like any travel experience, just like the bare minimum.
00:06:38
Kay
exactly
00:06:39
CHANTELLE KINCY
Bathroom, please. Thank you. Yeah.
00:06:40
Kay
yes yes
00:06:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
I don't know.
00:06:46
Kay
that's very important
00:06:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
Interesting.
00:06:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
I know. don't know.
00:06:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
So how long were you back in Canada before you decided like Canada is not for me. I want to go back to Japan.
00:06:59
Kay
ah I was in, oh goodness. Okay. So I visited in March. I must've come back in April and then, um then I applied and I think um ah the the whole process to apply to JET takes quite a while. I think I applied in autumn and then I had my first interview in January. And then I think I was accepted
Personal Connections and Cultural Challenges
00:07:24
Kay
April.
00:07:24
Kay
It might've been April. And then I left
00:07:26
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay. so a year
00:07:27
Kay
in July. So almost ah a little over a year later, i was back in Japan, but living there.
00:07:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
And then did you, did you stay there from that point forward? Like you thought it was going to be temporary and then you just decided to stay or
00:07:43
Kay
I um actually, i ah decided to apply to graduate school. I was flip-flopping a lot um about whether or not to stay.
00:07:55
Kay
Because, you know, like any country, there are good and there are bad points. And, you know, when you visit as a tourist, you only get a small slice of what it's like.
00:08:04
CHANTELLE KINCY
Sure.
00:08:05
Kay
Right. And um I think as a tourist, you also have very rose colored glasses. You're not working there.
00:08:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
Of course.
00:08:10
Kay
Right. i You're on vacation.
00:08:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes.
00:08:13
Kay
It's all it's all the fun stuff. So, um you know, being away from my family not being not fitting in, um you know, kind of realizing that I will like probably never in in Japan. um That kind of got to me and I decided I wanted to leave and go to graduate school. But then around around that time, I met my husband um and I did go back ah temporarily and I finished. I went to graduate school, but I was back and forth because my graduate studies ah was related to Japan.
00:08:52
Kay
So I had to come back to do research a lot.
00:08:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
ah
00:08:54
Kay
um And then ah my husband lived with me in Canada for a little bit. And then we both decided that it would be better for us to move back to Japan.
00:09:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
Is your husband Japanese?
00:09:07
Kay
He is Japanese, yes.
00:09:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay. So you met him while you were there and then, Okay.
00:09:11
Kay
Yes.
00:09:13
CHANTELLE KINCY
And so what were the drawbacks? You said that there were some negatives, which of course there is everywhere.
00:09:16
Kay
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:09:18
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like i live near Seattle, our negative is the rain. um what What was it that that was the most surprising like drawback once it was like your actual life and you're like, okay, I'm here.
00:09:29
CHANTELLE KINCY
What were those surprises for you that weren't like as great as you thought they'd be?
00:09:35
CHANTELLE KINCY
Just missing your family?
00:09:35
Kay
Well, I think that the, but oh, that that was a big one.
00:09:36
CHANTELLE KINCY
That'd be huge, yeah.
00:09:39
Kay
it It was huge. Missing my family, missing my friends. Like
00:09:43
Kay
the hardest thing was definitely being away from my family, being away from my friends.
00:09:48
Kay
um I made friends in Japan, but you know, the friends I had in Canada, I had, you know, those friendships for a really long time.
00:09:59
Kay
was I guess when you make new friends in Japan, obviously it's very exciting. And I met lots of great people, yeah,
00:10:09
Kay
but It also it takes time for friendships to grow and deepen.
00:10:14
Kay
um And I found that, you know, my first year that was like really fun. I made lots of friends, but then the second year, that's when people started leaving. So jet people will stay for one year, two years, three years.
00:10:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:10:25
Kay
um And then when people leave and then new people come in, it's almost like you're restarting that friendship process.
00:10:31
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh yeah. Yeah. yeah
00:10:35
Kay
And then I found when my friends went back to their home countries, I kind of never heard from them. I, you know, we would talk a little bit, but like nothing deep.
00:10:46
CHANTELLE KINCY
everyone just gets back to their their real life and it's just.
00:10:48
Kay
Exactly. Exactly.
00:10:49
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:10:50
Kay
Yeah.
Navigating Cultural Norms and Expat Life
00:10:50
Kay
When you talk, when you talk about real life, that's another thing. Like some people, I remember they were saying, you know, when we were shopping, like the money in Japan's like play money, like it didn't feel like real life to them.
00:11:04
Kay
Like,
00:11:04
CHANTELLE KINCY
Interesting.
00:11:05
Kay
Yeah, yeah, it was. Yeah. So like living here wasn't like real life, which I don't think this is the case for everybody. Maybe it's not even the case for the majority of ah foreigners living here.
00:11:18
Kay
But this was just something I heard from a few of my friends back then. Yeah.
00:11:25
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's interesting. I don't know if it's the same, but when I was in Australia last year and they would tell me a price, I'd be like, oh, well, that's Australian dollars.
00:11:29
Kay
you
00:11:34
CHANTELLE KINCY
So in US dollars, it's cheaper. So I'm really saving money. yeah I'll just do that. And so I would justify myself spending too much money because I was like, oh, that's Australian dollars.
00:11:38
Kay
yeah
00:11:41
Kay
o
00:11:43
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's not the same. OK, well, it's still a lot of money. ah was just like, oh, it's not the same.
00:11:46
Kay
ah Yeah.
00:11:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh, I'll convert it. Oh, yeah, yeah. Just convert it. That's fine. It'll be cheaper. yeah So guilty of that kind of rationale, which when I saw my bank account, I realized it wasn't that much cheaper.
00:11:53
Kay
Exactly.
00:12:02
Kay
you know Definitely, yeah.
00:12:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
Still spend more money than I would have at home.
00:12:03
Kay
So when you're on vacation, right?
00:12:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes, vacation money is not real money.
00:12:05
Kay
Yeah, yeah.
00:12:08
CHANTELLE KINCY
I get that.
00:12:08
Kay
Exactly.
00:12:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
Did you find big cultural differences or shocks that you kind of had to get used to coming from Canada to Japan or going back to Canada after Japan?
00:12:19
Kay
Both, both, definitely both.
00:12:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:12:22
Kay
um You know, I was, ah one big thing was indirectness.
00:12:22
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay.
00:12:28
Kay
Like in Japan, people are very indirect and they do this to like spare the other person's feelings and to maintain harmony, right? You don't want to cause conflict with other people.
00:12:40
Kay
You don't want to cause an uncomfortable situation to occur.
00:12:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
okay
00:12:44
Kay
So people don't necessarily say what they actually mean. So for instance, you'll meet somebody and then they'll say, oh yeah, you know, like add me on Facebook or, um, you know, back in the day, I don't think people say add me on Facebook anymore, but back then, you know, add me on Facebook or yeah, let's go like hang out next week.
00:12:58
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:13:02
Kay
But they didn't actually mean it.
00:13:06
CHANTELLE KINCY
oh that's torture that's hard though yes
00:13:06
Kay
It was, they were just being polite. Yeah. there was just being polite. Oh, I know. And this is, this isn't the case for everybody. Like, um, now, I think, I don't know.
00:13:17
Kay
don't know if it's because i was there as an English teacher and people thought I was, um you know, only going to live in Japan temporarily, which was originally the plan. um But now I don't experience that like at all.
00:13:27
CHANTELLE KINCY
right
00:13:32
Kay
um But back then I got that a lot.
00:13:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
So maybe they're just more. Yeah, maybe they're more authentic to you because you're like included now or something like you're permanent. I don't know. Interesting.
00:13:42
Kay
Yeah, I like I'm not sure it might also have to do with having a daughter. um You know, like the moms, they actually want, you know, to have a play date, right? They're not saying that just to be polite, they actually mean it.
00:13:51
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes.
00:13:53
Kay
um But ah when I went back to Canada, like I, yeah.
00:13:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's true because. I was just gonna say the people you're associating with are on a different level than they were at that time when you were teaching too.
00:14:00
Kay
Yeah.
00:14:03
Kay
Oh, yeah, definitely.
00:14:04
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:14:04
Kay
Right. When you get older, think when you get older, you start saying what you mean to, if you want to actually hang out with somebody.
00:14:09
CHANTELLE KINCY
Becoming more authentic. Yeah.
00:14:11
Kay
Yeah.
00:14:12
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. I don't have time for all the game.
00:14:13
Kay
um
00:14:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like, no way.
00:14:15
Kay
Right. Yeah, I know. Right. Like I'm tired.
00:14:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
Exactly.
00:14:19
Kay
I only have so much time.
00:14:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
Exactly. yeah
00:14:22
Kay
um But when I went back to Canada, I remember i was, like I ended up being taken back by the directness of people. Like people were too direct and,
00:14:32
CHANTELLE KINCY
Interesting.
00:14:34
Kay
I felt I found like my feelings were kind of getting hurt. Like I couldn't handle it.
00:14:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
And it's so funny because all my Canadian friends, I always think they're like so much nicer than I am. And so I would probably really be a jerk.
00:14:48
Kay
You know what? Well, that's the thing. Like Canadians are generally nice. Like we're right now in Osaka.
00:14:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:14:56
Kay
We're having the Osaka Expo. And, you know, I went to a whole bunch of pavilions and the Canada pavilion, everyone was so nice, like insanely nice. And I was like, yes, these are my people.
00:15:05
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:15:06
Kay
Like so proud, but
00:15:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes. and but
Parenting in Japan and Sharing Experiences
00:15:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
bring
00:15:10
Kay
I don't know what, I don't know was like graduate school or what it was, but like, oh my goodness.
00:15:14
Kay
It was like very direct. I'm scared.
00:15:21
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's so funny. But those are the things you don't know, right? Until you experience them. Like that's something that you don't see in a tourist book. That's not something that you even watch a YouTube video before you go and find out about.
00:15:29
Kay
o
00:15:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
Like that's something you just have to figure out on the fly and then learn how to deal with it, I guess.
00:15:36
Kay
who who
00:15:39
CHANTELLE KINCY
like
00:15:40
Kay
yeah Oh, I know I, you know, like I, I had some unpleasant experiences, right when it came to that. But yeah, like, like you said, you, you learn from it. And one of the most important things about Japanese culture is, um you kind of have to ah read other people's minds, you have to like,
00:15:57
Kay
almost anticipate what they're going to do or, um what they're thinking. You have to, um I don't know, go outside of your body and go into theirs and take their perspective.
00:16:09
CHANTELLE KINCY
So that takes some getting used to though. Did you find yourself also saying things maybe you didn't mean because that's what everyone else was doing? Did you find yourself kind of following along with that to fit in or to to appease people? Or was that difficult for you? Because you were always like, I don't have time to meet with you. Like, I'm not going to do this.
00:16:31
Kay
um I stopped being direct, but I i never said said anything i didn't mean. So I wouldn't say, oh, let's hang out or anything like that.
00:16:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay.
00:16:44
Kay
No, I just I wouldn't even bring it up up if I didn't want to see somebody. Just avoid avoid the subject.
00:16:50
CHANTELLE KINCY
Just let it
00:16:52
Kay
Yeah, i was good at avoidance.
00:16:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, exactly.
00:16:54
Kay
Yeah.
00:16:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
Love that for you.
00:16:59
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's awesome. so you're raising your daughter there now and that's all she knows is Japan.
00:17:03
Kay
Yes.
00:17:06
Kay
Yes.
00:17:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
So how has parenting been um in a different culture?
00:17:10
Kay
hu
00:17:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
And um I mean, because obviously you're raising her a different way than you were raised. um So I imagine that's had some challenges.
00:17:20
Kay
Yeah, definitely. um You know, it's interesting because my family, they're they're immigrants. They came from um the Pacific Islands back in the 80s.
00:17:31
Kay
And so, like, when I grew up, um I was the only like, ah you know, colored kid in the school.
00:17:39
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah. yeah
00:17:41
Kay
um And yeah, I and like my mom, she, she didn't know how to raise a kid in Canada. The only thing she knows is what life was like, you know, back in her home country. And I guess now I'm really starting to appreciate, you know, what my family
Advice for Women Moving Abroad
00:17:59
Kay
did for me and,
00:18:01
Kay
I'm able to take their perspective about what it's like to raise a child in a country that's not your own. Like there's so many things you don't know and you know, there's no guidebook, cultural guidebook on like how to raise.
00:18:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
Right.
00:18:15
Kay
And you know, even if there was like, exactly,
00:18:16
CHANTELLE KINCY
but Because parenting hard on its own. Parenting is hard even when you do live in your country.
00:18:23
Kay
exactly. Like, you know, even in your own country, people have different parenting styles. Um, ah so
00:18:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
For sure.
00:18:31
Kay
um it's it's definitely a learning experience every day. I feel like I'm learning something new. um And I am grateful that I at least have my husband here um and hes because he's Japanese.
00:18:47
Kay
ah But even he like doesn't know sort sometimes like what to do.
00:18:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yes.
00:18:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
Well, he's never been a parent. Yeah, exactly.
00:18:54
Kay
Right, exactly. Right, like we're first-time parents. like First-time parents, like you know, just learn as you go. Right.
00:19:01
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah, let's hope for the best.
00:19:02
Kay
um Like, right. Exactly. Like um my daughter had to write a summer, summer report about, sorry, a report about summer vacation um last year.
00:19:13
Kay
And so, you know, we helped her like, write like little things about what she did and draw pictures. And then she came home and she was so mad because she said all the kids had the,
00:19:27
Kay
printed out pictures of their summer vacation and they had glued it into the report. And my husband and I were both like, what? That was something we were supposed to do. And i asked one of my Japanese mom friends about that. And she, she was like, oh yeah, you didn't grow up here. You didn't know. And then I was like, well, but my husband grew up here and he didn't know.
00:19:48
CHANTELLE KINCY
Also, why is that not in the instructions? What are we doing?
00:19:51
Kay
Oh, I know. know there are no instructions. You're just expected to know. know these things.
00:19:55
CHANTELLE KINCY
oh I spend the whole school year crying.
00:20:00
Kay
Oh, I know i you know. In the beginning, it stressed me out, but now I'm kind of like, you know what wait it is what it is. like
00:20:07
Kay
I'm the foreign mom. what are you going to do? yeah Yeah, exactly.
00:20:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
like can only do so much.
00:20:10
CHANTELLE KINCY
Just be like, sorry, Canada.
00:20:14
Kay
Exactly. I think my daughter, is she's pretty forgiving about those kind of things. She's like, yeah, whatever, you know mom
00:20:20
CHANTELLE KINCY
I love that. Oh my gosh. And I love it's like helped you see your mom in a different way too. Kind of that full circle moment where you can look back and like things make more sense or you're like, oh yeah, yeah, I get that.
00:20:26
Kay
o Right.
00:20:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's, that's pretty cool experience too.
00:20:33
Kay
Yeah. Yeah. And actually like that, that is like one of the big reasons I started my website, tiny tot in Tokyo, um because there really wasn't information out there, right.
00:20:47
Kay
About ah parenting in, in Japan, what it's like to be a parent. And I, I wanted to share my proofs perspective and like,
00:20:52
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:20:57
Kay
Also in a sense to keep um a diary so that my daughter, maybe when she's older, she can look back and see like, okay, this this was my mom's learning process. Like when it came to how it was like to raise me in another country.
00:21:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Oh my gosh. I love that.
00:21:10
Kay
yeah
00:21:11
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's amazing. I'm also just really loving listening to you speak because I can tell that you speak Japanese, but then like you've got some Canadians
Travel and Transport Tips in Japan
00:21:19
CHANTELLE KINCY
slipping in every now and then with the process and things. And it's so cute.
00:21:24
Kay
I like, honestly, honestly, I, but i I don't speak English in my daily life. Like I try to speak it with like my husband and my daughter, but like, you know, the Japanese slips in and things like that.
00:21:33
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:21:35
Kay
But um yeah, I don't get to speak to a native English speaker the way I'm speaking to you.
00:21:36
CHANTELLE KINCY
yeah
00:21:39
CHANTELLE KINCY
No, I'm just picking up like two totally separate accents that are kind of like merging somewhere in the middle.
00:21:40
Kay
Yeah. Even often.
00:21:44
CHANTELLE KINCY
i'm like, all right.
00:21:46
Kay
feel like sometimes I wonder like, am am I still pronouncing things properly?
00:21:47
CHANTELLE KINCY
So.
00:21:50
Kay
Because sometimes like I do voice acting and then um sometimes I'll say something and then, ah you know, the,
00:21:53
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:21:57
Kay
people working there, they're like, is that correct? Like, I think it's actually this. And I'm like, oh, oh yeah, maybe that's the way you're supposed to say it.
00:22:03
CHANTELLE KINCY
and they kind them down
00:22:03
Kay
Like,
00:22:06
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's funny. So your your daughter speaks English and Japanese.
00:22:11
Kay
a little bit. She, yeah, mainly Japanese.
00:22:15
CHANTELLE KINCY
Okay. But it's probably nice for her to speak a little English with your parents and family that's still in Canada.
00:22:21
Kay
Yeah. Yes, yes, yeah. But, you know, she she's far more comfortable speaking Japanese. I don't i don't blame her. ah But, yeah, yeah.
00:22:28
CHANTELLE KINCY
No, that's what she's immersed in all the time. That's her language. Has she been to Canada?
00:22:35
Kay
She has. She's been ah twice. yeah.
00:22:38
CHANTELLE KINCY
Love that.
00:22:39
Kay
Yeah.
00:22:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Very cool. Well, I love this story. So we always ask everyone at the end of these, um what does it mean to go far? So what would you tell a woman who is dreaming about moving abroad but feels a little overwhelmed? What would you say to them?
00:23:00
Kay
Ah, well, dreaming of going abroad and feeling overwhelmed. Well, I think it's very natural to feel overwhelmed because, you know, it's a completely different country.
00:23:07
CHANTELLE KINCY
Thank you.
00:23:12
Kay
You're starting from scratch, basically, right? Trying to find a new place to live, new job, um new friends. You're, you know, your support network is not going to be there, but, you know, life is short and if you have the opportunity to do it, just do it.
00:23:31
Kay
Just do it because the worst that can happen is that you just, you figure out, okay, this is not for me and you go back home. That's totally okay. What matters at the end of the day is that you took that initial leap.
00:23:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Yeah.
00:23:44
Kay
So you won't be looking back when you're, when you're, you know, in your sixties
Cost of Living and Vacation Recommendations
00:23:49
Kay
wondering, ah, should I have gone? Should I have done that? Well, no, because you did it, you did it.
00:23:54
Kay
And ah you don't know what, um, might come from that one experience. Like for instance, I never in a million years imagined i would meet my husband in Japan. I was like set on going back to Canada, living out my life there, but here I am.
00:24:14
CHANTELLE KINCY
That's so cool. Oh my gosh. That was amazing. I love that advice. Thank you so much. So for everyone listening, we just want to thank Kay for being with us today. Go to the description of this um podcast episode so that you can check out her website, Tiny Tot in Tokyo, and then tune back in next week because Kay is going to tell us about traveling in Japan. So she's going to give us her favorite places and some tips on traveling there with a kid.
00:24:37
CHANTELLE KINCY
So we will see you next week. Alrighty.
00:24:41
CHANTELLE KINCY
Hi, and welcome back to Go Far Girl. Today, we're here with Kay. Kay is a Canadian freelance writer and occasional voice actor who's been living in Japan for more than a decade. She writes about what it's like to raise a child in Japan and to travel with them on her website, Tiny Tot in Tokyo.
00:24:56
CHANTELLE KINCY
You can find that link down in the description. So be sure and check that out so you can follow Kay's adventures through Japan and maybe plan your own adventures. So if you missed last week, you'll definitely want to go back and check that out.