September 6, 2026　Three Years In: What Still Surprises Me About Japan

Hello to all our visionary investors, global families, and brave pioneers! Magandang araw po! It is Vianne, your VIP concierge and property management specialist at Anhome. Welcome to another Healing Sunday with us!

I've been living and working in Japan for almost three years now, and there are still small moments that catch me off guard　some in a good way, some in a "will I ever get used to this" way.

The rule-following still gets me.

The thing I noticed almost immediately after arriving is how seriously people here follow rules that, honestly, nobody is enforcing in the moment. The clearest example for me is crosswalks. I've stood at an intersection late at night, no cars anywhere in sight, and watched everyone just... wait for the light. Where I'm from, that would never happen. At first it felt almost unnecessary, but the more I've lived here, the more I've come to respect it. If I'm going to live in this country, I think it's fair to follow the same standards everyone else holds themselves to so now I catch myself doing the same thing, waiting at the empty crosswalk like everyone else.

It's not just crosswalks. It's a general sense of order and cleanliness that runs through a lot of daily life here, and three years in, it's one of the things I appreciate most, even if it took some adjusting to.

Japanese conversation is still the hard part.

Here's the part I'm less proud of: my spoken Japanese still isn't where I want it to be. I go to a Japanese class every Sunday, and the conversation practice is usually where I get stuck. Not because I don't understand the topic it's the specific words that trip me up.

One example that stuck with me: a teacher once asked me about close friendships, and I didn't know the older, more nuanced word for a close friend the kind of word that carries a deeper meaning than the everyday version. I had to ask my teacher to explain it in simpler Japanese so I could actually understand it. My teacher has been endlessly patient with me through moments like that, which I'm genuinely grateful for, because learning a language as an adult, on top of a full work schedule, is humbling in a way I didn't expect.

And the one thing I'll admit I don't love: the summer heat.

If I'm being honest about the "what don't you like" question, I don't really have complaints about the culture itself. The one thing that gets me every year is the summer heat specifically, commuting in it. That's it. That's the complaint. Everything else, I've either adjusted to or genuinely come to appreciate.

Three years in, still learning.

I think that's the honest way to sum up where I am still learning the language, still noticing new things about how people here move through daily life, and still, somehow, surprised by a crosswalk with no cars in it.

Get in touch

If any of this made you curious about your own move to Japan or if you're one of our visionary investors, global families, or brave pioneers thinking about starting your own journey here I'd love to hear from you. Reach out anytime.

Phone: 072-489-5661

— Vianne