Making a decision on moving to another country is always stressful with lots of things going on in anyone`s mind, especially if you have a family.
It requires tons of research about how to move another country you want to settle down in, prior planning and preparation. It is a very responsible “task”.
I was 26 when I first moved to Japan, one of the most developed countries in Asia.
Although Japan was a closed country for over 300 years, it has since been changing gradually towards multiculturalization as well as open mindedness of its society.
For the past 10 years since I came here, it has changed a lot, in the number of foreigners as well.
At the beginning, I was like, where am I? Was it a good decision to come here? and etc. with many things going on in my mind, which let me to think about pros and cons of being here, which led and let me understand to find my own way of surviving and enjoying life.

Anybody would feel the same way, as soon as environment, people and all other daily things change in one day!
The “pros” I could think of at that time were expansion of my knowledge, exploring new things, culture and lifestyle, personal growth with more independence, new relationships, travel opportunities. These, I am sure, had exposed me to new experiences and opportunities that I would never have been achieved if I stayed put.
On the other hand, the “cons” which were there waiting for me were culture shock, language barrier, lack of friends, “new kid” syndrome and of course finances. I was intimidated and overwhelmed at the same time, but decided to focus on why I decided to move here and remembered that “patience is a virtue”.

To be honest, I was lucky from the beginning, because I had my tutors and teachers who helped a lot, with everything I could not understand and do by myself. I could make apartment rental contract with a managing company with Japanese guarantor, otherwise it would not be possible to do it on my own. At that time, there were monthly apartments with less hassle, but because my stay was at least 2 years (apartment rental lease in Japan is basically 2 years) I had to rent an apartment which was empty at all. I Japan, most of the apartments come with nothing inside, that is why you need to buy furniture and appliances by yourself, or get some from your friends or recycle shops for cheaper prices. At that time, I used one of the local apartment lease companies and never knew about the existence of monthly apartments, such as atinn Co. Ltd (http://en.at-inn.com/) with multilingual team which supports foreigners who doesn’t speak Japanese. I have mentioned this because most of the time when you decide to rent an apartment through a local Japanese company then you will definitely need guarantor. You might probably know that in Japan, there are hotels, monthly apartments as well as furnished or non-furnished apartments, up. Only monthly apartments for not require any guarantors, which is really convenient with smoother paperwork. All these were new to me, but because of people who surrounded me helped me find way out. Well I would say that stability of a psychological condition is really important at the beginning in order to overcome difficulties and different barriers.

Now, when I look back at myself, I remember things with a smile on my face, and feeling of gratitude to everybody involved in assisting and supporting me. Nothing is impossible. Difficult times and all the hassle around make us even smarter and help grow stronger.
I will never forget about Japanese people who helped me when I crashed on my bicycle and broke my hand, as I had immediate help and delivered to the hospital on a car of the passer by.
Being at the hospital at that time I received immediate cure and procedures needed were smooth. I had to pay only 30% of the whole amount, as if you are in the health insurance, the government covers remaining 70%.
The health insurance issue is another topic, which attracts almost all foreigners` attention visiting Japan, especially for a long-term period. If a foreigner comes to Japan for a work, basically hiring company do the procedures related to health insurance and provide with health insurance card which will later be used every time at the hospital or clinics. However, not all hiring Japanese companies provide health insurance for their foreign employees. This means, that each person must apply for it through ward offices or city halls, where the address is registered.
This process is really burdensome and makes it more difficult without Japanese language skills. It becomes even more difficult for those who has kids. As you might probably know, Japanese government provides pay check until the certain age for kids (paid once for 4 months, 3 times a year), as well as free health care support, covered 100% by the Japanese government at any hospital or clinics. Plus, for newly born babies, free vaccinations are also provided, so someone who has small kids should not worry about it, as long as they come to Japan and do the necessary registration in the ward offices where the apartment is located.

So, all the above-mentioned procedures are necessary and must be done as soon as possible to provide convenient and free stress stay in Japan. It’s time for me, and our team to do the needful and assist foreigners coming to Japan, by providing support with all necessary paperwork and procedures.