Living in Japan - why the pull?

@ LikeBike. What anime you watch should be loosely guided by what sort of live action you like. Thriller? Drama? Romance? Sci fi?

I love Japan but I would never want to live there in my working life time. The work life balance is better here in Australia. Also, I expect the omotenashi wears off pretty quickly when it's realised you're not a mere tourist anymore. From my past studies it is my understanding that uchi and soto is very present and it can be rather difficult for a foreigner to be accepted. Not impossible, but difficult. At least I'm used to dealing with arseholes here on this side of the fence ;)

Thanks everyone for your stories. It was an interesting read - specifically since most people came to Japan for work, family, grew to love it or for a specific cultural aspects. I guess it also shows that most of the regulars on this site are people who like Japan for Japan and not for how it is portrayed in anime or manga (even though there is nothing wrong with liking either)....

I suspect that most of those who have made a long-term life in Japan are not the ones who were attracted because of anime because those who came over because of anime didn�ft last after the realities did not match expectations.

Japan is portrayed in anime in much the same way as America is portrayed in, say, Friends or The Simpsons. Of course it's not exactly the same and only a fool would expect it to be, but there's more than a bit of truth...

@Gregalor, define last in Japan, do you mean live there permanently? Or do you mean lived in Japan for 10+ years? How many years defines "lasted"?

Again, I have a friend who became a JET because she liked anime and Japanese video games. That was the initial draw to apply as a JET. That was in 2002. She now has permanent residence and has been doing localization at a Japanese video game company for a good 10+ years. She loves Japan for other reasons as well now, but she also still loves video games which is why she likes working at a video game company. Would you consider her not to have lasted?

I think anime or video games or some other hobby might be the draw that gets people to look into moving to Japan, but I think how long you last varies more on:

1) Relationships. It's just really hard as a foreign woman in Japan to find someone. Men have a super easy time getting girlfriends or boyfriends in Japan but all the single women I've known in Japan have had a much harder time dating. It also really varies with how connected you are to your natal family. All the people I know who have lasted more than a decade don't have strong connections to their natal family, because it's just hard only being able to see your natal family once or twice a year at best.

2) Jobs. If you don't have a job out of college an Eikawa might seem like a good idea but the work environment at most is awful. It's a job that is just really hard to make work long term since there isn't really any growth or upward movement unless you can become fluent enough to completely leave the eikawa and work elsewhere. The pay is pretty stagnant and it just can get hard to live on it. That doesn't stop some people from trying to make it work. I know someone who moved to Japan as a JET in '07 and is still there working a crappy eikawa job in Osaka.

I think hobbies are a draw. Most people who graduate college and actually make it to Japan know going into it that real life is not like anime. But if you're into anime, being in Japan means you can attend anime events, seiyuu events, and any other sort of events that take place in Japan. There are still people who hope to get jobs in industries connected to their hobbies and there are people who have.