Noise & Annoying Neighbours in Japan

One of the things you will have to come to terms with when you move to Japan is that housing here is just not the same as your home country. If you come from a western country like Canada, you have the luxury of insulation. Even in apartment buildings, while it is possible to hear the occasional bangs from upstairs, your neighbour would often have to really make a huge effort to make that noise in order for you to hear it. At least, that's how my apartment in Toronto was.

In Japan, not only is insulation not really a thing, you will most likely be dealing with your neighbour's noise at some point.

Walls here between apartment flats are just so, so thin.

I currently share a wall with one next door neighbour. The wall between his apartment and mine are literally the same material as being an adjacent bedroom next to your parents' or your siblings'. At least it feels like it...

If my neighbour spoke in a normal volume, you can hear him.

Yes, it would do me good to find a new apartment that has better walls - but here's the thing. Many Japanese apartments really DON'T have better walls. If they do, they are often older buildings, out of my price range, or they aren't apartment available to foreigners.

So, in essence. It is quite unavoidable.

In Japan, you often just have to suck it up. If day time noise is really a bother, then you really need to make an effort to find the apartment and maybe be more willing to give up some needs/wants for it.

However, if the noise happens at night (around midnight or some other), you may have more recourse. I have called the police on my neighbour several times during the hours between 1AM to 4AM. Each time, the police came. Here's my experience:

I called the emergency number and spoke in Japanese to the police officer on the phone, telling them that I was able to hear my neighbour next door, talking or some other very loudly. I told them I wasn't too sure. They'd then proceed to ask for my address if they don't have any other follow up questions (sometimes they might ask how long it's been happening, etc). They also asked for my name, and my nationality since my name is not Japanese. A fair question, I think. Nothing xenophobic about it, as I've never gotten comments about it after.

Afterwards, they'd ask if my apartment has an auto-lock system in the lobby. If you did, you'd be asked if it's ok to buzz your unit to get inside. The police won't actually go to your apartment at all, they will go straight to the door of your noisy neighbour. They will also not tell your neighbour who has called.

Usually it doesn't amount to much.

If your neighbour has some sense to open the door, the police will chat with him or her. Then off they go. Hopefully your neighbour also has some sense to shut up since police had just shown up at their door. If they don't... well.

You can also try to call your management company and complain through them. Again, it doesn't amount to much. They will probably just tell you to call the police in the end. Mine has offered to print out notices to send to other tenants to basically tell people to stfu at night, but you can gauge the effective of that if your neighbour really just don't give a fuck to begin with.

I don't advise approaching your neighbour by yourself. If things get hostile for you and the police are called, there's a high chance that you as the foreigner will be at a huge disadvantage over your neighbour who is Japanese. Your hostile neighbour may also end up escalating the noise because they now know it's YOU who is complaining about them.

In conclusion, basically... there's not much you can do about a noisy neighbour. You can only hope that the police scares them and they have some form of curtesy to not be loud during sleep hours.

Job Transitions as an ALT

The thing about being an ALT in Japan is that most jobs will always be contracts, and year in, year out - you will need to deal with the possibility of not having work at the very last minute.

No matter how well you plan, or how much you try to job search - there is always something that could happen. Your new employer's promise might fall through. Or maybe your current company had not disclosed that they had no work for you, and had not thought to tell you until two weeks before contract renewal. Maybe even, you just saw red flags in the new company you're about to join and decide it's best to pull the plug before it even starts.

It's tough.

I remember when I used to work for Dispatch Company and would always worry whether or not my current placement would still be available.

The thing is, if you are a good ALT, your dispatch company has no reason to not renew your contract. If your current city does not use your dispatch company's services (thus sending you off without a job), your dispatch company will absolutely do its best to find you a different city within reason.

But the thought of having to move, and leaving your current city and not really knowing 100% if your work situation will stay the same or not can be frustrating. Especially when you didn't even think it's possible that it COULD be happening.

My first contract was very clear cut that no one (absolutely no one) will be staying in that city come April, and dispatch company will do its due diligence to find other placements for us. But most of the time, we all assume otherwise that it's a given - though its not. Your contract is highly dependent on whether that city's Board of Education wants to continue its relationship with your current dispatch company or use an entirely different one altogether.

This information might not be disclosed until your last month of work.

Once you find out (if you even do), then it's a scramble to find a different city for you to work in. Then you need to figure out if you need to move and find a new apartment, because new city is too far. Or, do you try to find work elsewhere and stay in your city? Is there even work in your city this late in the year? Do you even have extra cash for the move? What about your friends?

It is an absolute nightmare.

Now that I'm in between job transitions (my 5 years at my current school is finally up) - and thank goodness it's not dispatch - I'm reflecting on all the times I had to go through with all these uncertainties.

Though, I suppose I should not speak so soon... after all, there's still one month of this transition for me for all this to go wrong.

But let's hope not.

Valentine’s Day Chocolates in Japan

Valentine's Day in Japan is always a bit of a big deal. Women are expected to give out chocolates to friends and loved ones every year on this day. Handmade chocolates signify a lady's closest to their family, romantic partner and sometimes even friends. But often times, people just don't have time to make sweets.

So there is a HUGE culture around purchasing chocolates and sweets for your loved ones. So big, that every department store and sweets shop you walk by will have "Valentine's chocolates" for sale.

Of course, there's no shame in not participating in it. In all my years of living in Japan, I never really bought or made any sweets for any of my friends. I will gladly accept them if I get any, and also return the favour on "White Day" (March 14th) - but I always had a thing about the commercialization of this day. Well, that's another rant for another day.

But I wanted to show you what kinds of chocolates & goods you can find during Valentine's Day here in Japan.

If you're ever here during this time, I do recommend hitting a Department Store (like Daimaru, or Takashimaya, etc) - there is usually an Event Floor, near the top of the building, that will solely be devoted to sweets shops setting stalls to sell their chocolates. Some of them are quite beautiful, and even if you don't plan on buying any for anyone, it's still nice to treat yourself!!

This is the floor map of the Hankyu Department store, and you can see just the scale of this. All the stalls are mostly located on the 9th floor, but there are one or two shops littered on all floors.

Here are some of the chocolates I found interesting:

These are made to shape like wagashi - pretty cool!

I really love the animal chocolates myself. I always think they're super cute, but I don't have to buy and eat them until this year because they're too cute. I ate one of them, and they're pretty decent. A bit too expensive though...

What do you think? Would you like to buy any of these?