Black in Japan: Living costs & Benefits of Life in a smaller City

Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Fukuoka, etc....everyone knows about these places, so what about the smaller cities in Japan?

[@josephmeetstravel9762]

I've lived in Inuyama Aichi for about 8 months before coming to Tokyo last year and I gotta say I agree with somethings. In Tokyo and Kanagawa people are just as friendly and you can save just as much money as living in a smaller city. Living in a smaller city, you tend to build friendships quicker and everybody knows everybody. In bigger city you can get lost and not run into the same people over and over. I like both living in a bigger city and smaller city like Inuyama. Also, check out Inuyama!!! Famous castle town!

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Joseph Meets Travel cool, sounds good to me

[@croatiansaphilippines3837]

Thanks alot great information you covered a lot in detail in 8 minutes

[@cal31BRIAN23]

answered some of my questions here. thanks man.

[@sadeortiz7778]

So chill i had to subscribe

[@MunokenDRRR]

Really appreciate the info man. Been considering on which part of japan i would want to move in during some point when i do end up moving there and this helped quite alot.

[@princess_ebony23]

when i grow up i really want to visit japan thx for the video.

[@TrueMexico]

Good hearing your thoughts. I lived in a smallish Japanese city and in the outskirts. I actually miss that life a lot as there many benefits right :)

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+True Mexico Very cool and thanks. Yeah I see so many benefits by living outside of the big cities

[@snarkyguy]

Good info and solid video. Also the goatee looks fresh.

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Snarky White Guy haha thanks man!

[@chelsea2378]

I agree, I have been living in a small city in Tottori prefecture since July and on the 21st I will have about $10,000 saved up. Countryside living is ca-chingggggg lmao

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Chelsea Chang Yup yup, it's a pretty nice life out here if you play your cards right

[@cupidlace]

pretty cool. I plan on vising japan, I have a some friends in Sapporo and Nagoya , cant wait

[@spooky_electric]

Good info, but you can say the same about any country. Like in the US, you can live in a smaller city in Georgia or you can live in NYC. Yeah, the basic necessities are a lot cheaper in that Georgia town, but people move to NYC for the culture. For the access to music venues that have huge artists daily, the theatre industry, the stand up comedians, the hip hop scene, the food, the architecture, etc. That said, I was ready to scoff at the mention of Japanese pizza, then I saw it was Neopolitan style. Wow. Looks delicious.

[@ThePharaohsCat]

Some really sensible info for those who want to come. Maybe was in Osaka same time as you. Miss that Midosuji jingle. ;) Did you try Hyogo ken etc?

[@ThisIsJoe11]

Nah not yet, maybe one day tho. and thanks for your comment

[@breezwonder]

Have you been to to "Baby shoop"

[@victorkiruiemiob]

small cities and towns, word! thanks for this video mate, gonna come to Japan, probably some time next year, pretty excited, getting some Japanese friends too

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+The Dark Scotsman Sounds good. Japan is a cool place to be.

[@victorkiruiemiob]

+AsiaTravelGuy Japan totally! and i especially wanna go up to Hokkaido, maybe even, eventually, make it my home, and look forward to its crazy winters...

[@ThisIsJoe11]

The Dark Scotsman haha thats cool. be ready for the non heated housing

[@victorkiruiemiob]

+AsiaTravelGuy Japan じつは、i'm pretty okay with that, and i love tech and tinkering, so i'll come up with something i'm sure

[@ThisIsJoe11]

The Dark Scotsman Thats good.

[@dapperblue1764]

Very nice video, thanks a lot for the info!!

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+bluedough No worries

[@dojonane]

Loved your vid. I'm planning on moving to Japan next year. Are you fluent in spoken and written Japanese, and if not, how easy is it to navigate life in a smaller city speaking English?

[@filipradulovic3168]

I like your video. Ty for info.

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Filip Radulovic No problem! Thank you

[@markedanew6565]

I'm so excited 😆😆😆

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Markeda Williams I'm glad. Japan is a cool place

[@SkuldXHimura]

i want to move to japan! is there any way i can ask you advice on this? like how do i go about doing this? some helpful links or knowledge. i backpacked japan for over 2 months but i want to return and move there. intermediate japanese still learning, and i wonder if its possible for me to live lil outside tokyo but still go to tokyo, my friend makoto spent about 375$ for a room in an apartment in kawasaki, i am wondering if that is good 40mins by train to tokyo or if i should look closer or farther.

[@oGCantEdit]

You spoke a little on film I know film isn't that big of a thing in Japan but I was wondering if you think its possible for a black male majoring in film to be able to start or bring a production company to japan? Great video!

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+マルコム Japan is the land of opportunity, man! If you really are keen on starting your own production company, Japan is the place to do it. I'm meeting with various film directors and actors now. My close friend, black male, just did an acting scene in a martial arts movie yesterday. If you really wanna be successful and have a good support system, Japan is the place to be. It ain't easy, but it is very possible! I make commercials in the city of Okazaki and I'll be making city promos in the future so I'm really excited about living here and I'm not going back to the states either lol....soooo much opportunity here!

[@oGCantEdit]

+AsiaTravelGuy Japan Whoa thanks for the info Im an actor as well so thats great to know that they hire people of color thanks for the info again!

[@ThisIsJoe11]

マルコム haha, you obviously haven't seen too many commercials in Japan lol. They really enjoy black culture here man. There are a lot of commercials, and a lot of Japanese directors that want black people in their productions cuz we literally have a natural style and culture that no other race of people can match up to. They have reggae bars and black culture areas in Osaka. Japan is the only Asian country that gives homage to black culture.

[@oGCantEdit]

+AsiaTravelGuy Japan whoa good to know thx!

[@ThisIsJoe11]

マルコム No worries....I'm actually editing in Japanese subtitled translations for a video now....this task can be tedious but its needed lol, so I'll talk to you later

[@hellgirl1923]

I want to go to Fukuoka !!!

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Kanzen'na kage thats a cool place

[@maires007]

What are some of the other "small" cities you would recommend? You say don't rule them out but what are the others we would not know about ?

[@hellgirl1923]

Can you go around in Japan and ask them what are there favorite bands in Japan like >japanese bands/jrock/jpop...

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Kanzen'na kage Maybe someday, but I gotta respect people's privacy and I don't wanna be that guy who runs up on people to ask them random questions.

[@onassi]

Hey man! i was wondering...i wanted to teach english in china, and i was wondering, how much experience and what credentials did you have to land your first job there? At the moment, i only have a BA and TEFL...and im worried it may not be enough. I'm a black guy and i know race can sometimes be an issue too...so i was wondering if you could shed some light on the situation for me. Love your videos though! Thanks

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+onassi Thank you. Don't worry about being black, its ok. You have a BA and TEFL so that should be enough for you. In terms of city, my favorite cities are Chongqing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Xi'an. These are all cities that I would work in if I went back to China. You'll be ok.

[@onassi]

+AsiaTravelGuy Japan Ah that's good to hear! Thanks. I'll keep those cities in mind..particularly Hangzhou and Chengdu, as they've been mentioned to me as good places to be multiple times

[@ThisIsJoe11]

***** sounds good. if u have questions, let me know

[@onassi]

+AsiaTravelGuy Japan actually i did have another question. While you were in china, did you ever do private tutoring on the side? I'd really like to do that also, but im worried that i wont be able to get many clients willing to take me over a native caucasian speaker

[@ThisIsJoe11]

***** I had part time work that paid 400RMB an hour which is about $80 an hour. Good money to be made. Not all part time work is that lucrative, but you can definitely find work. You gotta have confidence though. It can be daunting, but you gotta know your are worthy of having what u wanna have or nothing will come to you. If you have any more questions, let me know

[@theladymessenger01]

Hi...am I being special? I wanted to check out ya girl's video blog but I did not see a link. I'm new to Japan in Misawa.

[@ThisIsJoe11]

hey hey, you should be able to click the link on the video but I'll add it in the description

[@theladymessenger01]

thanks love...

[@jaylynpayne1]

wassup with you and the japanese wemon thoe?

[@YoungReaper88]

how long does it all take trying to live in japan

[@SettawatUdom]

I following you Joe ^_^

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Settawat Udom Thank you!

[@changedman7627]

I have a decent job here in the states and im off in the winter..roughly 5 months....If i saved up 5 to 6 grand how well could i live there in the winter months? The plans is to work in the states and vacation/ live in china during the winter. I would also have $1,600 in unemployment coming in during the off season.

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Willie Jackson You'll be rich in china with that money.

[@changedman7627]

So when you say well off....what would my experience be like in china? What arrangements would have to make for my apt there while away in the states?

[@ThisIsJoe11]

Willie Jackson What city are you going to?

[@changedman7627]

I'm really not sure yet...I've heard some decent things about shanghai etc..looking for a city pretty laid back because that's my personality....but somewhere not too far from a decent night life scene...nothing crazy though Lol.

[@ThisIsJoe11]

Willie Jackson Chongqing or Chengdu but I really love Chongqing

[@SplendidNinja]

i just need to know... are there some popular arcades out there?

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+Bayshawn Jones It's Japan, the land of the best video games ever.....of course there are...Osaka has some, and I'm sure Tokyo is full of them

[@edwardrobinson8947]

hey joe, if we would like to invest in your business, can we contact you?

[@ThisIsJoe11]

Thanks for your interest! Be looking out for more videos of what we are doing now and how to contact us in the future! We'll be releasing videos again starting next week!

[@PoptartzzofGorg]

400 dollars a month?

[@mtlblues4710]

you dont really eat the meat?

[@ThisIsJoe11]

+mtl blues Is it really that hard to believe?

[@mtlblues4710]

+AsiaTravelGuy Japan haha I had to say it bro thx for the videos

[@ThisIsJoe11]

mtl blues No worries. It's all good

[@breezwonder]

Hip Hop is Black music/culture

[@gillianwilliams7990]

he talks like mike Tyson

[@Darren_Tay]

Why are your eyes so glazed? Are you high? XD