What I Lost and Gained: Two Years as an Immigrant in Japan

This morning, I pulled out a pair of pants I bought shortly after arriving in Japan two years ago. When I put them on, the waistband hung loose. I picked up my belt—also purchased when I came to Japan—already shortened three times. It feels like it needs another trim soon.

Losing 20 pounds has been the most obvious "loss" in my two years in Japan.

Last week, my high school friend visited Japan from Australia with her family. Their family of four spent two days with our family of four, and we talked about many things. Though we hadn't seen each other in over a decade and lived on opposite sides of the world, the friendship we built in our youth hadn't faded with time or distance.

As first-generation immigrants, whether in Sydney or Osaka, we face similar challenges: language, culture, environment, work, parents, and so on.

Whether in China or abroad, we're just ordinary people—no background, no wealth. We've relied on our own efforts to study, work hard, and build businesses. We've moved our families to cities we love.

Recently, I talked with my wife:

"After two years living in Japan, do you feel disappointed?"

"Not at all. I think it's great."

"Even though we don't own a car or house, and even the furniture and appliances aren't ours?"

"Don't they all work the same?"

Yes, as long as they work.

Losing our fixed assets—does it matter much? So far, it feels fine.

Daily life is busy but fulfilling. Compared to Beijing or Sydney, Osaka seems tiny. Most of our daily activities don't even require a car. In two years in Japan, I've almost forgotten what "traffic jams" feel like. The 3-4 hours I used to spend driving every day are now saved. I use that time for exercise, work, and spending time with the kids. It's pretty good.

Over these two years, many comments have said they can't integrate into Japanese society or make friends here.

Honestly, I worried about this before coming.

After all, lost social circles and "connections" can't simply be replaced overnight.

But over these two years, my WeChat contacts have grown faster than I expected.

Whether you can make friends and how quickly you can build a new social circle depends not on external factors but on yourself.

In middle age, making new friends is inevitably a process of value exchange—business value, emotional value, family value, social value, and so on. When you have value in some aspect, you won't lack friends drawn to that.

As for integrating into this society, I don't have such lofty aspirations yet. First, I need to properly learn Japanese.

Life constantly swings between gain and loss. The more we experience, the less we obsess over many things. Gain and loss are two sides of the same coin.

In short, life is brief. Being happy matters most~

这里是中文版。