An Empty Room and Zero Friends: My First Night in Japan

March 7th, 2020.

This photo was taken on the first night at my new home in Japan. It was in a small city called Hirakata, where I could hear frogs singing just a few minutes' walk from my apartment.

Just a few days earlier, Sankei News had reported a potential border closure in Japan due to COVID. A close friend called to alert me about this while my whole family was on the way to a photo studio. We were supposed to take a family portrait before I relocated.

We canceled the photoshoot, went back home, rushed to pack everything in 20 minutes, and headed straight to Incheon Airport. It was the first time I had ever bought a flight ticket just a few hours before hopping on a plane.

Although I was happy to have made it to Japan—mostly to be with my then-girlfriend, now wife—she was living in Tokyo, nearly 500 kilometers away.

Amazon Japan's HR team was surprised that I had slid into the country right before the borders closed. They told me that all the new-hire training planned for Tokyo was canceled, and I was to show up directly at the Fulfillment Center on Day 1.

I remember lying on that hard floor, filled with anxiety.

Would I fit in, being the only foreigner in the entire office? I had heard Japanese people were very private and that becoming close took a lot of time and effort. Was my Japanese really functional for a work environment? I had absolutely zero friends within a 100 km radius. And on and on the thoughts went.

Looking back now, six years later? I realize how blessed I was by the people I met.

I was welcomed into more colleagues' and friends' homes for dinners and drinks than I ever was back in Korea. Late-night ramen and gyudon runs were unhealthy, but heartwarming things to do together. There were camping trips, barbecues, movie nights, and so much more. I even went from simply being invited to weddings to actually being the MC at a friend's wedding.

(Last, but most importantly from 500KM to 0KM distance from my wife)

Despite all my initial anxieties, Japan and its people (Japanese and foreigners living in Japan) welcomed me with incredible hospitality.

I hope my fellow foreigners living in Japan are having a similarly warm experience. If not, please reach out—I have some hospitality to share! :)