Background

I am a twentysomething women who lives in Japan.  Ladies, I am here to help you.  Gentlemen, read and learn.

To those of you not residing in Japan who may not immediately understand the above statement: while there are 2 million foreigners residing in Japan (pop.120,000,000), only about 70,000 of them are women who did not hail from Asia.  For that reason, not only do we poor creatures have to endure the usual misconceptions about our countries, we also have to forge our way in a youth-worshipping male-dominated society, where Japanese men are shy and sexist, and where we can`t even garner support or love from our fellow foreign men, who prefer the “more feminine” Japanese women to their large, egalitarian countrywomen. 

Here`s what I have to say to that: what a bunch of garbage.

Why would 70,000 englightened women willingly live under such conditions? That`s right, we wouldn`t.  The truth is that for most of us foreign women, life is not only not bad, but actually kind of awesome.

This is a country where for WEEKS all stores will go on sale; where delicious healthy and unhealthy food can be purchased for cheap; where the men will not throw a hissy fit about paying the bill; where there are no sports bars in sight and you will never have a Saturday torpedoed by a playoff game; where you can drink and fuck and not be judged for it; where all the cities are connected by trains so you can literally go where you want; and, most importantly, you can take risks in both your professional and personal life that could not be imagined in your home country.

Foreign women in Japan are long due for an image makeover. We are not to be pitied, but envied. Read on and see.