Introduction to myself and The Sixth Ring: Notes from Japan

 

A few of the blogs I had in the past, including the ones I ghost-wrote for others, had good visitor numbers. But I didn't think I would ever write a blog again - or write in general. 

Like Japan, writing was one of the dreams I had slowly given up on. It is a long story. I am originally from Germany, but I have lived most of my life in New Zealand and the UK. 

After I left New Zealand, life went downhill for a variety of reasons. My only Japanese friend was in New Zealand. For 12 years, I had no proper contact with Japanese people at all. After all, people always told me to not be silly, find a proper job, forget about moving to that strange place - be sensible, be intelligent. People tried to change me in all three countries. They told me I am too quiet and too nice. They told me I should have other interests, they told me writing is not a proper job, etc. 

I wanted to be in Japan since I was a child. It all started with a movie about samurai. I just thought they were so beautiful, and their fighting poetry in motion. My fascination with katana was obviously not a very girly interest. I was just a kid, I didn't understand much about the world - but something about these warriors just felt right to me.

My older brother, who recently died, practiced Kendo and Karate among other sports (not because he was into Japan, but because he liked martial arts). Sometimes, he would teach me a few things, but that soon stopped because my mother drove my brother away with something she said. 

I never saw my brother again.

As a teenager, my love for Japan led me to read books about Japanese history, and, the most important thing, I discovered Miyamoto Musashi. Of course, I also read manga and watched anime once I learned about them. I listened to Hikaru Utada on repeat, I started drawing, I started writing fan fiction, and I just enjoyed the things that only came into my life because of Japan.

I wanted to study Japanese at university, but was talked into doing something more "sensible". I then ended up in New Zealand, saw Mount Taranaki, and probably got attached because he looks like Fujisan's brother. I spent a lot of time on that mountain, in a hut on my own, enjoying the peace and quiet. 

A lot happened in New Zealand. After almost 10 years, however, New Zealand's immigration laws changed, and the work I was doing was no longer good enough.

I was never going to return to Germany, so the UK seemed like the next best thing - no visa issues here, I could have stayed in the UK for the rest of my life. But I became unhappier year after year. 

I never finished any of the books I started writing. The story of Nao Nishiyama that has been in my head for decades has still not been told. I stopped listening to Japanese music; I did not think about samurai and Musashi any longer. I watched no more anime. My dreams and hopes just faded away. I didn't want to be reminded of the beauty I could never see in real life.

I ended up being a hermit for nine years, living in a rural area, doing some volunteer work in exchange for accommodation, and the rest of the day I spent freelancing, saving money, without even knowing what for. It's not like I was spending much money on anything. But I worked, and worked, and worked. Some weeks I worked 50-60 hours.

Then I thought: "I can work from anywhere in the world." I read a blog by someone working remotely in Thailand. The 5-year visa you could get seemed attractive to me, and I could also have spent some time in Vietnam, Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries. Or spend time in Greece. 

I did not think about Japan at first. It had been hammered into me that it's not possible, that my dreams will never come true. But then, a little voice in my head kept nagging me: "What about Japan? You don't even care about Thailand or Vietnam. Right now, nobody can tell you what to do. Right now, you are free." 

I did some research and decided to apply for a language school to learn Japanese properly for 2 years, and then either go to a Japanese university to study Japanese history or find a job. Thanks to saving money for such a long period of time, it wouldn't be an issue.

Stupid at my age? 

Maybe. 

But I was not happy at all where I was. It just did not feel like home. 

So I took the risk and applied for The Yamasa Institute in Okazaki. Why that place? My brain told me to go to a place in the North because I'm not a fan of hot places - but I saw the river and Okazaki castle and my heart knew it had to be that place. The brain lost the fight. I'm still not quite sure why. It would have made more sense if the place had a direct connection to Miyamoto Musashi. 

I arrived in Japan on April 1st.

I decided to share my story and also some information about how the student visa works in this blog. When I did my own research, I noticed that there is some incorrect information out there, and I'd like to tell people how things actually do work.  

Once I have some experience with the language school, I'll also write about that because there aren't that many blogs about Japanese language schools outside of the big cities. So this blog will basically be a mix of stories about my time in Japan and some articles that will hopefully end up being useful for someone else.