Justin-Klein.com – Life of a Traveling Programmer

This Tuesday I officially announced my intention to quit my job as a video game programmer in Kyoto. My last day will be November 12th, and I have to be out of my apartment by November 30th.

Much has been written about the perils of working as a Westerner in a Japanese company. Based on this information, and my previous experiences here as a student, I decided quite early that no matter how much I love living here I do not want to work in a purely Japanese company. This is why I got so excited when offered a job in a foreign-run game development studio here in Kyoto. Continue reading »

In my view, there are two “problematic” types of foreigners populating Japan today. One type consists of those who view Japan as their country, seeing any other foreigner as a pollutant ruining the natural beauty and ancient history to which only they feel entitled. They tend to be pretty harmless, albeit not very friendly. The other consists of those who spend all their time goofing around exclusively with foreigners, never bothering to learn the language, understand the culture, or make local friends. These are the ones who sometimes cause trouble and present a less-than-favorable image to the locals.

I’d like to consider myself somewhere in the middle – I put forth an effort to continually improve my language and cultural understanding, yet I do spend a fair amount of time speaking English and hanging out with Westerners as well. I’m nearly as likely to be seen studying kanji under a tree in a 2000 year old temple as sitting outside Starbuck’s laughing about some idiotic situation resulting from a coworker’s blind following of meaningless rules. Continue reading »

Beer Garden (n.) An outdoor tavern or an outdoor area adjoining a tavern where alcohol is served.

According to Wikipedia, beer gardens originated in 19th Century Germany, when beer was brewed in underground cellars shaded and cooled by groves of chestnut trees. To enjoy the beer at its freshest, customers were able to relax and drink at tables setup under the trees right above the brewing cellars themselves.

In Japan, the term Beer Garden has come to mean something quite different. Continue reading »