We’re nearing the end of our tourist visa (about two weeks), so it’s time to reflect on everything we’ve seen, and time to start figuring out what comes next.
Looking Back
We’ve been all over Japan, and we’ve seen and done a lot of really cool stuff. We’ve been to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Hakodate, and more; we’ve visited about a thousand Book Offs; we’ve seen castles, observation towers, mountains, and rivers; we’ve stayed at a traditional ryokan, we’ve gotten sushi from conveyor belts, and we’ve eaten a shocking amount of convenience store food.
One thing I’ve really enjoyed is experiencing the different cultures of all of the different areas of Japan. Each place that we’ve stayed has had its own vibe, its own preferred ways of getting around, its own styles of architecture. Tokyo had lots of winding backstreets, bright lights, and trains that could get you from anywhere in the city to anywhere else in under an hour, and usually with only one transfer. Takayama was a chill mountain town with basically no public transit, but you could walk from one side to the other in an hour, so it didn’t need it. And Hakodate uses streetcars and busses to get around, with a vibe that’s somewhere between urban and sleepy town center, and an eclectic mix of Japanese and western houses.
Everywhere we’ve been, the food has been a highlight. I’ll be totally honest and say I haven’t noticed any major differences across regions; sure, there are a few distinctions, but the dishes available are all pretty much the same everywhere. But that’s not a bad thing when all of the dishes are so delicious! Japan puts a level of care into their food that elevates even simple things like soup broth or plain white rice. The most “disappointing” meals we’ve had here were the ones we would’ve been thrilled to find back in Bradenton – they were still great, just not up to the standards that the rest of the country had prepared us for.
We love the way everyone pays attention to everyone around them, and how they try to avoid inconveniencing anyone. Aisles in stores are never blocked, because even if they are, people start getting out of the way as soon as they see you coming. Even crowded environments can be quiet enough for easy conversation, because nobody around is shouting. Speaking of crowds, it’s never hard to get through them – even if you’re stuck in the middle of one of Japan’s infamously overstuffed train rides, everyone dutifully clears a path for anyone who’s trying to get off.
We’ve had nothing but wonderful experiences at each of the churches we’ve visited along the journey. Every single one has welcomed us like family – we’ve gone out to lunch, we’ve hung out for hours after services chatting, and now here in Hakodate we’ve already been over to someone’s house for dinner! When we started this trip, God had assured us that we’d be as welcome here as we were at home, and that has repeatedly proven true.
Looking Forward
But now as we’re approaching the end of our visa, what’s next? What would we like to see happen, and how are we going to get there?
The what we want is pretty easy to answer – to stay in Japan, and in Hakodate in particular. It felt like home from the moment the plane’s wheels touched down; Cassie and I both feel strongly that this is the place that God has been bringing us to all along. We’ve been wrong before, but usually at different times and about different things, so unless and until we hear otherwise, we’re going to move forward on the assumption that this is the place.
As for how to stay… we don’t really have any idea! From the moment we first felt called to Japan, we’ve been wondering how that was going to play out. We don’t have jobs here and while we’re here on tourist visas, we legally can’t look for them. Cassie’s looking at the possibility of teaching English here via agencies that hire from America, but she can’t talk to any schools here in-person, and without a bachelor’s degree, I can’t talk to any at all. There are other visa options, too, like cultural studies – but to get those, we need a sponsor, and it’s only since getting comfortable in Hakodate that we’re in a position to start looking for one.
We’ve known all along that God wants us here, and that He’s got a very specific plan in mind for us. It’s funny, because while lots of Christians want specific callings and drive themselves bonkers waiting for a word from God, I’ve always been very big on the idea that God made us with the talents and interests that we have, and so we don’t need specific callings to specific jobs or places – just do what interests you and keep an ear open in case He’s calling you to do something else.
And yet here, it’s been repeatedly made clear to us that we are not in charge of our path right now; God is steering, and we’re just along for the ride. We could conceivably try to jump off the train, but by and large, there’s nothing we can do to either help or hurt the process right now.
So while we are looking into some visa options, we’re not really stressing it too hard; we know God has a very specific path in mind for us right now, and that He’ll make it clear when we find it. The nice thing is how that takes the stress out of even trying to help; we know we can’t screw things up, so there’s no reason for us not to apply for visas, because we know if it’s not the way He wants us to stay, it’ll fall through or something – or we’ll at least catch a vibe before it’s too late to stop the process.
So what’s actually next? Probably just another tourist visa. We’re still looking into the specifics, but it looks like as long as we leave the country for a short period, we can get another automatic 90 day visitor’s visa – that’s just the last one we can get for 12 months (measured from the start of our first visa). So we’ll take a short hop to South Korea or somewhere cheap to fly to, then come right back to Hakodate and await further instructions.
It’ll be awkward in a lot of ways; for example, without long-term visas, we won’t be able to rent (I don’t think?), and might not even be able to stay in one Airbnb for more than a month at a time, so there’ll be some bouncing around. We also won’t be able to look for jobs, so we’ll be eating through our savings and also just kinda sitting around twiddling our thumbs for a while, looking for ways to stay occupied. We’ll try to find classes (Japanese lessons at the bare minimum), which may ultimately be our path to longer-term visas, but that can only fill so much of our time before it becomes an irresponsible level of drain on our bank accounts.
So if you’re the praying sort, we could use some prayer, for all of the above. But we’re also not worried – like I said, God’s clearly got a plan here, and we’re just along for the ride. There’ve been some ups and downs, but we’ve enjoyed the ride so far, and we’re looking forward to seeing what comes next!