As stated, I've been in Japan for over 15 years, the majority of my adult life. Of course I have had many amazing experiences here.
I moved to Tokyo from Kansai two years ago and have been in a freefall. My job is pointless and suffocating, I have no rapport with my coworkers, I find Tokyo impenetrable when it comes to making local friends (I have a handful of foreign friends). My Japanese ability and even my ability to think coherently has been actually plummeting (ironic because I'm a translator). My spoken Japanese feels as bad as it was in my first few years here. I wake up every day panicking about my lack of purpose. I am actually on mental health leave at the moment. I have tried every kind of treatment under the sun for depression: dozens of different kinds of meds, counseling, TMS, exercise. The reason I moved to Tokyo in the first place was a last-ditch effort to fix my mental health but after the honeymoon period wore off I'm in a worse place than ever.
I'd like to flip a switch and regain my confidence, my language ability, my drive, but I think it's all too late. I'm trying to find a new job but the job market is so unappealing (not to mention unrealistic). I'm nearly 40, never got PR (never thought I'd need it), never got married here, and dating is getting hard when I don't even speak to other people most days. Not to mention my actual state of mind if I did manage to find someone to date.
I don't hate Japan itself. I don't walk around all day complaining about it. But I think the only thing left for me to do is to pull the plug on my life here and go back to my home country and try to reset.
Now, I have some questions.
- I have amassed a whole lot of stuff here. I have a nice big TV, speakers, amp and subwoofer, a guitar, a nice road bike, etc. Can I realistically ship any of this stuff back home? Mostly asking about the TV (not concerned about the channel reception) and the bike.
- What are the most economical ways of sending large amounts of stuff back to Australia? I will throw a lot of stuff away but still have more than someone who's only been in Japan a year or two.
- How can I get rid of shit like pots and pans and plates? Until now I have brought those things with me when I moved.
- I still have three years left on my working visa. Should I just hang on to it? Will they take it away from me when I go through customs and write "resident permanently leaving Japan?"
- How can I hang on to my LINE account without an active Japanese SIM card that is tied to the account?
- Is there any reason I should close my bank accounts/credit cards (obv. I will pay my credit card bill)?
I know these kinds of questions do get asked a lot but I also wanted to post a little about my situation so consider this both a rant and a request for advice.
by ext23