Kenyan in Tokyo: Navigating world’s most populous city

I moved to Tokyo five years ago, after graduating with a PhD in Information Science from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, a specialised research graduate school in western Japan. I received a job offer from one of Japan’s top companies and I was happy to move to the big city, having spent close to five years in rural Japan.

My path to Japan is followed by many fellow Africans. Many of us come to Japan on scholarships to pursue higher education. In 2013, I received the prestigious Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEXT) scholarship. The following year, in October 2014, I began my postgraduate studies.

In October, I will mark a decade in Japan. Over the past five years, I’ve witnessed a few changes. For example, despite the impact of Covid-19, we eventually settled into a new normal, where we almost pretended it never occurred.

Borders reopened to a larger influx of people than ever before, and there are more and more foreigners working in customer-facing jobs like convenience stores, restaurants and supermarkets. Previously, most foreign workers worked in background jobs like in warehouses.

Having lived here for so long, I don’t find anything surprising anymore. But the culture of following rules, even when they don’t make sense, is definitely surprising to me. A lot of people don’t even ask why they are there, they just follow them blindly.

For example, during Covid, you would be driven from the airport to a quarantine hotel downtown, an hour and a half away. After the quarantine period was over, even if you lived next door to the hotel, they wouldn’t let you leave straight home from the hotel. No amount of reasoning with the driver would get you anywhere. They would drive to the airport, and from there, you’d then seek your own means back to town.

Another example is if you go to a restaurant and there’s a burger that comes with ketchup, but you would like mustard instead, they will tell you, you must have ketchup. They are very inflexible about the rules and are resistant to change.

Yet another example is where almost entirely all the software systems are designed for only two short Japanese names, which is a challenge for foreigners with three long names. It’s a nightmare navigating Japanese systems as a non-Japanese-speaking foreigner. There are rules for greeting people who are your juniors, equals or seniors. There are rules for social situations. School rules and work rules. Rules that govern basically every aspect of your life.

To make the most out of living in Japan, one needs to learn Japanese. While many technical jobs may not require the language, dealing with administrative matters like tax, visiting hospitals, public schools, banks and all that entails living in a society, require an understanding of the language. I had to learn Japanese and I am fluent to a certain degree, which has helped me navigate life and work.

SOLIDARITY ABROAD

I also maintain my culture. I try to cook Kenyan meals, but it is more convenient to cook local meals with freshly available ingredients. I keep up with Kenyan social media, I watch Kenyan shows on Netflix and other streaming services, and I meet up with my Kenyan friends. I go home to Kenya every year for the holidays so my children can meet our family in Kenya.

I am a member of the Kenyans in Japan Association, and we have a WhatsApp group that’s a treasure trove of information and advice. If I need a service, like getting my hair braided or information on where to get the best currency exchange rates or which shop I can buy flour for ugali from, I ask in this group.

The association also organises events to celebrate holidays like Jamhuri Day. We gather together and eat Kenyan food and listen to Kenyan music. We also invite friends from other countries, so it is not limited to just Kenyans. This is also one advantage of living in Tokyo.

There are many events and gatherings for Kenyans and Africans in Tokyo. When I lived in rural Japan, there were hardly any other Kenyans around for hundreds of miles.

For work, I’m a research scientist for one of Japan’s top companies. I was recruited in the second year of my PhD; that is how it is for most students in Japan. Recruiters visit campuses and look for students who are about to graduate and recruit them in bulk at around the same time. So if you miss a hiring session, then it might be hard to get a job after.

However, in recent times, especially in technology or engineering, companies are recruiting throughout the year, and not just for entry-level jobs but mid-career hires as well. If someone wants to work in Tokyo, they should consider looking for job listings in the location and on LinkedIn, and contact the recruiters who have posted the jobs.

LANGUAGE, CULTURAL BARRIERS

Working in Tokyo, one of the biggest challenges is the language and cultural barrier. Sometimes it is very hard to understand exactly what the client wants, and their requirements change all the time.

If you cannot catch the nuances in what the client is saying or not saying, it can be difficult to deliver results that satisfy them.

One of the biggest successes I have had recently was when our team won an internal business idea contest, and we received funding to realise our idea. We received a “Gold Ticket” from the CEO and executive members of the company, so it was a very exciting and indeed golden opportunity.

As an African expatriate, and this also applies to people who are not from East Asia, some things are easier in the professional world. For example, the expectation for me to understand Japanese or the cultural nuances are reduced, compared to my colleagues from the rest of Asia like China or Cambodia. But for precisely the same reasons, career progression can be hard.

As a woman, it is hard to work in the male-dominated technology sector. Just walking into a meeting room with 12 Japanese men as the only woman and foreigner can feel intimidating. However, my colleagues have been supportive in many ways, offering to translate for me and helping me prepare my presentations.

Being a working mother is another challenge because long work hours are still the norm. The one reason I love my current company is because it offers the flexibility of remote work, and this has helped me balance childcare and work.

During the day, my youngest child goes to daycare and my eldest goes to elementary school. I use the time I save on commuting to do grocery shopping or exercise. As they grow, I know I’ll have more time to work on my career. In Tokyo, ordinary people cannot afford housekeepers or nannies, so there is a lot you have to do as a woman both at work and in the home.

Life in Tokyo, as expected, moves at a faster pace than life in rural Japan. People hardly stop or go out of their way to help. When it comes to social life, if you are working full time, one rarely has time to socialise. It’s work till 8pm, 9 pm or later, then home to sleep and repeat the next day. For parents, we work till 5pm, pick our kids from daycare and switch to parent mode. Weekends are spent with the kids.

I have been lucky to make friends with a few Kenyans in my area, and one or two other mothers in my neighbourhood. We help each other with day care pickups, babysitting for each other whenever we can, and we have the odd lunch during the week when we are both working from home. I am sure the social life landscape looks very different for single people!

However, my city organises several social events to foster a sense of community. I have lived in my particular city in Tokyo for over five years and I feel a sense of community here.

There are many events throughout the year, like cultural festivals, where foreigners are particularly welcome, and lots of volunteer activities to assist foreigners. My eldest goes to a language support class to improve his Japanese language and to make friends.

Japanese people don’t know much about Africans. They just know these are countries very far away and they generally keep their distance from strangers, even if it is fellow Japanese people. However, there are many friendly and curious people that have helped me throughout my decade in Japan.

HOUSING, TRANSPORT

When I was renting an apartment, I had some agents show me the worst apartments, way below my budget. Other agents never even replied to my inquiry. But finally, I met one agent who showed me very good apartments in my range, gave me a lot of advice on which apartment to pick, and spoke to the landlord on my behalf (the landlord had been reluctant to rent to a foreigner) and ensured I got the apartment of my choice.

Finding an apartment to rent is one of the hardest things you can do as a foreigner in Japan. The best advice I can give anyone is to remember the good experiences and let the bad ones fade away. Good and bad people are everywhere.

There is some financial support for single parents in Japan, but this depends on one’s income. The city hall checks your income and tax statement annually and as soon as your income increases, you are cut off from this financial support.

My city has a home helper programme for single parents, where someone comes to your house and helps you to look after your kids, and also does housework, when necessary, for a few hours each week. I use this programme and it has been a lifesaver for me.

In addition, children in all of Japan receive free healthcare. As adults, we pay a sizable percentage of our income into the health insurance programme and then pay for 30 per cent of any hospital bills, but children don’t need to pay.

There are so many things I love about living in Tokyo. My neighbourhood has several small and large parks as well, where my kids can play freely. There are also many chances to meet other Kenyans and other foreigners with children in Japan, which was much harder when I was living in rural Japan.

There are so many places to go, so many events to attend (I once attended a Trevor Noah stand-up!), movie theatres, coffee shops, restaurants and so on. We have access to several public sports facilities. There are community centres where my children can play freely.

The city is clean and generally safe. I enjoy jogging through my neighbourhood, something I could never do in Nairobi. I enjoy cycling around with my kids. Public transport is so convenient, I don’t even need a car unless I go out of Tokyo. Even then it is mostly easier to take public transport than to drive a car.

I’m not sure if I will continue living in Tokyo, and probably retire here. The city feels crowded and I sometimes long for nature and more green spaces. There are so many opportunities for work and social life, but it can take a toll on your mental health if you don’t get time for some peace and quiet.

I like to travel out of Tokyo to refresh my mind from time to time. I will still be living here in the near future, but I would love to retire to a quieter part of the world.