JapanNewbie Leaves Japan

Posted on 18. May, 2008 @ 8:34 pm by in About Views: 1,002

Big news everybody.

After 5 years of eating rice and miso soup, the JapanNewbie, who is no longer a  newbie anymore mind you, is leaving Japan.

That’s right, I got a nice fellowship for graduate school so I’m going to be a student
again for the next two years. I’ll be in Boston, so I’ve got my eyes peeled for a
BostonNewbie website… Let me know if you know of any. After graduating I’ll most
likely be back in Japan for another few years before hopping off to some other country again.

I just found this out in March, so things have happened really quickly! I’m in the airport on my way out this very minute.

As for JapanNewbie, I’ve decided to keep it going. There are plenty of Japan blogs
run by people who are not in Japan… and besides, with my continued study of
the language, Japanese friends, wife, relatives, and constant influx of questions
from JapanNewbies around the world, I’m sure I’ll always have something to blog about. I’ve got a bit of a post and picture backlog anyway, so I think I can keep going with tidbits straight out of Japan until probably July or so.

My guess is that for the next two years my posts will become more and more
culture and language focused, rather than the frequent “Look what I saw!
Look where I went! Look what I ate!” posts that are so easy to do while living
in the country. Hopefully this new angle will be just as enjoyable for all of you!

It’s been an amazing 5 years here in Japan. Really. I came, I passed JLPT 1, I started a blog and stuck with it, I established myself as a professional translator, and even got married (even though I said I wouldn’t). I think I’ve accomplished quite a bit and gotten a lot out of the gaijin experience. I’ve lived in Kanto and Kansai for approximately 2 years each, and yes, I like Kansai (specifically Osaka) the best. Hope all the JapanNewbie readers will continue to stop by! And hopefully I’ll be able to continue feeding your curiosity about Japan!korekaramo, yoroshikuonegaishimasu  - Harvey

  • http://alecinjapan.com Alec

    Best of luck with your second student life! Hope all goes well for you and I will stay subscribed by RSS so I hope to keep hearing updates from you. (^_^)

  • http://www.victorymanual.com Alex

    ご多幸を祈ります。

    ボストンのアクセントを身に付けないようにご注意ください。

  • http://nihonhacks.com Thomas (nihonhacks.com)

    Congratulations! Sweet deal! What will you be studying?

    Glad to hear you’ll keep the blog going!

  • Joe

    Five years of rice and miso! Amazing! Now spend the next two years gorging on Double Quarter Pounders with Cheese, so you can come back and show these scranwy Japanese what a real [i]American[/i] physique looks like!

  • http://www.gaijinbash.com Brian

    Thanks to the magic of RSS, I’ll see you when I see you. Congratulations by the way.

  • kayo

    Wow! Congratulations!!! Fantastic news! I’m really looking forward to reading “JapanNewbie Boston version” or should I write “BostonNewbie”?.
    I’m sure you can enjoy your life in Boston! 頑張ってね！

  • nory

    がんばれ！

    You always make people surprised! That’s Harvey.

  • http://goddesscarlie.com Goddess Carlie

    Congrats! What will you be studying?
    Personally, I’d love to hear more stories about learning Japanese (of course) as well as culture. i’ll keep reading – but not so interested in a “boston newbie” website, lol.

  • hisaya

    行っちゃうんやねぇ。
    ボストンでの益々の活躍を祈ってるで！

  • http://www.rockinginhakata.com Deas

    Go get ‘em, Harvey! (Though…I’m with Alex…you gotta watch out about the accent. Ha ha.) Where will you be studying?

    It’s a bummer we never met up in Osaka…

  • http://www.japannewbie.com harvey

    Thanks for all the comments!

    By the way. I realized I have totally been fooling myself. I came to Japan July 2002. Clearly 6 years. Not 5.

    I’ll be studying international relations! For those who want more details send me email and I’ll reply personally!

    Peace out! I still got lots of Japan content to post though!

  • James

    Congrats, dude. Best of luck in grad school!

  • Karthik

    hey Harvey!
    Congrats and all the best! We will keep in touch:-)

  • gimpei

    ボストン行っちゃうねんな
    カンボジアで出会って以来会えてへんのが残念やわ

    ブログ楽しみにしてまっせ

  • http://mami-memo.seesaa.net/ まゆみ

    え～っ、驚きました！
    でも、おめでとうございます。
    お身体に気をつけて、頑張って下さいね。
    これからのJapanNewbieも楽しみにしています。

  • http://slashandburn.typepad.com/slash_and_burn/ Adam

    Congratulations! Thanks for the advice and great posts!

    I once DJed in Boston. Can’t remember the name of the club but it was in the back of a seemingly normal Irish pub. I guess that’s every bar in Boston though: “seemingly normal Irish pub.” And watch out for the winters!

  • mapmaker

    Congrats from a random internet stranger/reader! I’ve really enjoyed your blog for the past year I’ve been visiting. Thanks for sharing your life with us all. BTW, you just passed up the perfect opportunity for a post titled “So long, and thanks for all the fish”! :)

  • http://www.japannewbie.com harvey

    mapmaker, hilarious. Douglas Adams all the way!

  • Joe

    You have to love and respect a man who creates a five book trilogy!

  • http://chinanewbiee.blogspot.com/ kole

    good luck, and thanks for the inspiration. boston’s a great town, I hope it’s good to you and your family.

  • http://islandinthepacific.blogspot.com Jessica

    OMG – JapanNewbie not in Japan! I can’t get my head around it. But I wish you the best of luck in Boston!

  • http://www.narrativedisorder.com Dani

    Gratz on the life changing stuff and thanks for sharing your experiences over the years. Your blog and others like it have been a great help over the past few months as I prepare for becoming a “trailing spouse” in Nagoya when we transfer there for my husband’s work. We were house hunting in Nagoya last week and move on June 19th and I know for sure that things will be smoother and happier thanks to the information ex-pats like you share. I will be following your example and passing the kindness on by sharing my own experiences on my blog while we are there – you never know who will stumble upon your blog in need.

    Good luck!!

  • J.

    There is this saying about foreigners who come to Japan that “in case you come alone, you leave as a couple. And in case you arrive as a couple, you leave alone.” Apparently you belong to the first category.

    Have a good time in the USA and don’t forget about Japan.

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