Life in Japan #2

We interviewed avatarin employees about their “Life in Japan”.
At avatarin, we work together as a team with a group of individuals who have different nationalities and backgrounds. Diversity is our strength. We respect one another regardless of our differences. In this “Meet our Team” series, we interviewed our members about their “Life in Japan”!

 

 

 

 

– What made you decide to join avatarin? And what do you find rewarding about your current job?

 

D:
avatarin is a ANAHD start-up company with a great potential and I’m proud that we are building a future. We don’t just build a robot and deploy, we build a robot that works together with human. I see a big potential and great future here.
In my team, all the people are willing to listen to you. Especially when you have new ideas. It doesn’t have to be good, it can be bad as long as you are willing to say out loud.
We also value and share our work with the team. When someone accomplishes something, we recognize and appreciate the contribution to the company.
People at avatarin always try to help each other. When I came to this company, I didn’t know anything about Japanese. But my team guided me to start my new life here.

 

N:
I was happy to get this opportunity and join the company, because I get to work very close to in the field where I can study new things. I like the technologies and the business ideas of avatarin. It’s very futuristic! I like the idea of the business that we do.
Also I am learning constantly with my new job. I always discuss with my team members about new ideas and it is very interesting for me that there are lots of knowledge to share and have the chance to learn new things.

 

 

 

– What do you like about Japanese culture?

 

D:
When I first arrived in Japan, I got lost in the train station. The train station was too complex for me to get to the right place, but a man took time for me to walk around the whole station to ride the right train.
I think he could have just said “NO I’m busy”, but he kindly guided me. He was not fluent in English, but we tried to understand each other with gestures. That kindness really surprised me.

 

N:
After coming to Japan, I feel like everything is very organized and most of the things are systematic. For example, one day I lost my IC card in the train station, but the next day I found it. Someone found it and handed it over to the station. And when you get lost, people are willing to help you. I feel very safe living here.

 

 

 

– What do you like about living in Japan?

 

D:
I think the registration and the paperwork in the city office is very fast in Japan. In my city office they couldn’t speak English but we tried to communicate using Google translate. They were kind and everything went very smooth and fast which was very surprising.
Also, in Japan usually we think it is a hard working country. But our company has a good “Work and Life Balance”. We all work hard but still have fun in our life.
The other thing is the weather. I like the four seasons in Japan and I want to see the snow in the future!

 

N:
I think the vibe in Tokyo is different from other parts of Japan. Almost every weekend I go somewhere in Tokyo to see the city and enjoy the city vibe.

 

 

 

– What are some of the things that are different from how you imagined living in Japan and what are some of the difficulties you are facing?

 

N:
The only difficulty I find is Japanese language. I wish I could speak more Japanese to communicate. Little by little I’ve been learning Japanese vocabularies and now I can speak a little bit in shops or supermarkets to get the work done. Apart from that everything seems to be good.

 

D:

I had the same difficulty speaking Japanese. Not a lot of people can speak English here, it’s very hard to communicate especially with elderly people. Also, all the contracts are only in Japanese, so I need to translate and take a long time to understand them. I think that’s the only difficulty but people here are always willing to help me so I’m happy living here.

 

 

 

– What are you looking forward to learning or experiencing in Japan?

 

D:
Outside of work I want to learnJapanese culture and language because I want to get along with the people and join the society. Inside work, I want to boost everything and try to be the important part of the company in the future. I want avatarin to be one of the TOP companies. That is my dream and I’m trying to achieve that.

 

N:
Outside the company, I need to learn more Japanese so that I can be able to communicate with other people and get into the society. Apart from that I want to travel around Japan. So far, I’ve been to the Tokyo area and Mt. Fuji but there are a lot more to explore and I am looking forward to that.