When Usamah, an English teacher from England came to my interview. His interview would help people who want to work as an English teacher in Japan. Here's what we talked about.

England→Niigata→Tokyo

Sari “Nice to see you. I’m Sari.”
Usamah “Nice to see you, too. I’m Usamah.
Sari “Could you introduce a little bit of yourself?”
Usamah “Sure. I’m from England. I have been working at a private English school since 1 and a half-year. I like watching Japanese movies.”
Sari “Why did you decide to live in Japan?”
Usamah “I’m interested in Asian countries and wanted to live, especially in Japan and Korea. I applied for agencies of English teachers in both countries, and I got an answer from Japanese one first. I worked in Niigata first and moved to Tokyo.”
Sari “I see. Did you live alone in Niigata?”
Usamah “Yes. And I decided to live in a shared house in Tokyo because I can’t rent a room as much money as in Niigata, right? Also it was good for me that I didn’t need to pay gratuity fee.”
Sari “You right. It is said that Tokyo has the 5th highest land prices in the world. By the way, didn’t you have any concerns before living in this house with others?”
Usamah “Not at all. I lived in an apartment in England and I was very close to other residents there. Rather than it, I felt awkward when I lived in an apartment in Niigata because residents had hardly had conversations each other.”

Half of residents are foreigners

Sari “Do you get along with share mates?”
Usamah “Of course! We often drink and chill out together in the dining room. Almost half of mates are from abroad, and we talk about our home countries. They always give me interesting stories of their countries.”
Sari “Sounds interesting! You are able to know cultures other than Japanese.”

Japanese are kind

Sari “What do you like about Japan?”
Usamah “Well, people are kind and everywhere is clean.”
Sari “Do you have any specific memories about that?”
Usamah “Well, when I left an umbrella in train, a man got off the train and all the way to bring it to me. I was so impressed by it.”
Sari “Wow, really? He is kind.”
Usamah “And when I first came to Japan, I lost my cellphone. That made me so concerned. However my Japanese friend helped me and followed me everywhere.”
Sari “Wow. And, did you find your phone after that?”
Usamah “Not really. Haha. That was different from that I heard about.”
Sari “That’s too bad.”


Sari “What do you do in holidays?”
Usamah “Well, I usually go travel with my friends. I went to Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo Disney Sea, and so on. “
Sari “Sounds nice! I heard deer in Nara are very popular among foreigners. Do you have any other places you want to go?”
Usamah “Absolutely. They were so cute. Well, I have never been to Okinawa, and want to go there.”

Future plans

Sari “What are your future plans?”
Usamah “Well, I keep living and working in Japan until my visa will expire. I haven’t decided I will extend it or not after that. It is another benefit of shared houses that I can extend the contract very easily. They are flexible.
Sari “I see. Then what are you going to do after getting back to England in the future?”
Usamah “I want to get a job related to media. I like movies and I studied it in the university. I’m really enjoying this job as a teacher and working hard now though.”

Usamah works as a teacher and lives in a shared house. His life in Japan looks very fulfilling and actually he said he changed a plan that he went back to England in 1 year. As he told me, shared houses have many benefits for foreigners who live in Japan. If you are interested in living in Japan, please check other articles too.

Check the information of Usamah’s house below.

Couverture Sugamo

4 minutes walk from Sugamo station, JR line. This house was designed by a company, which is expert in running a shared house. Many foreigners have liked and lived in this house because of good equipment.