July 29, 2024
Time to go to Japan. Again.
I can eat the same thing for weeks. Every day, I'll be more than happy to dig into My Current Fav Snack and devour it. Until, after some time, it stops tasting good. "I'll never find a Snack this good again," I think, but later I am proved wrong, when I find My Current Fav Snack 2, and the cycle repeats.
Similar with songs. Oohh yes, when I find The Track, I can listen to it on repeat for days. I live in this one track, memorize every aspect of it, every other song seems not worthy. Until, after some time, it stops giving me the thrills. Then, I'll probably listen to it in a years, wondering why I liked it so much.
And... I think it's similar with routine. I LOVE routine. I LOVE waking up and going to bed at the same hour every day. I love having my day planned, time for study, work and relax scheduled, I love the consistency of it.
Until...
It takes me around 2 years from loving to hating my routine. And it's not like I hate routine in general, I think I just... either need a break or another kind of routine. Or maybe, honestly, I just started to feel burnout. Ever since I was 20, I was studying engineering while working full time and taking side gigs related to my real passion. Maybe... I just felt a bit tired. A bit sad that I don't travel as much as I want. A bit confused about why am I not following my heart anymore. A bit scared to wait and see what will happen if I won't.
Either way, I felt it was a good time for a change.
Last year, I spend amazing 3 weeks in Japan. I fell in love with that country and decided that I need to go back. Nothing really seemed more important. Not my career, not a cozy life. I found information about Working Holiday program and so, I committed to that idea. My new routine. My break. My new home.
Applying for a Japan's Working Holiday Visa in Poland
My experience was, overall, very positive (besides having to go to Warsaw twice, which can be costly/timely on its own). The Embassy workers were extremely nice and helpful and even let me send additional documents via email.
First, I gathered all the necessary documents. Some of them were rather straightforward (declaration to sign up for national insurance, 3 months of bank statement, photo). Others required more work.
Plan of the stay. The good news is that no one will ever check whenever people are doing what they said they were going to do. So one might want to get a bit creative. Although the program is literally called "work and travel", from what I know, it is rather frowned upon when the "work" park takes too much time. In my itinerary, I focused on the "travel" part, even though I plan to work as well.
That plan of the stay took me the most time. I didn't want to take just any pre- or shitty AI-written itinerary and slap it there, rather I treated this as research on what I actually want to do there. And I'm really glad because I found a ton of beautiful places and fun events. I might not be able to visit/do everything, but I have a better understanding of attractions around the year in Japan, which will definitely save me some time later.
Reservation of the plane ticket. This is what I struggled with the most, because there is no way to book a ticket without actually paying, like it is possible with hostels. With buying long in advance, there is a risk the flight will just be too expensive, not to say you might want to wait for a visa before buying anything.
I found many "dummy tickets" sites, but those were paid and honestly, you can see they are a "dummy" tickets. Some airlines allow buying "flex" tickets, which supposedly are fully refundable, but I never tried that before and was afraid that I'd have to battle with airlines to get my money back.
Fortunately, it turned out that I don't need anything so elaborate... I simply went through all the steps of booking a ticket, until the last page, just before paying. I took a screenshot of that - with my data and a flight number visible. And... that was enough! Basically, the Embassy wants you to know what are the costs of your trip, so you won't back off due to them after getting the visa.
After a week from applying for a visa, I was able to pick it up. From the acceptance date, I was given 3 months to cross the Japanese border.
She's not gone yet but she's leaving ♫
I am already packed and feeling (weirdly) optimistic. I already have two part-time works arranged and rented a room in Tokyo for the first three months. My Calendar is already packed with various events and festivals.
Before I go, I want to make a list before my trip and compare it after my return. I'm curious to see the differences within that year.
I think I will miss this food: I was never a fan of a Polish cuisine so I don't think I'll miss anything... except maybe potatoes
I think I will miss (home edition): DEFINITELY a whole apartment for myself. In Japan, I'll either live in hostels, sharehouses or with roommates. I love living alone with my plants, my skeleton Grim, going to sleep whenever I want (early)... Also, games! I'm leaving behind my laptop, PS5, DS and Switch... no games for a year except some iPad ones... sob
I think I will miss (people edition): I'm not a social person and I rarely talk/meet even with my best friend. We usually meet, like, once a year, so I won't feel any difference. Family-wise, I know that my trip breaks my grandpa's heart and I can only hope he won't be too sad without me. I'll make sure to video call often
I think I will struggle with: 2 things - social interactions and weather. While I'm hopeful that this year may improve my first weakness, I'm not so sure about the second one. My tolerance for high temperatures is nonexistent and I don't know how my body will handle it...
I am most worried about: getting sick or my family getting sick...
I think I might be disappointed with: hmm, maybe after living in Tokyo for a while I'll find it boring? But I hope to be proven wrong!
I think I will start loving even more: FOOD FOOD FOOD
I hope for: improving my language to the conversational level and take some a-ma-zing photos
For obvious reasons, I probably won't update here often, if at all. For a time, I'll be back on socials to keep in contact with everyone. If I melt from the heat (37C in Tokyo today? Oof...), play this at my funeral and I'll come back crying myself.