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  • - Hi, guys.

  • This is Micaela for those of you that haven't seen her yet.

  • - I exist on the internet.

  • My name is Micaela.

  • Hi.

  • - She is the original Japan blogger.

  • I started out by watching her videos,

  • and now we're friends and it's weird.

  • (laughing)

  • - It is weird.

  • We look the same.

  • We came from the same place.

  • We do the same thing.

  • - Yeah, Micaela was originally from BC as well in Canada

  • so our hometowns are super close,

  • and we've both been living here for over 10 years now.

  • How did you start out in Japan?

  • - I came as an exchange student when I was 17 years old.

  • I'd always wanted to study abroad,

  • and I went to a school in Canada

  • that had lots of Japanese exchange students

  • so when I asked about opportunities for myself,

  • if I could travel abroad, they hooked me up,

  • and I ended up going to Kyushu, which is in southern Japan,

  • and I went to high school in Miyazaki for a year.

  • - My first time here, I was 17 as well

  • but I did like a two-week homestay high school experience

  • but it wasn't like a real year in high school.

  • - It wasn't immersive?

  • - No. - Yeah.

  • - It was just like I joined some classes and we had some fun

  • but I had a really cool homestay experience

  • but then the next time I moved to Japan,

  • I just started out working as an English teacher.

  • - I went back to Canada 'cause I had to graduate

  • and finish my education in Canada,

  • and then I got a working holiday visa,

  • and I came back.

  • - Same with me. (laughs)

  • - Yeah, and then I did that.

  • It was really good

  • because it came with training and everything.

  • They trained me for the job and that kind of set me up

  • with skills that helped me even in later years in Japan.

  • - Yeah, I feel like most people that come here

  • to teach English, they're not trained to be a teacher

  • but lots of jobs do prepare you (laughs)

  • for what you're gonna be doing, which is nice.

  • I also had the same experience.

  • I worked in a private English school, which was awesome.

  • My boss was great.

  • He was from New York.

  • We still talk.

  • It was really fun.

  • I taught English for about three years,

  • and then I went to university in Japan.

  • I did education both in Canada and Japan.

  • Yeah, I was almost ready to graduate in Canada

  • but then I moved here because of the earthquake

  • and wanting to be in Japan

  • and I ended up finishing my education here.

  • That's kind of my history,

  • and now I do YouTube and translation and that kind of stuff

  • and Micaela does--

  • - I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. (laughs)

  • I taught English for a little bit.

  • I also went to college in Japan for music and entertainment.

  • - That's so cool. (laughs)

  • - Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

  • I graduated.

  • I joined a talent agency,

  • and then there was a bunch of years of that,

  • and I quit that because it wasn't for me.

  • It wasn't what I thought it would be,

  • and now I'm kind of just scaling back.

  • My boyfriend just quit his job

  • so this year, we're probably gonna start our own company.

  • - That's so exciting.

  • - Yeah.

  • - So because we've both been here for so long,

  • I thought it'd be cool to talk to you guys

  • about why we decided to stay here

  • and what kept us in Japan for this long.

  • For me, I think the main reason is that it's so exciting

  • and I have so many different opportunities

  • that I feel like I wouldn't get back in Canada

  • so I speak English obviously and Japanese

  • so jobs like translation or like being a tour guide

  • or all these things that just wouldn't be so easy

  • to get back in Canada, I could just do if I wanted here

  • and I get lots of offers for stuff.

  • I mainly do YouTube now because it's enjoyable and I love it

  • but if I want to quit YouTube,

  • I could easily get a job doing translation full-time.

  • I like that.

  • I think I'd be worried to go back to Canada.

  • I wouldn't know what I would do there. (laughs)

  • - I have to say though.

  • I think with that kind of experience

  • like coming to Japan and becoming bilingual

  • in English and Japanese, it's a super valuable skill

  • even if you go back to Canada

  • because the west coast in Canada has such a big--

  • - It's very multicultural.

  • - I think once you come here for a while

  • and you've built up both languages and the skills

  • to communicate between cultures

  • like even if you went back to Canada,

  • I think you'd find something.

  • - I hope so 'cause I am planning to in the future. (laughs)

  • I like it being exciting.

  • There's something new to explore.

  • I come from a relatively small town in Canada.

  • Micaela's is an even smaller town.

  • (Micaela laughs)

  • - Yeah.

  • - And we know it like the back of our hands.

  • We've seen every little corner

  • but even just Tokyo, it's so freaking huge.

  • There's so many cool side streets to go down

  • and shops to see.

  • People-watching is fun.

  • There's so many people here, cool fashion,

  • stuff like that.

  • I don't know.

  • It's just really interesting.

  • - It's stimulating.

  • - Yeah, that's the word.

  • You never get bored.

  • You could never be bored living in Japan.

  • You could wake up at four a.m.

  • and stores would still be open.

  • You could go to karaoke.

  • Even if there weren't shops here,

  • I live out in the countryside now.

  • I was in Tokyo for a few years

  • but I moved out to the countryside

  • and even just like exploring around my town.

  • You always find like cute little temples

  • and there's pretty mountains

  • and there's just so much to see,

  • and I really like that.

  • I think that's really what kept me.

  • It's just so many new things to see.

  • - I think with my experience, it's a little bit different

  • because I live in southern Japan down south

  • in a place called Fukuoka,

  • which is slowly, slowly gaining more worldwide attention

  • and popularity because of its startup culture.

  • We have tons of young people coming to Fukuoka

  • 'cause it's cheap and it's not as expensive as Tokyo

  • but there's still a lot of things to do there.

  • We even have a startup visa for--

  • - No way.

  • - Yeah, for foreigners who want--

  • - That want to start a business.

  • - Yeah, in Fukuoka, you can get a startup visa

  • where they give you a visa for a year

  • to try to make a business happen

  • in Fukuoka. - That's really cool.

  • - Yeah, for Fukuoka for me,

  • it's not so much about the fashion

  • but there is a lot of energy with young people

  • trying to create things and make new things happen

  • and put new things into the world.

  • It's just really exciting to be with people,

  • a lot of people like me

  • who are kind of in this gray zone now

  • where it's like we're not working a nine-to-five

  • but we're still making money doing the things

  • that we have expertise in.

  • It's just a really exciting time to be alive.

  • It's an exciting time to be in Fukuoka too.

  • I really like it because it's very stimulating.