Goodbye Rain, Hello Ramen: My Tokyo Adventure Begins

Towards the end of last year, 2024, I set myself a little challenge: to write and publish 10 blog posts. The way I planned to do this in the final 10 weeks of the year I’d write and post once a week.

Now, you might be wondering how this has anything to do with starting a Tokyo adventure, and I’ll get to that. I promise. The two are more connected than you might think.

You see, over the last couple of years, I realised I’d been putting off doing things I’d always enjoyed or wanted to learn more about. Only to sit and complain that I’d never found something I was passionate about. As an example, I’d always wanted to learn 3D modelling to be able to create something out of nothing. Be it an environment, a character or hell, even a wooden box, but rather than doing it and seeing if it was for me, I’d sit for hours watching or reading tutorials only to beat myself up for not doing anything.

Then, one day, another playlist I had on in the background ended, and being lazy, I let the following video play—after all, it sounded pretty interesting. I soon found myself paying more attention to it than to any of the other videos, and by the end of it, the penny finally dropped. I realised I would never know if I was interested, passionate, or even wanted to do any of these things I’d been putting off without trying them.

After all, if you never try, you never fail, as it’s much easier to be an observer than a participant. Still, how would you know if something was for you if all you did was sit daydreaming about it? It seems obvious, right?

How Every Journey Starts: Making A List.

I’ll be honest: I doubt that realisation would have hit me if the video hadn’t spelt it out for me and told me exactly what to do.

It also helped that the premise was relatively simple: write down everything that interests you, pick one or combine it with another item, and then do it for 30 days. Afterwards, take stock of the experience. If you enjoyed it, keep doing it; if you didn’t, pick something else. Rinse and repeat.

It felt stupidly simple when it was spelt out for me. Try something for a set time, or set yourself an achievable target and then do it. You’ve probably guessed where my 10 in 10 weeks challenge came from by now.

Still, before that was even an idea, I needed a list. The idea was to write down things that I thought would be interesting, things that I’d been putting off. My list included things like learning to use Blender, coding a website, learning a language, living abroad, running a 5k, doing something related to myths and legends, and writing a short story, to name a few. It wasn’t very well defined, simply interests.

When I reviewed my list, some of them sounded more like wishful thinking than something I’d get around to doing. I mean, how could I try living abroad? Cue the foreshadowing.

List in hand, I picked the one that sounded the most appealing and set my goal. It just so happened to be learning French. In the end, I kept it up for about a year and reached a B1 level before dropping it. It was a weird choice, given that I hated learning it in school, but I’ve always wanted to learn another language, and that foundation, as unstable as it was, made it the easy choice.

I spent around two years working through my list, adding new items as they came up and crossing off things that didn’t gel as I tried them. Another thing I kept up for a good while was learning Blender. I still had two items listed that kept catching my eye, but I wasn’t sure how to approach them.

The first was living abroad. I mean, it just seemed crazy. I couldn’t pick up my life, go live somewhere for 30 days, and then decide if it was where I wanted to stay. It simply wasn’t enough time. So, I compromised a little. I started spending a few days or a couple of weeks in various places, and I have to admit I loved getting away from my hometown once again. It felt freeing.

The other thing that kept catching my eye was writing. I’ve always wanted to write a short story. When I was younger, I loved reading (to be fair, I still do) and writing. I even remember winning poetry and journalism competitions for my writing. However, I became more self-conscious about my writing as I got older. I wasn’t going to let that stop me now, though.

This is where my idea for 10 blog posts in 10 weeks came in. I planned to write about anything and everything that came to mind. It came at a great time as well; as I was, I was working remotely and with it being winter in the north of England, any excuse that kept me locked indoors away from the wind, rain, and the chavs was a good one. It also meant I could put what was bouncing around my head somewhere else, allowing me to take all the random half-thoughts throughout the week and put them on paper.

And it worked. I loved sitting down and writing. It quickly became part of my routine. Instead of walking along the river during lunch, I was jotting down ideas on a notion page with a rough outline and my thoughts, only to come back later in the week to edit, reform, and see if the idea had any legs before refining it and throwing it out into the world to see if it resonated with anyone else.

Typical winter’s day looking out towards Newcastle-Upon-Tyne - Taken by Dean 2024

Ups, Downs, And Winding Roads.

By the end of 2024, I had gotten seven posts written and published. Some did better than others, and even though the finish line was in sight, I fell a little short on this occasion. It happens.

Life seemed to get in the way. In the end, I had a rough few weeks, which made it all too easy to fall into bad habits and for the momentum I’d built up to dissipate. I can’t say I’m not disappointed in myself because of it, as I am, but it’s a learning experience that will hopefully make it easier to be aware of the signs in the future.

That said, at this point, we can connect everything I’ve rambled about so far to Ramen… or, more accurately, my move to Tokyo. You may have put two and two together by now, but if you haven’t, one of the items on my list was to live abroad, and I had been spending time visiting the places I was interested in.

Having already visited Amsterdam, Berlin and Dublin, the places left on my list were Athens, Lisbon, New York, Toronto and Tokyo. I managed to visit Athens as where I was working had an office there, so it was an easy one to wrangle, but after travelling what is called the “Golden Route”, the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, over 21 days, I fell in love with Japan and decided it was where I wanted to be. I became hyperfocused on making it happen, and within six months, I’d secured a path for myself.

In hindsight, it was definitely the most extreme choice. Given that it’s on the other side of the planet, I didn’t know the language, and the culture in the UK was nothing like that in Japan, but all of these things seemed to draw me to the country.

As my Dad keeps saying, I’m having a midlife crisis at 35. Maybe he’s right; who knows?

View of Toyko from Shinkansen - Taken by Dean 2024

My Tokyo Adventure Prologue

It may seem an extreme choice, but I’ve always fantasised about living in Japan. I can’t remember exactly when it took root in my head, as it’s always been there. Perhaps it’s from the times I’d ask my Grandad about his tattoos of geisha and him telling me he got them in Japan, or maybe it’s from those weekends I’d sit watching old samurai films with my Dad and the countless rewatches of You only live twice. I’m not sure.

Still, I’m well aware that just because it’s something I’ve fantasised about doesn’t mean it’ll live up to the dream. After all, I’ve tried to make the move in the past, yet something has always stopped me. Maybe that’s a sign it’s not for me. Time will tell.

One thing I do know is that I’ve wanted to move away from my hometown for as long as I can remember. This led to me spending eight years living in London, and that experience left me wanting to go further afield—to spend time living outside of England.

All I can say for sure is that it’s resulted in a hectic couple of months. Between working through a mountain of paperwork, learning a new language, making arrangements for when I arrive, and whittling down my life into two suitcases, I haven’t had much time to be excited.

Don’t get me wrong. Every time I hit a milestone, like receiving my COE (certificate of eligibility), I feel that sweet, sweet dopamine rush. It’s just impossible to keep up with the six to seven months that have passed.

Also, let’s not forget it’s not all positive. I’m leaving behind friends, family, job, and comfort zone to pursue a dream. We all know how that might go. Maybe my Dad’s right, and this is just a midlife crisis resulting in a massive overcorrection that’ll hit me once reality sets in, and it all becomes my new normal. Who knows?

What I do know is that I’ve decided to give myself 12 months (a bit longer than the usual 30 days I mentioned earlier) to see if this is for me. It’s how long my visa lasts.

A side street in Kyoto - Taken by Dean June 2024

The Big Question: What Are You Going to Do?

I’ve hopefully answered the “why” at this point, and it made it sound a little more thought out than a spur-of-the-moment decision. As I can’t deny, there is definitely a little bit of stary-eyed, wishful thinking going on, even though I’ve spent the better part of a year researching and planning this move. So, it’s safe to say it’s had plenty of time to simmer and for me to back out.

Yet, that does answer the “what” or the “how” of the matter.

Luckily, both share a similar answer: I’m going to be attending a language school. I decided to do this because the school would help me with the visa application process, and I need to learn the language—or at least be conversational with it—to improve my chances of landing a job.

There are other ways to do this. I’ve heard of people going on a tourist visa and looking for a job, getting inter-company transfers, or even receiving job offers that have resulted in the move. However, this route makes the most sense to me and is the one that is open to me.

After spending the last eight years working in startups, going back to school for a bit feels like the change of pace I need. It’ll give me a small break between jobs which will do me good. No moving metrics, creating guides, interviewing users or getting lost in design systems for a little while. Although I doubt that'll stop me from thinking about and writing about these things, it should be a little more relaxed.

Part of me thinks that’s, or more accurately knows, that’s wishful thinking as when has job hunting not been stressful?

Still, as I said, other options are available should you wish to make a similar move. I recommend thoroughly researching these and which best suits you, as even though this path works for me, it might not be the one for you.

I can’t deny I’m looking forward to what the future brings. Even if it doesn’t work out, it will be a fun journey and an unforgettable experience, which I plan on writing about. Stay tuned for a mix of daily life, design topics, and the inevitable rant or two as I work through my half-formed thoughts.

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1. The video in question was How to Actually Follow Your Passion by Struthless.
2. I posted what I got up to with Blender on Instagram for a while.
3. I was posting on Medium initially but have decided to branch out and continue the habit.
4. I found the school that I’ll be attending through GoGoNihon.
5. It’s a bit much, but try the official website for more information or r/movingtojapan wiki as a starting point.