Hi, my name is Elliott, I'm 28 years old, from France. I've been interested in Japan and its culture for many years. After a first experience living there for a year as a student five years ago, I decided to make another long-stay in Japan as part of the working holiday permit.
What made you choose to move to Fukuoka ?
The first time I lived in Japan, I stayed in Osaka, and it was a great experience. But for my second long term stay, I wanted to go somewhere less visited by tourists, and learn more about other local cultures of Japan.
Fukuoka is located in Kyushu, that has always been considered away from the rest of Japan (some of my Japanese friends asked me: « Why go there? It’s the countryside!"), so I thought it would be interesting to see how the culture and lifestyle were like off the typical tourist beats. Also, Kyushu is known for its good weather, and excellent food quality. So it seemed like an obvious choice for my next destination.
How long did you stay in Fukuoka, and what aspects of life here did you like?
I've stayed 5 months from September 2016 to February 2017. Which allowed me to experience the end of summer, fall, and half of winter.
At first, I didn't really know what to expect from Fukuoka as a city to live in, and I had little apprehensions, especially because I didn't know anybody there. But going to unknown places and getting to meet new people was what led me to Fukuoka, so it wouldn't stop me.
As everybody here will tell you, Fukuoka is a city very easy to live in. Though you can feel that it is developing fast, it is not a "big" city and moving around is easy. Thanks to that, you can experience different atmospheres from the business of Tenjin or Hakata, to the quiet of Ōhirikōen, or even go to Dazaifu or Itoshima which are very close to the city. Personally, I'll admit I spent more time in the busy streets of Tenjin, and the other central districts, but it's good to know you can and do it from time to time.
But most of all, what made my stay here worthwhile was the people I met. At first, Fukuokans can seem a little distant, but once you've past that first layer, they are very welcoming and keen to show you around or take you to their favorite place to enjoy local food.
I guess finding a baito close to central Tenjin helped me a lot for meeting Japanese people. Besides that, Fukuoka was a lot more cosmopolitan than what I expected, and realized that there are lots of foreign communities that gather regularly for events. When staying long term, It nice to meet with other foreigners from time to time, as people can give you tips or tell you about things or places to see.
How did you learn about NSJ and what made you decide to enter the sharehouse ?
When I was looking for a place to stay, I knew I didn't want to move into one of those gigantic "sharehouse" that look like apartment buildings. I first found NSJ on airbnb and then found their website where there were more informations and photos that made me decide almost at the moment I saw them.
The fact that it was a house with only five persons living in, as well as the fact that it was close to downtown were decisive in my choice to inquire for a room when I saw one was available. One of my best choices in my trip in Japan.
How was it living in the sharehouse?
Living in the sharehouse was quite pleasant. When I got in, we were 5 persons living there (3 Japanese, one Hong-Kongese, and myself), each with their own bedroom, and we would share the living-room, kitchen, and shower.
There were a few changes during my stay with people moving out after finding a steady job, but because it's just a few persons living together, it always had a small community kind of atmosphere. We were all pretty busy with our schedules, and would just meet on our way in or out. So at night when everybody was in, or when we would have parties together because we hadn't seen each other for while, you could really get the feel of it. Living with people who had been in Fukuoka for a while was a good way to learn about the city and around.
The house in itself is quite big, so everyone can be with the others in the living, or enjoy the quiet of their own room. Because it's a big house, cleaning duties are divided between the tenants (or at least that's how it was during my stay). Not everyone has the same level of what clean is, but through talking, (and sometimes some concession)s, we can always find a way for everybody to get want they want.
Any advice for people who'd be interested in living at NSJ?
Staying at NSJ is a great experience because though it's à sharehouse, it's really homie. My first advice would be to either invest in a good bicycle or a monthly train pass to move around the city. I chose the bike because it allows you to come back home at any time of the night, but it's still a good ride home.
My other advice would be to stay open minded and flexible, because not everybody has the same lifestyle. But it can be a good experience to live with others this way.