Man steps off plane in Japan in 1986 and reveals why he never left

An Australian man who went to Japan in 1986 for a “working holiday” has revealed why he still remains in the country some 37 years later.

An Australian man has candidly revealed why he went to Japan in 1986, and still remains in the country some 37 years later.

Chris Flynn, originally from NSW, sat down for an interview with popular Youtuber TAKASHii — who has 1.74 million subscribers — about the ups and downs of living in Japan since the 80s.

“I came here on a working holiday, expecting to stay here for one year and it’s been 37 years,” Mr Flynn, who grew up on a farm in central NSW said.

“It’s very different to today … as a gaijin (non-Japanese citizen) … restaurants just wouldn’t employ me. Everywhere I would call they would just say ‘no gaijin’.”

Mr Flynn spoke of life in Japan since the 80s.

Mr Flynn, who was dressed in a black collared shirt and dark blue denim jeans for the interview, said he had no luck at the time finding work in Tokyo so instead moved his search to Osaka without any more success.

Then, a simple strike of luck worked in his favour.

“I came to Fukuoka, and through one person’s introduction I got a job at this izakaya (similar to a bar or pub) just working as a waiter, serving drinks and sometimes cooking.

“It was really hard but it was an adventure. They didn’t treat me any differently, I was just one of the boys there.”

Mr Flynn, however, added that he was worked to the bone during his time at the izakaya.

“I had to work very hard,” he laughed, revealing one of the most challenging parts of the role was being surrounded by almost no English speakers.

“It was an adventure … cleaning up, cleaning the tables and cleaning the toilets. I look back to then, I wasn’t worried about money then or prestige, I just wanted to get a job where I had to speak Japanese.

Mr Flynn spoke of life in Japan since the 80s.

“I hardly ever saw any English speakers. Every now and again, Americans would come in on their R & R from the [military] ships, but that’s about the only time I saw another foreigner.”

Mr Flynn, who now has three children and has been married for 34 years, said the expectation was to stay in Japan for just a year, and had no idea that his ‘working holiday’ would blow out to a 37-year stay.

“I’d been studying Japanese for two years [prior to the trip] … and I came over to try out my Japanese and it was fantastic,” he explained.

“There was no internet, and you only had the pay phones. Everyone used to line up at the green phone or the pink phone.”

He got an extension to his working visa approved, and after having children, said it was “very hard” to move with a young family.

“I got a good job at a university, and I bought a house and now I have a mortgage so it’s very hard to move,” he explained of still being in Japan.

“People ask if I want to go back to Australia and I think I’m adaptable … I could live in Australia or I can live in Japan. I enjoy either place just as much.”

Mr Flynn said Japan had changed drastically since 1986 when he arrived.

Mt Flynn describes his life in Japan as very different compared to the 80s, with three major differences.

“The whole world has changed, I now walk down the street and no one points at me,” he laughed.

“I couldn’t get a job back in 1987, but now just about every convenience store has foreign students working in them.

“And Japan used to be really cheap … then it became really expensive, then a bit cheap again. Australia was cheap, now it is really expensive and Japan looks cheap.

“But the one thing that hasn’t changed is the very low salaries in Japan. The minimum wage has just gone up to 1000 yen, but that is still very low.”