We are moving to Japan. Some people might have questions about that. Here are the basics.
November 4th
This is the flight date. We’ll be on the plane for roughly 13.5 hours, from MSP to Haneda airport in Tokyo. We’ll overnight at an airport hotel, and the next day take another small plane to the airport in Noto, the world’s first Pokemon airport.
Nanao & Kanazawa
We will live the entire time within the Ishikawa Prefecture. Ishikawa is known for rain (similar to the Pacific Northwest, possibly rainier), seafood, and gold leaf. (And something called Abare Festival?)
We will live initially in a smaller city, Nanao, something like a Mankato or St. Cloud sized city. Sarah’s grandparent’s bought a house there earlier this year after their previous house was damaged and condemned in the Noto earthquake 2.5 years ago. We will move in with them for an unknown period of time, while we assess and possibly renovate a house in Kanazawa.
Kanazawa is the prefectural capital of Ishikawa, and more similar to Minneapolis in population, though it is difficult to draw comparisons between metro areas. In Kanazawa there is a family house available, though in the Fall of '25 there was a record rainstorm (13 inches in 3 hours) that caused some water damage. Ideally, we are able to repair the house, move in, and start getting jobs and sending kids to school here, but we aren't sure how long the job will take.
Comparisons
- Kanazawa sits on roughly the same latitude as Nashville, TN and Salinas, CA.
- Kanazawa is rainier, more humid, and consistently more overcast than Minneapolis or Seattle. It can get Minnesota snowfall totals, but doesn't get as cold and doesn't hit that "too cold to snow" phase.
- Minnesota is 86,936 square miles, and Ishikawa Prefecture is 1,616 square miles. All of Japan is 145,935 square miles.
- According to bigmacindex.app, a Big Mac in Japan is 500¥ and with today's exchange rate of 162¥ per $1 USD, that comes to $3.08.
14 Hours
Japan is 14 hours ahead of those in US Central Time.
So if it's Friday 6pm in Minneapolis, it is 8am Saturday in Japan.
If it is Friday 6pm in Japan, it is 4am Friday in Minneapolis.
Tour Guide & English Tutoring
Sarah will be hunting for tour guide jobs and I will be looking to tutor in English. Sarah is excited to use her dual language fluency and interest in history and people for work. I will be looking to get paid to chat, which seems a little like cheating if I can manage it.
2-3 years
We are planning two to three years in Japan, and retaining our house in Minneapolis which will (hopefully) be rented in the meantime.
It will feel like both a long time, and a short time.
Please come visit us, we'll find a place for you to stay, whether it's at our place or nearby.