Living in Japan without speaking the native language comes with its challenges. Ashley Thompson is tackling them one at a time, and blogging about her experiences at Surviving in Japan (without much Japanese) . Originally from Seattle, Wash., Thompson moved to Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher with the JET Program more than two years ago. After she began to overcome various hurdles once she was in Japan, she wanted to share her findings and possibly correct a few preconceived notions about living in Japan. Her informative blog is the result. Living in Shizuoka Prefrecture and pursuing a career in writing and journalism, while blogging and doing additional freelance work on the side, she blogs about the basics — and then some, from downloading language-learning phone apps to finding the right feminine hygiene products. Even wizened Japan vets might find some tips about making life in Japan as comfortable as possible.

What was the inspiration to start this blog?

Japan was my first "living abroad" experience, so I did as much research as possible about the culture and everyday life before arriving. However, I soon found that some of the common knowledge about life in Japan was not entirely true. I also felt uncomfortable adjusting from being very independent to depending on others for the smallest of things, as my Japanese was still very basic at the time. So to be more independent I taught myself how to do basic daily activities, such as requesting a package redelivery online vs. over the phone, reading nutrition labels at the grocery store, learning how to locate a specific item, often online, and so on. Occasionally, when I shared my findings with others, they were surprised that there were more simple ways to accomplish everyday tasks or to know it was possible to find specific items.