Culture Shock Can Be the Beginning of Life Design

Whether it happens when you move abroad or return home, culture shock can become an invitation to design a life that actually feels like yours.

Culture shock can turn you into a creative builder of your own life.

Not by following someone else’s blueprint.
But by designing your own.

For me, it happened through reverse culture shock.

I returned to Japan after 11 years in the U.S. It has been almost 16 years since I came back.

At first, I felt lost, frustrated, full of grief, and confused.

At the time, I did not have a clear strategy. I was just trying to survive, adjust, and rebuild my life here. But looking back, I was also creating a life that made room for the international part of me to keep living and growing.

I didn’t overcome reverse culture shock by fitting back in. Instead, I integrated it into an international lifestyle in Japan.

And it worked. Pretty well.

It became something uniquely mine. Here are some examples of how I did it.

How I Created an International Environment Inside Japan

Career

• Choosing part-time jobs where I could use both English and Japanese.
• Looking for workplaces with international environments.
• Also working in very Japanese environments so I could understand local expectations and find my place.
• Learning how to move between different cultural and professional settings.

Language

• Keeping my computer and phone settings in English.
• Consuming most information in English.
• Searching in English first.
• Writing and journaling in English because my ideas often came faster and deeper that way.

Community

• Joining English-speaking groups and attending international events.
• Serving as a board member for an international professional organization.
• Connecting with returnees and those who moved to Japan from overseas.
• Also building relationships with local people, my in-laws, neighbors, and landlords.

Japan

• Learning Japanese professional communication by asking questions.
• Asking principals and assistant principals to review my Japanese writing when I worked as a school counselor. I was lucky to be assigned to three public elementary schools, and they were so helpful!
• Learning business manners, wording, tone, and email phrases by observing, copying, and searching.
• Learning systems like taxes, banking, insurance, and administrative procedures little by little, often by asking people to write things down on paper.
• Making mistakes, smiling, and moving on.

Home

• Making English visible at home.
• Keeping objects and reminders from the life I used to love in the U.S.
• Looking for parenting information in English.
• Showing my son that English is part of everyday life.

Becoming Okay With Life In Between

All of these choices helped me create a life where the part of me shaped overseas could keep living and growing.

Eventually, I became okay with not being “Western enough” or “Japanese enough.”

If the environment is too international, I sometimes shrink.
If the environment is too traditional, I stand out.

It is what it is. And maybe that is part of the beauty of living between cultures.

A question for you…

What part of your life are you ready to stop simply adapting to?

Ready to Design a Life That Feels More True?

If you are building your life in Japan and want to reflect on what comes next, I offer two private one-on-one sessions:

The Reflection Room — for deep conversation, clarity, and calm purpose.
SoulStory Tarot — for intuitive reflection through tarot as a mirror.

Both are designed for internationally minded leaders and professionals in Japan who are ready to stop simply adapting and start designing a life that feels more true.

These are quiet, reflective spaces for exploring identity, belonging, life transitions, and the deeper questions that do not always fit neatly into ordinary conversations.

If this resonates with you, please reach out.

About the Author

Chie Sawa is the founder of Thrive Life Design — a sanctuary for quiet, introspective leaders and visionaries in Japan.

Drawing from decades of experience in psychology and clinical practice, she now offers The Reflection Room, a non-clinical space for one-on-one conversations, and SoulStory Tarot, intuitive tarot readings that help thoughtful professionals realign with clarity, confidence, and calm purpose.

To learn more about Chie’s work, visit Thrive Life Design or connect with her on LinkedIn.