Public eye #16

Stephen Pierson, student

Where are you heading to?
SP: I’m on my way to my part-time job.

Is your workplace close to here?
SP: Yep. I sell churros at Churro Star. It’s hard talking in Japanese and sometimes the customers get upset at me and say, ‘Hurry up’, but most customers are pretty nice to me. I have gotten used to it now, and my co-workers and I work well together so it’s really fun.

That’s great. So you have a part time job – does that mean you’re a student?
SP: Yeah, I’m in my third year at university. I’m majoring in business management and am also studying Japanese.

How long have you been in Japan?
SP: I arrived in May 2009, so I’ve been here almost a year.

Tell us why you decided to study at a Japanese university?
SP: I’ve loved Japan since I was a kid. I love anime, and I used to watch Dragon Ball and One Piece all the time. My favourite kanji is the kanji for yume [dream]. I think it has a really nice shape. The Japanese lifestyle really appeals to me, and I wanted to know more about Japanese culture so I came to Tokyo. I’ve heard that if you really admire something you can often feel let down in the end, but in my case, I love Japan more now than I did before I came. I love Japanese food. I would say that Ramen Jiro’s ramen has got to be the best.

Is there anything that gets you down about Japan?
SP: Yeah. The rent is expensive. At the moment I’m living in a share house in Ota ward. It takes me over an hour to get to university and work, which is a little tough, but we share three rooms among three people, so it’s ¥30,000 per person. It’s a pretty comfortable place to live, so I am really happy there.

Do you and your other housemates go out together?
SP: Yeah, we do. We go to izakayas [Japanese-style pubs] and to karaoke, and go crazy singing the Dragon Ball song. We also go to other places like Muse and [other] clubs.

Do you want to live in Japan after you graduate?
SP: I haven’t decided how long I want to live in Japan. My parents, who are in the US, are supportive of me and tell me that I should do what I want to do. I think I would like to look for a job here after I graduate. I am going to study Japanese more. I might take my time, but I will definitely get better.

More from Stephen:

‘I’m from Malibu, in the US. The house I lived in was a five minute walk from the beach, so I love the ocean. I would love to go surfing.’

‘Last summer, I went on a trip to Osaka, Kyoto and Nara with a friend; next I want to visit Hokkaido or Okinawa.’

‘Japanese women have really beautiful legs, and I think their shyness is really quite cute.’