KEY TAKEAWAYS

• I live in Chiba, Japan but want to move to Ginza where the money is!

• Ginza is the place to meet the right guys for a great life

• Living in Chiba is what an English Teacher can afford in Japan but it's okay for now. I have a cat.

Rachel’s - Ginza Dreams

Daniel TJ International Correspondent Tokyo, Japan

Rachel’s Big Dream: From Chiba Classrooms to Ginza Skylines

Rachel stood at the doorway of her little house in Chiba, iced coffee in hand, watching the morning sun spill across her tiny garden. The place was peaceful — a two-story traditional home with tatami mats, sliding doors, and even a stone lantern out back. Rent? Just ¥45,000 a month. In the U.S., that wouldn’t even cover a room in someone’s basement. Here, she had a house all to herself.

Chiba wasn’t glamorous, but it was safe, quiet, and kind. And for now, that was enough.

But Rachel had a dream.

After finishing her English classes at a local junior high, she’d spend her evenings scrolling through fashion blogs and Instagram feeds filled with images of Tokyo — especially Higashi-Ginza, where the boutiques sparkled, the people dressed like they were walking runways, and everything felt just a little more cinematic. To her, Ginza wasn’t just a neighborhood. It was a whole mood. A different version of her life.

“I want to live there,” she whispered almost daily.

She could see it: waking up in a stylish apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows, pulling on a designer blazer, heading to work at a boutique school or private tutoring gig. Maybe she’d meet someone with sharp suits and a sharp smile, who shared her love of espresso and art galleries.

But dreams cost money.

And Ginza rent? That was Tokyo-level serious. A tiny studio could be triple what she was paying now. Her teacher’s salary barely covered the basics — even in affordable Chiba. The job boards at school didn’t exactly list openings for upscale private tutors or luxury-language instructors.

Still, she tried to stay grounded. She reminded herself she was already in Japan — the country she’d dreamed about since middle school. And Chiba had its charms. There was a jazz café near her house that served matcha lattes with delicate cookies. Her neighbors greeted her each morning with cheerful bows. And the local Don Quijote sold surprisingly trendy clothes on the cheap.

But it wasn’t Ginza.

“I don’t need a mansion,” Rachel would say to her mirror, brushing her hair, “but I want to walk into a place where everyone looks amazing and feel like I belong there.”

One night, curiosity won. She opened her laptop and typed in:

How to live and work in Ginza as a foreigner

She scrolled past generic job listings, then paused. Someone had posted about a company called TheJEGroup! — based in Tokyo, helping foreign professionals find better jobs and housing in upscale neighborhoods.

Her heart jumped.

“I’m calling them tomorrow,” she said aloud, surprising even herself.

She pictured the call: "Hi, I’m Rachel. I teach in Chiba, but I’ve got this dream — to work and live in Ginza. Could you help?”

Would they laugh? Tell her to be realistic? Or would they say something simple and powerful like, “Yes, we help people like you every day.”

That night, she turned out the lights with a smile.

Maybe TheJEGroup! could connect her to a language school with high-end clients. Or maybe they knew a landlord who welcomed stylish foreigners. Maybe — just maybe — this was her first real step toward the life she’d only imagined.

She even giggled at the idea of her new business card:

Rachel Simmons | Elite English Coach | Higashi-Ginza

“Okay, maybe I’m dreaming a little too big,” she said under her breath.
“But every dream has to start somewhere.”

The next morning, she buttoned up her slightly wrinkled blazer, dabbed on some lipstick, and caught the bus to school. Her students still confused “rice” and “lice,” and the heater in her house still made weird cicada noises… but something had shifted.

She had a plan now. A small one — but real.

At lunch, she’d call. She didn’t know what the answer would be. But she knew this: she’d never find out if she didn’t try.

Her life was still in Chiba. But her heart? Her heart had already moved to Ginza.

DID YOU SEE THIS? Thinking of living in Sweden?