This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nic Lim, an author from New Zealand who moved to Japan for four years to work as an English teacher. It has been edited for length and clarity.

With his black uniform jacket slung rakishly over his shoulders and his feet propped up on a Japanese school desk as he held court with his crew, Jason Wu was taking great satisfaction in being a ...

Hailing from Niigata High School on Japan’s western coast, 10 Japanese students attended three days of classes at Shaler Area High School. The students, mostly third-year high schoolers, sat in on ...