A year in Japan has changed how Alessa Hickman thinks about where to live. The Ottawa native still plans to return to Canada when her working-holiday visa ends, but resuming life in her hometown no longer feels like a given. The cost of living, Japan’s convenient transport and the experience of building a life abroad have all shaped her plans.
A one-year stay that began in Ottawa
Hickman was born and raised in Ottawa, where most of her family still lives. Other relatives are only a few hours away. For much of her life, the familiar plan was to stay close to home, travel occasionally and eventually settle somewhere she already knew.
As an adult, she grew more interested in life beyond Canada, while also feeling the pressure of rising living costs. With her apartment lease nearing its end, she began considering a change. A previous trip to Japan had left a strong impression, and a one-year working-holiday visa offered a way to test life overseas.
Her original plan was straightforward: spend a year in Japan, then return to Ottawa and sign another lease nearby. But on her first night in Tokyo, she was already looking into ways to extend her time abroad.
Rail travel reshapes daily life in Tokyo and Osaka
During her stay, Hickman lived in both Tokyo and Osaka and visited more than a dozen cities and towns. She tried new restaurants, met people from different countries and found that there was always somewhere new to explore.
Japan’s rail network made spontaneous trips easier. She could decide to visit an unfamiliar city without much advance planning. In Ottawa, she said, a similar outing would typically take more planning and cost more. For Hickman, the transport links changed more than the travel experience: they made exploring new places a practical part of everyday life.
She has long enjoyed adventure, recalling childhood hikes and short road trips with her mother to get out of the city. Life in Japan gave that interest room to grow. She sometimes misses Canada, but the sense of familiarity she found in Japan exceeded her expectations, making it harder to imagine giving up that way of life without a second thought.
The experience has not convinced her that she must stay in Japan permanently. Instead, it has changed what “home” means to her. She no longer assumes that being born in one place means she has to build her whole life there. Other cities and experiences now feel like options worth considering.
Visa expiry means a return to Canada, for now
Hickman’s Japanese visa is nearing its end, making a return to Canada the most practical short-term plan. A permanent move abroad would require more time to work through the arrangements and paperwork. She expects to leave Japan in a few months and travel in Southeast Asia, with possible stops along the way home if her itinerary allows.
Once back in Canada, she may start planning another trip or look into a different one-year visa program. She can see herself living abroad again, or at least spending more time travelling internationally. Japan remains one possibility, but it is not the only one.
For now, she does not expect to return to Ottawa and immediately resume the settled life she once pictured. With her next steps still undecided, she is also considering a move elsewhere in Canada or a road trip to see where life takes her. She has realized that she has explored relatively little of her own country and wants to see it with the perspective she gained in Japan.
Still in her twenties, Hickman believes she has time to make decisions as she goes. A year in Japan has not answered every question; it has raised new ones. What she knows for now is that she will leave Japan when her visa ends, return to Canada and keep weighing her next trip against her longer-term plans.