Acting on a whim, Justin started taking Japanese classes while at university. His teacher encouraged him to spend one year in Japan, and now, many years later and fluent in the language, this Face of Gengo translates from Japanese to English to help maintain proficiency. Hailing from the US, Justin spends his winters managing a hotel in snowy Hokkaido and moves to Tokyo in the off-season to work as a freelance translator.

How did you become a translator?

I never specifically wanted to become a translator, but I started taking on small projects and enjoyed emceeing in both English and Japanese at a few small live shows in Aomori. Of course, translation and interpretation are different games, but it turned into a sort of hobby and I started taking on more translation projects.

What has been your most enjoyable and challenging translation experience?

Enjoyable—the challenge of translating difficult or idiomatic phrases. Challenging—translating difficult or idiomatic phrases.

What’s your favorite thing about being a translator?

It kills several birds with the same stone: pays the bills, allows me to travel and I learn from it.

Describe your office setup or workspace.

It’s different every day. However, I try not to go to coffee shops as you have to make back every three or four dollars you spend on coffee! Workspace is crucial. I prefer a dual monitor setup with plenty of real estate. People-watching is distracting, so I prefer an office. (The correct answer here is on a beach in Thailand, right?)

Based on your cultural expertise, what are the best books or movies you would recommend?

I LOVE Mari Yamazaki’s Terumae Romae, the story of an ancient Roman who got sucked into modern-day Japan through a Roman bath.

What is your favorite snack for while you work?

Coffee.

What are your preferred translation tools?

Two monitors are crucial, as well as a low-profile keyboard and a good, easy-to-use mouse. The rikaikun extension for Google Chrome helps me quickly mouse over words that I don’t know or want a suggestion for. Online dictionaries such as Eijiro and Weblio are great for example sentences—that’s the best way to figure out how a word is really used. On Android, I use the WWWJDIC app, which has a great kanji lookup feature.

What’s your favorite productivity tool or service?

1Password as I always forget my passwords! BetterTouchTool for Mac helps me to customize gestures on a magic trackpad so that I can flip tabs and close and rearrange windows using my mouse. f.lux helps me avoid staring into a super bright monitor late into the evening.

What is your top tip for those who are just starting out as a translator?

Don’t just work on your language skills; the soft skill of dealing with people is terribly important, too. The manner in which you interact with a picky client will have a huge effect on how happy they are with your work. Being standoffish or taking criticism personally will never lead to anything good. Of course, you should know where to draw the line, too. If you find this part of the work difficult, practice, read books on dealing with people and stick it out.

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