月花ロゴ月花 倫子Family Travel with Kids日本語

← Back to all articles

Year 6: The Reality of Tap Water and Delivery, and Our Last Ordinary Days

Note: this article contains affiliate links (advertising).

By 2025, our six years in Malaysia were drawing to a close. This article covers a few realities you only notice by actually living somewhere — not just visiting — along with the quiet, ordinary days of our final months before returning to Japan.

What you'll find here

1. A reality of living there: the color of the tap water

Here's an honest note on something that was genuinely hard at times. One thing you don't notice as a visitor but learn quickly as a resident is the tap water. Malaysian tap water is often noticeably yellow-tinged, likely due to the piping. This wasn't unique to our home — hotels we stayed at sometimes had similarly discolored water. Using a home water dispenser or large bottled water was simply part of daily life, for drinking and beyond.

💡 Tip with kids: water is an area where bringing Japanese standards with you can lead to real frustration. Planning your household around a water dispenser or bottled water from the start makes daily life much smoother.

Our flat in Malaysia.
Our flat in Malaysia.

2. A reality of living there: trouble

One thing that genuinely troubled us once we were actually living there was water leaking from the ceiling. On occasion the ceiling even came down. These were the kind of unexpected household troubles you only run into by making a home somewhere, not by simply visiting.

We used food delivery and courier services regularly throughout our six years. In January, we have a record of receiving a delivery bag in the kitchen.

It was often a different experience from the "arrives on time, in pristine condition" standard you'd expect in Japan, and packages sometimes arrived in less than perfect shape. That was one of the gaps we came to appreciate only by living it.

💡 Tip with kids: it helps to make a habit of checking deliveries as soon as they arrive. Being home to receive them yourself is also a good idea.

Water coming through the ceiling.
Water coming through the ceiling.
The same leak, from another angle.
The same leak, from another angle.
In the end, part of the ceiling came down.
In the end, part of the ceiling came down.

3. Our last ordinary days before heading home

In February, we still enjoyed the occasional meal out. On this day, we visited Santouka, a Japanese ramen restaurant in Pavilion. Even while living abroad, being able to taste the familiar flavors of home was a quietly comforting moment. Even as our return to Japan approached, the same everyday routines carried on.

Enjoying ramen at a restaurant
Enjoying ramen at a restaurant

There was no dramatic send-off event — but these quiet, unremarkable moments feel like a fitting way to close out six years of life abroad.

Grilled fish and miso soup. Even in Malaysia, this is what our table looked like.
Grilled fish and miso soup. Even in Malaysia, this is what our table looked like.
Salmon sashimi. You could get most Japanese ingredients here.
Salmon sashimi. You could get most Japanese ingredients here.
A rice bowl with salmon and ikura.
A rice bowl with salmon and ikura.
An ordinary dinner. Days like this, one after another.
An ordinary dinner. Days like this, one after another.
The table in our final year. I am glad we photographed it.
The table in our final year. I am glad we photographed it.
Steamboat outdoors. Hot country or not, you still eat hotpot.
Steamboat outdoors. Hot country or not, you still eat hotpot.

4. Looking back on six years

Our life in Malaysia began in 2019 in a Mont Kiara condominium, carried us through the pandemic to a new home in Cyberjaya, through our child's school years at Epsom College Malaysia and all the growth that came with them, and reached its close with our return to Japan in the summer of 2025. It was a demanding six years in many ways, but looking back, spending such a formative stretch of our children's upbringing alongside Malaysia was an experience our family will always treasure.

Q. What was hardest about six years there? A. There were plenty of moments where "normal" in Japan simply didn't apply — tap water, housing, delivery. Even so, things like shared condo pools and the level of care at the international school gave real benefits to raising kids there.

Q. Would you recommend Malaysia as a place to relocate to? A. The infrastructure is solid, and there are plenty of options if you're after an international education for your kids. That said, tap water, housing quality, and delivery services all call for a "when in Rome" mindset if you're used to Japanese standards.

📌 Last updated: July 2026. Living conditions and policies change. If you're considering relocating, please reconfirm with official sources and current information.

Walking to school. I remember counting how many times we had left on this road.
Walking to school. I remember counting how many times we had left on this road.
Over six years, she had grown up completely.
Over six years, she had grown up completely.
Animate in Kuala Lumpur. Japanese things are easier to find than you would think.
Animate in Kuala Lumpur. Japanese things are easier to find than you would think.
A supermarket display. The prices are in ringgit.
A supermarket display. The prices are in ringgit.

5. You might also like

All photos in this article were taken by our family during our time in Malaysia in 2025. Living conditions and policies can change, so please reconfirm with official sources or on-site information if you're considering a similar move.

Useful for planning

PR: contains affiliate links.

← Back to all articles