Somehow, I ended up in Japan
Japan is an interesting place from an outsiders point of view. There is a cultural narrative that Japan is this land of futuristic technology, whacky fashion and extreme politeness; cool Japan. And yeah, sure, it is kinda. I'm not going to write a whole post negating cool Japan, about how Japan still uses fax machines and bank books, how I can't show my shoulders for fear of stares of death, and not everyone here is super polite (drivers can be pretty aggressive here...) There are so many vlogs and articles chronicling how Japan is not the Japan you think it is, from many different perspectives, so I won't regurgitate that here. Instead, here are the more mundane things I've noticed about Japan in my two months that I've been here.
The first thing I've noticed, is that everything seems rusty. I'm not sure if that's because I'm now in the countryside and so things are older here, but I swear that all the buildings look a little bit rusty and weathered even if their design suggests they were built in the 80's or 90's. Why is this? Is it because of the incessant humidity during summers? Is it because they don't paint things as often as we do in New Zealand? I have a feeling their buildings are a lot more prone to weathering because they're actually not built to last all that long; it's extremely common in Japan for buildings in Japan to be knocked down and rebuilt after 70 years. But it's interesting because I originally had the impression of Japan being clean, which therefore means pretty. But it's not really pretty, it's just rusty. But I do live in a carpark town so what do you expect...Though in saying that about cleanliness, as a larger cultural theme Japan isn't exactly... Sanitary? Things will be tidied but not really cleaned properly as such. For example washing hands; it seems fairly common here to be all good to just give them a quick rinse which isn't really... washing them?
Another thing is that vegetables aren't really a thing in Japanese food, especially so for restaurant food/takeaway food. Legitimately, you're lucky if you get a bit of a shredded cabbage with your meal (except at izakayas - essentially bars but with more food - which sometimes serve cabbage and cucumber as an appetiser; which I jump on like a ravenous wolf). Also there's a lot of milk drinking and snacking going on in general around here, plus the alcohol is so cheap its ridiculous. Real talk, I worry about putting on weight here because of the food habits of Japan. But I can't stop drinking that sweet sweet milk (did I say milk? I meant alcohol. And the milk. Actually both really, I've never had so much milk in my life). Fruit is also considered a desert, so it is quite expensive, with the exception of bananas which are quite cheap. Honestly their fruit is worth the price though, it is perfect and juicy and flavourful; Japanese fruit are truly perfect specimens. But it really isn't affordable as a regular snack, there is no such thing as normal boring snack life fruit. It's meant a big adjustment to me as someone who generally eats fruit as a snack. Which I'm still figuring out a replacement for; I am so hungry all the time.
But there is healthy food! Konjac is a super filling, high fibre, low calorie meal bulker which is sold in every Japanese supermarket. As a backstory, I've basically become obsessed with fibre while I've been here. I am so hungry all the time because the space between my meals has just increased by at least an hour (at least two in the mornings. Did I mention that I'M SO HUNGRY ALL THE TIME). But the school lunch is pretty calorie dense, so I don't need the energy in the evenings. Therefore, must eat more fibre. Must be more full. Enter stage left, konjac noodles, basically a way for me to have a normal sized dinner while not spending an arm and a leg on vegetables, and can use as I would any other noodles. They're made out of the root of this plant called the konjac, and it can be used to make so many things, including face sponges which I used to use back in New Zealand (great for exfoliation). But now I prefer to eat them as a noodle, use those babies in a nice yakisoba and eat an entire bucket if you'd like with zero guilt.
Finally, at least for now because I'm sure there will be more of these personal posts coming, my last point is that you technically don't have to wear a helmet when riding a bike (with the exception of children under 15). Which to me is a little bit scary seeing as a very common mode of transport here is bicycle. Though the fact that using a bicycle is a common of transport is something amazing and exciting for me. Riding a bike in Auckland is terrifying for me, but I have now ridden a bike in conditions I never would have in Auckland, because cars actually respect your existence. So I guess to an extent, I can understand the lack of helmets for adults, because cycling is pretty damn safe because it's so common (or is it so common because it's so safe? This is a real chicken-and-egg situation). It's also so freeing cycling around the mountains on crisp autumn mornings, with barely anyone around, the cool mountain air refreshing my lungs. If you want to feel rejuvenated on your morning commute, cycle to your visit school in the mountains in Japan. But please wear a helmet.
My experiences of Japan thus far have mostly been those of dissonance, because the experiences are different to what I would expect going my New Zealand cultural norms. I won't lie about the fact that, especially at the beginning of me living here, I experienced extreme situational shock (shock that does not necessarily relate to Japanese culture, but the situation I was in, namely it was HOT and NOONE SPOKE ENGLISH). And I am sure that I will experience more intensive culture shock at a point, and I definitely have been experiencing it in small increments. But I am here, and it's pretty fun on the whole. It is definitely an experience opposed to the normal life created by my experience growing up in New Zealand.
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| Manhole covers are also really pretty and vary based on the city/town. This one was in Omihachiman. |
The first thing I've noticed, is that everything seems rusty. I'm not sure if that's because I'm now in the countryside and so things are older here, but I swear that all the buildings look a little bit rusty and weathered even if their design suggests they were built in the 80's or 90's. Why is this? Is it because of the incessant humidity during summers? Is it because they don't paint things as often as we do in New Zealand? I have a feeling their buildings are a lot more prone to weathering because they're actually not built to last all that long; it's extremely common in Japan for buildings in Japan to be knocked down and rebuilt after 70 years. But it's interesting because I originally had the impression of Japan being clean, which therefore means pretty. But it's not really pretty, it's just rusty. But I do live in a carpark town so what do you expect...Though in saying that about cleanliness, as a larger cultural theme Japan isn't exactly... Sanitary? Things will be tidied but not really cleaned properly as such. For example washing hands; it seems fairly common here to be all good to just give them a quick rinse which isn't really... washing them?
Another thing is that vegetables aren't really a thing in Japanese food, especially so for restaurant food/takeaway food. Legitimately, you're lucky if you get a bit of a shredded cabbage with your meal (except at izakayas - essentially bars but with more food - which sometimes serve cabbage and cucumber as an appetiser; which I jump on like a ravenous wolf). Also there's a lot of milk drinking and snacking going on in general around here, plus the alcohol is so cheap its ridiculous. Real talk, I worry about putting on weight here because of the food habits of Japan. But I can't stop drinking that sweet sweet milk (did I say milk? I meant alcohol. And the milk. Actually both really, I've never had so much milk in my life). Fruit is also considered a desert, so it is quite expensive, with the exception of bananas which are quite cheap. Honestly their fruit is worth the price though, it is perfect and juicy and flavourful; Japanese fruit are truly perfect specimens. But it really isn't affordable as a regular snack, there is no such thing as normal boring snack life fruit. It's meant a big adjustment to me as someone who generally eats fruit as a snack. Which I'm still figuring out a replacement for; I am so hungry all the time.
But there is healthy food! Konjac is a super filling, high fibre, low calorie meal bulker which is sold in every Japanese supermarket. As a backstory, I've basically become obsessed with fibre while I've been here. I am so hungry all the time because the space between my meals has just increased by at least an hour (at least two in the mornings. Did I mention that I'M SO HUNGRY ALL THE TIME). But the school lunch is pretty calorie dense, so I don't need the energy in the evenings. Therefore, must eat more fibre. Must be more full. Enter stage left, konjac noodles, basically a way for me to have a normal sized dinner while not spending an arm and a leg on vegetables, and can use as I would any other noodles. They're made out of the root of this plant called the konjac, and it can be used to make so many things, including face sponges which I used to use back in New Zealand (great for exfoliation). But now I prefer to eat them as a noodle, use those babies in a nice yakisoba and eat an entire bucket if you'd like with zero guilt.
 |
| Konjac noodles. Miracle food. |
Finally, at least for now because I'm sure there will be more of these personal posts coming, my last point is that you technically don't have to wear a helmet when riding a bike (with the exception of children under 15). Which to me is a little bit scary seeing as a very common mode of transport here is bicycle. Though the fact that using a bicycle is a common of transport is something amazing and exciting for me. Riding a bike in Auckland is terrifying for me, but I have now ridden a bike in conditions I never would have in Auckland, because cars actually respect your existence. So I guess to an extent, I can understand the lack of helmets for adults, because cycling is pretty damn safe because it's so common (or is it so common because it's so safe? This is a real chicken-and-egg situation). It's also so freeing cycling around the mountains on crisp autumn mornings, with barely anyone around, the cool mountain air refreshing my lungs. If you want to feel rejuvenated on your morning commute, cycle to your visit school in the mountains in Japan. But please wear a helmet.
My experiences of Japan thus far have mostly been those of dissonance, because the experiences are different to what I would expect going my New Zealand cultural norms. I won't lie about the fact that, especially at the beginning of me living here, I experienced extreme situational shock (shock that does not necessarily relate to Japanese culture, but the situation I was in, namely it was HOT and NOONE SPOKE ENGLISH). And I am sure that I will experience more intensive culture shock at a point, and I definitely have been experiencing it in small increments. But I am here, and it's pretty fun on the whole. It is definitely an experience opposed to the normal life created by my experience growing up in New Zealand.
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