Ganbatte!
Japan is a mysterious country, which seems fitting given that most of the time what I’m doing with my life is a complete mystery to me too. I’ve noticed over the past few years that every time that I begin something, every time I’ve thought ‘here is where I will plant my seeds, here is where I will drop my roots, that I become like a plant that is spontaneously pulled out of it’s home and repotted somewhere completely different. Anyway here I am, repotted in Japan.
Nothing here makes sense, yet everything makes sense. it is a completely polarising world. You can’t pay your bills online or buy a prepaid SIM card to save yourself, but you can buy literally anything and everything you need from 7/11 and there is always a convenience store within walking distance of anywhere you are at any time. There are Louis Vuitton bags in the Op Shops and the best sashimi you will ever eat for $7 at the supermarket, but one Rock Melon costs $30 and a peach (momo) you can pick up for a bargain at around $8-$10 for ONE.
I realised pretty soon after I arrived that Japan is like no where else. You cannot compare this country to anywhere you have ever been. Japan is in a league of it’s own and hides behind thick veils that will have you thinking it’s one thing but in fact it’s something completely different.
After six months here and being completely immersed I still have no idea of what I’m doing. I thought when I arrived that I would set up my online studio, that I would teach Yoga classes every day, and that I would live for the peace and routine that this country offers. LOL. Some days I feel like a child who really shouldn’t be left unsupervised, and other days I’m so freaking proud of ourselves that we did this.
The women here in the countryside of Japan have full time jobs parenting. It is WILD. The dads are responsible for working only. This is a contentious topic for me, as I didn’t grow up in a patriarchal family and my marriage is built on values that reject patriarchal thinking. I know we are different and although I’m sure Jay would love at times for me to really embrace the culture of Japanese women, it’s just never going to be me. But aside from my personal opinion, it’s intriguing witnessing this dynamic and what works and what doesn’t.
Most families have a minimum two kids, some where we live have three or four, and while big families are busy all over the world, here it’s on a completely different level. Below is a list of what Poppy takes to school every day (mind you this is just for one kid).
Inside shoes
Outside shoes
Lunch bag
Chop Sticks
Spoon and Fork
Cloth for wiping
Temperature recording sheet with mesh bag
Cup and seperate cup bag
Backpack
Drink bottle with cup attached to it
Hat
Masks, including a spare for lunch time
Cloth bag for bringing home artwork and crafting items
Diary
Then, they each have individual items that stay at school, emergency snacks, earthquake helmets, spare clothes, mud clothes, pool clothes, towels, drawing kits, skipping ropes, Takeuma (wooden stilts) like honestly nothing could have prepared me for the shit I would have to organise so my kid could get educated.
Organising all of that coupled with the fact that my Japanese is at the level of a three year old toddler, it’s been a wild ride transitioning from the woman I felt like I was in Australia, to what my day to day life looks like now.
I’m trying though. I’m taking Japanese lessons, piano lessons, Poppy has after school activities, we have friends, we go camping, like I’m really biting into this whole experience.
Rather than filling this page up with chaotic words about how I’m feeling in relationship to my new environment, I will just share some of what I have learned since I arrived.
It’s more than acceptable to have 7/11 for dinner
If a Japanese person tells you to meet at 7:00am it actually means 6:50am. Always be ten minutes early, no more, no less.
It is quiet everywhere and it’s intended to be that way
Don’t hang out your undies to dry outside
You can run a bath by pressing a button in our kitchen (you can also change the water temperature)
Miso soup will fix any type of stomach problems, period.
Music will play over the community speakers at 7:00am (time for breakfast), 12:00pm (lunch) and 5:00pm (all kids need to go home).
Japanese mums don’t speak to other Japanese dads at pick up and drop off (for fear that people will think there is something going on between them)
Nature in Japan is the most beautiful of anywhere I have ever been, and the seasons are dramatic and cliche as anything! Where New Zealand is raw and untouched, Japan’s nature has the footprint of people but in a way that implies harmony.
Thankfully with all of the lessons we are learning, and as we are assimilating ourselves into the culture of living in the japanese countryside, racing here is the same as racing everywhere which has been deeply comforting. When we arrived the first race was just a few days after we had completed quarantine and we had spent just a single night in our new home. When we got to the race we instantly felt at ease. Racing is the one and only consistent in our lives and people who race just seem to understand that home is everywhere and it’s no where.