Why Japan?

Namaste Y’all! 

Many people always ask me “Why Japan?” So, I decided to make a little list of reasons why I love it here. This isn’t everything, as I’m sure I probably forgot some things, but it’s a start. And as I collect more, maybe there can be a part two…or probably become a series *brain is ticking* (Stay tuned)

Here we go!

1. Cleanliness 

Listen, I have never seen a country as clean as this one! This goes beyond just inside buildings. The streets DO NOT have public garbage bins and YET they are impeccable. People hardly litter. In total, I have lived here for about two and a half years and I have yet to see a person throw trash out a car, out of a bus or just while they’re walking. The discipline is beyondddd!! People carry their garbage with them til they can dispose of it at their homes/offices etc. Keeping your surroundings clean is ingrained from a very young age. I have taught kids as young as 3/4 years old and watch them walk across the room to throw away the tiniest piece of paper. I have literally seen fishes in drains. FISHES…IN…PUBLIC…DRAINS! I have gone to festivals with an estimated 180,000 people and was feeling apprehensive about using a portable toilet, but when I entered it was SPOTLESS. Bruh…not even a little piece of tissue on the floor. At that same festival (and many others), I have seen people eat, drink and be merry…then proceed to the garbage collection point and dispose of their garbage according to the material of the item. A FESTIVAL! Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands…and not a bottle left on the ground. 

The trains, the buses, the offices, the shops, the outside food trucks/booths, the bus terminals, the train stations, the parking lots…GASSA TOUTE BAGAYE! Honestly, they DIFFERENT different here when it comes to keeping things clean and I absolutely LOVE IT! 

PS: I’ve been purposefully recording myself going into public bathrooms to see if I will find it messy. LOL. See below…this one if spotless though. I have been looking for “a likkle piece of tissue on the floor…no? no?”

2. Garbage Separation

This goes hand in hand with the previous point. Recycling is a huge thing here and everyone has to do their part. There is an entire system of what kind of material goes into which colour bag on which designated day. Coming from Saint Lucia where everything just goes into one bag this had me spinning like a top. Thankfully, City Hall provides you with charts, brochures and envelopes of information. (That alone should tell you how serious it is) And don’t think you just NOT gonna separate your garbage or put it out on whatever day. They will gladly go through your trash to investigate and put you straight. When I moved into my apartment I was sternly warned by my landlord of my obligation to do this properly…or else. 

Moreover, when you go to some restaurants, festivals or many other public eating places you have to separate your garbage when you’ve finished eating. Yes! Even at popular fast food chains too. They even have provisions for unfinished drinks. So kindly, empty that KFC cup of all liquid and then throw the straw and lid in the plastic section and then the cup in the paper section. No games are played! Lol. 

If “we don’t play about the trash” was a country, it would be spelt J-A-P-A-N. 

 At first, it can feel a bit tedious but after a while it becomes second nature and knowing you’re helping improve the environment is always a good feeling. 

3. Time is Time

Whewwwwww… if you know me, you know this resonates in my soul. I hate waiting on people and I hate being late. Making me wait is the quickest way into my bad books. So, when I moved here I was in heaven. Everything starts and ends on time. And by everything, I mean EVERYTHING. To the T!!! Nothing is really “rounded up” Train times are as specific as they come: 7:42, 12:11, 18:33. If you get invited to a gathering from 19:00-23:00, you bet your bottom dollar that it will end at 23:00. You will even get a reminder at 22:45 that it’s about to end. So you better get there at the earliest to enjoy as much as you can. Definitely the opposite of “island time” where you reach the fete at 11pm that was supposed to start at 8pm. LOL.

Being on time is being late here. The aim is to get there and be ready for the commencement, not get there at the time of commencement and make ready. We start at 14:10, you can’t get there at 14:10 then start to pull out your book, realize you don’t have a pen, find out your presentation isn’t opening, run too make copies etc. No sah! You are wasting yours and everyone else’s time. I really have no complaints AT ALL. AH LOVE IT! 99% of my students usually arrive at least 10 mins before their lesson starts, settle in and are ready when the lesson bell goes off. 

4. Vending Machines

One thing about Japan, you could NEVER be thirsty. Every street, every corner, every station, every stop, outside every other building, near every apartment building, inside every complex…bruh! Just ANY and EVERYWHERE! Anddddddd there are a variety of drinks, BOTH hot and cold depending on the season. Many kinds of tea, coffee, water, sodas and juices. And as if drinks weren’t enough, you can also buy food products like soup, snacks, ice cream products and even baked sweet potatoes. They out here doing the most, and I am here for it! 

PS: NOT ONCE have I had to shake, kick, slap or rough up a vending machine because my product got stuck. Two and a half years and NOT ONCE! One thing about here – EFFICIENCY is everything! 

PPS: They are designed from all things Japan. From Hello Kitty to Geishas to Samurais.

5. Religion 

Coming from a constant barrage of “my religion/sabbath/belief/God is better than yours”, it really is refreshing to come to a “we like a mix of everything here” vibe. The two main religions here are Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is basically as old as the Japanese culture and Buddhism was imported from the Asian mainland. The two have been co-existing quite harmoniously for centuries and in some cases complement each other. From what I have gathered, religion isn’t really the focus; the focus is pretty much to live in harmony with others. Be kind. Be considerate. Help when you can. Sure, visit the temple but go when you want to not on this man-appointed day where you MUST or suffer in hell kind of thing. 

“Religion does not play a big role in the everyday life of most Japanese people today. The average person typically follows the religious rituals at ceremonies like birth, weddings and funerals, may visit a shrine or temple on New Year and participates at local festivals (matsuri), most of which have a religious background.” Excerpt from www.japan-guide.com 

They are not a christian country but do not chastise you when the western religious holidays come around. To them it’s not offensive to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Easter”. They kind of like some of the traditions like gift-giving and Santa at Christmas, Easter bunny and chocolates and Halloween. Anyting ah Anyting! It’s not that serious, we just kinda like it so we having fun with it. Recently, more and more Japanese couples get married in a church instead of the temple because it seems more romantic to them not because of the christianity of it all. One my older students said to me one day “For the young people, getting married in a church is more romantic than a temple. They don’t care too much about the ceremony or the religion. They just want that poetic-movie vibe. As long as their union is blessed it doesn’t matter if it’s a priest or a monk” 

Honestly, this is one of my favorite things about this country. I’ve let go of the whole “religion concept’ for some time now so this move seemed timely. Having said that, I have never felt closer to the supreme entity than when I was a devoted religious follower. I meditate more, I pray more, I practice more understanding, I manifest more, I see the oneness in everything day by day, I feel more. I am all the better for it. I am grateful. And now, I am not focused on “being a repentant sinner”, I am working on me being the me that I need and the change I want to see in the world. AMEN?

AMEN eh! 

6.  Public Transport Etiquette 

Top Tier culture shock for me! No doubt! 

It’s an unspoken rule to not talk on your phone on the train/bus as it may disturb the peace of the other passengers. Actually, in most (if not all) priority areas (for elderly, disabled, pregnant people etc.) on the train there are signs to turn off/silence your phone in this particular area. Most people keep their phones on silent/vibrate. And on the rare occasion I’ve seen some pick up a call it was to hurriedly run to the part of the train car that was the least crowded, tell the person they were on the train, hung up and returned to his seat. I KID YOU NOT! You don’t even hear text tones going off. And trust me when I tell you, 99% of people are sitting there with their face in a phone. It’s the consideration of others FUH ME! 

7. No shoes inside please 

This is low key…no… wait… high key gonna stay with me FOR LIFE. Now one of the main reasons the Japanese do this is because customarily they sit and eat on the floors not chairs; and also roll out their futons and sleep on their floors. They roll out their tatami mats and indulge in their daily lives on their floors. So removing your shoes makes total sense in that regard. 

NOW, there are no accidents in the universe. I LOVE ME SOME FLOOR. Anyone who’s in my inner circle knows this. I would gladly walk past the dining room table and sit on the floor in my house to eat, drink, chat, play games etc. So when I tell you “floor life” was easy to adapt to for me…it was EASY easy. Currently, I don’t own a table or chairs and I am rather comfortable!! Minimalism at its best…but that’s for another blog. 

I swear, my floors and by extension my apartment have never been cleaner. Sweeping and mopping have become less tedious and it just feels good to keep the dirt from outside…OUTSIDE. I mean…IT JUST MAKES SENSE. 

This applies in schools, offices and business places as well. EVERY Kid’s Room at my school is a shoe-free zone. And if we need to use that room for an adult lesson they gotta take their shoes off same speed! Now, it made sense to me for places like temples to require the no-shoe policy but I have been to castles, fitting rooms at clothing shops, cafés, restaurants and even bars where I had to take off my shoes. I have always loved a strappy-sandal but just for the ease of it I don’t wear them so often over here because you never know which business place will have a no-shoe policy. Bruh…. I learned that quick quick quick. You do not want be tying and untying every moment.

But fear not, most places provide lockers to put your shoes in or a space just outside your eating booth to place them. Also, make sure your feet clean pap! You don’t want to be out here crusty in the people place. LOL. Same goes for your socks. Check on yourself before you go out. Imagine you trying to impress someone and you get to the restaurant, have to take off your shoes and the person seeing your big toe pushing through! LOL. Bruh! It’s not a good look. 

8. Food

It is honestly one of the questions I get asked the most. 

Person: So, what do you eat over there?

Me: What do you mean? Food. Rice, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, beef, chicken, fish etc.

Person: Really?!

Me: Um. Yes. What did you think?

Person: *awkward silence* 

Me: ….

Person: I dunno …

It is always an eye roller for my honestly. As a people we really need to read more and broaden our minds to what’s out there. But I digress…that’s for another blog. 

This in itself requires a WHOLE blog on its own. I am seriously considering dedicating a segment of the website just to food. But for now, a ti section. Mainstream media/movies have people believing that in Asia they eat insects for breakfast, monkey brains for lunch and live fish for dinner. Like I can go to the supermarket and just purchase those and prepare, cook and eat them. LOL. 

I cannot speak for other Asian countries as I have heard some do eat those kind of things. I speak only from MY experience in JAPAN. I have seen none of the above nor seen any of those on any menus. 

Sure, their cooking style is different as with any other country but I love the food here. They cook and eat in so may different ways. I love how vegetables are a must in every meal. Eating healthy here is much easier. And buying food here is relatively cheap. Not only that, they have adapted foods from many other cultures. On any given night I could eat Chinese, Korean, Indian, Greek, French, Mexican, Spanish, Brazilian, Mediterranean and the list goes on. 

Another thing is they love experimenting with flavors. Something could be sweet and bitter, spicy and sweet, savory and spicy. They are not afraid to mix it up in ways I couldn’t dream of. And I am not afraid to try new things. Even if I end up not liking it I will always be happy with “I tried it!” 

Let me give you a little example: 

Sweet and Salty. Ever had ice-cream with tiny fish instead of sprinkles? LOL My brain could not even grasp the concept when I heard about it and when I saw it I was just in utter shock. It’s just…WOW. Who thought of this and why? And yet, people actually like this. Not me. LOL. But people do. But hey! I TRIED IT!! The ice cream itself was rich, delicious and creamy. TOP TIER ice cream! I just couldn’t deal with the fish combination. Not for me.

May anywayyyyyyy…

Alrighty! Those are some of my top tier reasons. Honestly, the more experiences I have the more I realize one thing: I don’t know what I don’t know. 

And honestly, I am just trying to know what I can as I journey along this road called life. I don’t need to know everything, in fact, I’m sure I could never fully comprehend the entire cosmos. But one thing I do know. I will try what I can while I can. Collecting memories not regrets. Collecting “I tried it” instead of “I wish I had” 

Til next time!

Thanks for rocking with your girl!

Love & Light

~Kers 

PS: If you live here or have visited and have any more reasons I could add to this list. Hit ya girl up!