Things I love

After expanding on a few annoyances of Japanese life I should definitely also mention what I love about this country, and luckily there's a lot! Just like many other foreigners I am drawn the most to the traditional aspects of Japan, the world of geishas, kimonos, tea ceremony, kabuki theatre and Shinto shrines. What quickly becomes clear though is that most modern Japanese don't have that much in common with this world. They don't spend their free time in tea houses or Zen gardens, but prefer to hang out in the temples of 21st century Japan: karaoke bars, games arcades, shopping malls, pachinko parlors, coffee shops, ... On certain occasions you notice that tradition still has a role to play in modern society, like during festivals or on the many holidays when people visit Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. I've been here less than two months so it's way too early for any kind of cultural analysis, but this intriguing blend of old and new certainly makes Japan a tough place to figure out! I guess to enjoy it you don't need to understand everything, so here are a few of the things I love :-).

Vaughan and I both love eating out and although I can be picky I do enjoy trying out new stuff (as long as it doesn't look too scary!). Sampling Japanese dishes has been a real delight so far, despite the fact that I'm still mastering the arts of noodle-slurping and grabbing slippery items with chopsticks! Also notice the photo in the middle, showing the display of plastic dishes in a restaurant window. Not only are these a huge help to non-Japanese speakers -just point and you'll be served-, but they often look so real they make your mouth water!

Since arriving here I have become slightly obsessed with people wearing kimonos or yukatas. Yes, this is a bit sad, but I have been known to chase women down the street in order to get a picture of their gorgeous outfit! So far I've been too shy to ask them to pose, maybe that's a good thing for everyone involved ...

To my surprise it is quite hard to find traditional tea houses in Fukuoka city, partly because Japanese love coffee shops these days and probably also because we don't know where to locate them. So this spot in Nara was a real treat :-). Vaughan and I are currently taking tea ceremony classes and who knew holding a tea cup could be fraught with mistakes and technical issues!

During our recent trip to Nara I took way too many pictures of traditional shops and their displays outside. These shops might not be as impressive as ancient temples or other historical buildings, but I really love the attention to detail that has gone into them. And I'm a total sucker for those paper lanterns, they're great!

The quality of life in any place is largely determined by your social life and I've been very lucky to reconnect with my old friend Yasuko (left), who I met while studying in Santa Barbara and hadn't seen in five years! She has been an excellent guide for me here, helping me out with stuff and giving me an insight into the Japanese mindset. Cheers :-).

It's great renewing old friendships but starting new ones can be just as much fun, especially if the people you meet are full-on party girls like our neighbour Evania (right) and her best friend Jane. As a married couple among mostly single JETs you can sometimes get a bit isolated and then having a girl's night out is definitely the way to go!