What are the things that you do to fully enjoy your Japan-life experience?

15 comments

1. Dude, I just live here. It happens to be Japan.

2. Live?

3. You need to make time to travel, to see Japan. Don’t become one of those people who lives soemwhere but never sees it

   Hobbies are critical , otherwise life can be socially isolating

4. Participating in seasonal festivals at the local temple where I am a member and also around Kyushu in general. Shopping, dining, running events, and weekend and holiday road trips with my companionship entity.

5. I like to make fun of fashion/makeup trends on TV. A couple years ago Pikachu- like spots of blush on the face was popular and now that greasy skinny bangs on girls is popular some how.

   I could lie and say that I learned how to cook Japanese food, but my electric oven and Instant Pot beg to differ.

6. Karaoke, big time. I love it. I love that everyone here loves it. There is hardly any karaoke where I come from and when, it happens to be public karaoke in a bar or pub. Not a booth with a drink bar.

7. This coming weekend, I’ll be performing *Shinobue* (bamboo flute) at a kagura performance at a shrine in Tottori. I few weekends ago I attended a semi-private Shinto ceremony at a World Heritage shrine in Nara.

   I guess you could say I’ve gone full native.

8. Pay very little for hoikuen

9. Get out of the city and camp. Road trip, winters coming so will be hot tent time.

10. I’m a hancho (班長) in my community, dropping weekly pamphlets in people’s houses, ringing door bells every 6 months collecting jichikai fee (自治会費) money, which we use to buy tons of sweets for the children’s club (子供会) for Christmas.

11. I’m doing something at least once a week. Meeting with friends, cafes, museums, events, exploring new places, etc. If I have money I go somewhere further, if I don’t I hop on my bike and cycle somewhere new. Even if it’s an uneventful week I just try and go for a walk or get out and about.

12. I for one consume buzzfeed articles. All day 24/7 I am on buzzfeed. My boss thinks it’s not that important but I always know the latest trends and things thanks to buzzfeed TM.

13. Enjoy things that are allowed in here but forbidden in most of the western world.

14. Get to know the people in your neighborhood. Join in and maybe volunteer for festivals. Take up a craft that’s unique to your region, learn everything about it and get good at it. Learn the history of your neighborhood, town or part of the country, so that when you run into locals, you can talk with them about it. A lot of fully enjoying your experience living here is getting to know natives who can help enrich your life here even more…or at least that’s how I’ve approached it, and feel pretty satisfied with that.

15. 推し活。My oshi only speaks Japanese.