When I first came to Japan, I did so under the auspices of a national English conversation school chain. My trainer told me that there were pros and cons to both the city or the countryside. In the city, there would be more access to amenities and other foreigners with whom to visit. In the countryside, I would experience true Japanese life and be forced to learn Japanese because there would be few foreigners.
I realize now that the school only says those things because it has schools throughout the country and doesn't want people feeling ripped off if they're assigned to the countryside. The city is definitely where you want to be when you come to Japan.
Why? Because most people only come here for a few years at most. They're not retiring to a hillside cottage to wile away their days painting watercolor flowers. They're coming to experience Japan in all of its variety. You can't do that in the countryside.
Japan's countryside is rather boring. It comprises mothers taking care of children, fathers going to work, and the family going shopping for groceries on the weekend. There's not a lot to do. The stores close early. Old ladies ride bicycles around the small streets. Kids stand outside 7-11 in their school uniforms. The train rolls by twice an hour. People plant rice in the spring and harvest it in the fall. There are a few ceremonies that are fun, but for the most part it's just a day-to-day humdrum that gets old in about a month.
One problem is that there are almost no amenities in Japan's countryside. The health clubs are not what you think of when you think of a health club. 24 Hour Fitness? Hardly. The ones I checked out catered to grandmothers wading the length of the swimming pool. The bookstores offer books in Japanese only, which leaves all but the most seasoned foreigners out of luck. Japanese-language schools are nonexistent. Sometimes a city hall or other municipal group will offer free community classes, but they're worth what you pay for them. The "teachers" are usually old ladies who haven't the foggiest idea how to teach Japanese.
Compare all of that to Tokyo or Osaka. In the cities, there are dozens of real health clubs, several English-language bookstores, museums, 24-hour businesses, and true Japanese-language schools. When people say that you will learn Japanese more quickly in the countryside, they're wrong. You won't because there will be no facilities at which to learn. Yes, you'll find yourself in a lot of frustrating situations where you can't communicate with the locals and I suppose that could motivate you to learn Japanese, but how? Being frustrated and unable to function is not learning. Studying and then practicing with native speakers is learning. The countryside has the native speakers, but it doesn't have the resources for study.
The city, on the other hand, has the learning resources and just as many opportunities to speak with natives. Yes, there are more foreigners so you can occasionally get by with English, but not often enough that you'll forget your need to learn Japanese.
Plus, there's just more to do in the city. There are clubs to join, festivals to see, tours to take, and English-language magazines to read. Japan's largest English-language magazine, Metropolis, isn't even distributed outside of the Tokyo area. That should tell you all you need to know. If it's happening, it's happening in the city.
One argument in favor of the countryside is that it's beautiful. No disagreement here. The rice fields checkering the valleys and the mountains cut by rivers are breathtaking. Some of my best memories in Japan are of driving through the countryside and the mountains on my way to a hot spring or festival. However, for most people it's better to live in the city and visit the countryside rather than the other way around.
Finally, it's a myth that Japan's cities are too expensive. You've probably heard of the $20 hamburger in Tokyo or the $2000 apartment that's the size of an American shower. The days of $20 hamburgers are long gone. The economic bubble popped fourteen years ago and prices reflect that. I can get a satisfying lunch in Tokyo for about $5. Student apartments that are big enough for a single person are available within a 30-minute train ride of central Tokyo for about $300 a month. That's cheaper than apartments in Los Angeles. As with any large city, Tokyo has its expensive areas. But it's possible to live within modest means.
If you plan to live in Japan for a few years, I suggest going to either Tokyo or Osaka. You'll have a much wider breadth of experience than if you disappear into waving fields of rice.
Posted by Jason Kelly at 8:04 AM Japan time |
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Americans suffer from an image problem almost everywhere in the world. I know why. Most Americans that go abroad are an embarrassment to our country. If they were the only people I knew from America, I would have a low opinion of America, too.
Here in Japan, you can find intelligent Americans. I know because I've read articles written by them and very occasionally I will run into one on a train or at a friend's home. For the most part, however, what I meet here are people fresh from college who came to Japan because they could not find a job back home. They speak English and, I'm sad to report, often that's the only requirement for teaching English here. The people who are not fresh from college are usually washing out of a career in America, recent divorcees, or just looking to "kick back" in the land of Geisha (so they think).
I recently attended a party that serves as a case in point. An older Japanese friend of mine invited me to meet the new language teachers from various parts of the United States. He thought that since I've been here a while, I could give a few pointers and that maybe I'd enjoy speaking native English for a change.
I arrived and immediately scraped bottom. One man had been in Japan long enough to speak Japanese at a kindergarten level. However, his English had also degenerated to the same level. Rather than speaking slowly to the Japanese to help them, he spoke incorrectly to them in roughly the same way they speak.
For example, he said, "I go store. Every day, I go store. You like store? You like go? We go sometime. Together. Go together. Store. We like store together." It's painful to listen to that for more than a minute or two. When I pointed out that his speaking that way was not helping the Japanese with their English, nor casting himself in a good light, he brushed me off by saying that he was just keeping the evening moving ahead. "Toward what?" I asked myself.
On to the other gems at the table.
One woman could speak of nothing more than a near-accident on her bicycle. Never mind that she had traveled the world to a foreign country filled with new customs, foods, and a mysterious language, the only item of interest to her was that the brake pads on her bike don't work as well when moist. After fifteen annoying minutes of listening to the same near-accident story told from three vantage points, I finally asked her if anything had happened related to her being in Japan. "My apartment is small," was the best she could do.
Arriving late to the meeting was one of the older Americans in the group. Unlike the others, he had actually worked in America. He was a teacher. One look at this fellow provided a valuable clue as to what might be wrong with the American educational system. His head was completely shaved. He had no mustache, but a slim, devilish goatee that moved forward and back as he spoke. Dangling from each earlobe was a large silver ring straight from the set of Pirates of the Caribbean.
He sat next to me and said in a voice that sounded like it came through a pillow, "Uh, sorry I'm late. I was, uh, drunk in Tokyo until 6:00 a.m. Heh, heh." Ah yes, the novelty of having a few beers in Japan. It's every newcomer's favorite story, and every seasoned veteran's supreme boredom. When will people realize that drunk stories are still drunk stories no matter where they happen? They are not interesting and, to me, show a general lack of imagination when it comes to exploring one's new country. Still, that was all he had to talk about. Suddenly, I wanted to hear another rendition of the woman's near-accident.
He finally quieted down to -- you guessed it -- take a drink from his fresh beer. I asked him if he had picked up any of the language since arriving. "Nope," he said. "I don't really need it. Most of the people at the clubs in Tokyo speak English. Not our English, ya know. They're from England and Australia and stuff, but it's English anyway."
"Ever consider meeting some Japanese friends?" I asked.
"Oh sure, I mean I meet my students and stuff. But hey, I'm only here for a year, so, I mean, what the hell."
Yep, what the hell. I can't think of a better reason to move to Japan than to get drunk with other overachievers from England, Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the globe.
The most discouraging thing about meeting such people is to remember that they're the ones who succeeded in the interview process. Imagine the people who were not chosen. That'll make you question the future of America.
I moved around the table to join the Japanese contingent. They asked me intelligent questions about America and kept complimenting me on my country. I couldn't help looking across the table at the collection of empty beer glasses and empty heads among my countrymen, and marveling at the endless kindness of my Japanese hosts.
Posted by Jason Kelly at 6:16 PM Japan time |
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