Jambalaya...

After shlepping a backpack around for just over two months I can't claim to have any depth of expertise on Japan and the people here, but one thing that already stands out is the Japanese way of life. Sorry, that should be: Way Of Life.

Coming from the UK where everyone seems to strive to be a special and unique snowflake, it's really bizarre to be in a country where there's such a consistent thread going through most people's daily lives. I don't know if there's anything I can compare it to in Europe. In the UK we have, what, football? Going for a pint on a Friday? It's less of a national identity and more of a self-fulfilling caricature, and even then it's not something everyone does. Italians have style, coffee and food, the French have wine. But is any of that an identifying feature? You could say with absolute certainty from a distance: 'that guy, he is definitely French'. I doubt it. The sense of Being Japanese is such a palpable thing, more I think than any other nationality I've met.

For example, food. Sit down for lunch with some Japanese people and you might have some variation of an o-nigiri rice ball, maybe rice and meat, some noodles, fruit, green tea. It's not a stretch to imagine everyone nearby eating a close variation of the same thing, and you could probably predict without much difficulty the four or five things that might be served for dinner. Maybe not the best example but when I talk about Way Of Life I mean things that you could picture 90% of the population doing in almost the same way at the same time of day.

It's not just the things people eat, or wear. A lot of it comes down to the ceremony that underpins every bit of Japanese culture. Sounds and gestures are a huge part of the alphabet. Train conductors have a whole cycle of bows and finger points to perform as they move through the carriages, even if there's no one on the train. I went to a ramen shop last week where they serve from behind little shuttered windows to give you privacy. Even there, where there's a specific effort to hide the staff, I could still catch a peek of the server doing a deep honour bow before I started eating. You remember the bit in Friends where Joey rubs his belly to show how much he loved some food, in an ironic, bad-acting sort of way? In Japan that wouldn't be strange - why wouldn't you make a show of how much you like the food? Watch the daily breakfast shows or the news here. When someone finds something funny they cover their mouth and jiggle their shoulders like a puppet. And sounds, my god sounds. Sitting in a car between several enthusiastic locals can be like getting trapped between a bunch of F1 cars. 'Aaaaaaaah!', 'Oooooooh?', 'Sooooooooo!!'. It's: "I am amazed by this and I must exhibit that outwardly'. Again, ceremony - if there isn't a specific bullet point of 'I have offered a distinct reaction to that stimuli' then the proper protocol hasn't been followed.

Sports outfits are another little side-sprout of Japanese weirdness. No-one will ever take part in something, like a sport or activity, without being dressed absolutely appropriately, no matter how over the top it seems to a Westerner. Playing mini golf? Dress like a PGA Tour member. Going cycling? Tour De France outfit. I can't see anyone following my model of knackered old tshirt and board shorts to the gym. Although weirdly there doesn't seem to be a huge gym culture here, at least not outside of the bigger cities. It's definitely quite hard to track down a little gym, even a school sports hall you could pay to use. I've written this trip off as an extended rest period. Four months is enough for muscle recovery right?

I should talk about gadgets. Everyone loves a Japanese gadget don't they? But you sort of immediately think of wacky crap like talking secretary dolls, a machine that can wipe your bum while playing a song, any of that. What's more interesting is the day-to-day technology here. Japan's famously short on space, so by necessity the fixtures and fittings have been shaped to give maximum functionality with a minimal cross section. That funny extra feature on a draining board/kettle/whatever? It's not just for the sake of being cool, futuristic and Japanese, it has a carefully planned purpose that time and time again you'll wonder, why don't we have this feature in Europe? Also I only recently found out that the Japanese have a long history of taking things from other countries and just making them, well, better. Cars, computers, you name it. It might be quite entertaining that a lot of vehicles here look dinky and squashed, like something from a Ghibli cartoon, but it's getting the absolute use out of the smallest, and of course most modest, structure.

I'm not really sure what the point is I'm trying to make, this turned into a complete ramble. There's just so many strange layers that you notice about Japanese life, and they really could only be Japanese. Whether or not you think it's good or bad is totally up to you, maybe the idea of a culture where people can get lost in the cultural crowd sounds terrifying, or maybe there's something comforting about a society where you can just slot in to a set batch of options.

There is a sense that things might gradually change, whether people would like them to or not. The whole country's built on volcanoes which could erupt at any point, and there's every possibility that real cultural change could do the same. The society here's such an odd mix of extreme rituals overlaying this schizophrenic, technicolor movement that reaches into some really dark places. It's why tourists love the place - turn a corner and you're faced with flashing lights and insane music, plus probably a girl in a maid outfit, that the locals barely register. I've lost count of the number of times I've walked around an anime shop and found myself in the 'naughty' section (honest, officer). There's no distinguishing line, no top shelf. Porn is at a child-friendly height next to the energy drinks in most 7-Elevens, and you have to wonder: if standard smut is at the store front then how fucked up does it get in the genuine, adult-only areas? Not that porn's everywhere or neccessarilly the best example I could mention of how the insane, colourful world of underground Japan sits so comfortably next to traditions that haven't changed for a hundred years, and the people somehow work both into their lives effortlessly. I don't know how the young people here manage it, honour their heritage while keeping up with the most batshit crazy subcultures.

I could be totally wrong, I've mostly spent time in the countryside with small-town folk, and only seen the cities briefly which is where you'd expect to see more cosmopolitan attitudes. We'll see.

#travel #japan #Workaway #iwanai #hokkaido #japanese #apps #izu #kofu