The real Japan

[miyukisama]

Hey, I came across this forum and I totally agree with you on this topic.

[samurai007]

I agree with you, Miyukisama, and the OP. The Japan I grew to know and love was the inaka, the countryside. That is one of the nice things about the JET program, most people end up outside the big cities, in the country somewhere. You get to meet Japanese people who seldom, if ever, have a chance to meet and talk with a foreigner. You get to see real life in Japan, in small towns with farmers, fishermen, etc, rather than just the cosplayers at Yoyogi Park. I think JETs and ex-JETs are slowly creating a new, more realistic view of Japan, by sharing their experiences with those back home. I know I try to do my part to talk about the real Japan here and on other forums, as well as in real life.

I think it's worth noting, though, that it works both ways. Some Japanese have stereotypes of other countries based on the media they see from that country. I was asked many times if I owned a gun, if I had ever seen anyone shot in real life (or shot anyone myself), etc. Some Japanese who have never been outside Japan have rather unrealistic views of other countries, just as some in those countries have about Japan. I hope that as world-wide interpersonal communications advance, such as the internet, there will be greater understanding of real life in all other countries.

[burkhartdesu]

Great stories, and I agree whole-heartedly.

When I first learned where my homestay was (Takefu, Fukui), I was a little upset it wasn't in the city.

Come to find out, I couldn't have been more wrong -- staying in rural Japan was the ultimate experience. It was exactly what I had been expecting out of Japan... The people were awesome and untainted by worldy desires (Cheesy, but true.)

It was very similar to my hometown, believe it or not, in rural Alaska.

Originally Posted by samurai007

Some Japanese who have never been outside Japan have rather unrealistic views of other countries, just as some in those countries have about Japan. I hope that as world-wide interpersonal communications advance, such as the internet, there will be greater understanding of real life in all other countries.

Maybe why most host family gave me fried chicken, watermelon, and pizza as my welcoming dinner.

[trunker]

ummm i think theres something wrong with miyukisama's stats, check it out, join date aug 2009, post count 4.2 billion :| ?

[Koir]

Originally Posted by trunker

ummm i think theres something wrong with miyukisama's stats, check it out, join date aug 2009, post count 4.2 billion :| ?

Already been noted.

[trunker]

i disagree,...

green inaka off the beaten track jinja fest japan does not equal "real" japan.

neither does super large metropolis equal "real" japan.

its the co-existence and intersection of the two that makes japan and japanese culture what it is.

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by burkhartdesu

Great stories, and I agree whole-heartedly.

When I first learned where my homestay was (Takefu, Fukui), I was a little upset it wasn't in the city.

Come to find out, I couldn't have been more wrong -- staying in rural Japan was the ultimate experience. It was exactly what I had been expecting out of Japan... The people were awesome and untainted by worldy desires (Cheesy, but true.)

It was very similar to my hometown, believe it or not, in rural Alaska.


Maybe why most host family gave me fried chicken, watermelon, and pizza as my welcoming dinner.

LOL, I never had a host family give me western food. To the contrary, they were eager to give me home-cooked Japanese food, such as shabu shabu, sukiyaki, nikujaga, etc. (Even though I was a JET, my prefecture organized weekend homestays where the JETs could spend 1 weekend with a host family, typically for some special event, like a festival in that town. They did this 3 times a year, and I took part every time, so a total of 6 weekend homestays around the prefecture in my 2 years. I loved them because it was a great opportunity to meet new people. Sometimes I even went back later to visit the family I'd stayed with again.)

[MMM]

Originally Posted by miyukisama

Hey, I came across this forum and I totally agree with you on this topic. I was actually born in the United States, San Francisco. At age 8, my relatives moved back to Japan. I was raised in some parts of Nagasaki then later moved to Osaka and lived in Tokyo for 8 years of my adolescent life till I turned 15

Where did you live in Osaka? Those were my old stomping grounds...you might have been there the same time I was (though you would have been just a kid).

[GTJ]

Originally Posted by samurai007

I think it's worth noting, though, that it works both ways. Some Japanese have stereotypes of other countries based on the media they see from that country.

YES. It's worth noting that apart from what they see on TV or in movies, the Japanese are almost completely ignorant on the whole about foreigners. It's pretty funny most times, completely blows my mind other times.

I was asked many times if I owned a gun, if I had ever seen anyone shot in real life (or shot anyone myself), etc.

Oh my god, if I had a dollar... Also, most of the people asking me are completely serious and act suprised at my sometimes strong, "wtf kind of question is that"-style response. It's extremely ignorant, and the only reason they all think that is because we keep exporting violent movies and dramas like Lost, CSI, and so on. So on the one hand, they're being dense. On the other hand, it's our own fault.

Some Japanese who have never been outside Japan have rather unrealistic views of other countries, just as some in those countries have about Japan. I hope that as world-wide interpersonal communications advance, such as the internet, there will be greater understanding of real life in all other countries.

Totally right. As might as it sounds like I'm saying "omg Japan knows nothing about other countries!", it goes for all countries. You can't really "know" a country till you've at least been there (for starters). After my first year in Japan, I went back to my home country of America for a few months and it shocked me to see and hear all the misconceptions about Japan (which I heard incessantly because suddenly I was nothing more to my friends and extended family than "the Japan guy"...ugh). So I guess in the end we're all ignorant about one another? Great post, samurai007.

I agree with miyukisama more than the OP (and am interested in knowing how she got like 144 billion posts). I raised my eyebrows at the "perfect English" comment, but that's irrelevant. The OP's post has a very tangeable "the REAL Japan is in the inaka" slant to it. The message I got clearly from it was "if you don't go to Japan for the boonies and backwoods, you suck and you're doing it rong." Sure, that's where all the historical and "pure, untouched" Japan is, but you can say the same for any country.

So, if you don't go to the Grand Canyon or the forests and mountains in West Virginia, you aren't seeing the "real America". If you only go for New York to eat pizza and hamburgers and see Broadway shows, you're doing it rong. Something like that, OP?

Yes, the inaka is where the real untouched country is, and it's beautiful, and I really do intent to go explore it. I refuse to leave Japan until I spend time seeing all the natural areas I want to see. I'm buildling a list, and believe me, it's loooong. (Actually I'm saving up for a scooter and my plan is to putter around all those mountain and country roads!) However, the world has evolved much, as has civilization. Cities, towns, bright lights, trains, planes, TV shows, weird subcultures, etc., are all part of what Japan--or ANY country--really is. If you go to Tokyo and spend all your time in Akihabara or Roppongi or whatever, that's no less the "real" Japan than if you went to meditate under a waterfall somewhere up in Hokkaido. People dictate their own experience, and if someone goes to Japan, wanders around Akiba in an anime-and-game-induced daze for a few weeks, goes home, and had a great time, then let them to it! They say what was, for all intents and purposes, the "real Japan".

[spicytuna]

Originally Posted by samurai007

Some Japanese who have never been outside Japan have rather unrealistic views of other countries, just as some in those countries have about Japan. I hope that as world-wide interpersonal communications advance, such as the internet, there will be greater understanding of real life in all other countries.

I met a girl last year who asked me if we Canadians spoke カナダ語.

Most of the Japanese I met thought that we Canadians live in Igloos, hunt wild game for food, etc. In other words, they had the same perception as the Americans.