Northern Japan

So, I have notification and people are moving to make the move to Japan happen by the middle of December (personally, I am going for the ironic arriving there on Dec 7 ...). Leave it to me to move during the snow season.

Fish. Farmers markets every day. Dream job. Life is good. Any suggestions for what I need to know for living in Northern Japan?

Janice

Wow, now that is a long distance move! Do you speak Japanese? What kind of job will you be doing? Are you excited?

I don't have any tips because I've never been to Japan yet. It's on my bucket list. I did live in France for a year, but that was awhile ago. I found it to be one of the most growthful and interesting years ever for me.

I hope you have a wonderful time!

PS Love your avatar, BTW.

Thanks, Anne!

Where did you live in France?

I do not speak Japanese, but will be working on an American military installation (I am a social worker) and part of what my office does is offer language lessons.  So I will learn a bit before going, but hopefully more once I get there.

I am INCREDIBLY EXCITED!  Almost unreasonable.  :-)

Janice

I lived in Paris, and used my time there to travel all over Europe. I had an incredible time- one of the best years of my life. I learned so much!

And I know you will, too!

One of my favorite quotes:

"You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know."
― René Daumal

Bon voyage!

No real advice about living there...but I did visit Sapporo a few years ago and fell madly in love. I'm quite jealous that you get to move to Northern Japan!

I assume you know that everything is SMALL. A friend of mine lived in the Tokyo area for a couple of years and he would post pics about his tiny car, tiny apt, etc. Start downsizing now. As someone who made the move from TN to NYC, you can't downsize enough. I went from 1800sq ft to 300sq ft. and thought I got rid of enough...and still had to ditch a ton after the move.

I second the "downsize" advice.  I haven't lived there, but when I visited I was on a "homestay" program, so I experienced the small space of a family of 4.  My advise would be to take as little furniture as possible, since the furniture is just smaller because of space limitations.  Very little artwork as we know it on the walls -- mostly scrolls that could be folded up and stored in very small spaces.  I don't think you'll have any problem with finding the right food, altho protein shake makings may not be as prevalent.  I'm envious.  I just loved Japan.  What a wonderful adventure.  Be sure to stay on this site and report to us what you are discovering.

Thanks for the advice, Michelle.  What were you doing in Sapporo?

I am my mother's daughter, which means I live a rather monastic existance.  Currently have more space than I know what to do with in almost 1100 sq ft.  My children are coming to get their stuff (thank goodness) and I am ditching a desk and a couple other pieces of furniture, so it should be fine.  I may be living on base, but I rather hope not.

How are you doing 300 SQ FT?!?!?!?! yowza!

Janice

Ha. 300sq. ft. was ROUGH. Granted, I didn't need 1800, but 300 was ridic. After 2.5 years, I graduated to nearly 700 and it's palatial. :)

I had a conference in Sapporo. I was there for nearly a week and LOVED it. It was so beautiful. The people were amazing and the food was to die for.

That makes sense to me.  Most of the homes for rent where I am going are 940 sq feet for a two bedroom and about $1200 for it.  YIKES.  But that is only 100 sq ft less than what I have now.  it's do-able.  If I live on base, I will have much more room, but not the Japanese community at my door.

I am looking forward to the fishies even though I don't do sushi.  The area I am going to is also a farming community, so that makes me happy.  Farmers markets everyday!

Hey Janie,

Have you had any lengthy cultural experiences with the Japanese before?

They are super nice and polite, but their society and social structure is very different from ours. In the West we're very individual-centric while in the East their society is more community-centric. My mom lived in Japan for a few years (work related) and she had a great experience and was warmly accepted, but she went through great lengths to speak the language and to adopt their culture and mannerisms for the duration. My father-in-law had a very bad experience, but he did't know the language or the customs, so I think that explains why he had a more difficult time.

Here's some tips:

1) When eating with friends or company and picking up food from a communal serving platter onto your plate: make sure you pick it up with the opposite end of the chopsticks from where your mouth touches them- use the area where your hands hold the chopsticks to pick up the food. That way the "points" of the chopsticks that touch your mouth won't come in contact with the food. It is considered rude to pick food up from a shared plate with the end of the chopsticks that touched your mouth.

2) Do not bathe with soap in the big onsen pools. There are places off to the side where you are supposed to wash and clean yourself with soap and water before getting into the large pools of ho****er (which are meant for soaking and relaxing, not bathing). It is a major no-no to get the onsen pool water contaminated by bathing in it with soap. Also note, that some onsens have policies that prohibit admission for people with tattoos. Tattoos are associated with the Yakuza, and some establishements won't let you in if you're inked (even though it would be painfully obvious that you're not a Yak).

3) The Japanese won't say "no" directly, instead they will say things like "That may be very difficult to arrange" or "I'm not sure" so as not to seem rude- but they're might be trying to tell you "no" on their polite way.