Some thoughts about living in Japan (by Taru)

We have been living in Japan now for 5 months. Time goes so quickly and I'm amazed at how quickly we have settled in (especially the kids)... I have really mixed feelings about everything now, though.. There are days that I'm loving everything and then there are days that I'm so annoyed at everything.. I think homesickness has also hit me really bad as it is the winter time and the houses are just so bloody cold. I would rather be in Finland now, where the houses are so well insulated. And then there is the sauna ๐Ÿ˜. The best place to be when your muscles feel tense.. In Japan they love their baths. So baths for the Japanese mean the same as sauna for the Finns. Our apartment also has a bath, but we've never used it. I mean its great - it actually has this function where it keeps the bathwater at the perfect temperature, so you could soak there for hours, but its just so cold in that room so I refuse to go there unless I have to... The normal room temperature in our bathroom is +8-+12 degrees celsius. I mean come on.. We need to heat the room up for an hour with this portable heater before anyone is brave enough to enter. And even then the only way to do it is to grit your teeth and swear.. Yes, I shout and swear as it seems its the only way I get my body temperature a bit higher so I can take the coldness of the room. Once the shower water gets to a good warm temperature its okay - you can actually have a proper shower, but then the next stage is to leave the shower. And this is something you do not want to do. Because the moment you turn your nice and hot shower off, you know you will be freezing... And then the swearing and shoutings continues ๐Ÿ˜…...

Our bathroom thermometer
The things I love
  • The Japanese way of queuing 
  • Japanese efficiency - how things run, so smoothly no matter how large the crowd. For example the way things work at restaurants; shops/tills. Everybody knows how things work and follow the unwritten rules. And its like following a dance. It shouldn't really work that well, and in the eyes of a westerner it cannot be the most efficient way of arranging things, but it just works, I don't know why
  • Our rice cooker
  • The fact that I can sit at a Starbucks or other kissaten (coffee-house) for hours and work/study/read...
  • Sunshine - It maybe winter, but we have sun from 6:30am until 5pm
  • Not that much snow (at least in Sendai) - it may snow in the morning but by the afternoon its springtime 
  • The fact that winter is short
  • Sendai is a large city (compared to those in Finland) but its still green and has beautiful nature around it (+the mountains nearby)
  • Children are polite and are always saying good morning
  • The fact that I can leave my bag, phone or wallet anywhere and nobody touches it - its amazing!

The things I miss
  • Sauna
  • Insulated houses
  • Floor heating
  • Cheese
  • Ryebread (Finnish ruisleipรค)
  • Finnish tap water (the best in the world!)
  • Large oven 
  • My family ๐Ÿ’•
  • Our dog ๐Ÿ’“
  • Our bed (now we are sleeping on a tatami with futons... It was fun and exciting in the beginning, but now my back is aching...)
  • Salmiakki
  • Fazer chocolate (Fazerin sininen)

Our bedroom - a traditional tatami room with futons

During the past 5 months we have really learned quickly. How to pay our bills at the local bank, how to queue, how to use the bus/metro/train, how to order food in Japanese and just generally how things work. Of course there are so many things that are unfamiliar to us, as we are merely observing the culture from afar. But nothing seems that odd to us anymore. I have heard a lot about different experiences about being a woman in Japan and have had to count myself lucky as the individuals I have met during my time here have all been extremely respectful. Anyway, I don't need to prove myself here, just because I am a woman as it is not the only thing that defines me. I have to say that the only time I have encountered rude behaviour was from another ex-pat. Raising your hand at someone, as if you have the power to give individuals their turn to talk, is just plain rude - yes if you are reading this, you know who you are. 

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