First impressions of my new life in Japan

I had a very limited idea of what my new life in Japan would be like before I came here, back in 2002. Images of skyscrapers and neon billboards and a modern bustling society filled my head. I imagined sushi bars on every street.

To be honest Tokyo was much as I had expected. My first real shock was actually how early it got dark. I had arrived at the beginning of August and of course in the UK the evenings are quite long in summer. The next shock was when I stepped out of the air-conditioned bus and the reality of a hot and humid Asian summer hit.

New job

I originally came out on the JET program, (Japan Exchange and Teaching Program). This is a government initiative to promote grassroots internationalization at the local level, aimed at college graduates. I watched a presentation in my first year of university and knew from that moment it was the only thing I what I wanted to do. I didn’t even apply for anything else.

We were flown out to Tokyo for three days of initiation and training before being sent to our new homes. It was the first time I had stayed in a “posh” hotel and was a whirlwind of meeting new people, jetlag, workshops and drinking parties. The shining concrete skyscrapers of Shinjuku, combined with the noise of the cicadas in the trees, was a constant reminder I was in a very different world to the one I had left.

Goodbye Tokyo

A few days later I was on a plane and heading to Yonago, Tottori Prefecture in western Japan. It is a 90 minute flight from Tokyo which in itself was mind-boggling, for a flight that long from England would take me to the south of France.

I was met at the airport by six men in business suits holding a huge banner with “Welcome to Hino, Helen” on it. One of them, luckily for me, spoke English. It turned out he was the head English teacher at the junior high school I would work at. They immediately took me off to a Buckwheat Soba restaurant, where I struggled to eat much due to my nerves and inability to slurp noodles. After that we got in the car and started driving deeper and deeper into the countryside.

Where are we going?

The further and further we went, the more I started to wonder where on earth I was going. All I could see were rice fields, wooden country houses and mountains. Eventually after almost an hour we turned off the main road, and arrived at what I would have described as a village not a town. Less than a minute later we reached the town hall.

The first thing they offered me when we sat down, was a glass of “cow piss”. Trying not to act too perturbed I accepted the sweet cool drink, which I later found out was actually spelled calpis. I discovered it was quite a lot more refreshing than the name had initially suggested.

Once all the paperwork was over with, they took me to my apartment. It was old, but pleasant: a 2DK which means there were two rooms plus a kitchen/dining room and of course a bathroom. All in all I was happy with it, even with the idea of sleeping on a futon on the floor. The only problem was the bath tub. It was a blue ceramic cube, with a separate gas water heater beside it. They showed me how to work it, but that first night, I couldn’t for the life of me get it to ignite. So I went to bed without a shower, in tears, wondering what on earth I had signed myself up for.

A new day

The next morning I woke determined and after thirty minutes I finally got the water heater to light. Able to shower, my whole attitude changed again. Maybe I could survive this new life? It was so weird to think I was in Japan, the other side of the world. I had been dreaming of this for years! The head English teacher came to pick me up that day, to show me where the school I was to be based at was. Later he helped me purchase a bicycle so I could cycle there.

Nature’s gift

The view on the way to the school was spectacular. There was a bridge I would cross, not far from my apartment, from where you can see the back of Mt. Daisen in the distance. This mountain and this view grew to hold a very special place in my heart. I would regularly pause on my way to and from the school and it always filled me with strength and made me feel connected to something much bigger than me. It made me smile even on the darkest of days.

I didn’t know it when I first arrived, but I would grow to love that little town and think of it as my home. Even now, having left over fifteen years ago, I still go back to visit whenever I can. It’s where I was reborn in a way. It was the start of my journey to becoming me.