Life in Japan – Adapting to my new celebrity status

From obscurity to celebrity

When I came to Japan, I went from completely blending in, to suddenly acquiring something akin to celebrity status. Basically I stood out like a sore thumb. Back in the UK my average height, slim body shape and fair hair were nothing special. Here I suddenly felt relatively huge, standing a good head taller than most women. After a while I would even shock myself looking in a mirror and seeing my non-Japanese face stare back at me.

Everywhere I went I was watched and observed. I would pop to the supermarket for some chocolate and old ladies would peer into my basket to see what the foreigner was buying. So, I’d feel guilty and end up shoving some vegetables into my cart. For some reason it seemed important to prove I wasn’t purely some confectionary guzzling crazy person.

My arrival to the town was posted in the local newspaper. Every single person knew who I was, where I lived and what I was doing. I remember a post-card arriving from a friend, addressed with only my name and town. It was impossible to go to the supermarket, the post office, or the train station without running into several people I recognized. Everyone knew everyone.

A walking exhibit…

People were mostly content to just stare at first, unless they spoke a little English or were drunk. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize that secretly they were way more curious than I had thought. I lost count of the amount of times people asked to feel my hair. Actually, I didn’t really mind that so much. More disconcerting were the older ladies who wanted to touch my breasts. I can only suppose they wanted to check they were real?

Even now, I will go into a restaurant and suddenly people on the tables around me will completely change their topics of conversation. They will start talking about learning English or about a trip they have taken abroad. Children as old as middle elementary school age will stare, mouths open and very non-subtly point me out to their accompanying parent. Even adults will sometimes openly stare, not even bothering to hide the fact they are doing so. The worst though is when a happy toddler stops in their tracks, takes one look and promptly bursts into tears.

Work celebrity

The staff and students at the junior high school mostly got used to me, I think. Perhaps it was because I went there every day. It was at the elementary schools that I was treated like visiting royalty. At lunch time I would eat with each class in turn and the children would be super excited to have me join them. After the meal they would flock around me and excitedly ask questions such as, “Do you have apples in England?” or “Do you have schools there?” I’m not entirely sure what backwater they thought I had come from, but I assured them we had the basics, just like Japan. Several of the children asked me where I lived and were shocked when I said Hino, like them. They had thought I was flying in from England every day!

Epic language skills

I very quickly learned the art of self-introduction in Japanese. It was something I had the opportunity to practice again and again. Every time there was any kind of party, it was a requisite. People would officially introduce themselves, in order around the table, before the official toast. Until then it was forbidden to drink or eat. My initial mispronounced attempts to let people know my name and nationality were always met with rapturous applauses and choruses of how wonderful my Japanese was. It was certainly encouraging at first. Of course now, after being here over 18 years it can get a bit annoying to be praised for how well I can churn out a “Konnichiwa“, but people’s hearts are definitely in the right place.

The dark side

Unfortunately standing out does have it’s negative aspect. I have run into several people, who it turned out weren’t genuinely looking for friendship, but rather an opportunity to practice their English, or to gain the status that having a foreign friend would afford them. I used to deal with this by refusing to speak English at first. If people really wanted to be friends with me, I figured they would be happy to use Japanese. Even now I am still wary about this, but I think I have a much better ability to discern people’s genuineness now. It’s actually something my children have been dealing with too. That said though, I have met some amazing people, who like me for who I am and see way past the light hair and blue eyes.

Back to reality

It was a year and half after arriving in Japan that I first went home to England to visit. I remember walking down the high street and feeling considerably smaller again. But the weirdest thing, was no one at all was looking at me. I felt completely invisible. Why weren’t people staring at me? Why weren’t they interested in what I was doing, where I was going and what I was buying? Did I even still exist? I had to laugh at myself.

Whenever I go back home I lose my “celebrity status” for a bit. I actually look forward to it. Being the center of attention wherever you go does get tiring. Sometimes it’s nice to just blend in.