Ash Watson - Because Japan

A tell-all memoir of life in Tokyo

ASH WATSON

Copyright Ash Watson (2020)

The right of Ash Watson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-912964-33-8 (Paperback)

www.cranthorpemillner.com

First Published (2020)

Cranthorpe Millner Publishers

The nail that stands out must be hammered down. Well, I stand out!

CONTENTS

Introduction

Shouganai

Train Chronicles #1 Standard

Tadaima Part One The Hunt

Train Chronicles #2 The Invader

Tadaima Part Two Nesting

Tadaima Part Three Community

Train Chronicles #3 New Attraction

Natsukashii

Mendoukusai

Train Chronicles #4 Rejection

Odaiji Ni

Tadaima Part Four Best Week

Train Chronicles #5 New Beginnings

Ki Wo Tsukete

Hanami

Tadaima Part Five Changes

Train Chronicles #6 TGIF

Kanpeki

Betsu Betsu

Train Chronicles #7 Girl Power?

Sasuga

Train Chronicles #8 Invisible

Komorebi

Train Chronicles #9 Ray of Light

Daijoubu

Gaijin

Train Chronicles #10 Talisman

Otsukaresama Deshita Mt. Fuji

AUTHORS NOTE

The names of individuals have been used with full consent from each person. Destination reviews have been intentionally left out for fear of sounding like a tour guide, as, with any expatriate, emotions work like rollercoasters and influence any encounter or experience. It must therefore be noted that all reports have been written purely for entertainment value and are by no means there to influence or persuade the reader otherwise.

Tens of thousands of people were running as one along the beach, boardwalk and grass verge, in my direction. I was sitting directly in their trajectory and had to move.

I immediately jumped up and assumed, in this setting, the only reasonable explanation was that a tsunami warning had been issued, which had, in my moment of mindfulness, completely bypassed me.

My mind went into overdrive as I tried to recall the ten-minute what-to-do-in-a-tsunami tutorial I received during my initial job orientation six weeks prior. They issued us pocket sized earthquake and tsunami guides to carry at all times. In this precise moment of need, it laid safely on my kitchen table under a pile of paperwork.

Useful.

Deciding I only had one real option, I began to sprint at full speed, intertwining between the fleeing masses towards higher ground. I was now part of the stampede. Images of wildebeest flowing into a ravine towards a young lion cub sprung to mind.

Where are we heading? I wondered. There must be a safehouse or school nearby that we are being evacuated to.

What happened next stunned me, as the reason behind the tsunami soon became clear

I first visited Japan in the summer of 2005 on a foreign exchange programme with my high school. I instantly fell in love with the culture, the vibrancy, the food and the atmosphere. I returned every couple of years, to visit friends and travel to new destinations, until 2016 when I received an offer to teach English in a high school, and decided to quit my current job at a Veterinary Referrals Practice and hop on a plane.

Japan had always been at the back of my mind and the indescribable feeling that I gleaned from being there was what kept dragging me back. I always felt a wistful sense of belonging, and despite what many may think, it took me to simpler times, when daily worries were minimal and just being was at the forefront of daily life.

I have spent many years trying to explain this euphoric mind-set to my peers, and so after two years of living in such a wonderful place, I have decided to commit to paper what it was really like. It was as much a journey of personal growth as a time in which I learned about the intricacies of Japanese culture.

What follows is an account of my time in Japan, the day-to-day scenarios I found myself in and the observations I made of the culture and traditions.

A previous boss, mentor and friend of mine gifted me with a beautiful leather journal before I left the UK and I decided to bestow upon it the honour of becoming my Journal of Firsts: first encounters, first experiences, first pilgrimages, first thoughts on important or horrific moments.

I always kept travel journals whenever I travelled abroad to keep my memories alive and true. Keeping this new Journal of Firsts not only allowed me to document and reflect upon things I deemed vital in the moment, but, in order to keep it interesting, it also encouraged me to get out into the world, step out of my comfort zone, and experience things I would have not usually experienced.

My habit of keeping travel journeys began the first time I visited Japan. I travelled up and down the country with eight students, and our teacher instructed us to keep diaries as a souvenir of our journeys together. It also allowed us to truly appreciate and savour each day as it came. We would tape envelopes of all sizes to the inside of both covers to collect ticket stubs, train tickets, leaflets and flyers from each place we visited, maps and a multitude of origami.

I liked this idea and revelled at the memento of my time there so much that I continued the habit into adulthood. I currently own four journals for Japan, as well as one each for America, Australia, Mauritius and Taiwan. I turned them into mini scrap books, utilising all my collected ticket stubs, leaflets and photos throughout, and very much enjoy reliving the experiences each time I read them.

I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I have.

Sitting down to allow my mind to reflect on why I left the UK and what I encountered early on in my Japanese life has been a fun and challenging feat. Japan is the country that does not stop giving and yet somehow takes a part of you with it. Upon relocation, my lifelong opinions were disregarded in an instant and unknown emotions presented themselves at unexpected occasions.

Nothing was what I thought it would be and many things were surprisingly better than I could have ever imagined. The things I missed from home were replaced by newfound loves, and rage-inducing nuisances became trivial anecdotes. New obsessions took a hold of old ones and obliterated them in blurs of mochi, gachapon and azuki beans.

I moved to Japan to live in the land that does not judge; where crime rates and bins do not exist, and though the majority of what I first thought proved true, I was in for a plethora of wake-up calls as gradually the utopia I came to call home cracked at the seams and revealed itself for what it truly was. Was this a bad thing? In hindsight, I now know it to be a typical case of the dreaded Culture Shock, something I was ignorant enough to believe I knew enough about to avoid completely.

In life, I truly welcome mistakes, as they encourage growth and wisdom, but sometimes misguided thoughts and expectations can cause irrefutable side effects.