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In this blog Philippa discusses things that she misses from the UK and things from Japan that she now doesn鈥檛 think that she can live without.
Since mid-September I have been living and studying in Japan and it has been a rollercoaster of trying new things. There have been new tastes like yuzu (an East Asian citrus fruit), umeshu (traditional Japanese plumb wine), and natto (fermented soybeans 鈥� I鈥檝e yet to be convinced on this one). And new cultural experiences such as using Line (an app used widely in Japan that has messaging, social media, news, and shopping features), trying on Kimono (beautiful and surprisingly comfortable), and trying to understand the Japanese recycling system (I still haven鈥檛 quite worked that one out yet). So, in this blog I decided to discuss things that I was surprised to miss from the UK, and things from Japan that I now don鈥檛 think that I can live without.聽
First up is something that I miss from the UK:
Christmas
As Christmas time comes around, I have found myself feeling pretty homesick. Seeing my friends and family spending time together doing Christmas traditions, home feels very far away, and honestly, it鈥檚 not the same when you鈥檙e going to a Christmas market in 18-degree heat! At home, December feels like it is all about Christmas and spending time with your family, cosying up in the sitting room with a hot drink and braving the cold to go ice skating with friends. Although Japan certainly takes the cake with winter illuminations, Christmas itself is not as much of a big deal (it鈥檚 mainly considered a couple鈥檚 holiday), especially compared to the New Year holiday when many people in Japan travel home to celebrate with their families. My family traditions and the atmosphere of Christmas is definitely on the list of things that I miss from home.
Now onto some things that I now don鈥檛 think that I can live without. My list of things that I love about Japan is definitely too long to fit in this blog so I will pick two of my favourites:
Stamps
One of the really fun things about Japan is that you can collect stamps everywhere. Usually, they can be found in train stations and heritage sites, but some shops also run stamp rallies to win prizes. Now, you may think this is a little strange (if I鈥檓 honest, I did too when I first arrived here) but once you start, I can personally guarantee that you will not be able to stop! As much fun as it is to try to hunt down the stamps, it is also a great way to remember where you鈥檝e been, and it has also encouraged me to interact with people and practice my Japanese to try to find them.
Food culture
The food culture in Japan definitely deserves to be on this list! In Japan, the cost of eating out is relatively affordable (meals usually costing under 楼1000 which is about 拢5), which means that there is a wonderful culture of regularly eating out with friends or classmates. For me this has been a great way to try new food and get to know friends better. It is without a doubt what I will miss the most when I return to the UK - especially living in London on a student budget!
This is the end of my list of things that I miss from the UK and things that I now don鈥檛 think I can live without. I am sure that by the end of my year in Japan there will be many more to add to this list!