Essence of Japan: Moving and Living in Tokyo

Article and Photos by Rebecca Combs Tilhou

A popular shopping and restaurant strip in Tokyo.

If you’re looking for exhilaration, find yourself a dream and go to every possible measure to achieve it. That dream, for me, was to move to another country. I was looking for a vast culture change, a completely different language, and to be in a place where I was most obviously a minority. How lucky I am that the modern education trend in Japan, especially in Tokyo, is for families to send their children to English international schools where they learn in English. Perfect for me, an American teacher.

I was hired byAoba-Japan International Schoolafter a 1 1/2 hour phone interview and a long wait of three weeks. I sent my passport and some other necessary documents away to my new school, and a month later my visa was back in my hand, as well as one for my husband. I must attest, international schools take care of their teachers. The Internet took care of the rest.

我研究了无数的房地产机构，这些房地产机构可以帮助外国人在网上找到公寓。其中许多具有精通英语的英语链接和代理商。我能够通过电子邮件与几个机构进行交流，并以一点点信心，一张好的东京地图和Google Earth保留一间我99％的公寓，这是完美的。到达后，我们被接送并穿梭到我们的新家，我们计划支付第一个月的租金。我们发现的是一个完美的小公寓，直接坐在一个美丽的公园对面，坐在一个繁华的城市中。

The entrance to the park across from where the author lives.

The novelty of a new place can often suppress culture shock. Everything is new, everything is different. In Japan, the people are helpful and kind. We found that everywhere we went, our needs were met, whether it was the bank, the cell phone company, the grocery store, or the local fruit stand that sold the biggest, juiciest peaches I have ever bit into.

Mild culture shock came later, with typhoon season and days of rain covering the sun. Riding my bike to school on warm, sunny mornings was now only a brief memory replaced by soaked clothes under gray mornings. On top of that, I couldn’t communicate and I stood behind my husband’s voice, his broken Japanese that always did the job.

So I decided to get a tutor. I found her in my school, a Japanese teacher not far from my age. Immediately I had made a new friend who would not only teach vocabulary and Hiragana, but would talk in detail about Japanese cultures. In these lessons, I slowly began wrapping my mouth around the Japanese language. After this, things changed. More comfort and independence surged through me until a night that I planned to meet my husband for dinner.

I traveled to the far northeast part of Tokyo, where he teaches. Once there, I exited the Kita Senju train station and entered a bright, yet quaint little strip. Stores lined the sidewalks displaying herbs and teas, fine clothing, cell phones, and more. I walked excitedly, waiting for the clock to turn toHachiji Gogo(8 p.m.) to meet my husband and feast at one of his students’ restaurants.

突然我听到了一个响亮的麦克风。来自相反方向的是一辆带有吹喇叭的汽车，其次是中年男女拿着旗帜和标志。我从喊叫声中唯一了解的是“ Amerika…Amerika-wa…！”然后，一个老年妇女看到我时停了下来。她开始在空中挥舞双手，做一个大X，然后邪恶地指着我。当她走开时，她向后走，继续面对我，并反复做出积极的姿态。

当我丈夫和他的日本老板一起出现时，他问她抗议者在喊什么。她笑着说：“日本人想要和平。他们不相信美国的战争。”我想到了我目前在伊拉克的堂兄，那个女人的形象生动地重播了我的脑海，在每个美国人都必须拥有的酸痛地点，无论他们对伊拉克战争的看法如何。

不过，我们一直在抗议餐厅。当我们到达时，我丈夫的学生，一个大约60岁的女人，她的丈夫在人行道上等着我们。他们鞠躬微笑着说：“很高兴认识你！”用他们最好的英语。他们把我们带到了一家感觉就像干杯but one tenth the size. Once inside, I was instantly a movie star, and they fawned over how I was “cutie” and looked so young with such nice legs. I posed for pictures with other customers smiling sweetly by my husband’s side.

然后他们带出了三足的猫，他在我们桌子后面也有自己的小座位。它短暂地加入了我们，然后被顾客散步（在皮带上）散步。我认为哈姆雷特（Hamlet）是我最喜欢的客户 - 他没有说单词，日语或英语，对我没有任何意见。

The very next day I was invited to go to an onsen with some of my teacher friends. An onsen is a Japanese communal bath, where women all bathe together or men bathe together. Yes, that means naked.

The five of us entered the onsen in Odaiba, southern Tokyo, and we were taken back into another century, Japan. We immediately took off our shoes at the front door and picked ourYukatas, robes with beautifully detailed pictures accompanied with a brightly colored sash. I chose the dragonflies. Within the center of the onsen was a huge market lighted as if it were night. Foods of all kinds and gift shops lined the little indoor streets where people wandered barefoot in yukatas.

Inside the changing room, a sign read “No tattoos” in English and Japanese. In Japan, if you have a tattoo you are believed to be part ofYakuza，日本黑手党。我的背上有一只小蝴蝶。我有点紧张，但是当我意识到自己的衣服脱落时，我知道它是水槽或游泳。我的朋友说：“我不知道……”我回答：“只是做！”我们剥去了，抓起黄色的手巾，冲到浴缸。

门的另一侧是一个小天堂。蒸汽从十个不同的新鲜和矿泉水中的卷须中升起。有些高高，有些在地板上。外面是岩石和植物的小绿洲，里面有更多的水池。日本妇女跨越了2至80岁的年龄，每个人看上去都对她的身体完全舒适，尽管我能觉得他们好奇地看着我，一个粉红色的英国女孩。我也对这个女人味感到好奇，在这个世界上，人们对外表的关注不复存在。女人在这个巨大的房间的每个角落淋浴，沐浴和聊天，令人惊讶的是，我发现简单地放松就很容易。我带着明亮的脸颊和微笑离开，准备开始新的一周。

With each experience in Japan, I am sure that I gain a better understanding of who I am, where I am, and Japanese people. But then something else surprises me and I realize I know nothing. There is always more. I could spend the rest of my life here, and never quite understand Japan. This place, after living here for only four months, has offered me such a unique range of challenge, of learning, of humbling myself, and finding a calm and peace within despite the masses that move through this populous place. Here is where I find the essence of Japan.