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Published: December 5th 2007
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East Asia
It's difficult sometimes to picture where exactly we are, so here's a pretty good map to give you an idea. As you can see, we have some of the friendliest neighbors you could ask for -- and none of them like Japan to boot. Jessie and I really like camping. Well, I like to camp. So I was looking forward to the prospect of camping in another country - a country where mountains, streams, wild monkeys and really neat foliage are commonplace. Japan seemed like a nice place to explore, because it’s small in size, so you’re never far from civilization, but at the same time mountains, amongst which few people live, cover the majority of the country - especially in our area.
I had done a little poking around online before we left the States, and it seemed like there might be camping opportunities here, although fires are outlawed in most if not all wilderness areas because, well, it’s a tiny country and it wouldn’t take long to burn.
When we got here I asked a few people about camping spots in the area. I gathered that there are some, however our new friends seemed pretty surprised that I would want to do something like camp (or “camp-jo” as they call it). “Whatever,” I thought. Maybe the Japanese are just wimps. It’s something I’d like to do.
Well, we never did go, and the camping window is closed for the year
Island of Japan
Japan is basically four islands. We live on the main one where most people live. We're right in the middle, really. If you can find Kofu, we're just west of there. now that the temperatures have turned cold. And frankly, with every day that goes by we understand more and more why the Japanese - at least in this rural area - wouldn’t be gung-ho about dropping themselves into harsher conditions: in rural Japan, it’s like you’re camping every day.
Now, of course, it’s not all bad, and not everyone lives in a house like ours, but here are some interesting tidbits we talked about the other day: sounds a lot like camping to me.
- When you wash your face before bed there’s just cold water.
- You sleep on mats on the ground and hang your wet laundry outside.
- You can stick your nose out of the blankets in the morning, but only for a little bit. And when you finally get out of bed you can see your breath.
- When your neighbors have a light on or are making noise, you know about it.
- Many public restrooms don’t have toilet paper or anything to dry your hands with, so hopefully you remembered to stick a Kleenex in your pocket.
- You take your shoes off before going
Yamanashi and surrounding areas
Yamanashi is our state, essentially. It's mountainous, rural and windy. Once you've found Kofu -- it's in the middle of the map, go just west-southwest and you'll see Minami-Alps City. The entire main island is probably the size of Wisconsin, so you're never far from the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Japan. into your house.
- You don’t have an oven at home. You put hand warmers in your boots and gloves so you can feel your extremities - at work.
- You might see an old lady squatting in the bushes near the bus stop. And the bushes go up to her knees. You also might ride your bike past a guy washing his hair in the morning with a garden hose - and it’s November.
- You can’t find antiperspirant, so, yeah…camping smell minus the smoke and smores. (Don’t worry; we packed our own.)
- Food options consist of fish and leaves, things that taste like fish and leaves but aren’t, and sometimes, things that look and taste like bait. Oh yeah, and you don’t have a campfire, so you’ll be eating it all raw.
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This really is an interesting place. I think many people would expect the Japanese to have personal robots, etc. because of the country's reputation as the most modern nation in Asia.
However, I think the difference between rural and urban Japan is far greater than the difference between rural and urban America.
At the end of WWII things changed a little in the U.S. But in Japan, things changed a lot. The affects of those changes are obvious in the larger cities, and in places like Yamanashi.
Still, many of our area's families are living lives very similar to the lives their grandparents would have lived. Parts of Japan are still fairly unaffected by Western influences. Sure, people have cars and they shop in grocery stores, but other areas of their lives have been changed very little. Some of the elderly audibly gasp and whisper things under their breath when they look up and see us coming toward them on our bikes.
That isolation has also resulted in an isolation of ideas -- in our opinions. Teachers Jessie talks with believe Americans are wasteful when we tell them we have central heating. However, they don't understand the idea of living in an insulated house, and how an insulated house with a basement is far more cost-effective than finding ten other ways to stay warm such as using hand warmers, etc., which are expensive and create more waste. So, we think some of the things they do are ridiculous, and they think some of the things we do are ridiculous.
Despite those and many other differences of opinion, however, it's hard not to admire these peoples' toughness. They seem much more willing to be cold and hot than we are and many seem to choose a harder, more traditional lifestyle over the alternative. I think, in general, they are also more conscious about the things they throw away. After four months here I am finally understanding the recycling/trash system in our area.
I think when we arrive back in the States, we'll have a renewed appreciation for certain things about our country, and I'm sure we'll notice negative things that we couldn't see before. Either way, this experience is allowing us a glimpse into a culture that is about as difficult to fit into as any in the world. And that glimpse will most likely give us a unique perspective and understanding about our own country that we otherwise wouldn't have been privy to.
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Thanks for that geography lesson. It helps to know where you are. There's nothing like leaving your own country and coming back and appreciating it! We take so much for granted!! I have visions of us being campers in Africa. You know we're hoping to go to Swaziland, right? We'll tell you all about it when you get home.