A Japanese shop is 1,020 years old
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
Looking at reviews today, people apparently see the food as a mixed bag - some are clearly disappointed. In my opinion, it was excellent, with the signature dish having balanced flavors that seem to have been refined for generations. I found it endlessly fascinating that a humble lunch place with a simple dish could survive for 250+ years - but it also makes perfect sense that simple things last.
My colleague (a local in our Japan office) told me that emperors of old had ordered the dish to be delivered to them, well before Japan had even been "opened" to the world. Perhaps the stories were apocryphal (he was a sales guy after all), but still entertaining and gave a sense of the history behind the meal.
Tokyo is an amazing city, though it can be very lonely for an expat.
I had a similar experience in Greece, where some locals recommended an out of town Gyro shop ("Gyro" is a popular Greek dish, simply put, it's your choice of meat, wrapped or stuffed in a pita, along with ingredients such as tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce).
At a measly 2 euros, it was vastly cheaper than the Gyro shops dotted around the popular hot-spots of the island.
And yet it had been open for a very long time indeed.
Could you expand upon this? I've been thinking of moving there for a year or two to focus on my language skills and work on my startup.
I spent a lot of time in Obihiro, Hokkaido in my late teens and had a blast hanging out at the university. Everyone was super friendly.
When I traveled to even more remote towns like Hobetsu / Mukawa, Makubetsu, Ashoro, and Honbetsu, the children would run up to meet me and want to take photos. (They don't see foreigners often.)
I never spent much time in Tokyo, but I did spend a lot of time in Shanghai, Changsha, and other big Chinese cities and almost want to consider that a proxy.
Why is Tokyo lonely? Is it this city in particular? Is it a certain age range?
Post-college and into adulthood does it become lonelier?
Also, what's the startup scene like in Tokyo? I'm considering something a few steps beyond VTuber streaming and think Japan would be a great environment to pull talent from.
I found it lonely for the same reason I loved the city: it was so familiar, and yet so different at the same time. I felt like gears that were slightly out of mesh, not enough to snap, but enough to wear away the edges and cause subtle damage over time.
Making friends as an adult is always hard, but being a transplant into such a new culture is even harder. Everyone was friendly, but finding true connection is difficult: language barriers, cultural differences, biases (on both sides), and perhaps the transitory nature of my stay meant there was always a constant difference.
I always felt like an outsider, even when welcomed warmly. Maybe this was me, but I always knew I was being accommodated: "he's a gaijin, he doesn't know better." This was absolutely kind, but I also knew that I didn't know better, and didn't know what I didn't know, and that created a subtle tentativeness and friction in social interactions.
The classic scenes of Tokyo streets with tall buildings filled with small shops and laced with vertical signage is an apt metaphor for living in Tokyo. There is so much hidden behind the facades that it takes a lifetime to know what's really there, unless you have a guide with infinite patience.
Maybe other cities, or towns, would be different. Maybe it would be much easier if I was fluent, or planned to stay for years. Maybe someone without tendencies towards introversion, or who went with a partner to lean on, would have a very different experience.
But like I said, many small factors just wore on me, and I was happy to return to the warm embrace of home.
I'm afraid I don't know enough about the startup scene to do more than speculate. I was there representing an enterprise software company, which has very different dynamics - especially in Japan.
This was also a point in time where our shop started insisting on receipts for travel expenses. I always got something that had a number on it, but lord knows what it actually said. Was rather a snarky moment when I handed over the stack of receipts all in Japanese.
I really miss the travel...
(Though Japan on an expense report is really the best way to go, unless you're fabulously wealthy. I can't say I'm complaining!)
In the last 20 years, a lot of Chinese tradition and respect has been thrown out and attitudes towards business and family flipped on its head with the rise of Chinese capitalism - a lot of hustle and winner takes all at the expense of everyone else attitude.
The elite and/or hustling Chinese embrace western things and incorporate them in their life -- even flexing their English knowledge is a way to signal social/economic class in China. I'm not an expert in Japan, but I don't see a lot of English flexing in Japanese culture.
In terms of being an expat, plenty of expat + curiosity in Chinese cities to never really be lonely.
I can contrast it with another city I have lived in (on and off for 2-3 years), and that's Seoul. In my first year in Seoul, I probably met more close friends than in a decade of living in Tokyo. I'm an introvert through and through, so unless people open up to me first, there is going to be silence. Tokyo has a way of making you comfortable with the mundane.
Seoul is just this bustling amazing city with an energy of "anything is possible" in the air. Tokyo seems as though it has already had its heyday and is on a slow, silent, but peaceful decline. I love my little neighborhood, and have made a life for myself in Tokyo, but I can't honestly recommend it as a place to move to, unless you have some deep interest in Japan or family connections.
If you are interested in the startup scene, it's here but nothing on the scale that you would see in the US. I'd say Seoul is the place to be for startups now -- the Korean government is pretty much throwing money at people with ideas.
I'll always call Japan home, but I definitely see myself leaving Tokyo in the near future, if not for another city, then back to Korea.
To give some context, I'm a male 30 something PoC.
A lot (if not majority) of foreigners fall for the image Japan has when it's observed from abroad. That's a very unfortunate illusion
Proof of Concept?
And now that you know the meaning you’ll be seeing it every where... Baader Meinhof phenomenon and all that.
Maybe. (I certainly do experience that in general!) In the UK though I very rarely hear people describe themselves or others as 'a person/people of colour' though, even in full I mean; it's American to my ear.
The biggest thing I've felt since moving here: whether or not you can speak and interact in Japanese makes a world of difference. Seriously. I have interacted with expats who have not studied any inkling of Japanese, nor have tried any kind of interactions apart from other expats, and it felt their life was so bland. For example, they'd struggle to order anything except at big chain restaurants that have English menus, so that small alleyway restaurant that serves super nice ramen? Or that washoku (Japanese food) restaurant that's famous for its signature dish in Japanese? Very hard.
And that's without all the intricacies of interacting with Japanese people (beyond asking for directions where people are very helpful). Boy, that's a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes you strike up conversations with people so easily because you can speak the language. Sometimes you get hurt because of differences in ways of thinking. Sometimes you try to put yourself in a Japanese person's shoes and try to understand what they're thinking. To me, it's been one of the most fun parts so far.
And I feel much more welcome. For example, the bento (packed lunch) shop run by a family where I buy a takeout from once a week? They know my name and can tell my voice when I call to order a bento. I ask them how's life and they do as well as we chitchat while visiting their shop. I leave the shop with both of us saying "Thanks as always!". These small things do make a difference when you're living thousands of miles away from your home country.
I'm not complaining that there should be more English stuff in general; I feel people are trying to improve the situation. Nor that I'm saying not knowing Japanese will make your life hell; it won't. But, it will be bland. Especially if you happen to end up at a local town in rural Japan. That has its own charm points but you'd miss out most of them.
TLDR: Speaking from experience, if you ever plan to stay long-term in Japan, learn Japanese. I'm sure you won't regret it.
(Sorry for the long rant.)
Actually, I realized this after writing out the whole thing but that sorry for the long rant is kind of like a good manners thing in Japanese internets. If you look up "長文失礼しました。", which literally means "Excuse me for the long writeup", it's usually appended to say a comment in a blog, or sometimes at the end of a Tweet when the speaker felt what they said is a bit on the longer side.
I somehow ended up picking up that habit somewhere down the line it seems. :)
That said, the difference between Japanese and Latin languages does play into the "foreign-ness" I mentioned. My very bad high school/college French is enough to feel comfortable deciphering a lot of Spanish and Italian, both written and spoken. Needless to say, that skill didn't transfer to Japan.
Again though, I love Japan because you truly feel as if you're in another culture. When I step off the plane in most countries, the first impression is sameness: same brands, same clothes, same affectations and language cadence. Flying to Japan truly feels like travel; I imagine it similar to going anywhere 100 years ago, before globalization (modulo British colonialism, of course).
It would be a heck of an adventure to commit to a few years' stay and really explore the country. I'd just want to do it with a partner to share the adventure with me.
I'm very happy you've had a great experience. I'm sure you will carry this with you regardless of where life's journey takes you.
For sure, do come over for a long term stay (with your partner!) and enjoy Japan. Like all countries, Japan has its own set of problems, but beyond that, it's a wonderful country. :)
A similar thing has happened to me and it doesn't make me want to go back.
I sometimes run into that kind of behavior, especially when my first impression is my looks rather than my voice. But then I think of it like this: they probably have to deal with many foreign customers, "most" of whom cannot speak Japanese. Or they might not have been exposed to many foreigners that they know there are foreigners who can speak Japanese.
At the same time, Japanese society puts consideration for others at one of the higher priorities when interacting with people, and is seen everywhere and highly evaluated by many.
So it feels natural for the person to assume that I, as another one of those foreign people, most likely cannot speak Japanese. Also, they could try speaking to me in Japanese, but it'd be inconsiderate of them if I didn't know Japanese. So many a time the default, and very likely considerate route out is broken English to the best of their abilities.
I know this makes people like us who do know the language a bit bad, but then again, we're still a minority so I wouldn't read too much into it. :)
Of course, if the person in question knows you know Japanese, yet keeps talking to you in English, then it might be better to assume something is not right. :)
However it's only happened once in a year of living here and never in Tokyo, only a ruralish city, so I don't take it as an indictment on Japanese people. I'm sure there are plenty of bars in rural America or Australia (where I'm from) that would have been equally unfriendly to someone of Asian ethnicity. At the end of the day you just have to decide not to let it ruin your day that there are some bad eggs in the bunch, no matter which country it is.
*Caveat though that I've heard it is much worse here for people from China than it is for white foreigners such as myself. If it made up a significant portion of my experience it would be hard to live here comfortably.
Literally right for almost every country: France without knowing French, US without English, Taiwan with Chinese or Taiwanese, Egypt without Arabic... Japan is not special in that regard, save for the fact that most people here have quite a low level of English (which is also not very specific to Japan).
So I wholly agree that making the effort to learn the local language repays by itself for any medium or long stay.
The game later surpassed 255 unique buffs. Rather than change the packet structure, they repurposed a group of 64 bits which had previously been padding. Each buff id could then be unpacked by using the nth pair of bits from the block of 64 as the two high bits, and tacking on the original byte as the lower eight.
(Seriously, though, the snacking in Kyoto is epic. Lovely temples and all, but when I go back, my first stop will be at a yatsuhashi shop, then mochi, then those red bean fish cake thingies, then maybe a cucumber on a stick. Damnit, now I'm REALLY hungry. Anyhow, these are businesses worth keeping around for a thousand years. They're just that tasty.)
The eel is great. The barley rice with gloopy yam on top... let's just say I understand why nobody else sells this stuff anymore.
Unagi is freshwater eel. Anago is saltwater eel. You said foie gras of the Sea, sea is not freshwater and unagi does not come from the sea.
In my mind, just imagining operating for a Millennium, these institutions are more temples than businesses. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. Thankfully the practice is not very widespread as I could easily have found myself taking care of a breakfast place by a moderately busy highway in Southern India.
I would be very happy to be part of something that dates back hundreds of years.
"Free and clear" stops a lot of people, but it's not as important as knowing how to scale up and down so your cash flow is always above paying your debts. There will be balancing acts whether you own the building or not. Figure out the minimum sales you need to survive, and plan the maximum size you can grow to. You can start toward "free and clear" by negotiating a "lease with the option to buy". Considering recent situations, hire a lawyer to put contingencies on rent in case of government mandated shutdowns or reductions.
If this is truly a dream of yours, don't wait. Start looking at locations and gathering information.
Me, I remember the first time I was sure I didn't want to do that. I met a lady running a bar/restaurant/hub. It was clear her life was the place. It was open nights so she was there every night. It had lots of events. No more free nights for her, going out with friends, dancing, dinning etc. Her nights, while she did get to greet people, were mostly running around the place putting out fires. I'm not dissing that life at all. If she enjoys it that's great. It's not for me in the same way I'm sure staring at a computer screen is not for her.
Because one of the key things I’ve learned from those I’ve known in the business is that it’s sometimes very, very stressful to make your living this way. And, as the pandemic has shown us, sometimes hard work isn’t enough.
In a world with 40% child mortality, it was more of a sure thing than gambling on having a biological heir.
For some purposes, such a culture is very restrictive and discontent-inducing. But for other purposes, this culture might help you survive through long problems and dangerous situations that might kill off a people who believed in doing whatever you want and bailing when things get hard. It really depends on the environment that it operates within -- this is not a statement that a particular culture is "better" in every case.
Side note, this is why, as a visitor to Japan, you get to enjoy all the benefits of seeing the examples of what discipline (and inflexibility) can bring -- but you would go crazy and not be happy if you had to live there.
As with many things in life, the make-or-break factor ultimately falls upon how well the parents have matured as human beings, and the quality of the upbringing they've given to their descendents. So I would say it is impossible to make a rigid, universal determination one way or the other. All I know is I would do anything if my parents or their parents asked. Anything.
> It is a common trait among Japanese enterprises and part of the reason that the country has so far avoided the high bankruptcy rates of the United States during the pandemic.
I live in Japan (I'm not Japanese).
From experience, the first paragraph above rings true for many, especially smaller/family-run, businesses.
But jumping to the conclusion in the second paragraph is a stretch. By making such a facile and generalized statement and leaving it at that, the article ignores that the Japanese government's measures since the pandemic started have in many ways prioritized economic health over individual health, and that is one reason why business in general has not been as hard hit here.
For instance, Japan actually instituted "Go To Travel" and "Go To Eat" campaigns to stimulate the economy during the pandemic. Criminally irresponsible in my view.
Japanese pandemic response has also largely been ignoring the reality of aerosol transmission, evidenced by issuing compliance certifications (basically a sticker businesses can put on their door) even to businesses that promote indoor eating and other activities where safety from aerosol transmission cannot be maintained.
In fact, even if the Japanese government wanted to take stronger measures, my understanding is that legally they can't - so there has never been a mandatory lockdown here. All we had was a voluntary lockdown around April.
To put it bluntly, Japanese businesses are largely doing well because all cessation of economic activity so far has been completely voluntary, while the government has taken steps that do more to play down the pandemic threat.
Conversely, the main reason that the Japanese people are so far doing relatively better than say the US (in spite of the government's best attempts to fail at pandemic policy), seems to be that nearly everybody wears a mask whenever possible. Coupled with a few other social factors such as less talking in public spaces and less physical contact especially between strangers.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200211-why-are-so-man...
> It is a common trait among Japanese enterprises and part of the reason that the country has so far avoided the high bankruptcy rates of the United States during the pandemic. Even when they “make some profits,” said Tomohiro Ota, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, “they do not increase their capital expenditure.”
I found this part very interesting; it seems like Japan’s monetary policy would present a huge disincentive to this.
> The Japanese temple and shrine construction company, Kongō Gumi Co., Ltd. (founded in 578) has weathered a few storms over the millennia, from nuclear bombs to financial crises. In 2006, it was bought by the construction conglomerate, Takamatsu Construction Group Co., and continues to operate today.
It's like saying the condom industry survived the AIDS pandemic.
Canterbury Cathedral was founded in 597. I find it kind of wild that those two events were only nine years apart.
"Not sure if this new religion will work out, but we could always go back to making tables" - Them, probably.
Skeptic that I am, I wanted to see the proof. There isn't any - its just a claim. Its just a sweet story.
In fact, I suspect that this is some sort of tourism puff piece, PR of some sort, perhaps by the Japanese tourism board to drum up enthusiasm. Maybe they are planting seeds for when the lockdowns are over.
Nintendo was founded in 1889.
As just one counter-example; I'm sure there are plenty more/earlier: Siemens was founded in 1847 (edit: by building telegraph equipment and infrastructure).
Edit: I'm sure there must have been earlier companies involved in "tech" that are still relevant? Maybe let's think about "tech" as "information technology" companies?
Kiewit formed in 1884.
On the other hand, Western Union is still trading under its original name.
A small, geographically bound family business like this is one thing, but we should pay more attention to what kind of creatures we're creating in the long run.
An LLC is a very useful legal fiction, but more and more we're seeing the effects of allowing virtually unbounded, private for profit organizations.
Does anyone have good recommendations for books on Japanese culture that I could put on my wish list for Christmas?
This stood out to me. There's a reason UNIX-like design has stuck around.
Very inspiring, thanks for sharing.