Life in Tokyo
Veer Gala
I find it hard to put into words how bizarre life
in Japan has been and continues to be. It’s
hard not to feel like we’re part of somestrange sitcom; a tight-nit rabble ofcharacters navigating the idiosyncrasies andcomplexities of life on the other side of theworld.

Who knew such a beautiful island could have so many inhospitable
restaurants – Shodoshima, Kagawa Prefecture

Countless times now, I have found myself in situations towards which the only appropriate
response has seemed to be a mild degree of disbelief.
Some notable instances include: spending the night in aconvenience store due to someone’s (my) mistake withbooking a hotel room in Hakone; sliding down the icy
stairs on a mountain in Yamagata on my bum while
onlooking temple workers audibly laughed at me;
spending two hours hunting for a restaurant that would
accept foreigners on an island in Shikoku; cycling around
an island infested with rabbits with a history of chemical
weapon manufacturing in Hiroshima; being rescued by asnow mobile in Nagano after Amy and I found ourselves
somewhat stranded on a ski slope slightly above ourpaygrade; sitting in an outdoor onsen amidst a snow
storm in a forest in Akita. The absurdity of life here neverseems to cease.

Treacherously icy steps – Yamadera, Yamagata
Prefecture

Through this absurdity, however, even mundane daily life
in Japan has a real charm to it. Arguably the best Japanese
friends I have made so far are my landlords: an 81-yearold retired banker and his 79-year-old wife. I must admitthat upon hearing that my landlords were going to be myneighbours, I had my reservations. However,almost as soon as I received the keys to myflat, they greeted me with great enthusiasm,
and jostled me next door for a cup of tea anda rice cracker. I was quickly put at ease.
Though they speak no English, my landlords’
misplaced high esteem of my Japanese
language ability seems to keep conversation
going. Very soon into my first tea with them,
we were discussing all manner of topics –Hours before disaster – Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture

The Hakone conbini debacle, illustrated (featuring the most unbelievably tolerant conbini worker one could ever come across) – Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecturefrom Brexit, to Japan’s aging population. Rest assured I had neither the vocabulary nor theconfidence to engage in the erudite conversation they were hoping for. A heartening aspectof my roughly monthly interactions with my landlords is that every time I speak to them, I do
seem to understand more and more of what they are saying, as well as having more to add
to the conversation myself. I’m setting myself the goal of being able to understand mylandlords’ opinion on Brexit by the end of my tenancy.
Another grounding aspect of my daily life inJapan has been being part of Waseda’s
university choir. Unable to bring my musicalinstruments from the UK and unwilling to forkout for duplicates here, I found myself
yearning to make music in my daily life.
Though it has been a good few years since I
have sung to a standard worthy of anyone
else’s ears, an alcohol-infused agreement
between Genie and me after our firstexperience with karaoke sealed my fate.
Although the concept of being taught Germanchoral pieces in Japanese with inadequate
knowledge of both languages was somewhat Chichibu Matsuri, of the three biggest float festivals in Japan – Chichibu,
Saitama Prefecture
challenging at first, I’d like to think that bothof us have adapted well over the months. The choir is going on tour to Kyoto next month,something that I am dreading and excited for in equal measure.
One of the more difficult aspects of life in Japan for me has been navigating vegetarianism
here. Most of Japanese people
to whom I confess myvegetarianism have no clue
what I mean. It has become
something of a joke thatwhenever anyone travels withme, they will have to be privy
to a 私はベジタリアンなので、 followed by a list of thedifferent types of meats andstocks and seafood that being

Finally made some Japanese friends – Nagoro, Tokushima Prefecturevegetarian precludes me from eating. Throughthe difficulty with finding vegetarian options here,
I have developed what can only be described as
an unhealthy dependence on a couple of chainswith vegetarian options, namely Saizeriya andCoco Ichibanya. In my opinion, Saizeriya provides
a better insight into Japanese culture than any
Izakaya ever could. A Japanese take on Italiancuisine, you’d struggle to spend more than 1500
yen on the most lavish of meals there. One wordof advice though: avoid the 100 yen glass ofvinegar commonly referred to as red wine.
Over the Spring break, I opted to escape Japan fora short while to travel to Southeast Asia. During One of us (unnamed to preserve reputation) thought visiting thesnow monkeys would involve actually bathing with the monkeys –this trip, I was struck by the familiarity I felt on the Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecturerare occasion I met Japanese travellers. In Luang
Prabang in Laos, Julian and I met Yoshimasa, a 30-year-old former engineer who had decided
to quit in favour of travelling the world for a year. Yoshimasa seemed incredibly confused at
the two Londoners speaking Japanese at him telling him they had just come from Tokyo, butthere was an instant bond formed through the shared language and interest in niche Japanese
psychedelic bands.
It is unimaginable to me that we are nearly halfway through the scholarship – I havesimultaneously experienced so much, and yet feel that Tokyo and Japan still have so much
more to offer. I haven’t a clue what the next 10
months hold for me, but one thing’s for sure:the level of absurdity will undoubtedly beegregious.

Sunset on the Shimanami Kaido – Ikuchijima, Hiroshima Prefecture

Gassho-zukuri houses – Gokayama, Toyama Prefecture