Japanese country life

Being a JET out in the Japanese countryside obviously has its up and downs. For some the downs seem very obvious indeed - not really a lot to do, not many other foreigners around you and so on. There is a huge difference between town and country wherever you go - but in Japan this difference is definitely more pronounced.

A JET living in Osaka or Tokyo is living a completely different life to mine. They could probably get by without very much Japanese at all, could buy Western-style food at all hours of the day and, I would imagine do a lot of similar things that they would do back in their own country (go to the cinema, pub, eat Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding!!!)

But outside of a Japanese mega-metropolis it is much more difficult to do these kind of things - a casual visit to the cinema is a major excursion!

But a look around you reveals all sorts of wonders about Japanese culture. Like most other places in the world the countryside is always going to be more conservative, and although at times this can make life a little different for the outsider, it also means that old traditions are carried on with little or no change.

So over the past year I have gone to regular classes in Japanese taiko drumming, koto and tea ceremony. With my taiko group I have been to more festivals than you can shake a large stick at - festivals that otherwise I had absolutely no idea existed. Festivals different in every way from size to attitude - from the cheery blossom festival with the dancing geishas, to the massive Fukumitsu festival with the drunken crowds, to the tiny Cosmos festival last weekend. All these Japanese festivals provide their own charm and insight into Japanese culture.

Playing the taiko, koto, and going to tea ceremony class has taught me so much about Japanese culture; and because it is in the countryside, you feel that it is as close to the traditional as you are ever going to get. Being in the Japanese countryside you can get some idea of old Japan. A Japan that has long gone, but who's general thoughts and attitudes still remain - from practicing the same taiko song over and over again to the zen-like delicacies of the tea ceremony. I have learnt more from Japan participating in these activites than I have visiting temples and shrines and my many sight-seeing trips.

Old Japan is alive and well.