Japan Journal: Daily Life in Japan


Japan is truly beautiful. The people, the country, and the language. Summer of 2024, my husband and I embarked on an epic journey to go to literally the other side of the planet. My husband had gone several years back, but this was my first time going. I had prepared in every way possible for this journey from studying the culture to diving into learning the language. What I wasn't prepared for was leaving part of my heart behind in Japan. So I decided this week that it was time to share this love with others and give everyone a little taste of what living in Japan is like and all the places there are to see. 



This was the community of Gamagori that we stayed in for the first two weeks before continuing our journey across Japan. This area is considered rural in Japan. A much more peaceful town than living in the heart of Tokyo. 


This is called a Genkan which in kanji is 玄関. Whenever you go to a home, you stop here and place your shoes in a rack or designated area and then typically there will be slippers for you to put on. After doing this, you will then step up into the house.  

                   

This is a traditional Japanese Futon which is written as 布団 in Japanese. After you sleep on it, you will then roll it up and put it away. With how humid it is, you don't want to just leave it out. This home had a traditional tatami mat floor. 

                                      

In Japan, the shower is it's own room and the toilet is separate. You go into the room to clean and then go into the Ofuro お風呂. Think of the Ofuro as your own tiny personal hot tub inside that you can adjust to whatever temperature you would like. 

                       

I found their sink to be quite interesting. I liked how you can shift the button to change the water setting. 


                  

One of my favorite eating experiences was getting to go to a Kaiten sushi place in Japan. The restaurant we went to had a tablet at the table where you select the sushi that you want to come to you via the conveyor belt. You can change the tablet to be in English. It was very affordable. 

  







I got to have the unforgettable experience of going to a second hand shop in Japan. There is no comparison to the thrift stores we have in the states. The items are in such good condition at a fraction of the cost. Since we got back, thrifting just hasn't been the same. 




                 

Here are all the pastries you can possibly imagine at a local grocery store.




I hope you all enjoyed this post. I look forward to sharing more about this journey with you and hopefully in a couple years it will be an ongoing log of our adventures and stories. If you would like to see more posts like this one, please drop me an encouraging comment. :)






Comments

  1. Sarah GJanuary 22, 2025 at 8:57 PM

    Thank you for sharing your experience in Japan with us! It looks like you had a lot of new and fun experiences!

    ReplyDelete

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