Reverse Culture Shock

Hey guys, quick plug before we start:

• First, something serious: we finished our Otaru, Myoko, Asahikawa, and Miyazaki Investment Guides. They’re packed with the kind of data we wish existed when we first started buying in Japan.
• Second, Japanese language course built specifically for skiers.
• We took our two-month Japan ski trip and asked: what Japanese would we actually need to know to live this trip properly? with an emphasis on staying safe in the backcountry.
• Third, something silly: The YukiHomes Beanie. If you want this sick beanie, hit the preorder link, we’ve already shipped out 15 and were only making 50, so they will be limited.

This winter was probably the longest stretch of time I’ve ever spent living somewhere outside the United States.

I’ve done extended trips before. France, for example. I’ve spent good chunks of time and while France is different, the culture shock is basically nonexistent.

Everyone speaks English.

Ya the rhythm of life is slower, but in a familiar way.

French people love leisure time. You sit outside, watch someone slowly roll a cigarette, have a coffee that somehow lasts an hour, and talk about nothing.

It’s different from the US, but not dramatically so. You still feel like you’re operating within a culture you understand.

Japan is a completely different story.

The moment you spend real time there you realize how many small systems exist that make everyday life smoother. It starts with the obvious things. Bidets everywhere. Bathrooms that are spotless even in train stations. Trains that run exactly when they say they will.

But it goes much deeper than that.

While Japan is notorious for friction filled bureaucracy, which we have plenty of experience dealing with.

Daily life in Japan is the opposite, it feels structured in a way that removes a huge amount of friction.

Konbini on almost every corner.

In Japan they are not depressing fluorescent rooms selling stale sandwiches and bad coffee.

They are genuinely useful parts of everyday life. Good coffee, fresh meals, clean bathrooms, ATMs that work with foreign cards, hot food, cold food, snacks, beer. Everything is organized and clean.

You can try to recreate that experience in the US by going to 7/11 every morning, but the reality is you’ll walk in, look around for ten seconds, and feel a slight malaise.

Food is another huge difference.

You genuinely have to try to get a bad meal in Japan. Even random places are good. Small restaurants with six seats. Places that have clearly been making the exact same dish for thirty years.

You’d be surprised how good the Italian food is all over Japan.

I eat pasta multiple times a week when I’m back home so I think I can speak on a solid pasta dish.

And because the yen has been so weak recently, you are eating absurdly good meals for prices that feel like they belong in 2004.

We didn’t cook once in fifty days.

Literally not one time.

There was just no reason to. When you can walk five minutes and get something incredible for eight dollars, why would you cook?

There was one place we kept going back to. Steak over rice, simple yet very effective.

The chef’s attention to detail on this eight dollar steak over rice bowl is unreal. He takes a knife and carefully spaces each slice of steak at the exact same distance every single time.

I’m not exaggerating when I say it might be one of the best steaks I’ve ever had in my life.

We ate there sixteen times.

I’m sorry to everyone reading this, but this is one secret I can’t share. The owners specifically asked that the location not get blasted online and I have to respect that.

Those kinds of small experiences add up over time.

You start to realize how pleasant daily life feels when systems actually work.

Trash while extremely annoying to get used to doing, serves a clear purpose. Streets are clean. Public spaces are respected. Even crowded cities feel orderly.

It’s not that Japan is perfect. It absolutely isn’t.

There are serious issues that people outside the country often ignore. Deeply ingrained misogyny still exists in a lot of Japanese society. The criminal justice system has rules and detention practices that would shock a lot of people in the West. Work culture can be intense and in extremely unhealthy our partner Yoshi can attest to that.

Japan has problems like every country does.

But when it comes to everyday quality of life, the small things that make up your daily routine, it’s hard to compete with it.

And it all ties back to something you start noticing everywhere in Japan. The dedication to craft.

You see it in the way the chef prepares that steak bowl.

Every slice sits the exact same distance from the next. It is such a small detail that most people would never notice. But to him it matters. It is part of making the bowl perfect.

That kind of care shows up everywhere.

There is just a level of pride people take in their businesses that you don’t see nearly as often in the United States.

In the US it often feels like money is priority number one. The question becomes how do we cut costs, how do we streamline this product, how do we squeeze the most profit out of it.

In Japan it rarely feels like that.

Of course this is a generalization. There are plenty of people in the US who deeply care about what they do and plenty of people in Japan who are just trying to make a quick buck.

But overall the feeling is different. In Japan it often feels like people are pursuing their business out of pride and passion first, and the money comes second.

You can see it in the most unlikely places.

There is a bar in Otaru that perfectly captures this idea. It is one of the nicest cocktail bars you could step into anywhere. The owner is behind the bar herself, making incredible drinks with a level of precision and attention to detail that would rival the best cocktail bars in New York City.

And yet it exists in a small port town that has been losing population every single year since 1995.

A place like that would not exist in small town USA, I’ve driven across the US more times then I can count. Trust me it’s not there.

But I know for a fact bars like this exist all over Japan. Incredible little restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and bars tucked into towns that most people have never heard of.

They exist because people care.

People take pride in what they make. They want the food to be good. They want the drink to be perfect. They want the customer to walk away happy.

So ya, reverse culture shock is real.

You land, drive back to the suburbs, wake up the next morning, walk the dogs and immediately feel the difference. Trash on the side of the street. Cars everywhere. Everything spread out. No sense of shared public space. No corner store where you can grab a coffee and a decent breakfast.

Living in suburban New York, you can feel strangely disconnected from any kind of life even though one of the biggest cities in the world is technically nearby.

I’m not even much of a drinker here in the US, but in Japan I found myself grabbing a Sapporo almost every day. Not because I needed a drink, but because it just fit into the rhythm of life there. They’re cheap, crisp, and somehow taste better when you’re sitting at a tiny counter watching a cook prepare dinner.

Little rituals like that start to feel normal.

And then suddenly you’re back in the US wondering why everything feels slightly harder, slightly less pleasant, slightly less thoughtful.

Spending long periods abroad does something strange to your perspective. You start seeing your own country with fresh eyes. Some things you appreciate more. Other things become impossible to ignore.

For me it mostly just left me counting down the days until I go back.

September can’t come soon enough.

I’ll be heading back to Japan for a surf scouting trip down in Miyazaki, which has quietly become one of the most interesting surf zones in the country. Warm water, consistent swells, and a coastline that still feels largely undiscovered compared to places like Chiba.

Until then I’ll be here in the suburbs walking the dogs, dodging trash on the street, and thinking about steak over rice, konbini coffee, and crisp Sapporos.

Japan has a way of doing that to you.

Browse opportunities yourself: Check out current listings at Nipponhomes.com

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This content is for informational and educational purposes only and reflects my personal opinions and experience. I am not a licensed financial advisor, tax advisor, or attorney. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and consult qualified professionals before making any investment decisions.

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