Comments by "Jordan, inside-outsider in Japan" (@Jordan-inJapan) on "Life Where I'm From" channel.

  1. A video about clip art, using only clip art for imagery. That’s so meta! But seriously, Irasutoya makes my job as a public teacher in Japan so much easier. We have strict rules about use of copyrighted materials in my office, I basically have to explain where any imagery I use comes from. But with Irasutoya stuff, there’s no need since it has a particular look that everyone recognizes. And yes, I sometimes use it in videos for YouTube too. 🍻
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  2. In rural Japan (at least where I live) the “mizo”, or irrigation-runoff canals are a central part of life for a lot of people. Well, the rice farmers most of all — they clean them out a couple of times a year, constantly adjust water levels, etc — but the surrounding community as well. We feel a kind of responsibility to keep them clean and sometimes report and even remove invasive species that can harm the rice crop. And on hot days kids play in them, and even catch fish and crayfish for fun. (The Cray fish are an invasive specie too, but they don’t hurt the rice so we let them be.😆) In spite of the small amount of upkeep we have to do, I love having the mizo canal next to our house. Except that every time we have heavy rain and it threatens to overflow into our yard & house. That part’s kind of scary. ⛈
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  3. I think this is the reason why you can feel calm and refreshed after a trip to Kyoto, in spite of huge crowds of tourists you often encounter there. For comparison, I always feel pretty exhausted after a trip to Osaka (even though I love the place). I’d never thought about just how much effect the colors etc of an environment affect one’s emotional state, but I guess it makes sense!
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  4. This is so much more interesting to me than than seeing landmarks or flashy shopping districts. It’s just a totally different feeling than the rural part of Japan I live in. (Overall, I think I prefer living in “Inaka”, but I do crave urban stimulation now and then.) Anyway, thanks for the high-quality upload, as usual. Kp! 🍻
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  5. Wow. As someone who lives in Mie prefecture (central Japan), where it doesn’t really snow, it really makes me appreciate how ‘climatically diverse’ this country is. Now, I’m originally from Canada too, and I admit I sometimes miss the snow. But…maybe I should just be content to drive up to Shiga or Gifu for the weekend when I need my fix.
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  6. As a long-term foreign resident of a small town in Japan, my own experience is that people are quite welcoming as long as you make an effort to integrate into the community. This includes joining volunteer duties, local events, and local committees — to the best of your ability. No one cares whether you’ve mastered polite-form Japanese or follow cultural norms perfectly (not even all local people can manage this!). The point is putting in the time and effort. It’s not always easy, but overall my own experience has been great.
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  7. I thought the idea of ‘protecting the company brand’ as a reason for strict workplace fashion rules was interesting. It makes sense. In a group-oriented society like Japan, every member of an organization is suppose to represent it, not only in name but in image and behavior as well. I work for the city as a teacher, and while fashion rules are pretty relaxed (depending on the situation), behavioral rules are strict. Even on days off, teachers and city hall staff are expected to act ‘majime’ — be polite, follow social norms, and general be on good behavior whenever they are in the public eye.
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  8. In my area, we have ‘jichikai’, a kind of neighborhood committee, which handles many of the activities you discussed. For example, we manage the ‘gomi toban’ that way — one household is responsible to maintain and clean the area’s garbage-collection bin (where we take household garbage every day). We also have a garbage cleanup event one every month or so where all members of the community walk around together and pick up trash, etc. And lots more. This is a common system in rural areas, like where is live. It’s kind of a pain sometimes, but the result is we have a strong sense of community, are well-organized, and yes, our streets and parks stay clean.
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  9. I live an hour or so from there, in another castle town: Matsusaka. I was surprised at the similarities! Merchant district, old-style buildings and streets,... our castle doesn’t have a palace though, since it was defensive only. Oh, and we also don’t have a brewery. Yet. Lots of sakura trees and beef restaurants, though. Kp!🍻
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  10. I read a lot of comments about how Japanese products are so much better/cooler/cuter than those from other countries. And I agree, the selection and quality of products here is pretty amazing. I think it all comes down to the fact that most companies around the world are overly focused on the bottom line — a product is selling well, so there’s no need to waste money updating or improving it. Better to keep the product cheaper for the consumer, right? But NOT Japanese companies. Here, companies are focused on making the best product possible. They just trust that consumers are willing to pay a little more for something new and slightly better. Then there is the business culture of “KAIZEN”... the constant striving to improve products and practices. Because…well, that’s the culture.
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  11. Fantastic video, Greg. It’s so great to see these old schools being re-purposed like that. Where I live in central Japan, one of the schools that shut down due to population decline has been repurposed as a training center and gym for aspiring wrestlers — and it’s actually run by the famous Olympian, Yoshida Saori! (She’s from here.)
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  12. High quality as usual, Greg. I’ve always enjoyed wandering around ‘shotengais’, especially the ones in Nagoya and Osaka (the nearest big cities from me). Here in Mie, they’ve been steadily dying since the 90s. BUT, have actually been getting a bit popular again since the pandemic started. My favorite local one (in Yokkaichi) has a craft beer bar that kind of expands out into the street, like a covered biergarten. Well-ventilated, social drinking for the pandemic era! 🍻
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  13. In rural areas in Japan, almost everyone who can drive, drives. I live in ‘semi-rural’ small town Japan, and it’s a bit of a mix. Cars are still popular, but a decent number of people (including myself) use a bike to get around town. It often ends up being quicker than driving, and with gas prices the way they are it just makes sense. For long distance trips, like between cities, trains are generally the popular choice.
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  14. Wow. I never thought I’d say this this, but I think Canada could actually learn from Japan about dealing with snow. That “White Impulse” team was impressive and so Japanese. A perfect example of why Japanese society ‘works’, and is so resistant to disaster, etc.
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  15. That was fantastic, Greg. Really interesting content-wise, and visually gorgeous as well. Actually, I’m watching this video now from a town in the mountains of Mie Prefecture that looks quite a bit like Wazuka. And this region shares a similar situation as well, dealing with an aging population and trying to reinvent themselves for economic survival. (Well, here it’s the forest industry and small-scale farming at the center of this transformation instead of tea.) And the deer and boar situation, too! I think that Wazuka should definitely look into hunting and serving wild game at a local restaurant. It’s actually become a regional tourism draw here. And… I think they probably will need a brewery as well. 😆 As it’s a long-term dream of mine, it’s actually temping to head down there and try opening one myself…it certainly looks like a beautiful area to live!🍻
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  16. When I hear English teachers over here complain about food being ‘expensive’ in Japan, I always laugh. Their problem is…not enough soy products! If you try to recreate the fridge that you remember from your home country, then expect to pay for that luxury. But if you just buy what the locals buy at the supermarket, then food is really reasonable here. (Especially if you live in a rural area like me. I get have of my veggies free or cheap from the local farmers.) Great content, as usual Greg! 🍻
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  17. I thought that part about the internet making it possible for anyone to look up ramen recipes and open up a shop was interesting. I heard that how to make the broth used to be a closely-guarded secret, so you would have to apprentice with a master to learn it. Not necessary today, I guess. There’s actually a ‘ramen espionage’ scene in the old movie, Tanpopo… a movie which I definitely recommend to anyone who’s interested in ramen by the way… especially if you’re also interested in old samurai movies and Westerns. (From the director Itami Juso.)
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  18. Very interesting video. In Mie prefecture, where I live, the deer population is a real problem, especially for the people living in mountain villages (who also tend to be farmers). A family friend of ours is a hunter, and the makes decent money just culling deer (and boar) in local villages. Interestingly, he told me a good portion of the meat actually does get eaten — given away to visitors at a campsite he runs, and also sold to local restaurants that serve “gibier”, or local wild meats. (I think the rules about this may be a LITTLE more relaxed where I live. 😆)
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  19. I’ve been there! (its about 2 hours from where I live) and it really was a cool place. As for why this local tradition has managed to survive, I think Greg put it well when he said that they’ve managed to market their area ‘as a brand’. This approach has been very successful at helping rural areas around Japan survive economically and keep their traditions alive. It’s also one of the things I love about traveling around rural Japan.
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  20. Just to put things in perspective, Japan’s planning isn’t really all that… planned. I mean some planning obviously does happen, regarding transportation lines etc, but I think that’s out of necessity rather than vision on the part of municipal governments or anything like that. Actually, making ANY changes to the layout of cities or towns here is really challenging for historical reasons. A lot places, for example, still have everything oriented around historical castles, resulting in road systems that are a tangled maze of one-way streets. My city. (The only truly “planned” urban areas are those that got bombed to nothing during WW2.) Oh, and that green space you see scattered throughout towns and cities here? Sacred groves surrounding Shinto shrines. Can’t be developed, ever. (Because God’s there.) Japan may have healthier and more ‘livable’ communities than a lot of other places, but the reasons are historical and cultural. We shouldn’t get too much credit on the planning side. 🍻
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  21. Fantastic work, Greg, I liked how you just ‘showed’ what was happening in these people‘s lives, without narrating or trying to lead the story. No music or anything to cover up the sounds and feeling of being there. But I’m a bit jealous…how do you convince people to let you into their private world like this? In my experience, older Japanese people generally don’t want outsiders to see inside. (I get rejected every time I ask someone to let me take video of their life.) Anyway, I’m glad they let you do this!
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  22. That was really interesting, Greg. In my area (central Mie prefecture) it seems like if you drill down deep enough, you can often find an onsen, be you have to pump it up to the surface. (I guess many areas in Japan are like this.?) But nothing like in Beppu, with steam rising up everywhere. How appealing to live somewhere like that…it the winter anyway!
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  23. “This is a pen.” 😂 (English teacher joke.) But seriously, I think if my family ever decides to live outside of Japan (it would be Canada in my case too) we would probably want most of those items as well. Also, one of those fish-grill-oven things that every Japanese kitchen has. (How would I grill eggplant without it??)
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  24. First of all Greg, I’ve never seen you drink that much! I hope you were OK afterwards. 😆 But seriously, I find it really interesting how the sake industry is adapting to keep up with the evolving tastes of consumers. For example, with sparkling sake, and other more wine-like varieties. But my personal area of interest is those traditional sake breweries that have branched off into beer production as well. Shiga-Kogen beer, for example, produced by the historic sake brewery Tamura Honten, makes some of the best craft beer in Japan. And now I’m getting thirsty. 😅
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  25. Greg, seeing glimpses of your family life like this is so interesting for me since we have a lot in common (Canadian-Japanese culturally blended families) but of course differences as well. For one thing, your mother-in-law’s tempura looks a lot like mine’s. (Love those crunchy lotus root slices!) But in my family, I do the cooking because my wife works late, so we don’t usually eat proper Japanese food at home. (Wait…is ‘taco rice’ Japanese?)
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  26. Oh, and one more common Shinto ritual that I have recently, personally experienced: 地鎮祭, — ground breaking and purification ceremony for a new home construction. Follows by a later ceremony where we poured sake over the beams of a house to finalize the 棟上げ or frame construction. Both felt very... familiar, as well as new.
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  27. After listening to Mr. Chart’s explanation of why he chose to naturalize (basically that he strongly felt that Japan was his home) I realized that I actually feel the same way. I’m originally from Canada, and as much as I think it’s a great country, I don’t feel like it’s my home anymore. I’ve somehow, over the past 20+ years I’ve lived here, become culturally Japanese and just feel like this is where I fit. Sure, I know I’ll “never be accepted as Japanese”, but that fact is kind of irrelevant to my self identity. Basically, the reason I don’t formally naturalize is because my two daughters (who are half Japanese and half Canadian) want to try living in Canada in the future, and it has been suggested that my maintaining Canadian citizenship will make that easier for them. Anyway, fantastic work Greg. I will be watching this again with my daughters soon. 🍻
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  28. Thanks to Greg, the list of places I want to visit just got longer. (I could technically do it in day trip from Mie, where I live. But I think I’d have to spend the night, so I could take time to appreciate those onsens. ♨️
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  29. 15:18: “I feel like such an annoying vlogger”. LOL. (I know I know. Feel your pain, bro.)
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  30. So, takeout ramen is actually good!? There’s one place in my area that has a sign up, but I was skeptical. I’ll have to give them a try. Well, I enjoyed the impromptu video... unfortunately so did my daughters and now they’re like, “hey, why can’t we be in one of your videos? Greg’s kids are allows to be is his...”
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  31. Great video on a topic I’m very much interested in. For one thing, there are Shito shrines everywhere around where I live (not far from Ise Jingu), but none of my Japanese friends seem to know much about it. And I guess this is part of what really interests me... the way Shinto as a way of thought/life is just woven into Japanese culture so tightly that it can become almost invisible to those inside that culture.
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  32. I love places like this. There’s a bar that’s pretty similar to this one on the way to my local train station, which is always tempting after work. It’s a really great way to get to know the locals, especially since people tend to be more open and talkative when they been drinking a bit. (I should mention that it really helps to have a decent level of Japanese places like this, since it’s unlikely anyone will be able to speak English… at least in a small town like where I live!)
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  33. Amazing work as usual, Greg. That part about Okinawa being a rare place in Japan that isn’t ‘ruled by the clock’ really rang true. I especially noticed that feeling of a different relationship with time in the Yaeyama Islands. On Ishigaki Island (my family’s favorite vacation spot) I remember being initially amused-annoyed by just how slow everyone drove — consistently under the speed limit. But then when I was back in my hometown in central Japan I felt myself lamenting the increase in speed of traffic…and life.
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  34. This is by far the best video on Christmas and New Years in Japan I’ve seen so far. As a fellow Canadian who’s lived in Japan for over 20 years now, I can vouch that everything in here fits my own experience. (Coincidentally, I recently uploaded a video with the SAME title, but then thought, “wait, that’s what Greg would name it”, and so I changed the title, knowing my own shallow content couldn’t compete with whatever masterpiece Greg was eventually going to come up with on the topic. And here it is…) Thanks for what you do, man. 🍻
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  35. Greg, your self-effacing Canadian sense of humor is so refreshing. Thanks for another great video!! 🍻
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  36. Absolutely fascinating. I will definitely be watching this with my 2 daughters (both half Japanese) later. Well, I’m not finished watching the whole documentary yet, but I can already say, “excellent work, Greg!” (And will undoubtedly comment in more detail once I’ve had time to watch the whole thing and digest everything.)
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  37. Wow, so much amazing scenery in this I don’t even know where to start commenting. Shikoku is just gorgeous. (And Greg’s camera lenses keep getting better!)
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  38. Beautiful work, as usual Greg. I’ve lived in a Japanese small town for the past 15 years. But I guess that “small“ is relative. My own town is centred around a hub station, so it’s quite convenient to live in since we can get to a city easily when necessary. But it’s surrounded by about five other “real“ small towns, that look a bit more like the one in this video. And likewise, they have been steadily emptying out over the past 30 years…which is probably the reason why my own town has been getting bigger. Anyway, experience living here has been wonderful.
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  39. "Filming for YouTube has it's privileges." Well, it helps if you have a million or so subscribers. (I've tried to play that card, and failed.) :-D
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  40. 4:31 “…there’ll be huge pressure to conform to the neighborhood standards.” I think that applies to most neighborhoods in Japan. Just the standards are different…
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  41. Even in Tokyo, “a couple of toilets were Graffitied and vandalized”….probably by some Canadian! 😓 😆 But seriously, the high standards for public restrooms here (not to mention Japanese people’s respect for public spaces) is something I really appreciate about living here.
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  42. Agreed!
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  43.  @monicapetitebonita218  socializing doesn’t have to be a constant, full-on thing. Just be polite, and join scheduled local activities when you can. You can step up when you’re ready to.
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  44. I think it comes down to this: it’s slightly more expensive to make a lighter, but still-well-insulated thermos. American companies (or those in most other countries) just see the bottom line and think it’s better to make a little more profit or else make the product a little cheaper for consumers. Japanese companies, on the other hand, are focused on making the BEST product possible. They just trust that consumers are willing to pay a little more for something new and slightly better.
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  45. Before the video: I don’t think I have time to watch the whole thing. One hour later… (still watching.) Epic work, Greg!
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  46. Great video, on an important topic. Like you Greg, I’m cautiously optimistic about the direction things are taking here in Japan. We’ve definitely seen progress over the last 10 years, but is it enough? In my city in central Japan, we are only allowed to put clean, dry, clearly-marked high grade plastics in “pla-gomi”. Anything messy goes into to “combustible garbage”, where it is burned for energy. Oh, and something I thought was funny: プラ(PLA) gets auto-transcribed as “Buddha” by YouTube. 😆
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  47. @ yeah I’ve heard all of this, but it hasn’t been my personal experience. Sure, in-group-out-group bias is a thing (it is everywhere). But it’s really just a matter of continuing a shared activity until you become part of the group. It will happen eventually. And it doesn’t have to be limited to community weeding or the local fire brigade. Join a taiko drum group, hiking club, or classes at a local community center like cooking or karate or something. (Or if you have kids, join PTA, etc.). I know, we don’t all have unlimited free time… But if it’s important to you, this is what works. From my experience. 頑張って！
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  48.  @mindstalk  agree totally. We don’t have many bike lanes, etc. where I live, so to compensate for that, drivers give priority (and lots of space) to cyclists. In the morning there are school kids weaving all over the roads, but I’ve never heard of a serious accident.
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  49.  @Nuvendil  Well, also remember that Japan is a society that values the good of the group/community over that of the individual. So even without strict government rules or guidelines, individuals are expected to make decisions along these lines, and not behave in a selfish or socially reckless manner. Hence we tend to just naturally end up with tightly-knit livable and functional communities. (Most of the time.) Oh, one more point I just thought of is that a lot of that organic growth that shaped modern Japanese cities and towns actually took place in the pre-automobile age. So yeah, a lot of places are easier to get around on food or by bike. Again no planning required!
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  50. Maya DK well actually... I’m a Japan YouTuber too, and “abandoned-school-turned-wrestling-gym” WAS on my list of projects that I wanted to make. But after watching THIS video I don’t know...Greg is a tough act to follow.
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