Living in Japan, 7

Foreword

The first step

One time after an extended stay in Japan. I went back home for a stay and somehow got into a discussion with a fellow American about Japan. He seemed q u i t e disappointed to leam that there are no samurai. no ninja. and very few geisha girls walking the streets. But Japan is actually much morę interesting than what he had imagined.

If vou're just getting off the piane, get ready to experience a long list of firsts. Your first Japanese house, your first rush-hour train. your first Japanese room. your first bowl of fermented beans, your first day of grocery shopping. your first Japanese bath. your first sumo match. The list is endless. And while sonie things you will choose to experience over and over, other things you will think once is enough.

A year after I first arrived in Japan. I knew everything there was to know. 1 could have answered all your questions with great detail. But now I know very little about Japan. and what you may think is a basie question will leave me with a puzzled look on my face. Japan is so Western and so Japanese. so traditional and so modern, so advanced and so baekwards. This makes it a very difficult country to understand and describe — an enigma within an enigma.

Having lived in Japan for some 15 years. Tm often asked for advice by newcomers about how to survive and enjoy their stay. Perhaps the best advice I can give is to try to experience Japan without trying to describe it. So instead of trying to help you understand Japan through words. this book will simply give you enough information to take your first step towards experiencing Japan.

Andy D. Para February. 2001 Tokyo.Japan