Homeland

I visited my home country, Japan for the first time since 2019 after the pandemic in June 2023. I have never been away for so long, so I was kind of wondering how I would feel.

It has been four years since the last time I was in Japan. Things have changed so much. It’s so efficient and organized everywhere in Tokyo. I feel like a bumpkin. As soon as I arrived at the airport, I remembered this polite and formal culture. It’s so collective here. I knew as soon as I arrived, I would switch on to be a Japanese/Asian person. Maybe it was the jetlag, but I had to put on layers and layers of politeness. I just became that way; just obeying; yes, yes, everything is yes. I know I must respond with a smiley face, but it was hard to do after being awake for 24 hours with a jet lag.

One day, I was at a clothing store, and I didn’t know how to make a payment at the cashier because it was self-service. Everywhere is self-service. They had a system with a shopping basket where you put your clothes in the basket, and then you place the basket with the clothes in it on a counter, and your entire list of items will show up on the screen. There is no scanning involved. I had to ask somebody what to do, and I was so ashamed! I needed the pants hemmed, which is free and done in one hour. This is Japan, world class. The service is way more thorough than in Canada.

I went to the grocery store with my mom. I got a cabbage bigger than my head for $2. The vegetables are so cheap in Tokyo. In Victoria, the same size of a cabbage would cost $10 easy in Canadian dollar, and it isn’t even the same quality. Canada has so much inflation, and I was feeling that it is unfair for all of us. Living in Victoria is so expensive. In Japan, they give you top service without asking you to tip 20-30%. I feel very emotional that the cost of basic things such as affordable grocery and medical services are unreachable.

I love Canada, but I am very concerned about the living cost and medical services unavailability would be a problem sooner or later, then I’d have to consider moving back to Japan if I cannot survive in Canada.