My First Week in Japan

Sophie Lodge

I have just finished my 17th day living and working in Japan. It’s busy, it’s hot, it’s a culture shock, but it’s an adventure.

Arriving at the end of July, I have managed to plonk myself right in the middle of the hottest season in Japan, and let me tell you; it is bloody hot. I’m not talking forty degrees in Europe hot (where there’s usually a cold breeze and it always cools down at night), I am talking thirty five degrees in Asia hot. The humidity is always above 70% and it will only cool down when we get to October.

While I’m having to get used to feeling like a steamed vegetable every time I walk outside, watching beautiful, vivid sunsets every night as I cycle home from work makes up for it somewhat.


But what else comes with hot, hot weather? Insects. And lots of them. While some are really beautiful like butterflies the size of your hand, so far we’ve had both live and dead maggots in apartment, as well as baby cockroaches. On the way back from my first visit to the supermarket I got bitten by something that gave me what my friends’ dubbed as a third nipple.

The next weekend, in one ten minute trip to a local shrine alone, I was bitten thirteen times by mosquitoes, twelve of these were between the cuff of my trousers and my shoes. This led to very swollen ankles.

There are some incredible places I have had the pleasure of visiting since I arrived though, and this insect infested shrine was definitely one of them.



Little secret places like this are dotted all over every city in Japan, and each time it feels are though you are discovering somewhere magical that only exists for a few moments. It’s just you, the shrine and a hell of a lot of insects.

I’ve also been lucky enough to meet some of the most welcoming people I could have asked for. Many of my students have visited the UK at some point and they all say the English are very similar to the Japanese in their personalities; both nationalities are on the whole polite and respectful to anyone they meet. However I feel the Japanese people have given me a warmer welcome than I would ever have received in the UK. Maybe it’s because foreigners are so rare in this part of the country (I have seen one other non-Asian since I arrived of whom I have no connection with), but I feel very lucky to have been given the reception I have. I have been invited to events by people who have not met me, I have been given homemade lunches and fresh fruit, and people I have met briefly have asked to give me my own tour of the area.

Last week I was lucky enough to get to try on a yukata (a summer kimono) at an event for foreign women at a local cultural centre. It cost less than £2 to have the yuakata expertly tied and knotted on to me, to learn traditional obon dance routines and meet some of the sweetest old ladies I have ever met.

While I have only been here a short time, I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to travel around such a magnificent country, and I hope I can inspire more people to visit this extraordinary land.

Just remember to bring mosquito repellent.



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