Many
anime fans, entranced by that nation's animation, J-rock and manga, feel
Japan is the ultimate source of everything good and wish they could live
there. Three Americans responded to that wish by telling fans about their
lives in Japan. From left to right they're animator Jan Scott Frazier, Evan
Miller, who participated in the JET teaching program, and artist Steve Bennett.
These people told fans that it's possible to live out the dream of life in
Japan, but it takes some adjustment to the language barrier, the expense
and the different way of life. If there's a big advantage to life in Japan
it's the low cost of health care, the panelists said. Japan has universal
health coverage, so a procedure that would be expensive in the U.S. is all
but completely covered in Japan.
The
changes start with the toilets. A few homes and many hotels have western-style
toilets, but the standard in Japan is a toilet set in the flood that requires
the user to squat while relieving himself. If you have a car, there's no
such thing as on-street parking. Crowded Japan requires its motorists to
have a place to park their cars, and those spaces cost $100-400 per month,
more than typical downtown garage parking in most U.S. cities. If parking
is that expensive, how much does living cost? A lot, said the panelists.
Frazier said an eight slice loaf of bread is $3, and prize melons are priced
in the hundreds of dollars. Apartment are measured by the number of tatami
mats that fit on the floor: a small "two-mat" flat costs $600 per month,
not including deposits. At least there's cheap food, but "You can't live
on ramen because you'll get a vitamin deficiency and pass out and dislocate
your shoulder," Frazier said. "That happened to me."
And
the greatest irony of life in Japan for an anime fan is that anime is far
more costly in Japan than in the U'S. If you double the price of DVD's and
CD's, that's about the typical cost in Japan. The higher price is one of
the reasons for DVD region coding, to discourage the reimporting of less-expensive
American discs to Japan. If parking is that expensive, how much does living
cost? A lot, said the panelists. Frazier said an eight slice loaf of bread
is $3, and prize melons are priced in the hundreds of dollars. Apartments
are measured by the number of tatami mats that fit on the floor: a small
"two-mat" flat costs $600 per month, not including deposits. Then, to have
a chance of fitting in if you want a long-term in Japan, you'll have to learn
the language. Japanese has confounded English-speakers for centuries, and
the panelists said it takes years to be even moderately able to converse
in that language.
Many
anime fans, entranced by that nation's animation, J-rock and manga, feel
Japan is the ultimate source of everything good and wish they could live
there. Three Americans responded to that wish by telling fans about their
lives in Japan. From left to right they're animator Jan Scott Frazier, Evan
Miller, who participated in the JET teaching program, and artist Steve Bennett.
These people told fans that it's possible to live out the dream of life in
Japan, but it takes some adjustment to the language barrier, the expense
and the different way of life. If there's a big advantage to life in Japan
it's the low cost of health care, the panelists said. Japan has universal
health coverage, so a procedure that would be expensive in the U.S. is all
but completely covered in Japan.
The
changes start with the toilets. A few homes and many hotels have western-style
toilets, but the standard in Japan is a toilet set in the flood that requires
the user to squat while relieving himself. If you have a car, there's no
such thing as on-street parking. Crowded Japan requires its motorists to
have a place to park their cars, and those spaces cost $100-400 per month,
more than typical downtown garage parking in most U.S. cities. If parking
is that expensive, how much does living cost? A lot, said the panelists.
Frazier said an eight slice loaf of bread is $3, and prize melons are priced
in the hundreds of dollars. Apartment are measured by the number of tatami
mats that fit on the floor: a small "two-mat" flat costs $600 per month,
not including deposits. At least there's cheap food, but "You can't live
on ramen because you'll get a vitamin deficiency and pass out and dislocate
your shoulder," Frazier said. "That happened to me."
And
the greatest irony of life in Japan for an anime fan is that anime is far
more costly in Japan than in the U'S. If you double the price of DVD's and
CD's, that's about the typical cost in Japan. The higher price is one of
the reasons for DVD region coding, to discourage the reimporting of less-expensive
American discs to Japan. If parking is that expensive, how much does living
cost? A lot, said the panelists. Frazier said an eight slice loaf of bread
is $3, and prize melons are priced in the hundreds of dollars. Apartments
are measured by the number of tatami mats that fit on the floor: a small
"two-mat" flat costs $600 per month, not including deposits. Then, to have
a chance of fitting in if you want a long-term in Japan, you'll have to learn
the language. Japanese has confounded English-speakers for centuries, and
the panelists said it takes years to be even moderately able to converse
in that language.
