My Three Years in Japan by Eve Petersen
Growing up, my dad installed a love of Japan in me. It started off by watching Japanese movies, then it evolved into a love for their culture of respect and a slight obsession with their delicious food. My first time going to Japan was with my father. Using our local Travel Advisor, he booked a tour with G Adventures for a ten day adventure in Japan. I had hoped that ten days in Japan was enough to fill my craving, instead it created even more longing to go back and experience more of Japan.
My second time in Japan I was in college. I had been studying Japanese for a year at that point and could confidently greet people and say “I ate sushi.” I was trying to find a cheap activity for spring break and flights to Japan were on sale. That’s a sentence I wish I could still say. I found a cheap airbnb in the heart of Tokyo and spent a week deep diving into the city’s lesser known areas. My airbnb hosts were a lovely elderly couple who delighted in having family meals every night with their guests and I loved the ability to dive deeper into Japanese culture, while getting to use my few Japanese phrases with them.
My third time in Japan was after university. I wanted to see the world and oh boy was the world calling out to me. Freshly graduated me was stressing about the fact that I would most likely be stuck to a mere ten vacation days a year for the rest of my life. In order to counter this, I decided to go backpacking. What was originally envisioned as a small trip ended up evolving into a five month backpacking trip around South East Asia and Japan. During my time in Japan, I would spend two nights in a big city to experience the variety that Japan has to offer and then I would have a two week host family stay on a farm. I craved the ability to properly experience Japanese culture and had realized that hitting the major tourist sites in big cities wasn’t the way to do it. During that trip I met people who would change my life and many I still hold very dear to me. This was the trip when Japanese started saying I’ve explored more of Japan than them. Yamaguchi, Yakushima, Kobe, and Wakayama were some of the beaten path places that I was able to deep dive into.
About two years after that trip I was living in Thailand, working on a small island as a SCUBA diving instructor. My idea to just travel for five months had failed and I had permanently moved abroad. I absolutely loved my time in Thailand, but my visa was coming to an end and I was still craving to see more of the world. One day on Facebook I saw a post from an owner of a Guest House I had stayed at in Sapporo, Japan, two years before. He was looking for a new manager of one of his Guest Houses and was willing to sponsor a visa. Given that my visa was running out in Thailand, the timing couldn’t have been better. After an intense interview process that included making a two minute video about myself that could be as abstract or serious as I wanted and a week working in Japan, I got the job. I was beside myself with happiness, but also realized I had forgotten any of my Japanese that I learned during my year in University.
The start date of my job was postponed by six months rather last second. I had already packed up my bags in Thailand and was a week away from leaving the country. I desperately tried to decide what I could possibly do for six months and eventually landed on volunteering on farms again. That had been a very happy time in my life and I could definitely use the Japanese practice. I spent my days working some very unique jobs and my evenings and nights were spent madly studying Japanese and practicing every chance I got.
Finally, it was time to start my dream job in Japan. I arrived in Sapporo in April of 2019, still a complete beginner at Japanese, but with a fire in my heart. Initially I stayed at my Guest House until I was able to find my own apartment. The Guest House I spent the majority of my time at, Waya, was a guest house for world travelers. We had hostel dorm rooms upstairs and a separate annex building with private rooms for those wanting a more private, calm experience. Across town we had Yuyu. Yuyu was serene, always perfectly clean with the idea of targeting female travelers who were taking their first solo trip and wanted a more secure location. Otaru tap house had just opened in the nearby town of Otaru, offering a more adult stay with local and foreign beers on tap. While I was there we opened three more locations, all private for either couples or family who wanted more of an apartment experience.
Being at Waya, which means wow in Hokkaido slang, was the experience of a lifetime. We had volunteers whom we called helpers stay with us. At any given time we would have two to six helpers who came from all over the world. Waya had a “shared lounge” on its first floor. In the shared lounge, guests would get their first exposure to Waya. They would check in to Waya and get shown to their rooms. We served some basic drinks, including a beer on tap, and snacks. The shared lounge had near nightly events which both locals and tourists were invited to. It let foreigners speak with locals and experience a side of Japan they might otherwise not experience while allowing locals a way to connect with new people which can be incredibly difficult in Japan. The owners’ main focus was to build community and help fight the loneliness epidemic in Japan.
My job description was vast. Depending on the amount of helpers we had, I would start the day off by helping clean the guest house. I would reply to all reservation emails and work on creating and bettering our connections with online booking suppliers. For lunch and dinner I would cook for the helpers and myself, which was eventually expanded out to guests as well. I created and managed our nightly events. A large part of my job was helping both Japanese and foreigners with planning their trips. I came to know Sapporo like the back of my hand, but I also spent plenty of time helping plan their trips to other parts of Japan. If there was a task you can imagine, I did it.
The first few months I studied Japanese like crazy, met wonderful friends, and tried to explore my new country as much as I could. I was equally in love with life and beyond stressed by how much I was taking on. I found a cute studio apartment only a five minute walk from work and with easy access to the heart of Sapporo. I spent my days off having barbeques at the river, studying Japanese in cafes and singing far too much karaoke. The remainder of 2019 flew by and is a very fond time of my life.
Sadly, we all know what happened in 2020. Japan shut down before the USA. We started social isolating, people stopped traveling, we masked up and tried to be extra clean. Our inflow of clients dried up and none of us were sure what to do. Eventually, the government stepped in to help keep us afloat. I spent the early pandemic days in nature, cleaning our properties, and resting in my apartment. Unlike the US, Japan returned to normal life fairly early on. We were allowed to live out our normal lives, with emphasis on being clean while doing so. Japan knows how to be clean like no other, so that was hardly an issue.
During this time, I took advantage of my lack of hours at work and explored as much as I could. Hokkaido and Sapporo became my playground. Sapporo allows one to do anything they would want to in a big city, all with nature being a stone’s throw away. From scenic hikes, horseback riding and kayaking, to art museums and karaoke, I explored and experienced all that I could. Sapporo will forever hold my heart and it is a place I greatly wish people would go to more often.
Slowly, restrictions were lifted. We gained the occasional guest for Waya and events started up again. English night ended up being one of our most popular events as people wanted to practice their English abilities before traveling again once covid ended. Life returned to normal and as life returned to normal, I planned my next adventure. I found a new job in the Caribbean and left Japan behind. Japan will always hold a special place in my heart. Even just five minutes after I left I already started to plan my text trip to Japan.