New Years Eve

We had another large meal at the Ryokan for breakfast then headed to Atsu's house to celebrate New Years. Atsu works in a family business and his offices are on the first floor while the living quarters are on the second. It seems that everyone I've visited in Japan so far has a non-typical living situation. I have not encountered the legendary 狭い(semai; narrow) living space. Atsu had cleaned out an entire room for myself and other guests arriving later to stay in. I really appreciate the effort that was put into preparing for everyone to visit! I don't know what the room looked like before but I guarantee it wasn't empty 😅

Between the hallways, living room, and this guest room there was a little outdoor garden. It is winter so the was not a ton of flourishing plants but it was really cool to see something like that especially on the second floor. The center garden is one of my favorite pieces of Japanese architecture design. I've seen many pictures of houses where near the center there are trees and greenery to be observed as you traverse your house. I like how it creates scenic views not just on walls facing the exterior of the house, but also walls facing the interior. I have a small garden on my balcony at my apartment but it's off in the corner of the aparntment where it's an active effort to go view and check on it. If I had the choice, I would integrate this type of Japanese central garden into my future home if possible!

Having the center garden also meant that from other rooms people could see into the room I was staying in. Since I hadn't met anyone yet it felt a bit like I was an animal a zoo 😂 Special Limited Exhibit: 白人. Dinner was being prepared and most of Atsu's family was in the living room. This was my first time being welcomed into a Japanese family's home so I was extra on edge regarding how I should act or what I should say. I get nervous is social situations around new people alot and meeting someone's family amplifies it! However, once I did get to meet them, every single person was very nice. Atsu's uncle greeted me with his one trusty english phrase and we celebrated my comprehension of what he said 🎉

One example of contstant social anxiety in Japanes for myself is choosing which formality to use. Everyone in Atsu's family was using casual speech which is to be expected when with family. However, I was very uncertain on whether I should also be using casual or formal speech. I worried that formal speech might sound too stuffy. Atsu's uncle was even using the word "omae" to refer to people which I've only ever heard in anime and is super casual and blunt. So, I ended up switching to casual pretty fast. I'm not sure if I was supossed to but I just did what I felt was right! I suppose since I've been invited to their New Years it might be rude to keep the emotional distance similar to if I were constantly using sir or mam in English.

The food was amazing and honestly better than anything I had eaten up until this point in the trip. The sashimi was much fresher than the sushi restaurants in Tokyo and the octopus was much softer and tastier than the octopus I had eaten at the Osakan takoyaki places. I was suprised about the sheer amount of food! There was so much declious food! This was a continuous trend of new years.

Atsu's family asked me some questions about American culture and trivia such as what do they call a corn dog in english 😆 In Japanese, a corn dog is called an "American dog" which I did not know until I started studying Japanese. Similarly, what we english speakers call French Fries is simpled Fried Potatoes in Japanese. It's interesting how a separate country can relate a food to your own country without you even being aware! They also asked me why a hot dog is called a hot dog. Lots of questions I had not thought about before. I think that for future visits I need to research my American trivia so I can answer these hard-hitting questions about English and American culture.

They also asked me how people in America play rock, paper, scissors. In Japanese games, it's called Roshambo most the time so I thought that would be what it's called in Japanese. However, I was wrong and apparently that's an American colloquialization. Attached is a video of everyone showing me the ropes in Japanese rock, paper, scissors and how to handle ties. This was a very wholesome and kind moment really made me feel welcomed 🥺 Atsu really has a great family and again I appreciate their hospitality more than they could possibly understand!Read more