Unique Japan

It’s almost 90 degrees outside. Summer is definitely here, devouring every inch of the concrete jungle we know as Tokyo. Even though it’s scorching hot outside, I still like summer time. It’s a time when we can enjoy long hours of daylight. It’s no secret that we all like the big fireworks. And most of all, we don’t need any excuse to eat more ice-cream or shaved ice. Summer brings back a lot of good memories for me. One in particular is the radio exercise.

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June has arrived. The air is warming up in front of our eyes. You can definitely feel summer is on its way. Some of you are already mapping your entire summer vacation now that the final semester has ended. Others might be picking out the perfect bride’s dress for a beautiful June wedding. Yes, there is a lot happening in June. But let’s not forget Father’s Day.

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This past Friday, one of my closest friends from high school had a wedding. Even though western style weddings (Meaning wearing the white wedding gown and having a ceremony at a cute chapel or hotel, etc. It has nothing to do with the Wild West.) is extremely popular among our generation, my friend decided to wear a kimono and a wig at her Japanese style wedding. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the ceremony, but for those of you who are not familiar with Japanese style weddings, the following is how a typical ceremony proceeds.

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What sort of traits come to your mind when you think of Japanese people? Polite, reserved, detail-oriented, serious, perfectionist, nerd? How about hard working? Well, let me rephrase it: workaholics? Yes, Japanese people are known as workaholics. Subways at seven in the evening are filled, not with people going home, but with those heading back to their offices. Workers become restless around midnight when trains stop running for the night. Fortunately, some large corporations offer cab coupons for employees who miss the last train. So what do these workaholics do when they’re not working for 16 days?

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It’s pretty exciting to think that this is the first Mother’s Day that I can celebrate as a mother. What a life changing moment it is to go through the long excruciating pain and seeing your child for the first time. Without mothers none of us would be here. It’s one of the most rewarding and exciting things we can do as humans. That’s why I would like to share what it was like for me to become a mother in Japan.

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There is something very special about the Japanese Sakura.  Coming from Montreal, I liken it to our yearly Jazz Festival.  It’s a spectacle.  A two-week long performance that hits the streets with impeccable timing.  It seems to roll in just in time, giving the country a much-deserved boost of energy and joy.
And unlike ever before Japan could sure use something to cheer about.

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