Seven Ways Japan Changed My Life
It’s funny when strangers tell us things that continue to reverberate years later.
Towards the end of 2010, I was about to leave for Japan, with the intention of living there for at least 2 years. One sunny Saturday prior to my move, I posted up in front of the duplex where I lived with my friend Naoko in South Austin to have a good old-fashioned yard sale.
I can’t remember much about the yard sale itself, what I sold, or if I made any money. But I have a crystal clear memory of a short conversation that I had with a complete stranger. This gal was about a generation older than me, and I’d never seen her before or afterwards. Not a serious buyer, she was just making a detour from her morning walk to check out my yard sale with a sense of curiosity or perhaps just neighborly friendliness.
“Are you getting ready to move?” she asked as a way of kicking off polite conversation. I told her that indeed I had just graduated with my chef’s certificate from the Natural Epicurean, a holistic culinary school a couple blocks away, and that I was getting ready to move to Japan.
“Well, come back and share with us what all you learn,” she replied earnestly.
That unassuming request from a complete stranger sparked something in me that still sticks with me today.
She said it in such a way that conveyed she already knew how formative this journey to Japan would be in all the ways that my 26-year-old self hadn’t yet fully understood, but that I now have profound appreciation for.
Here are 7 of the ways that Japan would change me forever:
1. I would be immersed in a food culture that has standards of quality and a caliber of care that I’d never experienced prior...
That I would be treated as a member of the Atsusaka family and play a vital role in preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. That they would welcome me to join them on communal foraging expeditions and along to feast-like gatherings in the countryside of Mount Fuji.
2. while living with the Atsusaka’s, I would experience for the first time in my life what it was like to eat every meal together - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - everyday at a properly set table...
Never one to relish in routines, this was the biggest adjustment for me. But it was precisely because I took part in the Atsusaka’s routines for months on end that I became more subtly aware of the novel moments present in each day and at every meal. I came to view meals as an thrice-daily opportunity to engage in the process of creation, to nourish my body, to delight my senses, to express gratitude, and to connect with loved ones.
3. the very first grab-n-go meal that I picked up while traveling from Tokyo to Izu would be a bento box from the train station that completely rocked my world...
Upon taking the first bite, I can recall the voice inside my head acknowledging, “Woah, this is really special,” and instinctively slowing down my breathing and chewing so as to savor every subsequent bite.
4. I would take on Washoku as a challenge and quickly become a devotee...
At first I was just curious if I even could include 5 colors, 5 tastes & 5 techniques in every meal. I soon realized that Washoku not only made cooking more creatively satisfying, but that it also consistently yielded the elusive objective I’d been pursuing in my craft: How to make nourishing meals that also taste really good!
5. my abilities and creativity would flourish as a result of Washoku...
That my confidence as a cook and a chef would grow, and that my executive functioning and time management would increase across the board as I became more and more proficient in the kitchen.
6. by living and cooking in Japan I’d become more in tune with nature...
I’d become more intuitive about ways to adapt recipes for each season, and feel more inspired to make the most of whatever ingredients happen to be available.
7. And I would absolutely want to share my what I learned, not out of a sense of obligation, but because I was so inspired... And that would lead to the labor of love that is BENTO PICNIC.
Click here to delve even deeper into the story of BENTO PICNIC.