How to Continue Your Hobbies in Japan
Back in the UK, I didn’t think of myself as having all that many hobbies, but after moving to Japan and realising that I wasn’t able to do most of those things anymore, made me realise just how important hobbies are to a happy, fulfilled life!
The hobbies I really struggled to continue here were;
- Making things (anything!)
- Reading novels/books
- Drawing
- Hanging out with friends
- Going to the cinema
These all sound like normal things that should be easy anywhere. Except when I moved to Japan, I didn’t live in a big city like Tokyo for the first year — I actually lived in the countryside in Ibaraki Prefecture. This meant that there weren’t many shops, wasn’t really anything in English and my Japanese wasn’t great either, meaning looking for any opportunity to meet friends and/or go to the cinema were very difficult.
Here’s a bit about how I overcame my difficulties in finding places to continue my hobbies and any tips for anyone moving to Japan. It is still possible to do these things even in a foreign country!
- Making things
I’m a pretty creative person and I love love love making things, anything to be precise! Back in the UK, I was making silver jewellery and doing some woodwork. Moving to Japan with no tools, no machinery and nowhere to work pretty much made that impossible.
I didn’t realise how much I actually craved making things and how frustrated and sad I got when I couldn’t do it. I was looking for ways to make anything and came across a shop called Craft Hear Tokai which I think is only in the countryside, but a good recommendation for anyone not based in a major city. That shop didn’t have any silver or jewellery-making supplies, but I settled for some cross-stitch and sewing projects.
In Tokyo and any major city, there will likely be a store called Tokyu Hands and they pretty much sell anything you could wish for — silver included! I was able to buy tools and materials for jewellery making and also wood for other DIY projects around the home.
The only issue now was… where could I go to make anything?!
I googled around and found a couple of options in Tokyo. The first one was a place I found in Ginza called Metal Hearts (http://www.metalhearts.net/). At that time my Japanese was incredibly limited but I managed to book a space to go and work there (it’s a bench rental system) and they showed me around. The actual space is pretty small and I found it a bit difficult to find the tools and equipment I needed as I didn’t really get any kind of induction. With my Japanese level being low and feeling a bit uncomfortable and nervous, I didn’t end up going back there.
A year or so later, I found a place called Maker’s Base in Toritsu Daigaku in Tokyo (https://makers-base.com/). I was able to join an induction session which is basically a tour of the facilities and instructions of what to do if you’d like to use that space with no obligations for signing up. It was all in Japanese but wasn’t impossible to understand.
The training sessions in the metal workshop were another thing though. I signed up and went along for one in the jewellery studio. I studied jewellery making and silversmithing at uni so I basically knew everything she was telling me even if I couldn’t understand every word. However, they weren’t convinced that I understood and couldn’t sign me off for using the space independently due to safety. Therefore, I had to get a Japanese speaker to come with me and translate — luckily I had someone I could ask!
So a word of warning — if you’re Japanese isn’t great, just take someone along who can help you, just in case as they feel you need it.
Maker’s Base is an amazing place with multiple floors with different specialities on each. You can also go there to do workshops too if there’s something specific you want to make/do. All in Japanese though!
Recommended shops:
Tokyu Hands, Craft Heart Tokai, Loft (for stationary), Sekaido (世界堂) (Stationary, art supplies, Yuzakaya (ユザワヤ)(Fabric, sewing supplies).
2. Reading novels/books
I’ve always been a reader but have stuck to physical books rather than electric ones. Coming to Japan meant not only could I not bring any books with me (they’re heavy and cumbersome), but I also couldn’t really buy any English books here. I always look (and even do now) for English books but it can be tough if you’re looking in the wrong place. Tokyo has a better selection but still very limited in comparison to home.
One day I came across a Kinokuniya in Shinjuku (New South Exit from the station) that is a purely English book store here:
They have many kids books (if you’re a kids English teacher), Japanese study books, magazines and fiction/non-fiction books too! Life-saver.
I also adapted to reading Kindle books too and despite feeling like I was betraying my love for physical books, I’ve been converted and now read more electronic books than physical ones!
3. Drawing
This one was a bit tough in the countryside due to not really being able to buy good art supplies, but Tokyu Hands in Tokyo was great for this.
Plus, Japan is full of beautiful places and parks to go to to draw! I often head to the park and do a bit of sketching, but be warned, mosquitoes come out in the afternoon in summer and bite the hell out of you — be prepared!
4. Hanging out with friends
If you’ve ever lived outside of the main cities in Japan, you will have realised that most people do not speak a lick of English and most of the younger people in the area will have moved to a bigger city to work (people used to commute 2 hours to Tokyo from where I was living!) so making friends is tricky. Even in Tokyo, it can be a bit difficult, but there are apps such as Meetup which you can use to go to events and meet people.
I’d recommend getting on Meetup and some Facebook groups. For the ladies, there is a Girl Gone International Tokyo which is great for meeting other girls and everyone is pretty much in the same boat so it’s nice to make friends that way — sorry boys, girls only!
5. Going to the cinema
I used to go to the cinema every week in the UK for Orange Wednesdays (if anyone remembers those!) and I really missed going. The closest cinema to me when I lived in Ibaraki was a good 30/40 minutes drive away! They didn’t always have every foreign film on and watching Japanese films then was pointless as my language level was far too low!
In Tokyo, there is a good selection of cinemas, my favourites being Toho, Humax and Grand Cinema Sunshine in Ikebukuro. They all show English/Western movies, plus Japanese ones. You can even book tickets online!
However, when you’re booking a ticket online, if you’re using a Japanese only website and want to watch a movie in English, look for the (字) kanji next to the title. It means that it will be subtitled in Japanese and still be the original, English version. I’ve made this mistake before and it’s not all that fun!
One thing that is a little disappointing is that movies here come out a good 6 months after in the West, so make sure you look up the Japanese release date, not the one back home!
Conclusion
Continuing your normal life is really quite important even when you’ve moved to a different country and I want to show you that you CAN continue them even in a country as different as Japan. There will be language barriers no doubt but with a little research and perseverance, it can be done.
I had to compromise a bit with the kinds of things I did in the beginning and had a bit of trial and error, but there’ll always be people you can ask and advise you can get from people (Facebook has been a godsend for advice at times!).
Of course, everyone’s hobbies are different, but from my experience so far, you can find nearly antthing here if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, so good luck!
Good luck, and don’t give up!
