I’ve Gained Access to a Hidden, Wonderful Side of Japan
And it has nothing to do with Tokyo, anime, or ancient temples
Many weeaboos (anime fanatics) travel to Japan or move there to work as English teachers, often in a failed search for the fantasy worlds that captivated them on their TV screens back home. For many others, including myself, images of Japan’s extremes come to mind: meditating monks in Kyoto and suited salarymen in Tokyo.
There is a reality to these stereotypes.
Japan’s incredible independent movie industry, which produces masterpieces like Departures and Drive My Car, is often overshadowed by the starry-eyed anime artists who draw their fantasy after fantasy — enticing more disgruntled youth (not just in Japan but around the world) to join them in the escape to the make-believe rather than contend with the adventure of real life.
As for Japan’s extremes, each side has its pros and cons. Tokyo is a productive international hub, but also a brain drain on the rest of the country, and its work culture is infamously cold. Kyoto has World Heritage-level beauty, but the Japanese also know the city for its elitism, stubbornness, and insularity.
