Big in America
It is easy to be big in Japan, because everything tends to be on the small side. But whether big is good or not I’m not so sure anymore.
My conception of what constitutes a normal size has been totally altered. American is a land of big proportions, people, drinks even sky. But biggest of all is the distance from point A to B. Or, in the case of America it is more like A to Z. I was sitting in my parents living room downing a massive cola when, I actually thought for a moment, “I have to pee, but the bathroom is so far away.” Now my parents house is not exactly San Simeon, but compared to my Tokyo living quarters it might as well be. American homes aren’t big, as much as things inside it are far from each other. I’ve stopped seeing big in a purely positive sense. In Tokyo nothing in my house was more than a few seconds away. Bowel movements didn’t include multiple doors and a flight of stairs.
Not just within the home either. Cooking dinner and you realize you need more garlic? Supermarket and back in under 5 minutes.
Nothing in the fridge? Grab a Dr. Pepper from the vending machine 20 paces from the front door.
Don’t feel like cooking? There is a convenience store across the street.
“Big” has now come to mean inconvenient for me. My entire Tokyo home was the length between chicken noodle and minestrone in the canned soup aisle of Walmart. I had forgotten to some extent how far things are from each other in the US. I went down to visit my brother in North Carolina over the holidays. The driving time alone was about 16 hours over two days. Longer than my flight from Japan to New York. When I got there I kept thinking, the couches in the living room are so far apart from each other I need to shout to be heard on the other side of the room. Even the coffee table seemed more like a rest area on your way to the next sofa.
Explaining this to my family I realized how differently they viewed it. “Where would you put all your stuff?” Simple answer, I just had less stuff.
An old YT video tour of an apartment.
Having shops and services so nearby there is no need to stock pile for Armageddon the way we do in the States. My Tokyo “pantry” was literally a shelf. An American family’s pantry could comfortably be considered real estate in Tokyo. Small has its benefits. My food tended to be fresher and I didn’t buy 2 liter size bottles of olive oil, although it is both cheaper and a great upper body workout. But in Tokyo, I had no yearly purges of forgotten stored goods hidden in the back of the closet. You tend to think more about whether or not you really need something when shopping and avoid buying crap that just takes up space. A modest TV becomes a big screen when you aren’t sitting 30 meters away from it. Even utility consumption shrinks because you aren’t trying to air condition the Superdome. My various apartments and houses were never small, just cozy. Though I met many foreigners who hated the small accommodations, they were not the ones who ever really adapted to Tokyo. These were the same people who would complain about pizza, parking and “if we were back home!” Apparently they had difficulty comprehending, they were NOT back home.
In the end, I can best describe it with nachos. Imagine the same amount of yummy nacho cheese, meat, jalapeno and such spread out over ten times as many chips. There is a lot more chip, but not much use for it.
Don’t get me wrong, big isn’t always bad. Airline seats, backyards, closets, there are many times where it is really nice. But “big” doesn’t have the same always positive feeling it used to have for me. One of the hardest things to wrap my head around was a conversation I had maybe a thousand times in Tokyo.
Japanese: I went to America.
Me: How was the food?
Japanese: Bad, it was too big.
Me: I didn’t ask about its size, I asked if it was good.
Japanese: No, not good. Too big.
Me: Arrrrggggh!
Big had always been positive by default for me. But now I think I see size differently. On impulse, I’d rather have the smaller steak.
What do you think, when is big good?
I think the term big is somewhat confusing. Every advantage just has a disadvantage, if you live small you will naturally be less at home (or risk going paranoid). If you live big you’ll be more independent and have room for any appliance or product you desire, however all that stuff can really make you immobile. More stuff means more bills, more obligations. Simple as that. All those things clutter your mind too…
Personally i can do without most space but i really need a shed with tools, that’s my independence.
Also there really is such a thing as too big. In times of War, there was always a nation buying into the idea that bigger is better. Bigger gun, bigger tank, battleship, whatever. In the end such ideas only slowed down the main purpose and broke down very fast. Asians are minimalists (use what you need) by default but that doesn’t mean they don’t have desires. They conquered the world with electronics didn’t they?
Imagine you need a shed but instead the only thing offered were hangars, would that be efficient? I would say no.
All in all having limitations is good, the US would be the place where normal limitations are absent. Then again, beer is expensive in the US compared to Europe.
I’m quite curious what happens when oil really starts getting more scarce, will trains then make a revival in the US?
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Heya Kevin, long time no see, Just saw you at the top of my timeline on FB so came over to see this entry.
I admit I have had limited exposure to Japan, only being there the one time we met up in 2k6 for a month. But during that month I did have a Japanese apartment that I don’t think counts as the heart of Tokyo, more of outskirts, Arakawa/Machiya After the first days of going ‘damn this place is tiny’ I got to like it, everything was there that you needed, I could pop to the conbini and be back within 3 minutes, 5 if I didn’t go to the absolute closest ones, the food was super fresh, and about the only thing I kept in the fridge for multiple days was butter and strawberry jam for when I had a slab or two of toast for breakfast. (and maybe a yogurt)
I found some of the ‘small living’ ideas to be pretty damn smart when it came down to it, a sink on top of the toilet tank so you could wash your hands with the water that is going to be the next flush? Great idea, it saves water, saves space, but shit that water was cold in December. I certainly did like the convenience of everything being close at hand, and as you remember, I’m not a tiny guy. I’m still planning on making it back there eventually and living for a few years.
Big equals luxury for me. But do we need it? Best example:Holidays. You pack your suitcase for travelling and you choose the most important stuff. And guess what. Its enough to have around with you. On holidays you dont miss your big garden or apartment/house. You choose a nice place to stay at and you only have the most important stuff with you. And i love such times. I always feel more free without all the stuff standing around in the house back home. Did i even used the stuff? We tend to gather more and more stuff-in unnecessary space we don´t really need. It´s just more comfortable when you live with more people. But alone you don´t need it really..after work you sit anyway mostly in the most comfy chair in front of your lovely TV or Computer all in the nearest range or are going out with friends. But on the other side why not. We are greedy people and keep everything we get :p
Think you’re comparing a flat in the centre of the biggest city in the world with a house in the suburbs… Having a small flat in a big city anywhere would be the same. =)
Japanese drink vending machines are fine if you’re happy with the limited choice they usually offer, but Japanese wouldn’t consider proximity to one a benefit imho.
I’ve not been to a supermarket in the US but I’ve found the choices here (in Jpn) compared to the UK are pretty awful when I want to cook.. So living near a lawson is surely worse!
Bogs. I’ve found being in a small flat isn’t great when you want to have a dump in peace and the mother in law is next door listening in. I think most Japanese would love to live in a big house but they can’t afford to, or the places where they can aren’t relevant for their lives.
All the Japanese flats I’ve been to (only 10 so far) have big 40 inch tvs. From a country that produces the things, and is showcasing the 4k tvs in every bikkukamera it doesn’t seem unusual.. where are the small tvs?
I also found American portions too big, but I don’t think Japanese food is particularly small. It’s fairly common for Japanese to have a massive bowl of ramen with rice on the side; kaitenzushi with the plates stacked high; all you can eat buffets, etc. For me, American food being too big meant that I couldn’t try much of it.. e.g. I went to the cheesecake factory and couldn’t finish the main course so didn’t get to eat cheesecake! Japanese food often has lots of variety in one dish. I suspect there could be other reasons too.. like they probably feel obliged to eat it all affecting enjoyment.
Interesting points. I don’t think apartments in central Tokyo are the same as in all other cities. Aside from growing up in NY, Ive also lived as an adult in NY and Los Angeles. I’d say only London approaches the the size of Tokyo real estate. What my friends in NY call small is not small. Largely becaus they are often 2-3 bedroom apartments shared with friends. Since Japan as no custom of this, most small apartments are designed for people living alone or families. But even when Ive been to Japanese homes in the suburbs or the country side they are still by comparison much smaller. I think size is one of the lower on the list when Japanese look for a place compared to a westerner. In all my dealings with rental agents in Japan they always focused on/highlighted building safety, proximity to rail access, and the newness of the building. My real estate agents were always telling me how old the building was. For me square meters were a lot more of a concern than what year it was built or whether or not it had a fancy security system. But I viewed safety quite differently. Also, a lot of the residential housing in London or NY can date back up to a century and people don’t really think twice about it.
As for supermarkets, I never saw anything in central London or Manhattan that could compare to the options I’ve had in central Tokyo. I personally love Japanese supermarkets, and they are always really well stocked for what you would expect in an Asian supermarket. I don’t expect them to have a huge selection of salsas for example.
As for portion size, I agree. Japanese food isn’t necessarily too small, but for example compare the standard glass of water in any restaurant. Also, the custom of ordering a meal for yourself as opposed to a number of dishes to be shared at the table really makes a big difference. I rarely finish everything I’m given when I order a meal at a place like the cheesecake factory, because as a culture Americans view a meal you can’t finish as “a good bargain” but in Japan it is “how do they expect me to eat all this?” We don’t. We just throw it away. True story, I once got bitched out by a ramen chef for ordering a large ramen and not finishing it all. Would NEVER happen in the US.
I started off saying Tokyo is one of the biggest cities in the world 🙂 -when I said living in a big city is similar anywhere, I meant in terms of access to good transport, small accommodation, 24 hour shops, and other desirable amenities..
Japanese homes are much smaller but that’s because land here is much more expensive. I expect that is the same reason that most roads that go from the main roads to houses are single lanes. Japanese don’t have the same expectation of size as a westerner as they know it’s not possible, hence the other criteria are more important.
People in London do think about the age of a building – a lot of houses there (Victorian) are over 150 years old and are usually more expensive and desirable. In Japan, a lot of the older houses in the suburbs are crappy but then they are in the habit of knocking them down and rebuilding them. Perhaps this is related to earthquake worthiness. For a place that relies heavily on aircon, the insulation (around windows etc) in the places I’ve been to is awful.
I’m intrigued as to what options you’ve had in supermarkets in Tokyo that impressed you so much. I’ve been to quite a few Tobu and Aeon supermarkets and have been massively underwhelmed by the options.. The biggest aisles are for Cup Ramen, Sembei, mirin/shouyu etc. Vegetables – what they have is nice, but the selection is poor; you can’t get fresh chilis at all, fresh herbs are almost impossible to get, fruit is extortionately priced. The beer selection is Japanese only which is ok, but I like a bit of variety without paying 600yen for a tiny bottle of hoegarden from an import shop. The meat selection isn’t great -you can just get pork in any form, though sausages and bacon here are always pre-cooked and are of the texture a granny with no teeth would appreciate. Beef is a ripoff. Lamb is almost none existent. Even shrimp is really expensive. You’re also restricted by the cuts of meat you can get here because most Japanese don’t have ovens at home. Choices of soaps (hand, laundry, shower, shampoo), toothpaste, deodorant, etc are all poor and are mostly imported.
I won’t compare things like cereal, bread, deserts, pizzas, sweets etc because they’re more western foods… but all in all, the selection in here is small compared to what you’d get in an average UK supermarket. Not sure which shop you went to in London and when but perhaps you only notice things that interesting to you – ie things you can get in Japan that you can’t get at home.
*Looks down at pants* …sometimes big is good lol I can see where you’re coming from. The modest living in Japan changed your diet, honestly for the better. Obesity their is much less of a problem. Although their is some charm to having big meals. It kinda just describes all of America. We are big, we eat big things, we drive big cars, we have big houses, and most of all have big opinions. I like it big, probably because i am bias, but i just can’t see myself living in a tiny house and not going batshit crazy.