About
Most people – especially anyone who has watched anime or read a manga like Sailor Moon, Ah! My Goddess, Death Note and Naruto – will assume Japan is a country filled with schoolgirls, giant robots, shinigami and college students surrounded by a dozen sexy women who have a tendency to show their underwear in numerous comedic situations. However, thanks in part to the language barrier, many people are often hesitant to travel to the Land of the Rising Sun and when they do, it’s often like a scene from Lost in Translation, involving stays in generic hotels with the hapless traveller feeling cut off from the people around them.
So what if the chance to see how Japanese people really live came up? What if you could bathe in hot springs and stay in temple lodges or traditional inns? What if you could live with families and explore Japan’s culture and history, see the sights and all with the help of a native Japanese person whose family lineage goes back five centuries?
A freelance journalist specialising in anime, manga and all things Japanese, Lesley Smith has written for dozen of magazines including NEO, Newtype USA, PiQ, SFX Total Anime and PLAY about everything from Japanese culture and history to the latest video games and anime releases.
However – much to her shame – Lesley is the first to admit that she’s never been to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Well this is all about to change.
In spring 2010, Lesley is off spending nearly a month seeing the Real Japan for herself but how different is the country from the one portrayed in film, popular culture, anime and manga?
Join her as she tries to find out.
Frequently Asked Questions
So come on then, why are you doing this?
Simply put, I want to see Japan. While I’ll be as curious to see Akihabara as the next person, it’s the older Japan which interests me. I know that Japan is a big, scary foreign country and going there would probably terrify even the most hardened otaku. By writing about my preparations, I don’t just want to dispel myths about a fascinating culture and inform, I also want to help folks who are also considering a journey of a lifetime to Japan. Indeed it’s highly likely if I have a question, three other people will probably be looking for the same answer.
Where did this blog come from?
In August 2008, just a week after I had returned from San Diego, I went to AmeCon in Leicester and met a Japanese woman called Solloway Akemi. During an interview with her, she mentioned that she takes groups to Japan and tries to show them a Japan that most people never see. I had a moment of clarity and decided then and there to finally make my dream of going to the Land of the Rising Sun come true.
After that, I created a blog called ‘The Real Japan’ which attempted to chronicle my exploration into Japanese culture here in the UK (both my home town of Norwich and London have thriving Japanese communities, if you know where to look) as well as a place for me to record my personal journey. I hosted it on Blogger for a couple of months but with the new year decided to begin afresh under Wordpress. I wanted a nicer template and more customisation options than Blogger allows.
And who are you exactly?
I’m a visually impaired journalist who lives in Norfolk with two black kittens (Mama Isis and Ceri-chan), a computer and more DVDs and gaming consoles than I can count. I maintain a blog and a website (which needs updating) and have a nice-sized presence on the net. When I’m not writing, I like to cook, watch movies and kill things in World of Warcraft.
What makes you different to all the other English or American folk living in Japan?
Well for starters, I’m not living. I’m just visiting. Second, as I mentioned above I can’t see particularly well so I figure that gives me a pretty unique outlook on things. Especially as I have a tendency to pay more attention to what my failing vision and my other senses are telling me. Plus, I can write pretty well too.
What do you hope to achieve with this blogging lark?
I don’t know. Well okay, that’s not strictly true. As a journalist I can see the feature pitches centred around the Japan tourists don’t get to see and at the same time, I have this budding book idea which could be very interesting if I pitch it right. Beyond all that, I just want to see and experience Japan for myself.
Cool, so when exactly are you going?
Originally I had hoped to go in the Spring of 2009. Unfortunately the recession put paid to that, I wanted to wait to save the money (doing anything on credit right now would be insane). At the same time, I wanted to be sure to arrange specific things which, given the way Japan works, it can often take some time to do things. Especially when it comes to anime and manga. So I’m now planning to go in March 2010, returning in late April/May (subject to change) in order to see the cherry blossoms!
As of writing, I’m planning on flying out on my own for a few days of personal exploration before meeting up with a group of people being guided by Akemi for the rest of the trip.
I won’t be taking my laptop with me, just a pen and journal and my camera. I’ll aim to post images on my Flickr account and maybe blog if I have time via a cybercafé. Upon my return I aim to transcribe my journal into posts and from them work on a book pitch.
Why Japan? Why not China or Russia or Outer Mongolia?
Because the culture and history fascinates me. Japan is like a Siren’s song for anyone who loves anime and manga and it seems almost cheeky for me to be a one of a tiny number of Anime Journalists in the UK and US without having been!
Come on, you’re really a team of PR folk whose brief is to big up Japan, right?
Nope. Just me. This really is a one-woman band!
My aim is not to promote Japan (even though that seems to be an unintentional side effect), rather I’m trying to chronicle my own experiences. I want to have it all in one place for my own reference but blogging allows me to focus on specific topics which take my interest.
I’m doing this all for me. I pay for hosting and the domain name. I’m not being sponsored or making any money out of this, hence the lack of advertising on the site. When I link to other sites, it’s because I find them interesting, relevant and informative.
However I will occasionally use my journalistic contacts to get access to events, items or programmes (such as check discs for documentaries in the BBC’s Hidden Japan season) relevent to what I’m doing.
How do you choose what to blog about then?
Well I generally brainstorm a list of topics. Some of it is personal, some is dependent on events I might attend or films or TV. The rest is just things which take my interest like cooking or art or poetry. Plus you get my trip planning ramblings for free!
Okay then. Can I leave a comment or suggestion?
Sure you can! Just bear in mind, I retain the right to block spam and delete comments which serve no purpose, are disruptive or abusive or direct people to go to malware sites.
