Live in Tokyo? No Thanks – 5 More Reasons Why (Part II)

Two days ago I wrote five reasons why I wouldn’t want to live in Tokyo.  Apart from most of the issues being exaggerated a slight bit, all are semi-valid reasons.  But enough to warrant not wanting to live in a city?  Not really.  So, as promised, here are the last five reasons I would not want to live in Japan’s incredibly popular capital city:

Reason #5 – The Green Ratio

Living in Canada has spoiled me when it comes to how I see nature.  I’ve lived in more than 10 Canadian cities throughout my life, and each has had an abundance of green for at least four months of the year.  In Gifu prefecture, I’m surrounded by “planned green” as well as unplanned mountains blanketed with a thick canopy of more trees than is naturally possible (thank you 1960s Public Works Program!).  As a result, I enjoy living in areas with a very high green-to-gray ratio.  That is, for every 100-square meters of concrete, I hope to see 200-square meters of green.  Tokyo does have green in the ratios I seek, but not in the areas I can afford to live.

Reason #4 – Alien / Monster Invasions

Sure, you’re laughing and saying that this post is by far the worst Japan-related post I’ve ever written (which might be true), but it seems that whenever anything bad happens in movies or on TV, it’s always in Tokyo.  If it weren’t for the likes of the Power Rangers, Kamen Rider, or the soon-t0-be-realized Evangelions, the city would be at the mercy of all sorts of evil.  The Mrs. and I hope to have a family in the next few years.  The last thing I want to worry about is some big mean monster throwing my apartment building at their opponent for reasons unknown.

Reason #3 – I’m Not Foreign Anymore

Central Japan is home to a few thousand foreigners, most of which have come from China and Brazil.  There are relatively few Caucasians in the area, which means people will sometimes stare for longer than necessary or give me ample space on the train because I might break the golden rule and start talking to them.  I like having young kids point at me saying “みって！英語人！” or something equally cute only to see their parents blush and hurriedly shuffle their kids out of hearing distance.  In Tokyo I’ll just be another foreigner, and ignored like the common plebe I really am.

Reason #2 – Too Much Selection

Yes … this is a problem.  It’s hard enough for me to find the perfect gift for my wife with the hundreds of stores I have available between my house and work.  Living in a city the size of Tokyo, I’d be able to find anything … even my beloved fig newtons.  While this might sound like a great reason to move to the big city, it would actually be a bad thing in my case.  Instead of making things easier, it would compound the problems I already have.  I’d never know what to buy because there would be an endless supply of selection, which means that most gifts would probably be little more than hurried, last-minute deals that lack the sentimentality that goes into buying that “perfect gift”.

Absolute Balderdash

If you’re still reading, then I tip my hat to you.  You’ve managed to patiently read (or skim) nine points of complete triviality without closing the browser with extreme prejudice.  It’s true that the nine reasons I’ve listed above are 98.6% exaggerated tripe, the likes of which you’ll likely never want to see again.  But this next reason is genuine:

Reason #1 – My Family Wouldn’t Be Happy

The main reason my wife and I live in 岐阜県 rather than a major city in Japan or Canada where I can earn some serious money is because we wouldn’t be happy anywhere else.  My wife is very close (emotionally) to her parents and sister, so I would never want to pull her away from these important ties.  On top of this, living so far away from her home means that she’d have no friends (initially) when we move and she’d be too overwhelmed by the sudden changes.  As a result, she wouldn’t be happy.

If the Mrs. isn’t happy, nobody’s happy.

I can live and sleep darn near anywhere.  I can adapt, and have adapted with each and every move.  That’s what I do best … adapt and make due.  So long as I have a decent internet connection and a steady supply off both food and coffee, I’ll keep my mouth shut and work hard to provide for my family.  But if I were to come home every day to an unhappy wife, then my own spirits would be dragged down as well.

The Next Two Years

From all indications, I will likely be working more in either Tokyo or Osaka within the next two years.  Regardless of which city it ends up being in, I will undoubtedly choose to move us a little bit closer to the big city, but still far enough away to accommodate my family’s desire to be close to each other.  I have no problems being on a train for two or more hours a day, and I’ll likely enjoy the long train ride as it’ll give me time to catch up on RSS feeds, write some blog posts, and study kanji.  But, as for living in the big city of Tokyo, I really don’t see myself doing so at any point in the near future.

Turning the question around for the city-dwellers, would you choose to live in a rural prefecture like Gifu given the opportunity? Why or why not?  I’d love to hear your reasons.