How's life in Japan? What I think they're really asking is what is the quality of life like. I live in Tokyo the biggest

metropolitan area in the world. It's got to be a hectic life, right?

The easiest answer I can give is: I bought a house.

There's a lot that factors into quality of life: health, family, education environment, social belonging,

recreation and leisure time and a bunch of financial stuff that influences the cost and standard of living.

I will focus on the financials in a follow-up video.

But let me address it briefly at the start of this one:

Working professionals can afford to buy a home and have all their primary needs taken care of. An extravagant lifestyle? No.

But they have the ability to make ends meet while living within an hour's commute to the center of the mega city that is Tokyo.

Let me paint the picture of what a Japanese middle-class lifestyle looks like.

We have a roof over our heads, in fact, we own it. Well, the bank does. Press a button

Do it once. Now give me the key.

We always have food on the table, clean water,

electricity, gas, heat, air conditioning, internet, smartphones

No oven... dishwasher, our dedicated drying machine though kids go to a free public school

Where lunches are made in-house, although we do pay for that, like two dollars a meal.

After school, the kids partake in extracurricular activities such as art classes and sports. We have health care

We're required to pay for it, but it's universal so we can't be denied access and the quality is good.

Did I mention kids are free from visits to the family doctor dentist and optometrist two prescriptions?

We don't own a car.

We could probably afford it.

But the benefits are so little within Tokyo that I feel it'd be a luxury expense,

especially since the kids walk to school and my wife has her commuter pass paid for by her company, which in general is what most

Companies do. For fun, well,

it's mostly free or cheap activities that we do like going to parks, visiting family and friends, catching up festival

Or going to super CentOS, which are nice public bathhouses that cost under $10 a head

The biggest non-essential costs we have are eating out and paying for public transport to get to places.

Although I love traveling my family isn't as keen as me so we don't often get out of the city.

As a single person the cost wouldn't be too bad.

But as a family expenses really do add up. Especially when hotel rates are based on the number of occupants versus the number of rooms

So does that paint a bit of a picture about our lifestyle? Now let's get into some overarching themes.

First up is family:

Family is such a huge factor for me. Not only my immediate family, but siblings and parents, too

This must sound funny since my Canadian family is an ocean away.

But my Japanese family are all within a short walk.

So you win some you lose some. Why our Japanese family over our Canadian one?

Well that has to do with the cost and availability of housing, not our affection for our loved ones, at least

That's what it publicly say. In the area around Vancouver even when our family wanted to be located near each other

It was a practical impossibility

to rent or purchased in the same neighborhood.

Only those that got in before the craziness that is the Vancouver housing market were able to

establish themselves.

While Vancouver's not considered a large city by international standards,

living in a place suitable for a family within an hour's commute of the downtown core

was not possible for me and many working professionals.

In Japan, housing can come in all shapes and sizes.

Since zoning laws allow you to build on very small pieces of land; as an example,

I now own a detached home that for all intents and purposes takes up all the land.

I don't have a yard beyond the few feet of concrete on the side.

That's a trade-off that I was able to make. I chose no yard

Versus living another 30 minutes away where I could have had one and a more spacious house to boot but

I wanted not only to be closer to the center of Tokyo but more importantly close to family.

Unlike years ago in Japan. We don't live in a

Multi-generational household.

If our parents do require care as they get older as opposed to the free childminding that they currently provide us.

We live so close that we can walk there in minutes.

So we're close, but not living on top of each other close.

The services available to family members from my niece who recently graduated from the day care system,

to my kids in elementary school,

to the

grandparents who may one day go to adult daycare are all located within a few minutes walk.

Groceries, health clinics, parks, recreation centers and quite importantly, a train station are all equally close

Tokyo being a walkable city is a big deal that lends itself to a healthier lifestyle.

And let's talk about health:

So there are many aspects to health beyond access to doctors and hospitals, but let's discuss those things.

Whenever I want to see our family doctor, we walk or bike to the clinic and can be seen within an hour.

But if we choose the right time of day, it's more like 15 minutes.

No appointments necessary.

The cost is so little that I never think if it's worthwhile to spend the money to see the doctor.

Instead, the equation

I calculate is whether a visit is not only worth my time, but the time of the doctor.

A pharmacy is usually located beside the clinic

which means you can pick up the prescription quite quickly

Prescriptions are also mostly covered under the health insurance system

and even if they weren't,

the national governments control ensure that medications are affordable.

If I want to see a specialist, but the dermatologist for my eczema are an ENT for my tinnitus

I can drop in just as I did with my family doctor. no referral our appointment

necessary and oh yeah, they're also located within walking distance

But what about the quality of care well?

Subjectively I find it comparable to Canada some things are better some are worse

But overall I trust that the doctors are qualified that I can get access when I need to and that I'll be taken care of

Whether I have money or not even with Japan's universal health care coverage

you are required to pay 30% of costs there are monthly limits that mean you won't end up having to pay beyond your means and

Thus won't be going bankrupt due to some unforeseen or chronic. Health issues you're also free to choose any hospital nationwide

Now I've been talking about physical health, what about mental health that I can't personally comment on since I've never utilized the services

Hearing stories from other people gives me the impression that Western countries are more progressive in this

This kind of leads into stigmas and social belonging

There's this idea in Japan that you don't want to stand out which means you don't want to admit

You have mental health issues or that you lost your job or many of the other life?

Situations that you may have to deal with I think in the West we're more open to talking about our personal problems in Japan

It's just not something that's often done

What I've observed is that people are generally

Understanding and sympathetic to those who are struggling in life?

Whether it be financially physically mentally are otherwise

Like any other developed country the Japanese deal with a host of issues

From your kid who isn't doing well in school to an uncle who's in a wheelchair to that cousin who has a learning difference

these things are talked about but usually quietly a

Lot of commentary you might hear about Japan makes the society seem rigid and stuck in the past

But I've seen a lot of changes and openness not only in my generation, but the generations above and below

I keep on coming across examples of things progressing and improving from gender

Inequality to working hours to an overhaul of the University Entrance Examination

System you've probably heard that Japan has a suicide problem

But the thing is it's now not that different from other developed countries

There was a period of time in the 90s and the turn of the century when the economy wasn't doing well and the numbers spiked

What if trends continue in a few years the rate will be the same as the u.s.?

Which unfortunately is seeing its numbers rise?

There's also a stereotype that in Japan foreigners are just that foreigners, and they will never belong

So does our family equally Canadian and Japanese feel like we belong I'd have to say yes

And ironically probably even more so than in our community in Canada a country that is known for its

Multiculturalism and is a country of immigrants. Why do I think this well?

I don't think it has anything to do with the people themselves

But more with how the community is set up and the social expectations that come with living here

I keep on coming back to this point, but it really makes a difference in my life

And that's walkability in Japan men people walk a ride around the community so you inevitably

Run into the same people over and over when people know you and you them that promotes a sense of responsibility

to the greater whole

schools another reason for that sense of belonging

School especially elementary school forces parents to interact with one another and I do specifically use the word force

Because you're gonna interact whether you like it or not the elementary school catchment area is roughly a kilometre in radius

which means everyone lives within a 10-minute walk to school and

In some areas you wouldn't even need to walk that far because all these circles represent a ten minute walk to each

Elementary school in the area that I could spot

There's this term called the popsicle index

The popsicle index is the percent of people in a community who believe a child can leave their home?

go to the nearest place to buy a

Popsicle and come home alone safely

Kind of like the good old days of yore when I was a little girl growing up in West Philadelphia

Popsicle index was a hundred percent was unthinkable

That we couldn't run up to spruce street play the pins get a popsicle and come home alone and any time of day or early

evening okay so Japan

2018 weekday mornings elementary school kids in my neighborhood gather together in groups to walk to school without adult supervision

On the way back home though. They're all on their own

Given this fact. I'd say that my neighborhood would score 100% on that popsicle index

Especially since there are stores along the way that they could stop by and pick one up

To expand upon this idea of children roaming the streets unsupervised

I don't think the term playdate exists in Japan kids just walk or bike to a friend's house or even meet up in the park

Once they get cellphones which most kids seem to have by the time they hit junior high

They make plans via the popular line messaging gap

Do Japanese parents fear for the safety of their children that a malicious crime like kidnapping might occur

I think parents are about as fearful of this in Japan as they are in Canada

But what I can confirm is that Japanese parents don't seem to be as concerned about kids being injured by speeding vehicles

because in residential areas in Japan

The pedestrians and cyclists rule the road and cars are limited to 30 kilometers an hour and for you Americans

That's 20 miles an hour in Canada cars. Generally go double that speed regardless of posted speed limits

Something else that contributes to social belonging is both the voluntary and involuntary

community participation

The local group of five to ten households that manage the waste collection point that's not an option

Being the parent monitor for your elementary school kids morning gathering spot also not an option

attending the festival for the local shrine

That's optional going to school festivals also optional passing along the local news bulletin not an option

For people who don't want to conform this type of living can be onerous to put it in perspective though

I can't seem to survive more than a year in the Canadian corporate world as I like the freedom of self-employment too much by beater

What's happening?

We need to talk about your TPS reports yet

I don't find the social norms in our little community in Tokyo to be burdensome in fact

I kind of find the rules freeing, but how can that be?

Well following the rules only take up a small percentage of my life

So even if I don't like the rules they don't dominate how I live

As long as I follow the little rules. I'm free to do whatever

I like and I also believe the pros far outweigh the cons yes

I have to pitch in to clean the garbage area, but because everyone has to do it

No, one is going to purposely make a mess there

I have to watch my kids gather in the morning a few weeks out of the year

But I can also rest assured that my kids are safe going to school on their own having to be reined in at work

We're controlled me for a good 8 hours a day. Yeah, the cover sheet. I know I know bill talked to me about it. Yeah

Did you get that memo whereas conforming to these community rules is maybe eight hours a month?

You might be thinking I have specifically addressed. How we fit in as a foreign or perhaps half foreign family

My wife was born and raised in Tokyo after all yes. I like my idea

Sorry, it's in the wallet my ID

It's inside is in there my ID well. I can tell you this. I don't have regular run-ins with the cops

Because there are many touch points of course and free to attend social obligations

You're going to participate and that ensures you become a part of the community

Even with the language barrier and let's be clear. I still suck at Japanese

I'm much more involved at the local level in Japan than I've ever been in Canada

So yeah we fit in and I kind of don't know if we even had a choice

Now let's move on over to education

Education was a top fare I had before moving to Japan