While a giveaway like this is pretty amazing anywhere, it's especially true in Japan. A small town in Hokkaido is giving away property to people who will move there. That seems like a pretty attractive offer. At the same time, it's a different world. Here in the States, it's still annoying to live in a 5000 person town, but in Japan it's death. I was annoyed when I didn't live in the midst of half a million people because the conviniences weren't there. Supermarkets are fewer and farther between and unless you want to pay an outrageous markup to some local proprietor, you'd better get used to commuting. Also, while the trains are fantastic there, it takes ages to get anywhere unless you're on the shinkansen. Even an express train seems like it takes forever. That's the biggest reason why this attractive offer hasn't already filled everything up, because it's just too inaka (i.e. middle of nowhere) for it to succeed. Stick a Daiei there and some jobs and maybe that would change.
1 comment:
You reveal how suburban you are, Sorro. If you were a farmer who lived off of the land, wore giant yellow leather boots with two toes, yelled "arai! arai!" in unison with the reverse-beeping as your son backed your tractor up, loved the frigid cold and were part Ainu, I think you would be singing a different tune.
But nooo, you demand Best Buy and Wal*Mart. That's what the world-wide Interweb is for, my tomodachi. As far as food, you could be the shufu to start a co-op in your neighborhood!
See http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/articles/index.php?id=395, and I'm sure Cheeth may have something to say about the pros and cons of neighborhood grocery shopping. It will also indoctrinate you more in the ways of collectivity. That mix will go nicely with your Ainu-ism.
I think that if you made the sacrifices necessary to make it as a rural farmer in sunny Hokkaido, you would find yourself singing "Boku no Basho" to yourself every day as you ploughed your frozen beet fields with nary but a babmoo shoot while wearing a bandana on your head, while 10 other men stood around watching and managing, with 10 other men off to the side smoking.
Waddya say! Give it a whirl!
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