The People & Land Around
Since moving to Japan I’ve been walking around our neighborhood a few times a day. Mostly because of our dogs but occasionally its just to stroll around and see what’s going on. I value knowing our area and like seeing the subtle changes from time to time.
In our immediate area, our neighborhood. There really isn’t much going on, in fact the opposite it appears many residents have moved away or are no longer in their homes. There are two vacant homes on our side of the road and diagonally across of us another.
Japan’s rural towns are facing these issues as many younger generations relocate to the major cities for work and in all honesty probably a more convenient life. Our town is combating this by offering younger families incentives to relocate OUT of Tokyo and into their town. I believe tax breaks and even cash payments. There’s also a few campaigns out to open a business in the town, which is nice.
In any event one day I hope to be able to purchase a home in our neighborhood so that we can secure our futures in Japan.
Another aspect of our immediate area are the farmers. Surrounding our neighborhood area a handful of farmers that are caring for large amounts of land. And in all honesty I am so impressed with every single one of them.
I would say the majority of the farming community around us are elderly, meaning at least 60 and above, and although younger generations have started to take over the farming spaces it still impresses me with what the older generation has done and continues to do.
On an early morning I’ll take our dog Sandee out for a walk around 5:00A or 5:30A really depending on her and how much energy I have. But by this time MOST of the farming homes have awoken and are already in the yard doing things.
They are always considerate of noise so they don’t use any machinery until later in the day, so most of their morning revolves around weeding, lifting wheat and other produce out of the ground and hand tilling the soil to prepare for planting.
The shear dedication, patience and knowledge these people show impress me beyond words.
Recently one of the larger land owners has asked us to start a farm, a small one of course. But I am in all honesty very apprehensive as it’s almost like having a child. While I am not lazy and I am up normally around the same time as these people, I’m not sure I can commit to what is needed.
I love the outdoors and love seeing my work “fruit” so farming is kind of a good fit, but with us working to build our business, do I have the time?
The landlord is very generous with her offers, as she is not able to completely care for all of her land, she “rents” out the space free of charge with the only rule being, please take care of my land and return it if you can’t care for it any more. This is almost something that would never happen in the USA, or at least not often.
In any case this is my dilemma, I wouldn’t mind trying to farm honestly it would be kind of cool but I have doubts about my ability to ensure to meet the owners expectations.
My friend is farming a very large portion of land for her. And he is in the field with his family every day from 5:00A to 5:00P if not later. He makes it look so easy and always doing it with a smile.
I admire the people around us. It’s a true sentiment to how the Japanese culture is and to the people who care for crops / animals. Patience, dedication, hard work etc you name it. They are people I look up to.
At least for now I’ll continue my morning walks around the neighborhood. Admire the fruits of our neighbors labor and slowly convince myself that I can do it and then hopefully if and when the time is right, the offer still stands..
