Japan is a special place. Mostly because it is home to about 123 million people that Jesus died for who don’t know about it yet. Japan has its own unique history, culture and traditions.
It is home to many hard-working courageous people. In Japan you’ll see men and women of all ages, even 60s and 70s dressed for business running through the crowds at the train station to meet their deadlines. In my village, 80-year-old women still attempt to climb trees to pick ripening fruit and 80-year-old men still climb on to the roofs of their homes to perform maintenance.
Our town’s community is pretty well acquainted with each other. I was recently featured in a photo in our town’s monthly news magazine. People have driven to our home from more than 30 minutes away just to meet the family who they heard moved in. My height and appearance makes me a very distinct person in our town. But, my prayer is that it is the Holy Spirit of God within that truly distinguishes.
My son negotiated the purchase of a authentic train pilot’s hat at a swap meet about 4 hours from our home in Shizuoka. He had wanted one and looked online, but even the toy versions were too expensive. He was blessed with a genuine hat in great condition for the equivalent of $3.20. Months later he is still praising God and loves to wear the hat. We were in that area visiting other dedicated missionaries in the work. This photo is of my son and the man who sold him the hat.
My wife was gifted these persimmons (kaki) from a man we made a connection with at the same swap meet.
We were in that area of Japan visiting other missionaries. You will definitely want to read about Ichishima-san on our Stories page.
Communities outside of the densest cities have rotating positions and responsibilities for its members. Right now, I’m on water supply duty. I check the level of the water in the tank that is fed by our mountain spring. If it is low, I notify other members in our community.
Japan has unusual animals that you may have never heard of like the Serow, a wild goat-antelope… and the Tanuki, know as a Japanese raccoon-dog, the Japanese snow monkey (which is really a baboon), among others.
In the cities, the people can be very stoic looking. If you say “Hi”, they may not say anything back. But, there are many exceptions to this rule… especially among children. Japanese children are often curious about where I’m from. I will share more about Japan in the future, but for now what follows is 7 facts about Japan.
