Author: Nathaniel Reutter

Our life in Japan is in some ways quite regular and normal, and in other ways not normal at all. It’s normal in the fact that we’re a family that has a home, our kids go to public school and we work. It’s not normal in the fact that we’re foreigners here, our kids are in Japanese school, and we’re taking as many opportunities as we can to get to know Japan, and in the process there are many things we’ve grown to love.

Just take a look at our recent videos on Life in Japan. One is about a fun family weekend we took together to the beautiful neighboring area of the Izu peninsula. There were so many beautiful sights as we took in the ocean, the mountains of Izu, plum and cherry blossoms as well as great views of Mt Fuji. We even rented a Japanese home to stay in while we were there! What a blast!

But what about the things that we’ve grown to love in the almost 8 years we’ve been living here!? These things are tried and true for us in Japan, things that make everyday life better. Would you add anything to the list?

And in another video, you can see how a certain local home improvement store helps us do everyday life here in Japan. How does it compare to home improvement stores where you live?

Yes, as we continue to document our life in Japan, we have had many adventures, some good and others traumatic, but our lives are filled with hope that no matter what is going on in this world, the joy to come is greater than anything we’ve experienced already.

In our over 18-years married, Ruth and I have lived 4 of them in America, 7 of them in Brazil and the rest of them here in Japan. This has created a family culture that is multi-cultural to say the least. With aspects of American, Brazilian and Japanese culture thrown together, the enjoyable variety of cultures also comes with challenges that are unique to those living in a foreign country.

But one of the keys to make it work is embracing the differences and celebrating the good parts each culture has to offer. Sure, you can always find things that annoy and perturb you, but by focusing on the good things, you can make the adaptation to any new culture much more fun.

McDonald’s can be found in over 100 countries across the world, and in each country they make adaptations (some small, others large) in order to fit in well with that culture. It’s no different in Japan, and it’s actually quite amazing that they’ve done so well in Japan, considering when they started they broke a number of social norms that initially kept people away. (Such as not offering seating. Japanese people consider it rude to walk and eat, so by not offering seating, the Japanese people weren’t sure how and where they were supposed to eat it)

But they were able to make changes fast enough to catch on, and once they did, the rest is, well, history. So what happens when McDonalds meets Japan? Well, for one, some really interesting item menus, some of which can only be found in Japan. In this episode of Life in Japan, we try some of the most unique things on the menu at McDonalds in Japan and determine our favorites.

I’ve been a Nintendo fan since I was a kid, but our family didn’t actually have our Nintendo until I was well into my teens. My brother and I asked for a Nintendo 64 one Christmas, and we got a Mario game and a Star Wars game to go with it. Since then, we’ve always enjoyed playing together. Then when Ruth and I got married, we enjoyed playing through the Zelda game Windwaker when we had free time together.

So it’s natural that, now that our kids have grown a bit, we would get a Nintendo Switch and enjoy gaming together. We’ve played a number of games, but there are some favorites we come back to time and time again.