Could you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Jordan Green and I was born and raised in London but I’ve been living, working and most importantly traveling around Japan for around three years. Over the years, I’ve built up a little community on Instagram where I go by the name AfroInJapan: it’s here where I post my travel stories, answer questions and generally have a good time - it's a really fun community. I mostly specialize in photography and Japan-focused travel pieces; when it comes to traveling to different prefectures my goal is to find what makes that prefecture special and to show it to my community on Instagram in the hope that they’ll also make the trip there. When I’m not traveling around Japan I work for Tokyo Weekender, a Tokyo based lifestyle magazine; I use my knowledge of the different prefectures I’ve visited, language skills and, more recently, love of cooking to write fun informative articles for those living and traveling to Japan.
How did you become involved with Japan? What aspects draw you to the country and culture?
I had a pretty normal introduction to Japanese culture, unsurprisingly it all started with Saturday morning anime. However, as the characters in my favourite animes all spoke with American accents I didn’t make the connection to Japan until my early teens: I grew up thinking anime were American cartoons. My true involvement in Japan started during my year abroad at Musashi University in Tokyo after having first studied politics with a special interest in Japanese international relations. I loved how the local community played such a big role in Japanese society: it was interesting to see how proud people were of keeping the road outside their house clean or the long chains of elementary school students walking to school in the morning. There was so much I didn’t know about the culture and the country at that time and I had this passion to learn more about it. I found that the more I learned about Japan and its culture the deeper I fell for it: Japan was so different from the society I grew up in but I nevertheless found it really comfortable. That comfort was another draw for me and after completing my year abroad and graduating from my UK university, The University of Kent, I found myself right back in Japan.
Whereabouts did you live and what is life like there? Any particular highlights?
To date, I’ve lived in Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka and am now currently living in west Tokyo. While the sense of community is a lot stronger in more rural areas like Saitama and Kanagawa, you can still feel how important community is in big cities like Osaka or Tokyo. Perhaps it's because I’m usually one of the few foreigners living in the area, or perhaps it’s the massive afro - who's to say really, but no matter what area I moved to I quickly felt like part of the community. The local summer festivals have always been the highlight of my time living in any area, as it's where the entire community comes together for what is potentially a massive street party. During my time living in Kanagawa, the shopping street would transform into a massive summer festival with everyone from the local community coming out. Being at the summer festival is honestly so much fun, people will randomly start conversations with you, feed you, hand you drinks - you’ll be surprised how many people lacked the confidence or time to start a conversation with you before that day. I had a dozen people approach me and start the conversation with “I’ve always wanted to say hello to you but…”. Summer festivals are just the best.
We hear you're on a mission to visit every prefecture in Japan. What got you started on this? What has been your process so far? Where are you planning on visiting next?
What a mission it has been! It actually started when I was an international student at Musashi University, one of our teachers spent a little while talking about how amazing Tokyo was and all the opportunities we have studying in such a big city; he then went on to end the talk by saying “and that’s why you should get out of Tokyo as soon as possible”. Being from London I could understand what he meant: big cities are massive traps, with so much to do you could quickly waste your year exploring station after station but still have barely scratched the surface of what Tokyo has to offer. I started simple, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Kobe. But with this first short trip, I understood exactly what my teacher was trying to tell us, from local food, dialect, and culture these four areas, as close as they are to each other, couldn’t be more different. I was hooked. I had to know what each area had to offer, I wanted to step foot in every prefecture, talk to the locals, taste the local food and explore the landscape - I wanted to experience it all first hand. At first, there was no method to my travels, I would throw a dart at a map of Japan and where ever it landed would be my final destination. During my travels to Hiroshima, for example, I made sure to stop off at Nagoya, Gifu, Hyogo, and Okayama before reaching arriving at Hiroshima. Perhaps stop off is the wrong word as I said before I want to experience every prefecture first hand and I don’t think you can do that in a day so I like to spend a few days in each prefecture really exploring the area and finding out what it has to offer. My next destination is probably going to be Niigata! I’ve heard Niigata has the most delicious rice and sake in Japan and I feel like this is something I should experience first hand. With only 19 prefectures left to visit I’m in no rush to complete the list, as the journey has been so much fun I don’t really want it to end just yet.
Your Instagram is full of amazing photos from your travels. What are your favourite things to photograph? Do you have any tips for people wanting to take photos when they come to Japan?
Japan is such a fun place to practice photography, and while I love taking photos of city streets and high rise buildings my favourite things to photograph are shrines, temples, and the Japanese countryside. As beautiful as a sunset in Tokyo is nothing can beat the sunrise from atop Mt Fuji, and as interesting as a city street is for me a snap of an insane lavender field will always come out on top. I think a good piece of advice is always to have your camera with you, as you never know when you’re going to come across a hidden shrine or a random street festival. Getting up early is also a pretty good piece of advice if you’re wanting to take photos in the cities, especially Tokyo, as well as popular attractions such as the Sagano Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama, Kyoto. These places can get really busy really quickly, which makes taking a really good photo a lot more difficult (unless of course, you’re looking to take photos of crowded streets)! There are a few different photography communities in Japan as well, so for those wanting to come to Japan and make a few photography friends don’t hesitate to reach out!
This month we're looking at the word 'ikigai' and discussing what it means to different people. What is your impression of what it means and ways in which you might have experienced it. Do you have any particular anecdotes?
Ikigai is the overlapping of what you love, your skills, money, and need which combinates into your ikigai or reason for being. My skills and love are one and the same: I love photography, traveling and meeting new people; my job allows me to travel which is great because travel does cost money and my one true need is to explore more of Japan and share it with my community on Instagram. Although the way I travel is pretty unusual, it does allow me to feel fulfilled; when I travel I don’t have detailed plans or a complex schedule, I just pick a final destination and start heading towards it allowing whoever or whatever I come across during my travels to guide me on my way. While traveling from Nagasaki to Kumamoto I was told of an express train which would make the trip quick and painless, but before I departed on my short trip to Nagasaki I met an old woman who I struck up conversation with. After she learned I was heading towards Kumamoto she informed me of a strange roundabout way of getting there which included a tiny countryside train through Nagasaki and a boat. Naturally, I decided this was way more interesting and followed the old lady into the Nagasaki countryside. It was such a memorable experience one that I wouldn’t have had if I had taken the easier route.
Do you have any travel tips for people planning a visit to Japan? Any areas of Japan you would recommend in particular?
Not to parrot my old teacher but I have to agree with him: try and leave Tokyo as soon as you can. While Tokyo is fun there are so many other places you could be visiting. First-time travelers to Japan usually do Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and then perhaps Kobe or Nara, and while this route is tried and tested, perhaps mix it up a little: hit up Nagoya for a day, travel up to Gifu to see the white castle, there is just so much to see in Japan. My favorite two islands in Japan are Shikoku and Kyushu: Shikoku being the smallest and Kyushu the third biggest. In Shikoku my recommendation is most definitely Kochi Prefecture: the people there are super friendly, the food is delicious, they have a beautiful beach and even an original castle, one of 12 left in Japan. In Kyushu I would suggest Fukuoka: the city is massive and has a culture different from what you’d find anywhere else in Japan, an abundance of independent coffee shops, easy transport links to different areas of Kyushu great food and even better people.
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