Big Man, Small Nation

It may come as a shock to some people, but it turns out that people from Japan are somewhat smaller than those in the West. I know, it's hard to believe, but it's not just height either. Whilst the average Japanese person is two or three inches shorter than the UK average, they also have a narrower build, and only a quarter of Japanese people are considered to be overweight or obese (as opposed to the roughly two-thirds of those in the UK).

Unsurprisingly, at 6'3"-ish and weighing in at two regular Japanese people, there are times when I feel just a little bit too large for this country. Whilst I was definitely on the tall, wide and heavy side in the UK, it doesn't quite compare to what an outlier I am over here. I may have lost 70lbs or so prior to visiting Japan for the first time last February, but sometimes it feels like moving to Japan has cancelled that out. I can only imagine now much worse it would be if I hadn't…

There a few telltale signs to let you know that you are indeed a large person, if you were ever in any doubt. Polite as they are, Japanese people can’t help but stare at the giant foreigner. Young children, wide-eyed in amazement, wander past you in the street and in the supermarket. Shoppers will occasionally turn into an aisle too quickly before jumping in mild fear at the sight of you up so close. The students I teach will repeatedly tap my arms and shoulders to remind me just how freakishly large I seem to them.

Being large helped to define my role here, if my short time working at a Junior High School has taught me anything so far. During my first post-lunch cleaning time, where staff and students do their part to ensure there’s no need to employ a janitor, it became very apparent that I was the only person in the building who could possibly reach the ceilings with a feather duster. This lead to the massive foreigner being equipped with a rainbow coloured cleaning implement, as if I needed anything else to stand out. The fact is however, you’re not just surrounded by smaller people, everything is smaller than it was back home.

"Intimate" Japanese interior design.

The first thing you notice as being smaller in Japan that isn’t a person is the buildings and, more specifically, doorways. It's not just my shoebox of an apartment, in which I crouch under the shower and hunch over sinks, which has a "cozy" feel to it. I duck through every doorway at school, in restaurants and on trains, not to mention any traditional buildings I happen to visit. The reason for this is the standardised size for the sliding doors, the same size as the “tatami” mats found on the floors of Ryokans and teahouses, was traditionally around 6’ x 3’.

I say traditionally because the newer two classroom extension to the JHS I work at has sliding doors slightly taller than I am. This is okay, because it’s very easy to see from a distance. Slightly less okay is the one door in my apartment which is of the traditional size, the others lulling me into a false sense of security. There are only so many times you can smack your head in the middle of the night before your get the genuine urge to pad a door frame.

Mastering the art of ducking does not assure you comfort as a large person, if only it were so simple. Though it also helps you to avoid low hanging street signs, it doesn’t help to make the actual streets any bigger, where you might awkwardly find yourself in the way of a local, or even an appropriately small car. Standing too tall to comfortably hold onto the rails on a train, and too wide to fit in the packed crowd therein, your bike seat being too low, as well as chairs and tables in general, many daily things can often become the slightest bit irritating.

Low door frames make Josh sad.

There comes a time when you want or need to buy new clothes, especially if you had to pack your entire life into a single suitcase. For anyone matching the Japanese physique, Japan can be a fashion Mecca. For anyone like me, this is not the case. Having gone from wearing a UK 2XL to XL, my hopes were high for finding a few things in my size. It turns out that most Japanese stores tend to stock up to 2L, which would be fantastic if Japanese sizes weren't one size smaller, meaning a 2L is a UK Large. Oh dear.

Luckily, online stores and retail outlets offered clothes in size 3L, and some even larger. Wonderful news, I thought, oblivious to slighter build of the average Japanese man. Knowing that at some point I would be forced into some sort of physical activity, I ordered a tracksuit in a 4L and as expected the top was a little too large. Unexpectedly, it seems the tracksuit bottoms were replaced with a pair of very snug leggings. I decided the level of “detail” these provided would be bordering on inappropriate for someone working with 12-15 year olds, so I promptly returned them. As for shoes - I wear a UK size 15. I made my peace with that and brought a dozen pairs from home.

In the UK eating out for £5 meant a depressing sandwich and soft drink or bland fast food.

That all being said, one area where Japan doesn’t seem that small is when it comes to food, surprisingly enough. Between the giant bowls of ramen and the set meals at restaurants that stuff you with rice and miso soup, and the absurdly cheap snack food I definitely don’t eat on a regular basis, sushi is a false advertisement for stingy Japanese portions. Eating out isn’t really expensive either, whereas trying to buy fruit from a supermarket will make you wince.

It’s quite fitting really, if you’re frustrated at being too big for Japanese houses, cars, clothes and people, the food will help keep you that way.