British 🇬🇧 Family Living In Rural Japan | Attending Funerals In The Community| Cultural Differences

Moving from London/Aldershot to rural Japan has been a huge cultural shift, and honestly, it’s taking quite a while to get used to 🌏 Here, we have a list of community chores that everyone takes part in each year, and the roles change annually. It’s a really strong sense of community, but also quite a lot to adjust to when you’re not used to it. One of the hardest things for me has been attending funerals of people in our neighbourhood—even if we’ve never met them. This might not apply everywhere in rural Japan, but in our area, it’s expected. Even after two years of living here, it’s still something I haven’t fully got used to. The first funeral we attended was a real shock. I didn’t expect the deceased to be in the house, and my daughter was there too, not really understanding what was happening. It was a lot to take in all at once. There’s also a huge pressure to get everything right at these ceremonies. I constantly worry about offending someone or doing the wrong thing, even though our neighbour kindly guided us through what to do. Every funeral is slightly different as well, so just when you think you understand, it can change 😓 Going with a young child adds another layer—I’m always a bit anxious about what she might say or do in such a formal setting. At the same time, I do think it’s a really positive thing that neighbours support each other so closely 🤝 It just takes some getting used to. I also find myself wondering how the families feel. Having to invite neighbours into their home so soon after losing someone, and explain what happened, must be incredibly hard. One neighbour was in tears while explaining what happened to her husband, and it really stayed with me 💔 It felt like a lot of pressure at such a sad time. Coming from the UK, it feels like a very strange concept to attend the funeral of someone you’ve never met. It’s something that I think will take a long time to get used to… and in a way, I hope we don’t have the opportunity to get used to it. #cultureshock #japan #japaneseculture #japanesetradition