Essay

My digital diary

By Maria Bromley

Living in a foreign country has changed me — well, either that or my iPhone addiction. Since I moved to Japan seven years ago I have become much more aware of the little things and since I am always carrying my iPhone, I am able to document these little things instantly. I notice details I would never remark on in my home country. For example, as I was jogging by Jingu Stadium with a Japanese friend, I saw chalk marks across the sidewalk. My friend told me it was people marking their spot in line for baseball tickets. I tried to imagine this system working anywhere else in the world. I couldn't. I pulled out my iPhone and took a shot of this cultural phenomenon; people assuming they could come back hours later and take their reserved spot in line.

I take pictures of food. I think this means I have truly integrated into Japanese culture. I actually have an album on Facebook entitled Five Years of Fabulous Food. I started this because the food is so beautifully presented here. I have developed an appreciation of food that I never had before because it looks so fabulous and tastes so incredible.

I stroll through stores and discover unique products like fake snow in a can. As a Canadian I am not sure why anyone would want to buy a can of snow — perhaps to have with a beer, while watching hockey on TV and pretending to be Canadian? I prefer cans of self-heating sake — very handy on the ski hill.

The ubiquitous presence of vending machines has me on alert for the most interesting one, which I think I've found in Toyosu's LaLaport shopping complex. It's a vending machine for the Proactive skin care line. Somehow I don't think the last-minute nature of vending machines lends itself to acne prevention.

I enjoy finding humorous signs and sharing them with my friends. My favorite reads, "Please do not brush your dog's hair on a bench."

I get a kick out of shocking my friends at home with photos of strawberries that cost nearly $10 (yen790) or Christmas trees that cost what an acre of land may go for in Alberta, Canada.

But I am not sure if Japan is completely to blame (or credit) for my epiphany about taking time to smell the roses — or should I say snap the poses? It is also because of accessible technology that I have the ability to create an immediate digital diary of everything I find interesting. When I return home I hope I will take my new-found keen observation skills with me. They have been partly inspired by Japanese attention to detail, partly acquired through technology. Being a tourist has helped open my eyes and my mind to a whole new world. Let's hope we all can bring that mindset back to our homes and look at life through new lenses.

Shukan ST: JUNE 29, 2012

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