RetireJapan

I've found the new thread, thank you, and have just posted a reply there.

Now, in the meantime it's as if someone (in Kawagoe of all places) had read my original soapbox speech and sprung into action,
converting one of my favourite local restaurants (which apparently went under due to Covid) overnight - into this!

https://kawagoe-openup.jp/gallery/20210206163930-772/

For those of a certain vintage, enjoy the guitar video and some nostalgia for teenage prog rock rhapsodies. I will be dropping by before long to
see what they're actually up to there. If I'm impressed, I'll put my name down to go hang out there after I've given my employer the flick.

Does anyone know of any remotely similar initiatives?

Saw this over on reddit, thought of some of the earlier comments on dementia posted earlier in this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comm ... or_gaijin/

captainspoke wrote: ↑Thu Jul 01, 2021 12:24 pm Saw this over on reddit, thought of some of the earlier comments on dementia posted earlier in this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comm ... or_gaijin/

Ooof, that is pretty rough. On the other hand, I couldn't imagine living here long term and not learning Japanese. Tough situation for all concerned.

To me this speaks to exactly my point about being isolated in Japan. Language is one issue, but so is not having relatives and very close friends nearby who can form a supportive community when necessary.

I look at my 80yr+ parents in the UK and surrounding them they have 3 daughters in quick reach along with many good friends that they've known for 40+ years who speak the same native language and have common cultural bonds.

I've just read a book called 'All The Lonely People' by Mike Gayle. While not a must-read book or anything, it is an easy and enjoyable enough read but it really did make me think. The protagonist is an elderly West Indian man who came to the UK as a young man, settled and married. When we meet him, though, he is alone - his wife has passed, he has drifted away from the friends he had, and his only daughter lives in Australia. It is very easy to see how many foreigners here could find themselves in similar situations. My foreign friends here may not stay forever - who knows - and newcomers are very likely going to be of a different generation. They already are. I have many more Japanese acquaintances than true friends, by which I mean ones you could really rely on to look out for you, and so occasionally at night I worryingly wonder what awaits me in my declining years. I suppose one solution is to try and be a bit more proactive and sociable now (not easy in pandemic times!) and build a support network, but that is much more easily said than done. I know several elderly Japanese men (and it does seem to be men who fare worse) who have very little non-family social interaction since retiring.

Maybe I'll need to get out there and start ingratiating myself with the gateball community.

goodandbadjapan wrote: ↑Sun Jul 04, 2021 8:53 am...
Maybe I'll need to get out there and start ingratiating myself with the gateball community.

I cycle by a couple gateball spots--the players set up on the flat areas next to the river.

Personally, I need to save up for Ping to come out with a good mallet before I consider the game too seriously.

captainspoke wrote: ↑Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:03 am

goodandbadjapan wrote: ↑Sun Jul 04, 2021 8:53 am...
Maybe I'll need to get out there and start ingratiating myself with the gateball community.

I cycle by a couple gateball spots--the players set up on the flat areas next to the river.

Personally, I need to save up for Ping to come out with a good mallet before I consider the game too seriously.

They actually play in a park right next to my house. If that carries on fir another 20 years, I may be out there with them!

Ground golf is the game of choice around here, I can see myself joining in at some point, looks fun. Might cause a bit of a stir in the local community, not many foreigners round these parts.

Beaglehound wrote: ↑Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:27 am Ground golf is the game of choice around here, I can see myself joining in at some point, looks fun. Might cause a bit of a stir in the local community, not many foreigners round these parts.

I believe ground golf is the new name for gateball as gateball had a bit of an old-fogie stigma about it and ground golf sounds a bit more hip!

goodandbadjapan wrote: ↑Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:31 am

Beaglehound wrote: ↑Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:27 am Ground golf is the game of choice around here, I can see myself joining in at some point, looks fun. Might cause a bit of a stir in the local community, not many foreigners round these parts.

I believe ground golf is the new name for gateball as gateball had a bit of an old-fogie stigma about it and ground golf sounds a bit more hip!

At the risk of sounding super nerdy, I think the rules differ. Gateball is more like croquet.

Right, am off for a lie down…