exposure to new experiences

I talk about this in the book but it’s interesting how growing up in Japan offered so many unique experiences, ones that myself and my family would never have experienced had we remained in Australia - or even ended up in a different country. No doubt, living overseas for an extended period, anywhere, will have an effect on one’s experiences and life outlook. But Japan - especially during the 70’s when we were there - presented rare and surprising opportunities like nowhere else could.

I can’t quite recall the hows and whys but here we are appearing on a Fuji TV daytime show. Viewers were curious about the lives of gaijin and through a series of introductions and convening circumstances we were invited to turn up and turn on the charm. A pair of professional presenters on what looks to be a rather basic set politely interrogated us in turns about our daily lives in Tokyo. It’s always fun to do TV appearances; the hype, a sense of importance and glamour. Of course, we were treated as very special guests with all the trappings of green room food and beverages, our own PA (sadly just for the duration of the taping) and enthusiastic encouragement from everyone around. The other cool thing was that Fuji TV broadcasting was located just up the road from our home in Nishi-Azabu. We probably walked there.

Over the years, the family, as a group and individually, ended up doing all kinds of appearances - in TV ads, for posters, on stage (Mook) and on the government run TV station, NHK. It was always fun and paid well. So what’s not to like. In addition to the regular thrills and adventures of daily life having had this layer of icing made the whole growing up experience even sweeter. ​