Japanese Guide to the Galaxy of Ketchup Crisps and Bagged Milk- The Beginning

It has been almost a month since I moved to Toronto, Canada.

I, as a Japanese female who was born and raised in Japan (though briefly lived in the UK), thought it would be interesting to write some notes about what it is like to move to Canada from Eastern Asia.

WARNING: You may find some of my opinions offensive and too cynical. But honest and blunt opinions from a Japanese person are so scarce you should appreciate them. Plus, this may contain fair amount of bad grammar and spelling. If you notice any of them, blame ChatGPT for that.

Why Canada?

This is a question I don’t know how to answer without feeling awkward.

To be completely honest, Canada was my second choice. I participated in an exchange program in the UK when I was in Uni 10 years ago (omfg), and kind of fell in love with all of the grimness and the darkest sense of humor they’ve got. I wanted to go back to the UK, but some old British people went nuts while I was back in Japan and voted for the Make-Britain-Great-Again(aka. Brexit) thingy. And they were more unwelcoming to foreigners than ever. I wanted the option to settle in rather than just a few years of experience, but I thought the UK was not keen on that.

So I was out of the option of going back to the UK. Now what. The closest options I could think of were Canada, the US, and Australia.

Naturally, I chose Canada, as any sensible person would.

The First Hit: Canadian People are Nice!?

I took a flight from Japan with a connecting flight from the States. The flight got delayed for about 5 hours and it was almost midnight when I arrived at Pearson Airport. I had been traveling for more than 24 hours already, so I was exhausted to say the least.

Soon after I arrived, the passport control people pointed to the massive queue to the visa process. I would say there were about 200 people in front of me. Fucking demoralizing.

But then I heard this lady working for the airport shouting something like: “Sorry for the wait; we’re doing the best we can to get you through as soon as possible!”

I was shocked. I’ve heard of Canadian people being nice but never believed it. Why would I, given that the extent of my knowledge of Canadian people is Justin Bieber and Trailer Park Boys.

But for the first time I thought it could be true.

That was a whole different experience from the UK. It could well be because my English is better than that time, but so far I haven’t run into anyone who’s not nice. When it comes to politeness and niceness, the Japanese standard is unfairly high, but I actually believe that people are as nice here.

That was a pleasant surprise.

What was it All Aboot, Eh?

It’s only been a month, and I still haven’t spoken to Canadian people apart from my English teachers. But I haven’t notice anyone saying “Eh?” or pronouncing “About” like “Aboot”.

I thought that was supposed to be a Canadian way of talking, at least according to South Park. South Park is usually backed up with scientific evidence, though it might have contained a slight exaggeration about that.

I’ll find out more after I go to college.

Tim Hortons Will Soon Ruin My Life

For those who don’t know what Tim Hortons is, it’s like Dunkin’ Donuts in Canada. In Japan, we have our own version called Mister Donut.

They’re literally everywhere; You’ll find Tim Hortons near every single subway station and every 3 blocks.

I’m not a coffee person (I still believe it’s some kind of practical joke that people actually like them), so I can’t tell you if their coffee is any different from other coffee chains, but their donuts are actually good. Since Japanese donuts are typically on the bland, less sweet side, I expected Canadian donuts to be sickly sweet for my taste, but it wasn’t the case.

Oh hell, they’re addictive. I find myself having to fight against the urge to get their donuts every time I take subway or go to supermarket. It is subliminal. You are exposed to the store menu, people holding their coffee, and the adverts the entire time, there’s no escape.

This is the country weed is legal, so you never know what they’re putting in their “coffee”.

I’m not sure where to end this post, but it’s been more than an hour since I started writing. My housemate finally decided to leave our kitchen, so I think I have to rush to our kitchen and eat.

I hope anyone remotely liked it.

See you on the next post!