"Some places speak distinctly. Certain dank gardens cry aloud for a murder; certain old houses demand to be haunted; certain coasts are set apart for shipwrecks." --Robert Louis Stevenson There were two houses that really stuck out to me during my year in Japan. One was just down the street from where I lived and the other was in the downtown area. Let me talk about the first one before I go on to the more interesting one. On the main drag, there was a house that was set apart because of how it looked on the outside. Every time I would bike or walk past it, my gaze was drawn to the things strewn around the tiny yard that could be seen over the concrete fence. I only ever saw one older man walking towards the back on one of my passes by the house, so I can only assume he was living alone.
The neighborhood where I lived wasn't the newest, but it was clean, as is all of Japan. However, this house was the exception. Papers and general garbage littered the yard, along with a rusty blue bike leaning against the back of the house. Ads were stuffed up against the windows and wire hangers were visible through the entryway. Clothes were strewn in that room as well. Never was the place cleaner or dirtier from the time I arrived to the time I left. It kept the same sort of mess all year around. I felt sorry for the man and wanted to help him clean his place, but of course that is not a thing for a foreigner to do. Next was the house downtown. When I first passed it, I thought it might have been a clothing store that had been shut down. Clothes were stuffed in clear plastic garbage bags and piled from ground to the top of the first floor. There were even orange cones with caution tape around them, warning people to stay clear. Then I realized, "This is what a Japanese hoarder house looks like." If you have seen the TV show "Hoarders" you can approximate what this house looked like. If not, let me explain: this house was similar to every other house next to it--small, two story with no space between it and the other houses or sidewalk. But the difference was the bulge coming from the, presumedly, entrance. The entire first floor was covered by the bulk of clothing bags. It looked similar to an egg sack. They were so tightly packed that there was no way anyone could have seen into the windows (if there were any) or gotten into the door (if there was one). I had asked one of the teachers who was driving me home one time what that house was/why did it have all of those bags in front of it, but they had never really seen something like that before and couldn't explain to me why. Have you ever seen a hoarder in real life? Either in your country or in Japan? Tell me about it in a comment below!
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Myself
Video blogger and now a blogger as well. My life in Japan has changed me for the better. However, it wasn't easy... Archives
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