The Japanese Home Visit program is a wonderful way to meet the locals, partake in the tea ceremony and escape from the hustle and bustle of the crowds.

   On a recent business trip to Tokyo, I and several colleagues spent a memorable evening on a home visit. The home visit is not only free -  it’s also an opportunity for the visitor to see a typical Japanese house, meet the natives and gain some insight into everyday life in this often bewildering city. It’s also a chance for the host to practice his or her English.

     After presenting ourselves at the tourist office, we were given directions and instructions to our host’s home and were told we were expected there the following evening. As is the custom in Japan, a modest gift is expected to be offered, and it is vital to carry a business card. The giving and receiving of business cards is an important part of Japanese culture, even to the point of not inadvertently insulting the recipient by handing it to them face down.

Navigating the Subway

      Fortunately the signs on all the subway stations are written in English as well as Japanese, or it is doubtful we would have navigated the mess of colored lines that is the Tokyo subway map. Our host lived in a distant suburb of the city, and met us from our overcrowded train with a bow. Upon arriving at his house, we were surprised to find that our host not only had his own modest yard – a bonus in such an overcrowded city – but was also the priest residing over the small temple attached to his house.

     We remembered just in time to remove our shoes – especially as we were entering a priest’s home! – and settled in the living room with the priest and his wife. The living room and much of the house was an interesting mix of high-tech Western gadgets, and traditional Japanese furnishings. Particularly impressive was the toilet which offered the feature of cleaning the user afterwards, and which also had various other buttons making it look more like some kind of electronic device.