by Cecilia Luzi

From the very first day of my fieldwork in Japan, I knew that this would be a great adventure. After a long ride on the Shinkansen from Kyoto, I found myself tired in a hotel in Buzen, but my child was crying to go out and play somewhere. This was just the beginning of a series of intense months spent between field research and the need to create a new routine for myself and my child. Soon I was spending endless hours in public parks in rural Japan and making some interesting discoveries. First, I noticed that there were public parks that were only for the elderly, with equipment for back and leg exercises. This is a clear sign that the Japanese population is aging at a dizzying pace, especially in rural areas. Second, in rural Japan, there are some stunning parks! Having lived in Berlin for two years, I thought that Germany held the record for the most spectacular public parks, but I had to revise my opinion. The parks here in Japan are generally well maintained, with beautiful gardens and large playgrounds for children. I also noticed that parents often play with their children, whereas in Europe, parents often sit on benches and watch their children play. But in Japan, parents climb the slides together with their children, and everyone seems to be having a good time. However, this can also lead to some awkward moments when you’re stuck on a slide tower with another parent that’s meant for kids between the ages of 5 and 10! But in the end, it’s all part of the fun.

Playing with leaves in autumn
Copyright © Cecilia Luzi 2022

I also had many interesting encounters during my stays in parks. In front of the hotel where I stayed during the first days of my fieldwork, there was a clearing with a pavilion and some benches. On the evening of my arrival, I decided to take a walk and came across some strange fitness equipment in the park (which I later found out was for elderly people). While I was trying to make sense of it, a man walking his dog approached me and my son. He seemed intrigued by our presence. We exchanged a few words, and after 10 minutes we were sitting in his living room eating cookies and talking with him and his wife about the increasing desolation of the city with more and more empty houses and a rapidly aging population.

Collecting acorns in fall and enjoying springtime in public parks
Copyright © Cecilia Luzi 2022, 2023

During fall, the parks turned into a veritable sea of color. Every day was like discovering a different landscape, and my son filled my pockets with colorful leaves, acorns and chestnuts at every turn. On a sunny December day, we met a family at the slide who had recently moved from Tokyo to the nearby village. The mother was Japanese, the father Senegalese, and they had a 5-year-old daughter who was cheerful and lively and quickly gained my son’s trust. We immediately struck up a conversation as we were curious about each other. I soon discovered that their move to the countryside was more challenging than expected, as the mentality was different than in the city and communication, especially in the workplace, was less direct. “At the moment we are saving, and as soon as our daughter starts elementary school, we have decided to move to Senegal,” explained the mother.

Public parks in Japan are often shaded by large cherry trees of all kinds. This year, they bloomed between late March and early April at my field site. So when I had to organize a meeting with one of my research participants, we did not hesitate to organize a hanami with our children. She came with her parents and we spent an hour eating strawberries and talking about her ten years in Japan as a potter, while the children played and screamed non-stop.

Slides in Japan are very long
Copyright © Cecilia Luzi 2023

When I moved to my second field site, I stayed in a trial house provided by the municipality for the first ten days. It was only a two-minute walk from the largest park and playground in town. Every day we went to the slides and met many different families. What surprised me most was that many people I spoke with were not from the city, but had moved here after marriage because their spouse was originally born here. Whether they were men or women, whether they came from nearby cities or from big cities like Nagasaki or Fukuoka, many moved to this small town of 15,000 people after deciding to get married and have children.

The beach is our second option if we don’t want to go to the park.
Copyright © Cecilia Luzi 2023

When I arrived in the field months ago, I quickly realized that I had to face many challenges: finding the right people to socialize with, adapting to a new place, and most importantly, finding a way to give my child the serenity he needed in a completely different context than he was used to. All the initial phases of participant observation, which were very important to my research, took a back seat to the need to make the move as easy as possible for my child. Anyone who has dealt with babies and toddlers, as well as older children, knows that they need constant attention, constant presence, and a good dose of daily entertainment. And when you just want to flip open the futon and enjoy an episode of some show before you start preparing dinner after a busy day of meetings and interviews, you need to get out and play. Doing fieldwork with a young child in tow means leaving the house every day, even when you’re tired and exhausted. Some days this can be very exhausting, but there are also positive aspects to this situation. I have spent many happy hours in the parks watching my son play, grow, and interact with adults and children, but most importantly, even on days when I would have preferred to stay home and avoid people, my child has forced me to go out. As time went on, I became more and more confident in going out every day. Now I enjoy chatting with the other moms and dads in town, and what is just a playground for my child has become a new source of observation for me every day.