Discover Japan with Hanami

Japan is mainly known abroad for its culture but what is the daily life there? Through the experience of a couple, Hanami brings you part of the answer. A travelogue in the distance… Published by La Boîte à Bulles, Hanami is the work of one person. Julia Cejas is a writer, illustrator and colorist. She is even the narrator since the book is the autobiographical account of her stay in Japan. Passionate about the archipelago, she finally realized her dream: to spend several months in Tokyo with her partner Marc. The couple knows little about this country but they prepare before. It starts with basic information: how to apply for a visa… To finance the trip, the couple saved two years. In addition, she benefits from a scholarship and the redundancy bonus of her companion. These two artists can also telework. Hanami then becomes a real guide to organize a long stay. This preparation is represented by sketches in a single color. Indeed, Hanani's colorization is radical with only a handful of colors. However, this choice is not very attractive on some pages. Hanani's drawing reproduces the style of the travel guide. The features are vivid like a sketch taken along the way. Elsewhere a love story between a European and a Japanese woman reproduces the style of manga. We share, at first, the joy of the change of scenery of the first days. This trip is mostly urban. It is necessary to wait until the very end of the want for them to leave Tokyo during a road trip. Throughout the pages, the scenario oscillates between wacky anecdotes and the daily life of an expatriate. The couple discovers the local cuisine and traditions such as these volunteers making rounds in the evening to remind them of the dangers of fire. There are common places on the archipelago: toilets unique in the world, the difficulty of not speaking Japanese, a museum on earthquakes … … The title is also symbolic of this cultural difference. Hanami means cherry blossoms in Japanese and recalls the festival that marks the beginning of spring. The author sees in this title an invitation to go out and the symbol of her stay in the land of the Rising Sun. However, she is totally destabilized by her arrival in Japan because she goes out of her routine. It all starts with the difficulty of the couple to feed. She is vegan and he does not eat gluten. She agrees to eat eggs and dairy products. Alas, he can not and wheat entering the composition of all prepared dishes, they cook everything. However, unprocessed food costs twice as much, and the couple quickly struggles financially. Many pages are about Japanese classes because she has great difficulty progressing. It is sometimes difficult to cohabit when both are teleworking. She can't create when he's in the same room. The couple, however, withstood this test. This difficulty of integration also reveals more intimate disorders. Julia is lost because she doesn't know what to do with her life. Hanami is an entertaining read combining contrasting feelings. On the one hand, the reader can read the joy of discovering a country long fantasized but on the other hand he discovers the difficulty for the couple to integrate. Despite this, the book remains very light and sometimes remains anecdotal. If travel stories intrigue you, find other chronicles with The France of Madame Hibou and The Travels of Ibn Battuta.