At least once a year I consider where I should live my life, I have been in Japan for 30 years, but is this where I want to be forever?
Spending a month in the US this summer was an interesting way to compare and contrast the Japanese dream and the American dream and which suits me in terms of a sustainably-driven focus on life.
Stability
The Japan Times did an article on immigration called The Japanese Dream where international residents who have chosen to live in Japan over the long term talk of the appeal of reliability, feeling of freedom due to an absence of strong religious controls on society, respect and preservation of traditional culture, art and architecture, support of social equity like insurance and pension, as well as good public transportation, childcare support and education.
Social media survey — responses were correct — Oahu has higher cost of living than Hiroshima
Cost of Living
Hawaii has one of the highest costs of living with over 85% of its food and energy supply of oil imported as well as a huge amount of waste exported, these are expenses the taxpayers have to cover. To be comfortable, a family of 4 needs to be making over $100,000 annually (14.8 million yen), but the average salary is only half of that at $52,000 a year.
Outside the major cities in Japan, such as here in Hiroshima, the cost of living is much lower and most families of 4 like ours can survive on 6 million yen a year (40,500 USD). As both of us are working in tourism, this helped us survive the closed borders and lack of income during COVID here in Japan, but would have been a real struggle as self-employed content creators and tourism consultants in Hawaii.
Waste Management
It’s important to me to live somewhere my waste is managed properly and I have access to recycling and composting. As long as I have a garden, I am able to reuse my own kitchen waste as compost in Hiroshima and Hawaii, but at the moment there is no acceptance of compost officially. A big step in the right direction is happening in Hawaii, however, with composting opportunities to reduce waste. In 2025, Oahu will divert a lot of the incineration waste when kitchen waste and compostable packaging will also be accepted in the garden waste green bins. I hope to see this official change in Hiroshima as well as other parts of Japan.
In terms of general waste, Hawaii incinerates less garbage each year at 1.2 million tons but also ships tons of its plastic, glass, aluminum, steel to California and other parts of the world.
Hiroshima actually burns more garbage at 1.4 million tons (but also does more recycling)
Both Oahu and Hiroshima are burning a lot of plastic packaging and materials in incineration which causes toxic chemicals in ash, pollution in air, sea and back in the soil when it is put into landfill.
Unfortunately, both Hawaii and Hiroshima are drowning in plastic packaging and waste and even a conscientious consumer will find it very difficult to buy anything without creating plastic waste.
Opportunities to recycle for residents and businesses are much better in Japan
Most are forced to put steel cans, paper, and glass — which should be recycled- into the general trash can in Hawaii. But in most of Japan, we separate garbage into at least six categories for a more efficient recycling system that reduces emissions as well as costs to the taxpayer.
Need more Reuse & Refill
Reuse and Refill of containers is much better than recycling to really reduce emissions and waste, but there are few opportunities yet in either destination.
More opportunities to Reuse and Refill in Hawaii than Japan
I was able to refill my water bottle easier in Hawaii as there were many water fountains with a spout set up just for water bottles which I loved to see. In Japan, some shops like MUJI are offering water and some shampoo refills, but it is still a rare find in Japan.
A staple for those seeking a more sustainable life in Hawaii are Down to Earth organic & vegetarian stores on Oahu. As well as offering tasty, healthy and filling meat-free and fish-free shopping, DTE also allows refills & reuse of food containers for cereals and other dry foods, and water.
Refill your drink bottle designed into water fountains in the US at parks makes for germ/touch-free hydration
Public Transportation
I was excited to see that the HART above traffic electric train is now in operation on Oahu and expanding to connect with the shopping and business district in the next few years. This is a big step for car-dependent Hawaii, but Hiroshima is the hands-down winner of quality of life without a car. On the other hand, Hiroshima has buses, trains, the Shinkansen bullet train, street cars, a tourist bus, ferries and a monorail in addition to taxis and cars. Most small, medium and especially large cities in Japan offer a high-quality of mobility for all without need for a car.
Life without a car is still high quality in Japan because of great public transportation
Tourism
With all the talk of overtourism and challenges to balance the needs of locals and visitors in destinations for quality of life, I also looked at how many visitors Hiroshima vs Oahu has and was surprised that Hiroshima actually receives more visitors, but Oahu depends on tourism more for its economy.
According to the Peace Memorial Park Museum, Hiroshima receives 11.5 million visitors each year and most are domestic visitors as only 530,000 come from overseas.
Oahu and the other Hawaiian islands can only be visited by air or ship, so the number of total visitors at under 6 million annually according to the Hawaii tourism guide is understandable, but was still unexpected. In the past, Japanese visitors to Hawaii have gotten as high as 1.5 million, but numbers have declined since COVID and the weakened yen to dollar.
As someone who works on sustainable tourism working as a guide, content creator and inbound tourism consultant, this is an important consideration to have more opportunities for work in this field here in Hiroshima.
Actually, Hiroshima receives more tourists (domestic and international) than Oahu
Cleanliness
One of the most common responses my guests have when they come to Japan is how clean everything is and how decent and polite people are to one another. I saw a lot of people living in filth as a daily part of life in Hawaii on streets, sidewalks, public spaces, but even inside of eateries where tables and floors are rarely clean. In contrast, you are unlikely to find places in public and private businesses which are not clean and tidy.
Japanese culture and community duties mean cleaner streets and public spaces
Renewable Energy
As someone seeking to live and work in a sustainable society, renewable energy use and opportunities for business, government and homeowners is important.
Twenty years ago, Japan was on the forefront of clean energy initiatives and goals, but is now the most sluggish in its goals on the world stage. Unfortunately, the Japanese government’s Green Transformation has been called GreenWashing as it still plans to use fossil fuels for energy past 2050 and is falling behind on renewable energy forward initiatives in the UN, COP conferences, and even among the G7. For Japan to retain its place as a top-5 world economy, there must be a shift to cleaner and cheaper renewable energy at a comparable rate to Europe and the US.
Hawaii has some of the most ambitious goals in the US and has set a government target to get ALL of its energy from renewable energy — solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydropower, and H-power incineration by 2045.
Hawaii requires that 100% of its electricity be generated by renewable sources of energy by 2045. In 2023, about 31% of the state’s total generation came from renewables. Despite having the third-lowest total energy consumption among the states, Hawaii uses almost nine times more energy than it produces. EIA, 2024
Safety
Unfortunately there is no perfect place to live in the world now due to climate change, natural disasters and war. Hawaii is suffering wildfires, dwindling water reserves, rising seas, and tropical storms. There is less gun-violence and violent crime overall in Hawaii but a lot more homelessness, breaking and entering and theft. Healthcare and insurance costs -as well as general cost of living expenses — are among the highest in the US.
Hiroshima has landslides, earthquakes and severe storms, but a reasonably priced (for all) insurance system you can depend on if you are sick or injured. The dependable and safe system of public transportation takes risk out of having to drive everyday.
Olympians & Sport
Both Hiroshima and Hawaii are fantastic places to live if you love to do outdoor sports. Hiroshima has great traffic-free running, walking and cycling paths along the rivers. Hawaii has unbeatable water sport opportunities year round as well as a temperate climate which makes running, walking and cycling easier year-round. Both locations have great hiking trails and a lot of enthusiasm for professional sport spectatorship.
Hawaii has more Olympians coming from the destination starting with a surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku who won Olympic medals for swimming, yet it was Carissa Moore who finally won a gold medal for Hawaii in surfing 100 years later. In the 2024 Paris Olympics, we saw many top-athletes from Hawaii in volleyball, surfing, and sailing with a few Hawaii players on the men’s volleyball team that won the bronze medal.
There haven’t been any top medal winning Olympians from Hiroshima that I could find, but there is a Hiroshima Olympian with a great story. Takata Shizuo was a shot-putter who performed well in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and went on to survive the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Post WW2 he dedicated his life to connecting with international visitors through photography.
[Takata Shuzo’s] life’s work was to talk to foreign tourists visiting Hiroshima and photograph them along the road from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum to the cenotaph. Hiroshima for Peace.com
Traditions & Culture
In terms of a love for traditions and culture, it is something I have always loved about living and working in tourism in Japan. For immigrants from China and Taiwan, Japan also shows their Chinese heritage and culture that has been erased in many ways in modern China.
Japan and Taiwan have done a better job at preserving elements of ancient Chinese culture, like art, poetry and architecture.. The Japan Times 8/2024
But also for me as an American, I see things that are valuable parts of a trusting community and respect for the past which are still alive here, but which have been lost in the US. For example, when I walk through charming old towns where they have preserved the retro coffee making art of syphon coffee, chat with the mom & pop shop owners selling handmade sweets, admire the high-quality denim still made in Okayama, buy seasonal veggies from the honesty shops in front of farms — putting my coins in the box without anyone watching, or even when I see kids walking to and from school on their own - this is a slice of Americana which was a part of my life and culture when I was a kid, but is long gone now in the US.
Oahu’s Pearl Harbor park and trees — such a beautiful place
Hiroshima’s gardens with Sakura trees — such a beautiful place
Where is the best place to live?
So the million dollar question is where should I live if I am seeking more sustainable opportunities for life, leisure and work? It looks like the answer as my social media survey also shows, is Hiroshima for many of the reasons outlined above.
Visiting Pearl Harbor memorial on Hiroshima day this year opened my eyes to the beauty of living in a place where I have the opportunity to talk about peace, reconciliation and hope for a better future in my tourism work. Unfortunately, these issues of peace are still so relevant for all of us.
Things could change in the next few years as Hawaii moves forward more quickly on its sustainable policies for waste management and energy, but in terms of finding meaningful work that also brings in enough income to cover the cost of food, healthcare and transportation, the choice is clear.
Hiroshima wins for the better place to live and work while seeking a more sustainable life
Please comment below- I’d love to hear your feedback and point of view on where you live and how it relates to a sustainable lifestyle.