Writers Abroad Magazine Issue 2 March 2015 | Page 22

WRITERS ABROAD MAGAZINE

…To There Featuring Alyson Hilbourne
Q. What brought you to Japan, when and from where?
I live in Yokohama and this is the fourth year we’ve been
here. My husband’s work, as an international
schoolteacher, brought us here from Bangkok where we
lived previously.
Q. What are the advantages of living in Japan for a
writer?
There are really no advantages to living here as a writer,
that I can see. There is very little published in English so
my output is aimed at UK or US markets.
Q. Has your writing output increased since you came to Japan?
No, it hasn’t really changed, but I have been lucky enough to have some expat and
travel pieces about Japan published in The Oldie magazine. That wouldn’t have
happened from Thailand – it is much easier to get out and about here.
Q. Is there anything you found hard to cope with?
Oh, learning the language is definitely the hardest thing. It has been everywhere we’ve
lived. I am not a linguist. I also find the food hard after the variety we had in Bangkok.
Japanese restaurants concentrate on one food type so you don’t get sushi and
tempura in the same place.
Q. What impact did Japan have on you emotionally, sensorally or intellectually
and did you incorporate this into your writing?
I love this country — the culture and the countryside are both beautiful and unique.
However, I’m not sure I put it in my writing at all. I don’t think I understand Japanese
culture enough to write about it.
Q. What are local attitudes to writers?
No idea!
Q. Swapping cultures will always present new aspects to moral conclusions and
assumptions. Does this reflect on your writing?
I really don’t think I know enough about Japanese culture to write about it. Since I work
in an international school too, which is rather an English speaking bubble, I don’t
interact much in the community plus the language barrier makes it hard to really
understand the culture fully.
Q. What have you learnt from living in Japan?
I’ve come to appreciate the Japanese passion for seasons. I grew up in a country with
four seasons but have lived much of my live with just wet and dry seasons. The
Japanese really value each change in season and take the best from each.
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