I live in Japan, and can see an active volcano from my kitchen window

Alan Collins, from Donnybrook, lives with his family on the Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture, southern Japan, with his wife Chika - a local - and their two children, Haruki, 12, and Sakura, 10.

How did you end up in Japan?

We’ve been living here since September, 2016. My first contact with the area was in the summer of 2003. I was posted here by the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme as an English teacher in a local junior high school.

Just before I got the job, I was working in a small theatre company as an actor, writer and production manager. We had just finished a national tour and I wanted a break from it all. Japan looked like a good bet. Far away, mysterious, different.

What was supposed to be a one-year break turned into three-year stint. I met my wife Chika there early in 2004 and my connection with the area grew roots.

We got married in Cork in 2009, lived in Scotland for a time, then moved back to Cork because we missed it so much.

After a bit of a struggle on the return home, we decided to move to Japan full time in 2016 because the opportunities looked better. The kids were very young, we knew the area well, and we had plenty of contacts so we took the plunge.

What is life like in your new home?

By Japanese standards, we live in a very rural area. It’s a peaceful and easygoing place. We live nestled between an inland sea and an active and very destructive volcano which we can see from our kitchen window. There were continuous eruptions between 1990 and 1995 and in that time 43 people were killed, and there was massive destruction of buildings and infrastructure. Chika’s school was destroyed and she had to live with other families in a gymnasium and later in prefabs built by the army. The memory of that lives on here. Still, it’s a very beautiful place.

We’re on the doorstep of a national park and in an area famous for its wonderful fish, fruit and vegetables. We’re kept busy with work and school during the week like everyone else, but we also have lots of time to do other things.

I started learning the piano a couple of years back (piano schools are everywhere here) and I practice Zen meditation in a local temple, while also becoming a bit of dab hand as a potter.

The kids can do things we wouldn’t normally do in Cork, like violin, piano, ballet and art classes. It’s seems like quite a lot but it’s normal for kids here to be busy.

What has been the biggest challenge?

The language has been the biggest challenge. The writing system is mostly based on Chinese characters and is a vast and complicated system. I still have difficulty reading at a deep level.

I can converse quite well in most cases, but I’d really need to put my head in the books and spend a couple of years to become completely fluent.

Getting through the bureaucracy here can be quite challenging as well, but I’m fortunate my wife is an expert at dealing with the ins and outs of it all. I’d be lost otherwise.

Being the only foreigner in the village isn’t too much of an issue. I’ve become part of the scenery here and the novelty has worn off for most people, though I do get the odd startled glance every now and again.

How might you spend your weekends?

Weekends are spent mostly out of the house. Nagasaki city is nearby and we spend quite a lot of time there, even if just to breathe in a bit of bustle. I started a mountain walking club a couple of years back and I lead groups on treks up to the old volcanos in the national park. I became an avid hillwalker while living in Cork thanks to my dad and I’ve kept up the tradition by bringing my own kids up the mountains.

There are loads of events and festivals going on here so there’s always plenty to keep us occupied.

Fireworks, traditional singing, music and dance, taiko drumming, markets, museums, sports competitions, exhibitions – we have it all most of the year and we keep an eye out for what’s going on.

Tell us a bit about the culture of where you live?

Shimabara prides itself on its food culture and colourful history. This part of Japan is perfect for growing all types of fruit and vegetables. We have a Mediterranean climate here and the farmers grow grapes, lemons and olives as well as world class watermelons.

Shimabara is nationally famous for its rebellion against the Shogun in 1637 and for its Japanese ‘Hidden’ Christians who were persecuted by the Shogun when Christianity became outlawed. Those who survived fled to the outlying islands or kept their faith a secret. Martin Scorsese’s 2016 movie Silence is based on historical events and he visited the area while researching the movie.

There is also an imposing reconstructed castle here which celebrates its 400th anniversary this year and there are beautifully renovated samurai houses nearby.

Thanks to the volcano, there are some top-quality hot springs for bathing and the cooler streams running through the town are home to some enormous carp fish.

Tell us about your line of work?

When I moved to Japan, I really wanted to work for myself on my own terms. Chika and I started up our own business, Collins English School, shortly after we arrived. It’s been a slow process building up student numbers but it’s worked out well. We’d like to expand the business and eventually hire foreign English-speaking teachers. We cater to everyone, from kindergarten kids to adults.

I never in a million years would have thought I’d be teaching in kindergartens but it’s been great fun. I’ve taught literally thousands of kids during the last seven years. I also work as a wedding celebrant in a local hotel.

They built a chapel on the grounds for western style weddings and they are very popular. I look like the real thing wearing the pastor costume and we do the traditional ‘I do’ vows, rings and kiss. I enjoy it because I can use my acting skills to the full.

I’m also a qualified hypnotherapist and a website designer is currently working on a site for me that will focus on online sessions. I think my main clients will be foreigners living in Japan, and Japanese with high English skills.

Any special mentions to friends or family back in Cork?

A big shout out to my mam, Eleanor, and my dad, Lar, back home in Douglas. They’ve been very supportive of us from the beginning. It’s been tough moving so far from home and we don’t meet up as much as we’d like to. We do keep in touch every week through video calls but it doesn’t match being there face to face.

Also, a big hello to my sisters Therese and Claire who don’t live too far from the family home, and my brother Mike who lives in Toledo in Spain.

Also, a shout-out to past theatre supremo and current art therapist, Patrick Byrne, and Noel Corcoran of Crosshaven House who prodded me to tell my story for The Echo. And John McSweeney for keeping me informed and up to date with what’s going on in Cork.

If you were back in Cork for one day, what would be the ideal day for you?

It would start with a gentle stroll down the Mangala in Donnybrook, through the Community Park in Douglas with a stop at Puccino’s in the shopping centre for a coffee and a scone. Then hop on the bus into town.

Straight into the English Market for a look around and to get cheese at the Pig’s Back (one thing I miss about Cork is the cheese). Then a wander up Pana for the atmosphere, down Opera Lane, into the Crawford Gallery, down Paul Street (a stop at Pinocchio’s for the kids), into Triskel Christchurch for a sconce, then the long haul down to Fitzgerald’s Park, a few hops on the Shaky Bridge, a 99 cone from yer man in the ice cream van, a walk up to the old haunts in UCC, and the bus back to Douglas.

Maybe my mam’s lasagna for the dinner and a pint or two of Beamish afterwards with my da in the South County. My dad grew up in Kinsale and we’ve family roots in Rosscarbery so I’d head down that direction the day after.

I feel very nostalgic talking about Cork for this article, it’s stirred up a lot of memories and feelings. I don’t get homesick but do miss home, of course. I’m still a proud Irishman, and sticking with traditions an even prouder Corkman.