the less I think about wellness, the more 'well' I become

accidental healthy habits in tokyo, part one

I was twenty five, covered in cystic acne, bone-deep exhausted, riddled with PMS, leafing through a Deliciously Ella cookbook on the floor of my tiny apartment. I was vegan, working in a wellness company that vilified soy, in all her incredible forms, and celebrated paleo above all. I remember looking through the cookbook and feeling nauseous at the sight of stews filled with four types of beans and some kind of nut-based cheese.

Why is it that the healthier I try to be, the worse I feel? What the fuck is wrong with me?

It’s a thought I had many, many times before I finally began to shift my thinking around health and wellness and food, and by that I mean to mostly stop thinking about it at all. Which I know, is a privilege and a blessing. I am not going to sit here on my tatami floor and shout into the void just listen to your body and eat intuitively baby because for some, for many perhaps, that is not the solution *at* all. It’s only what has been true for me, so far.

While of course there is a ‘wellness’ scene in Japan, it’s on the fringes, and incredibly small. Something I always noticed though, throughout the years of travelling here, is how all my Japanese friends simultaneously had zero outward interest in wellness or spirituality and yet, knew how to take really good care of their health, without being insane about it at all (and I could not say the same for myself).

Below, four incredibly simple, cheap and accessible healthy habits I have effortlessly adopted, travelling and living in Tokyo.

1. Walking

I have always identified a A Walker. Not only because I don’t drive (at 27, I finally got my drivers license. I had driving lessons every Saturday for months, hated every *living* second of it, passed my test on the first try, truly believed my whole life would change, and then went straight back to walking and catching the train.) 🙃

When I lived in Australia, I would actively make time to go for a walk, usually twice a day. In Tokyo, I walk almost double the amount of steps without even trying. My step count, when I remember to check it, continues to surprise me. Very few people here own cars, and while the city is unimaginably huge, it is also very walkable. Meeting up with a friend will often involve walking between suburbs and stumbling across cute new places along the way.

I am (obviously) a big fan of movement in all it’s many forms, but my body is never as happy as when I’m walking consistently and regularly. I truly believe humans are made for walking, and theres something deeply and primally restorative about getting around on foot as much as possible, for the body and mind.

2. Baths

Bathing culture is taken very seriously in Japan. Bathing is for cleanliness of course, but also for physical and mental health. The bath is seen as a time to relax, to boost the metabolism and immune system, to sweat and to release. Even the tiniest Tokyo apartment will not sacrifice the bath (but will happily forgo any and all counter space in the kitchen) such is the importance of this ritual.

Stores on every corner carry a range of bath products including bath essences, bath tablets, bath salts (currently loving these) onsen salts and herbal mixtures for various purposes like relaxation, muscle tenderness, cold / flu - even cooling down in summer.

In Japan, you shower before getting into the bath (it feels crazy to me this is not the standard) and the whole household shares the bathwater, which is kept warm automatically. Bathing time is usually the first ritual of the evening after work, before dinner, which interestingly matches the yogic guidelines for bathing first.

While every day is (very) different for me, on my free evenings at home, my favourite ritual sequence is to prep my dinner and do a tidy of the apartment while the bath runs, soak for a little while (okay and sometimes for way too long) then stretch, meditate or body oil while I cool down, before eating dinner and getting cosy for the night. It truly feels like the greatest luxury in the world.

3. Natto

I remember where I was when I first tried natto. It was so offensive to me, it is tattooed into my memory, despite it being more than ten years ago. I was standing in my friends miniature apartment in Osaka, and with no idea what to expect, bit into a nato maki roll, and quite literally gagged.

Thankfully, I don’t give up easily and my friend served it to me cooked into takoyaki and okonomiyaki a few times and I soon developed a taste for it. Now, I eat natto almost every single day, and it’s a food I crave ravenously when I have gone without it for more than 24 hours. Interestingly, almost everyone I ask who lives here and eats natto, Japanese or expat, says the exact same thing.

Natto really is the ultimate superfood. It’s better than any probiotic supplement I’ve ever tried (and I used to dish out a fortune for seed), it has a really decent amount of K2 as well as a bunch of other vitamins and minerals, which might be why we start to crave it after a few days, in the same way we might crave fresh fruit, green vegetables, fish or red meat.

While it might be off putting at first, I highly, highly recommend giving it a try. It’s best with fresh, hot rice, kimchi and roasted seaweed.

4. Cold Tea

I'm a huge fan of herbal infusions and have been for years. Plain water, especially filtered, is stripped of so much of what actually makes water hydrating and alive. I spent many years making rich herbal infusions in mason jars (which is very fun and witchy) but recently I have been using this bottle for cold brew tea and infusions which makes it incredibly easy.

In Japan, cold tea is everywhere and extremely cheap. The most popular in summer is mugicha, a roasted barley tea, but there is also green tea, mixed grains tea, jasmine, oolong, roasted green tea, rooibos as well as black tea plain, with milk, or lemon. While I love to mix it up, I do come back to mugicha most days (and also find myself craving it when I go without) It’s caffeine free, super hydrating, supports digestion, skin health and relaxation. It’s also very affordable, even if you’re buying it outside of Japan.

I recommend trying cold brew tea if you haven’t before. It takes a little longer, but the taste is so smooth and mellow and you can adjust the strength to suit what you prefer. Start with a tablespoon or two of your favourite tea and fill the bottle / jar with cold water, leaving for 2-6 hours. It really depends on what tea you’re using so just experiment at first. The way I do it is to look at the colour and when it seems dark enough, I give it a taste.

I always have a bottle of cold brew tea on the go and in the height of summer, I usually have two. Drinking cold brew tea is noticeably more hydrating and satisfying than water, and it’s a subtle way to include more minerals in your diet. I cannot say it was thanks to swapping tea and infusions for water that my decade long struggle with eczema was resolved, but I can’t discount it as part of the healing process.

Oh and of course - it also tastes really, really good.

Okay! There is way more to explore here (like moxa, more slimy and fermented foods, seasonal eating, cleaning practices and soups) but I’ll save the rest for another day. As always, I’m not an expert in this stuff and just sharing what I have picked up from my outsiders perspective, living and spending time with friends here.

I’d love to know what accidental wellness rituals are popular in the country you live, too.

What else would you like to know about life in Japan? Please let me know!

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Also !!! We have opened up a few extra spots for our late summer japanese dream retreat~ !! we would love to see you there. I promise I won’t make you eat natto! (but I will definitely try!)