If you are like me and many others who have studied Japanese at university, you have probably watched the Japanese language learning program "Yan-san and the Japanese People." This NHK-produced "drama" from the 1980's is about a foreigner of never explicitly stated origin who comes to Japan to work/study as an architect.
 |
| Yan-san |
Through the various predicaments he finds himself in, the Japanese language students are supposed to learn important grammar points, but the real charm of the show (whether intentional or not) was the hilarious, over-the-top acting and ridiculous situations.
I was recently re-watching the second season of this classic when my friend and I realized that we could probably find where Yan lived using addresses and visual clues from the episodes. And so began our search for Yan-san...
Google-mapping the address seen on a plaque in the first episode of season 2 led us to a neighborhood near Oshiage Station in Tokyo. After winding our way through the tightly packed streets, we found it...Yan-san's apartment! It is still standing, though it shows the more than 20 years of wear and tear since the show was filmed (when it was already pretty run-down). Also still there is the shopping street he frequented and the park he ran through on his way to pick up his love interest, Okada-san.
 |
| The address plaque, updated with Romaji since the 80s. |
 |
| The nearby park, site of epic jumping over the fence scene. |
 |
The shotengai (shopping street). |
 |
| The fruit/veggie stand Yan-san's neighborhood friends owned. |
 |
| Yan's apartment building! |
 |
A light is on in Yan's apartment...looks like he's home. |
Of course we couldn't just look at these historic landmarks...Some scene reenactments were in order.
First, the scene where Yan's landlord is walking home after shopping at the veggie stand:
First, the scene where Yan's landlord is walking home after shopping at the veggie stand:
And of course, I would be remiss if I didn't reenact Yan's leap over the park fence as he joyously runs to pick up Okada-san from the station for his nabe party.
First episode of Yan-san season 2 can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiDFrYG3zes
