Winter Cleaning
Yesterday was our final day in the gym before we were released for our short break for New Year’s. However, instead of training, we did something else. We cleaneded the gym! We literally dusted, vacuumed, and washed every part/equipment in the gym. Cleaning the gym (or your own house) at the end of the year is customary in Japan. We do this with the idea of starting the new year from a fresh slate and to make sure that we feel refreshed when the new year rolls around. There is also a big appreciation aspect involved in this whole process. In other words. we treat the gym as if it was alive and we take the time to appreciate it by giving it a good clean for letting us have the opportunity to train throughout the year. That being said, we literally took down every single equipment in the gym, cleaned it by hand, and placed them back in its original position.
This is something that we don’t do enough in the States. Often times we take things for granted so I think that having the time to show respect and appreciation for the training environment is incredibly important. I’m learning a lot of great things in Japan and I’m so glad that I was given this opportunity to come and train here.
Anyway, the cleaning process took several hours, but in the end, the gym looked as if it were brand new. However, the best thing about the whole thing was that everyone was released for the short one-week break after it was all done. I’m sure everyone is excited to be home and that they’ll all come back after the break feeling refreshed and ready to work hard!
Sho,
Amazing how much respect the country has for everything! You say the gym looked brand new…that’s funny, because I think the gym looks that way all the time! Have a great New Year and don’t eat too much!
very true. it all has to do with respect and i think that that is so important!
i’ll try not to eat too much, but you know with japanese new years, that’s all we do!
We usually do it at school here in Japan.
Clean our classroom, gym, even toilets…
We don’t find it special.
It’s very interesting that you’re impressed.
Wishing you a wonderful new year.
we’ve always cleaned our house in america because our family is japanese. i think cleaning the gym is important also so that we could feel fresh for the new year! anyway, hope you have a happy new year, tomoko!
This post reminded me of this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0YAjCelkMI) I took at a small gym outside of Tokyo. These kids take care of their gym! I’ll try to post some more videos from this gym…it was amazing to see the way they train.
trent!
thanks for checkin in! yea, the video says it all. we do that all the time. i’m learning so much out here and it’s been amazing. lots of respect for everyone and everything!