Junko Haraguchi， a petite Japanese ladywho embodies both the traditional and the modern，has lived for the most opportune periodof 14 years in China. Over the years， she hasobserved fast-changing China from her uniquepoint of view， and dispatched to Japan numerousarticles on everything that has taken place， big orsmall， in her adopted country. Seemingly tamebut full of the charm of daily life， these articleshave proven to possess a fascinating appeal forher readers. This free-lance writer who lovesChinese-style fried potato shreds， has becomea de facto people-to-people ambassador. TodayI am on my way to visit the ambassador at herBeijing “residence”。
Personal File
Name： Junko HaraguchiChinese Name： Yuan Kou Chun ZiNationality： JapaneseOccupation： Senior EditorTime in China： 14 years194 I follow her directions and make one brief turn after gettingoff the subway at Dawanglu Station， and instantly find myself inSOHO Modern City， a well-known condo community in the capital.
It is just a few steps from the subway station！ No wonder Junko toldme that it only takes a minute to walk to her home. When she told me“one minute” I thought I’d misheard her， and she’d actually said “sevenminutes”。 I feel a moment of admiration for the punctuality of theJapanese.
A“Three—Park”Home
Haraguchi already stands in the doorway as I reach for thedoorbell. Startled by the stranger， two kittens whiz onto an armchairand stare at me with watchful eyes， prepare to flee at any moment.
“I am sorry. The cats shed and spread their hair everywhere， Haraguchi apologizes while cleaning a chair for me. “It doesn’tmatter. I love cats too，” I assure her. “Really？” This seems to put hermore at ease， and she makes tea for me.
Too impatient to take a seat， I start looking around the apartment.
To my surprise， it looks no different from a typical Chinese home，furnished with European style furniture but no tatami. Maybe the onlytrace of the Japanese way of life that lingers in this home is that everyonewalks barefoot on the floor. “People of my generation are nolonger used to kneeling on tatami. Yes， my mother’s generation stilldoes that. I have no tatami even in my home in Tokyo.” Haraguchi tells me that she likes simple décor.
The landlord put flowers hereand there and curtains on all thewindows. It was too much furnishingfor her. Haraguchi kept only afew simple items of furniture andasked the landlord to remove therest when she moved in. Now I noticethat the SOHO Modern City’sbeautiful silhouette is fully visiblethrough the big French windowwithout blinds.
Haraguchi has rented thisapartment solely due to her deepinvolvement with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. July 13， 2001 wasthe day when the International Olympic committee was to choose byballot the host of the 2008 Olympic Games. There was a big rooftop party at SOHO Modern City that night， as everyone waited for the finalresult of the vote. Like all others present， Junko Haraguchi was sohappy and so excited that she was moved to tears when the big newscame that China had won. Standing on top of the building， Haraguchisaw a grand， unforgettable spectacle — hundreds of thousands of excitedBeijing residents rushing onto the Chang’an Avenue thoroughfareto join the stream of people flowing into Tian’anmen Square forthe celebration carnival. Later she wanted to rent an apartment in thisarea because of its convenient public transit system. She paid the rentdeposit without a moment’s hesitation when she saw the huge Frenchwindows facing SOHO Modern City. Through the window， you canmake out the rooftop where the party was held. “When I moved in，”Haraguchi says， “it was all open fields around the building. Greatchanges have taken place in the area in the last few years， with quite anumber of high-rises popping up to the north of here. My apartment ison the 29th floor and nothing obscures the view. Colorful neon lightsgorgeously dot the skyline of SOHO Modern City at night. Every time196 I see the rooftop from the sitting room， my thoughts return to thatnight’s celebration party. In the sitting room is a big round table with books piled on top.
Her study is filled with books too. “It’s so cluttered here. You can’tkeep it tidy with the cats always messing it up，” she explains， slightlyembarrassed. “It’s much better here. It was even worse in my Panjiayuanapartment. It was so messy that there wasn’t even space for visitorsto sit.” To be honest， the “messiness” in her home reveals a kindof unintentional gracefulness and elegance， a home décor similar tothat of the cultural workers introduced in Japanese lifestyle magazines.
Haraguchi bought a 70-square-meter apartment in the Panjianyuanarea in 1998. It was expensive because those apartments were onthe market for foreign buyers only. Later on the government annulledthis “for-foreigner-only” policy and now foreigners are on an equalfooting with Chinese in purchasing houses. “I bought it too early andpaid too much，” says Haraguchi， still regretful. Not only did she missthe right time， but she also chose a location that is inconvenient transportationwise. Anyhow， there was one benefit for her： the apartmentwas close to the Panjiayuan antique market. Haraguchi loves to collectantiques， glassware in particular. She would go browsing the marketwhenever she had time， and would always take something home. That’
s why her home is decorated with such a variety of bric-a-brac， mostof which was bought at the antique market. She visits the market sooften that all the vendors know her well and fervently try to sell to herwhen she shows up.
In addition to handicrafts， Haraguchi also loves little animals. Shekept three little pet birds when she lived in her Panjiayuan apartment.