How to Read “A famous place only to live in”
Sumu bakari no meisho
Meaning of “A famous place only to live in”
“A famous place only to live in” means that a place may look attractive and wonderful from the outside, but living there isn’t always as great as it seems. Everyone dreams of living in tourist destinations with beautiful scenery and atmosphere. But when you actually live your daily life there, you discover inconveniences and struggles you never saw before.
This proverb applies not just to places, but to jobs, environments, and positions too. Something may look ideal when you view it from afar. But when you actually step into that position, you face a reality different from your imagination. This expresses a universal life experience.
It’s similar to “the grass is always greener on the other side.” However, this proverb focuses specifically on “actually living” somewhere. It speaks about the gap between ideals and reality from the concrete perspective of daily life.
Origin and Etymology
The exact first written appearance of this proverb hasn’t been identified. However, it’s believed to have been used since the Edo period. The structure of the phrase is quite interesting. The word “bakari” here doesn’t mean “only” but rather expresses degree, like “enough to” or “worthy of.” So it carries the nuance of “a famous place worthy of living in.”
During the Edo period, travel culture flourished. Famous places like the Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido became objects of people’s admiration. Post towns with views of Mount Fuji, hot spring resorts, and scenic spots—many places made people dream “I’d love to live there someday.” But the actual lives of people living there weren’t as glamorous as travelers imagined.
Even places that prospered as tourist destinations had inconveniences in daily life. People struggled to make a living. Beautiful scenery becomes ordinary when you see it every day. Instead, the hardships of life become more noticeable.
This proverb was born and became established to express this human psychology. It captures the gap between ideals and reality perfectly.
Usage Examples
- I moved to a seaside town because I admired it, but realized it was a famous place only to live in due to humidity and salt damage
- That company looks glamorous, but I heard it’s actually brutal work—truly a famous place only to live in
Universal Wisdom
The proverb “A famous place only to live in” brilliantly captures a universal human psychology: “beautification through distance.” We tend to see distant things as beautiful and ideal. This applies not just to physical distance, but psychological distance too. Places we’re not in, positions we don’t hold, lives we haven’t experienced—we naturally see only their good sides, and they shine brightly to us.
However, every place has light and shadow. Every life has both joy and struggle. Even people living in beautiful places called famous spots have their own worries and inconveniences unique to that land. Winter cold, summer heat, tourist crowds, transportation difficulties, high prices. These daily realities exist there, invisible to travelers’ eyes.
This proverb has been passed down through generations because humans are creatures who constantly long for “somewhere other than here.” And at the same time, everyone repeatedly experiences learning reality only after actually going there.
Our ancestors understood this human nature. They packed into these few words both the importance of pursuing ideals and the importance of keeping eyes open to reality.
When AI Hears This
The brain constantly predicts the next moment and calculates the gap between prediction and reality. When this gap is large—when something unexpected happens—the brain releases large amounts of a substance called dopamine. This is the true nature of “being moved.” When you first visit a famous place, your brain’s prediction model is still incomplete. The scenery before your eyes becomes a continuous stream of prediction errors. That’s why strong emotion is born.
But when you start living there, the situation changes completely. Your brain learns that scenery every day, constantly improving prediction accuracy. The angle of morning light, the colors of sunset, seasonal landscape changes—everything becomes predictable. As prediction error approaches zero, dopamine release drops dramatically. Neuroscience research confirms that reward system neurons barely respond to completely predictable stimuli.
What’s interesting is that this mechanism is evolutionarily extremely rational. The brain needs to use limited energy efficiently. If it responded every time to already-learned safe environments, it would miss new threats and opportunities. In other words, “getting used to things” is an adaptive strategy where the brain completes its prediction model and redirects attention resources to other unknown objects. Losing emotion after living in a famous place is actually evidence that your brain is functioning normally.
Lessons for Today
What this proverb teaches modern people is the importance of having an “insider’s perspective” before making judgments. Glamorous lives on social media, attractive workplaces in job ads, ideal lifestyles introduced in media. Modern life overflows with information from the outside. But we must remember that these are always edited and beautified.
The key isn’t to deny having dreams. It’s to add a realistic perspective to those dreams. Before jumping into a new environment, talk to people who actually live there. Stay for an extended period. Visit in different seasons. This kind of “experiential information gathering” leads to choices without regret.
At the same time, this proverb can trigger rediscovery of your current place’s value. The environment you take for granted might be someone else’s dream when viewed from outside. Pursuing ideals is important. But having eyes that notice the happiness you already have is equally vital.
That’s another precious message this proverb gives to those of us living in modern times.
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