Littleton vs. Moses Lake

Today Blaine and I tried out our brand-new membership at the Tokyo American Club. We rode our bikes to TAC, as it's called, for a midday workout in the gym.

When you live in the expat bubble of international schools and investment bankers, as we do, TAC is part of everyday conversation. Most moms in my world belong to TAC because their husbands' banking, hedge fund, legal, manufacturing, tech, etc. companies pay for membership in the corporate "package."

(Hey, I'm not crying in my soup here because the Washington Post makes our lives very pleasant - thanks, WaPo!)

To some who don't join, though, TAC is a symbol of close-mindedness, a place where lame Americans flee Japan and Japanese culture to dine in mediocre restaurants. And (some say) where unhappy expat wives go to drink the day away.

I did my reporting, and asked members and non-members what they think of it and what they use it for. And I decided we should join.

Why? 1) The gym; 2) Childcare while we're at the gym; 3) The big outdoor swimming pool; 4) Makes our lives easier; And 5) did I mention the pool and Tokyo's sweltering summer heat?

So Blaine and I had a big debate about TAC and, like many of our discussions involving luxury vs. practicality, this boiled down to advice from an ex-therapist about managing coupledom: It helps to recognize that each person comes from a different "country," that is, a different family, a different way of seeing the world.

Our "countries" are Littleton, Colorado (my suburban hometown) and Moses Lake (the rural Washington State town where Blaine grew up).

Moses Lake sees the 1 million-yen pricetag and the masters-of-universe membership and thinks, Are you kidding?

But, but, but - Littleton can rationalize all of that away. We are nanny-free. Our life here is heavily subsidized. A basic gym membership for both of us would cost $250/month - without anything for the kids. And wouldn't it be great for me to take the kids swimming when I'm solo parenting on weekends?

In the end, Littleton wore down Moses Lake - or maybe I just drank the expat wife Kool-Aid?

I plan to make the most of our expensive investment - without running up the bill. Blaine still isn't sure we've done the right thing, though he did seemed to enjoy the gym today...