Lasting Impressions

So, now that I'm back, and have had some time to gain some perspective, I wanted to share some observations, impressions, etc from our trip. The landscape was pretty well described in all of the blogs-so I'm not focusing on how pretty the sakura were (cherry trees), or how lovely the Zen gardens were--these are more cultural notes than anything. And, yes, they are generalizations, and maybe even seem a bit rude, but it's just such a different culture, it's hard not to pick out the extremes.

Sing us a song...
-No, I'm not talking Karaoke. One of the things that I loved was how all of the Japanese people in the restaurants, shops, etc, would sing song hello, and if you did or didn't buy anything they would thank you in the same sing-songy manner. A lot of the times when we were listening to people speak, it sounded like song--which is probably why the Japanese language is so hard to learn, is because of the "melody" for certain words that can make what you are saying vary so much.

Humbly yours.
-One of my favorite things about Japan was how humble everyone seemed to be. The bowing became second nature, and I found it very sweet and humbling as well. Not only was everyone most humble and gracious, but almost everyone who we asked for help in getting around sincerely tried to be helpful. We often got walked to our destinations, or if someone saw us staring at a map, they'd come over to help. If they spoke English, they always asked how we were enjoying our stay in their country. While a lot of people seemed cold in their business suits, and their serious work faces, most of the people we were able to converse with were quite lovely and welcoming. It made me want to really go out of my way to be as welcoming to visitors to DC.

Fish, seaweed, and sesame, oh my.
-Because we live in DC, we are no stranger to ethnic foods-Ethopian, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietanamese, etc....and I just love Asian food, so I thought that Japanese food would not bring that much of a mystery. But, we have definitely Americanized the Japanese food here. Sushi was not as easy to find as we had thought-instead, sashimi seemed to be the norm. And every restaurant seemed to smell of fish and seaweed-mostly because that's the basis for all of their sauces. So, one minute I'd be hungry, and then after entering the restaurant, I'd quickly lose my appetite-just because the smell was so strong and intense--even if the food was somewhat mild, that fish smell was overpowering. Another thing that threw me off was texture-there are a lot of mushy, slimy, jelly-like substances in the Japanese culture-and after awhile, you just want something that has a crunch to it....which is why we fell in love with grilled sesame treats with soy sauce--but that too was wrapped in nori--we couldn't escape the wrath of the seaweed!

Never heard of it
-So, the typical joke about Japanese pronounciation, not too far off the mark. The "l's" and "r's" in words sometimes get a bit jumbled. One day at the market, we were pointing to different fish, asking what they were. We mostly got the Japanese names, but sometimes the store owner would attempt English. So, one was pointing to the fish "butterfish" or "snapper" which we got right away. Then, she said a few Japanese names-saba (mackerel), toro (tuna). And "frounder." We thought that was the Japanese name...until we realized it was flounder. Oh well.

Hi-tech, hi-speed, high-intensity
Everything in Japan is so technilogically advance. All the TVs are HDTV, and the advertisements are just on a completely different level--they are everywhere and everything is an advert. One of the nice things about technology, is that everyone is text-crazy there. Talking on the phone is not allowed on the Japanese trains, so most of the time, people are just texting away. If someone does talk on the phone in public, they cover their mouths to be polite. It is so much nicer than having to listen to someone's phone conversation.

Everything seems to move pretty quickly in Japan-which is probably why the technology is so rapidly advancing. The people move quite fast, and if you don't move, you often find an elbow planted in your rib. It's not out of rudeness-but these people have somewhere they want to be, and if you are in their way, that is your problem, not theirs. No excuse me's, no niceities-just a firmly planted elbow. One of our guides told us we should just elbow back, because that's what people do!!!

The trains are also fast-between the bullet trains, and the regular subway trains, we hardly ever had to wait for a train. In DC, there can sometimes be up to a 15 minute wait for off-peak hours. I think our longest wait in Japan was 5 minutes at most.

Buddha Kitty:
So, one of the biggest things in Japan are the cartoon characters. Hello Kitty is EVERYWHERE. Pens, charms, bracelets, purses, on every sort of souvenier you could imagine. Also big are the mon-chi-chi's (remember those???). But, the Japanese use these little cartoons for everything, and people just eat it up, and can't get enough of their Hello Kitty. I think Hello Kitty may beat out Buddha. Except for my charm, which has Hello Kitty on the lap of Buddha-which effin rocks!

Bathroom Humor:
-Public bathrooms: The one blessing and curse to Tokyo and Kyoto are that there are tons of public restrooms, so you never have to worry about being a tourist and finding a place to "go" because they are located practically everywhere, including the subway. And, while this is a relief, most of the public toilets are not. For some reason, the "Eastern" toilets are just a big hole in the ground-and there may or may not be toilet paper. But, there certainly is no soap, and no hand towels to dry your hands from the COLD water. I finally learned how to scout out the Western toilets, but as the saying goes, when ya gotta go....

-Hotel and restaurant bathrooms: okay, not to get obsessed with toilet talk, but the hotel and restaurant bathrooms made up for the icky public ones. Most of them had heated seats, and offered to play "music" or "flushing sounds" while you went about your business. One bathroom was so fancy that when you opened the door to the restroom, the lid to the toilet popped up, and when you flushed, it went back down. Now that's a fancy toilet!

The Long Life and Smoking Conondrum
-I can't get over how many elderly people there are in Japan. And, most of them are active. I rarely saw canes, or wheelchairs. Most of them walk around with each other at a pretty fast pace, and stay insanely busy. My father's mother walks several miles a day, but she has nothing on the Japanese. I couldn't get over how many train stations had stairs--and not just a small set-I mean, these huge stairwells, and no escalator or elevator in sight. None. So, these older folks were almost forced to be in shape, because they had no choice not to be. And yet, everyone smokes in Japan. How can people live so long when surrounded by so much smoke? It's still a mystery.

And Pachinko is it's name-o
We went, we saw, we didn't understand the obsession with Pachinko. Gambling is not allowed in Japan, so instead, they allow pachinko, which is a mix between pinball of sorts, and a slot machine. I couldn't really figure the whole thing out, but I guess you get a set amount of these steel balls the size of a marble to play with, and then if you win, you get a whole bunch more of the little marbles, which you eventually exchange into a prize (not money since gambling is not allowed). You take your little prize conveniently next store to a small short, and sell your "prize" for money. And that is the magic of pachinko. It's loud, it's smoke filled, it's pachinko.

The Long and the (very) Short of It
-Now that we are back, I feel so short-it was nice being average size, if even for a little while.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures. I'm happy we were able to go, and while it was utterly crazy, I think it only makes us better travellers in the end. And, it opens out minds to something bigger in this world, which is always quite nice.