Heading home- final thoughts on the trip

I am sitting on my flight back to Hawaii. I just looked over all my pictures from the whole trip. People often ask you “what was the highlight” or “favorite.” It is often difficult to answer- it certainly is in this case. The highlight was the whole trip- simply being in Japan for 3 weeks. I have seen Japan from the insider’s perspective and the outsider’s perspective. What I mean by that is when I am with Kuniko or Kuniko’s family I am seeing Japan with an inside perspective. We go to restaurants that would never be in a guidebook and even if they were it would be very difficult to order food off the menu- cause it isn’t in English. Kuniko’s family- both her parents and Aunt and Uncle welcomed me into their homes and experiencing another country in this manner is a very special thing- not to mention having the opportunity to eat in there homes which is different from going out to eat. The showers are different, the way trash is sorted out is different- lots of little (and some not so little) differences that you don’t experience as a traveler. Also when traveling alone you miss out on a lot of stuff- for example in museums or temples the English explanation is very short- often much shorter than the Japanese. On the plus side when I am by myself I can see things from my own perspective and take in all in without explanation which can be exciting.

I have traveled quite a bit and I have enjoyed all of the places I have been, however, for me there was something special about traveling in Japan. First off it is the safest place I have traveled- there simply are no bad neighborhoods and almost no crime- amazing when you consider the size of the cities we are talking about. Secondly the Japanese may simply be the most helpful group of people on the planet- seriously. Even if they can’t speak English they will try to help you. I bought a water at 7-11 and the clerk bowed to me- think about that! You are lucky to be acknowledged as a human being in most convenience stores in the US. The railway system is wonderful- you can get anywhere in a short amount of time- in a comfortable seat on a nice train- and the conductors bow every time they enter and leave the train car. On top of that you can get a killer bento box at pretty much any station for less than 10 bucks and it is often better than the Japanese food you get in the US for double the price. Even though I speak no Japanese I never missed a train connection (there were many).

On top of all these modern conveniences you have incredible temples, shrines, castles, gardens, etc. From my perspective there is a lot of polarity in Japan- on the one hand you have these sensory overload places in the big cities- lights, noises, signs, technology (all of which I find to be really thrilling and so different and exciting) and nearby there are temples and shrines (often there are little shrines in these modern areas). On the one hand you have people working crazy hours and seemingly stressful existences, on the other hand you have onsens and tons of places to get massages. There is tons of beautiful nature- mountains, ocean, etc and there are these amazing modern cities.

People talk about being crowded on trains in Tokyo- which is true and often the train stations are packed with people but there seems to be a flow and respect that occurs. In Hong Kong I hated going into the subway stations- getting on escalators and trains because people are so pushy, disrespectful and generally annoying. Even in the crowded station I never once felt like that- and often they were more crowded than the stations in Hong Kong.

Obviously I have written extensively about the food- quite simply it is amazing. I have eaten some good food in my life- the food I have had in Japan is easily some of the best ever. From my perspective it seems like the Japanese don’t half-ass anything- whatever it is they are doing they do it with pride, precision and dedication and it seems to permeate everything in Japan- including the food and service. In the really good restaurants I believe a lot of thought goes into each ingredient. I love that the restaurants are so specialized- you can go to a place that just does soba or Tonkatsu- you know that if that’s all they do it will be incredible.

I am no historian or sociologist but I think Hiroshima is a testament to the kind of people the Japanese are. It was basically leveled by the bomb and now it is a modern and thriving city. From what little I know much of Japan was leveled after the war. Kuniko’s dad told me that after the war when he was a child sweets were rare- now you can get high end pastries and candies- EVERYWHERE in Japan. Much of Tokyo was destroyed and now it is the largest city in the world and probably one of the most modern ones. It really blows my mind to think that this was all accomplished in a matter of decades. Contrast this with the developing countries- one of the things that struck me when I was in south America was the fact that no matter how smart or resourceful you were- you couldn’t accomplish anything if you weren’t in the right class. These developing countries have been living and are living fairly primitively- I realize there are many factors involved in this. Considering that Japan has very few natural resources it and has managed to build the second largest economy in the world is amazing.

Here’s the other thing that sort of blows me away- they actually like Americans. Think about that for a minute- we dropped 2 a-bombs on them and defeated them in the war and they still actually like us and are nice to us. Contrast this with the Europeans- look at the French- we saved their asses and now they (I realize this is a generalization) don’t like us. I found it refreshing to travel in a place where I was actually welcomed.

Plus they have capsule hotels and places where you can feed monkeys! If only they sold shoes and clothes that fit me. I forgot to mention the vending machines- which are everywhere and sell lots of stuff- batteries, fishing bait, coffee, haagen daz, and a few other things I won’t mention (although I didn’t see them). I do love the fact that pretty much anywhere (I really mean anywhere) you can buy a can of coffee out of a machine (hot or cold, with sugar and without, black or with cream- you get the idea).

In short, I love Japan!