My visit to Japan

[Kinsao]

Well I finally made it to Japan! thanks to the generosity of my husband.

I was there for 9 days, a very brief time compared with a lot of people on here!

Anyway I thought I'd share my photos with you! ...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...8&l=f8ee40d019

I only went to Tokyo, so I didn't get to see anything of the countryside, which I guess must be pretty different from Tokyo... I'd really like to go back one day and see more of Japan, not just Tokyo. I'd like to see the mountains and the seaside...

I did visit the seaside one day, though... me and an old uni friend (who is Japanese and lives not too far from Tokyo) went to visit Kamakura and then caught the old tram to Enoshima, which is where the seaside pictures were taken. It looks kinda grey on the photos but it was a really warm day. While I was there the temperatures were perfect, in the low 30s, but apparently it is usually a lot hotter in August!

One thing I found about Tokyo was that everything is really clean compared with England. I wasn't afraid of catching swine flu! It seems like things are designed so you don't have to touch them, or only lightly (e.g. bathroom design, lift buttons etc.). Also nobody bumps into you or jostles you on the street! That was really amazing to me as an English person! especially Tokyo is pretty crowded.

Another thing that surprised me was how everyone waits for the green man before crossing the road! You just don't get that here! (unless it's really busy) and people certainly don't line up all nicely to wait for the man, like they do in Tokyo.

We went to the Summer Sonic Festival (at Chiba, just outside Tokyo) and I was amazed how civilised it was! I was thinking mud and fields, but most of it was undercover, and even in the food areas there was no litter. At all. There were even recycling bins and litter monitors to tell you which bin to put your rubbish in! I bet that's not a big deal when you've been living there a few years, but to me it's amazing!

I was also quite surprised to see people eating chilled cucumbers on sticks as a snack at the festival!

Talking of snacks while on the beach (where plenty of people were swimming, playing ball and sunbathing) I noticed that there are almost no overweight Japanese people, maybe like 1 in a hundred or something... I had thought perhaps that is a cultural stereotype of Japanese people as 'little' but it's absolutely true. While I was there I found at first the meals look small but when you have eaten them you feel full... maybe Japanese people don't get overweight so much because you have to eat more slowly, and feel full quicker? I was feeling really full on meals that would have looked tiny back home! (of course, they aren't really small, just the bowls are small but you eat from several different bowls so...) and I think even if you're really adept with chopsticks you honestly cannot gobble while using them.

Anyway we really loved the Japanese food, felt much more healthy on it, sadly it's hard to get good Japanese food at nice prices back home, even trying to make it yourself.

The size thing was a problem for me when buying shoes; I'm a european size 38 / uk size 5 / american size 7.5 but even the LL size in Japan was too small for me !! It seemed like a uk size 4. that would be kinda awkward if I was living there (my Japanese friend takes uk size 5.5 and she has problems getting shoes... ) But luckily the clothes sizes were ok... I can just about squeeze my fat white *** into a size M, which is about the largest they stock.

I really like the politeness... ok maybe it is artificial and just put on, but it's really nice to go into a shop and be treated with a bit of respect, back home you just get the impression that the customer is a nuisance but in Japan they were really helpful. It just makes life a lot more pleasant!

The shrines were nice too, even if you are not religious at all it's a kind of quiet calm place where you can just go sit and gather your thoughts. There isn't really anywhere like that here, and I miss it a little.

We were lucky enough to be staying in Shibuya, which is a great place to be and very handy for the metro and everywhere else you might want to see. I looked around the shops in Harajuku but surprisingly I didn't go to the square where the cosplayers hang out, lol.

I really enjoyed maccha latte and maccha ice cream! I wish we had them back home!

As for bands, well I saw B'z at the festival, and I was really chuffed as I know they are huge in Japan and I have big respect for Tak Matsumoto.

Well I'm sure there's plenty of interesting things I should have said but forgot!

[ArmandV]

Glad you had a great time, K! At least you got a little bit outside of Tokyo. I also enjoyed Kamakura when we were there in 2004.

Nice photos!

[Hezam]

wow you made it !
I am glad you could visit Japan,I hope i can visit Japan someday..
the photos are beautiful,hope you visit the other places in the near future.

[Half-n-Half]

Great photos, glad you had a great time. I'm so jealous you got to see B'z! By the way, what does, "chuffed" mean?

[misa.j]

Very nice photos, and I'm glad you enjoyed Japan, Kinsao!! Your report makes me want to visit Japan, really!

As for their food looking small but filling, you are absolutely right. I hope you can get similar food at home. ;)

[Pachipro]

Wow Kinsao I am so glad you finally got to see and visit Japan for yourself as you have been on Jref for as long as I can remember and I know it was a dream of yours. Much of what you say is so true for foreigners visiting there for the first time.

Yes, the place is clean, not because it is the law or anything (as in other countries), but because that's the way the people want it. In my neighborhood I was always amazed at how the people kept it clean by picking up the trash and washing the sidewalks and turning out for the twice yearly cleaning of the neighborhood which I also participated in.

Yes, the sighting of overweight people is rare and it may have to do with the diet as many medical journals will say, but there are far more overweight people, especially among the younger crowd, than in the past. It could be the proliferation of fast food chains and the western diet.

Yes, people are polite, especially sales people and, even though it is superficial as you noticed, it is still nice to receive some respect unlike here in the US or in the UK as you mentioned. I still say they have the best customer service anywhere and other countries can learn a thing or two about customer service in Japan.

Yes, it is amazing how there is almost no walking against the red light and that most wait for the "green man" before crossing the street. I always felt like a criminal when crossing at the red when no cars were coming while everyone else waited.

If, and when, you do go back, you must visit the countryside for another view of the "real" Japan. After visiting Japan for the short time you were there I must ask, out of curiosity, could you live there and would you feel comfortable? Did you visit any Japanese homes and, if you did, what was your impression?

It's always nice to read about peoples first impressions when visiting a place they have longed for. I'm glad you had a great time.

[icevio]

I went japan last month, it's great! love that country. eyeryone is so friendly. esp the services in japan, super nice, always smiling. the only thing i dislike about japan is the train services. so confusing.

[akaitsume1]

Ah, the customer service. I remember writing essays about how it was nice, but unnecessary. And then...I came home, and reverse culture shock hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized that some waiters and other service providers wouldn't even fake being friendly and polite. And yet, these are the ones we tip.

Crazy world.

[Ma Cherie]

Oh Kinsao I'm so jealous of you right now. But I like your pictures. I'm trying to re-ignite my interest in Japanese culture, so hopefully I'll go there one day.

So what were the things you have been most surprised about Japan?

[Mike Cash]

Originally Posted by Pachipro

Yes, the place is clean, not because it is the law or anything (as in other countries), but because that's the way the people want it. In my neighborhood I was always amazed at how the people kept it clean by picking up the trash and washing the sidewalks and turning out for the twice yearly cleaning of the neighborhood which I also participated in.

Sort of depends where you are. I can show you places that are practically carpeted with litter. An alarming portion of the Japanese population, in their eternal quest for cleanliness, think nothing at all of keeping their cars clean by tossing anything and everything out of the car the instant they're done with it. If there is a bigger bunch of congenital litterbugs anywhere on the planet I hope I never have to be around them.

[gaijinalways]

Also nobody bumps into you or jostles you on the street! That was really amazing to me as an English person! especially Tokyo is pretty crowded.

I have to wonder where in Tokyo you went. It is often a daily occurence for me to have people bump into me in Shinjuku, Shibuya, etc

It sounds like you had a good time, glad to hear it. As much as some of the residents in Japan (on this forum) whine, Japan can be a pretty good place to live, even in Tokyo.

Best,

GA who is currently hovering just outside Tokyo

[midnight rain]

Great photos! Hope you get to go back to Japan someday, i would love to go to Tokyo one day!

And to Half-n-Half, the word "chuffed" is slang for "happy", so being "well chuffed" is "very happy".

Alex

[DougLewis]

Originally Posted by Half-n-Half

By the way, what does, "chuffed" mean?

"Chuffed" is English slang meaning to be very, very, pleased or satisfied.

[Alma]

kinsao, thanks for sharing pictures and your story... I always love to her first impressions from someone who visits Japan for first time

glad that you enjoyed and come back soon again!

[grayburst]

Thank you for sharing your photographs. It looks like you had a lot of fun. When I first went to Japan it was while my wife was working on her degree. My japanese was barely conversational level, so I spent 3 months playing tourist while my wife attended classes. I find it to be a very pleasant experience, just as enjoyable as any of the European countries I lived in back in the 90's.

[Kinsao]

Wow, thank you everyone for your posts.

Pachipro: well I really only went to Tokyo, and I didn't visit anyone's home while I was there. And I had a bit of mixed feelings about actually living there, from what little I could see. In one respect, I kind of fell in love with the city, in fact! I could imagine living there... but probably only for something like 2-5 years. I think the prospect of living your entire life there might be a little harder. It strikes me as quite an unforgiving city. I think it would be great to live there if you have a good social life, but that you could be actually pretty lonely there as well. And feeling lonely in a big, lively place is baaaad. I could imagine having a tiny apartment in a massive tower block and... not much of a life, in fact. But as long as you have a good social life I think it would be a brilliant place to live!

I plan to go back to Japan and visit the countryside and hopefully some of the coast a bit more too, and maybe the mountains - or whatever is possible. We would like to do this next year if possible but I don't know if we can afford it! (But business is a good excuse - my partner has to see his Japanese contacts, of course!)

gaijinalways: I actually stayed in Shibuya, which is one of the reasons I was so amazed! (The hotel had an excellent view of that well-known crossing...) Also at the festival too! However, obviously it doesn't go without saying - but generally, people are better at 'avoidance' than they are over here.

And I can well imagine that the cleanliness probably is not the same everywhere, but perhaps unique to Tokyo and/or certain places/cities.

Ma Cherie: I suppose I was most surprised that people don't more often speak English, since it is taught in schools and I have heard 'tales' of people being stopped just so that people can practice their English, but if I had thought more, I would realise that English has only recently been taught in schools so the older generation don't have much, if any, English. In such a big cosmopolitan city I kind of expected more English or even katakana menu labelling, but this just didn't happen, oh well just stick a pin in it!

Oh and I wanted to go to a purikura booth but I didn't see any!

[Tinawu]

oh, Tank you for your post and i think I know how to do!!!

[Glenski]

Originally Posted by Kinsao

I suppose I was most surprised that people don't more often speak English, since it is taught in schools

But they are not taught to speak it, only to read it and regurgitate some arcane grammar rules and to pass college entrance tests.

In such a big cosmopolitan city I kind of expected more English or even katakana menu labelling,

Are you sure you went to Tokyo????????????? Tons of that there! Maybe your use of "more" is a relative thing.

Still, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed yourself. Thanks for providing a fresh perspective for future travelers.