We have just returned from our trip to Japan.
What an unforgetable, marvelous tour that was, one for the books and our memories, of a new and different cultural experience. The tour company, OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel) billed this as the Japan's Cultural Treasures tour. The itinerary was well planned, focusing on the treasures that highlight Japan's unique cultural traditions. Not only was the trip enriching and educational, but I came away with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the people, their way of life, and their country. It was a fascinating place.
Why Japan? Other than the three weeks we spent with Kathleen and Aaron in Bangkok, Thailand to welcome our grandson who was born there, we have not yet fully experienced a culture of the Far East. Japan was not totally unfamiliar because of the books and subsequent movies of Shogun and Memoirs of a Geisha, and probably because in the Seattle area we have a large Japanese population. Prior to WWII, the second largest Japanese community in the Pacific Northwest lived in Seattle. There is a Japantown, we have a Japanese Gardens, Japanese restuarants, and several Japanese food markets.
Additonally, my father visited Japan on business when I was a young teen, shared his experiences, and also brought back a beautiful kimono for me, and a fan and exquisite pearl necklace for my mother. His stories about his time with the people and their unique culture resonated. I remember his excitement at the newly erected elevated highways built for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, which he thought were genius, and the way he marveled at the lightning speed of 200 MPH that the Bullet Train traveled. And of course, he was excited to share sake with friends, in the beautiful porcelain sake cups that he brought home with him.
So, when this tour opportunity came up, off we went to learn and experience more of Japan for ourselves.
Our tour guide, Osamu Kobayashi, was amazing. He shepherded 16 of us, all retired adults, with his exuberant "Let's Go!" call every morning as we set off after an early breakfast. The daily agenda was filled with various activities and tours that involved using public transportation, a private tour bus, taxis, ferries, or boats. We walked several miles and climbed stairs daily. We ate authentic Japanese cuisine in small local restaurants. We enjoyed several hands-on experiences to learn about crafts and foods that are uniquely Japanese. And we arrived back at our hotel well past 4PM after our adventures, only to set out again occasionally after a brief rest, to experience night walks and cuisines special to that particular area.
The tour began in Tokyo, took us to the mountain region of Hakone next, then to Kanazawa, Kyoto, and finally Hiroshima. We experienced the best of modern and traditional Japan.
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| The main trip was two weeks, but we did the additional 3-day pre-trip in Tokyo and the 3-day post-trip in Hiroshima, which totalled 3 weeks |
- The cities are surprisingly spotless and clean, from sidewalks to cars, trucks, buses, and trains. We saw no graffiti, or garbage strewn around.
- The Japanese have an intrinsic sense of politeness, courtesy and respect towards each other. From the time we landed, to the time we left, we were treated with the same courtesy and respect. And their bowing. In Tokyo alone, there are over 37 million people (25% of Japan's population). That is over 16,000 residents per square mile who literally live on top of one another in high rise apartments, yet respect the culture's implicit rules of conduct. Daily life seemed orderly despite the large numbers of people having to make their way down streets and in train stations. There was no pushing or shoving when boarding trains or buses, everyone took turns to allow passengers to first disembark before boarding. There is even a crosswalk ettiquette that is followed. As soon as the pedestrian light starts to flash, folks step back on the the sidewalk and wait patiently until the light turns green again.
- Because space is a challenge, everything needs to be compact. Hotel rooms, some elevators, older buildings, restaurants, and even cars are smaller than we are used to. Yet we lacked nothing and everything functioned smoothly and well, like a well-oiled engine.
- The Japanese are meticulous about most things, their art, the presentation of their dishes of food, and about their appearance. Their daily "uniform" outfits were predicatbly black, dark blue, or khaki. And they dressed neatly and conservatively. We could easily point out the tourists and visitors.
- We always felt safe during our travels. Osamu wasn't at all concerned about leaving his laptop unsecured in his hotel room and indicated that he never had a problem or expected there to be one. Not all rooms had safes and not all safes were large enough for a small laptop.
- The Japanese bathrooms... and toilets! Perplexing at first but how I wish we had the same here now that we know how they operate and how efficient they are.
- I was fascinated with the signs posted everywhere reminding people where to walk or how to behave. And even more fascinated that everyone followed the reminders.
- Whenever we traveled to outlying areas and towns, it was intriguing to see the many rice fields dotted along the way, wherever there was a spot of land avaialble, no matter how small or large. There were also many small vegetable fields interspersed among the rice fields.
- And of course, their cuisine is very different from ours so that each day we ate many different foods that seem so exotic compared to ours yet seem to be a daily staple of their diet.
- I was amazed at at how green and hilly the areas are where we traveled. The weather was unseasonably warm and rather humid for the time of year (low 80F) and likely not cool enough for leaves to turn color yet. The hill countryside was blanketed in green foliage and the hills appeared to be indistinguishable mounds that folded over each other, with several extremely deep valleys and gorges in between.
- The areas around Mihara reminded me of our area here in Anacortes. Located on the ocean, with adjacent islands, it felt very much like our Pacific Northwest corner.