It might be quite played out by now, the trip to Japan and the resultant travel post about the country’s stunning beauty and wonderment. However, just because it is not a cliche does not mean it isn’t true. I have hardly seen before a more befuddling, beautiful country in my life. In Japan, we get everything that we are promised.

This is the first time that I am traveling with a friend, my roommate Adam, who learned a smattering of Japanese for this trip. In the weeks leading up to this trip, the two of us hashed out what exactly we would see as well as the restaurants that would be on our “acceptable” list. Turns out we hit every landmark we came out to see and almost every restaurant we planned to see.

I am writing this a few days after the trip has ended, with a few days to think about what happened, what I enjoyed, and what has really stuck with me once we deboarded from the plane. Here are a few thoughts.

Things I Think I Think About Japan

Phones are Ubiquitous

I had read on Wikipedia that Japan is famous for still being one of the most newspaper-heavy countries in the world. The analyses had found that in an age where newspapers around the world are declining into irrelevancy, paper newspapers in Japan remain heavily used. Wikipedia in fact still ranks Japanese newspapers the first, second, and third most heavily circulated in the world. In other words, I expected a lot more newspapers than I actually got. I only saw a person purchase a newspaper at a stand once or twice my entire time there, and almost always by an older person (over 60).

What are people doing with the extra time in subways or waiting in line? They are on their phones. I snuck at their screens. Sometimes they are playing games (especially if it is an older phone, like the flip phone type) or sometimes they are on Line (the dominant chat app in the country) or they are on Twitter (which is interesting especially to me. Twitter is super popular in Japan still).

Trains are very Nice

Okay this is cheating. Every transportation system in Asia is ridiculously nice, comprehensive, and are never late. But I think Japan is the great grandaddy of them all and it super impresses with the immensity of its technical proficiency.

It is about $50 to ride the Shinkansen but I highly recommend it. It has more leg room than any plane. The seats are comfortable (and recline without bothering the guy behind you!) and the train hurls forward with an unbelievable speed that you barely notice from the inside. I am not sure how fast this thing goes, but it’s a surreal experience. You don’t even feel like you’re going that fast. I have encountered Shinkansens before in Taiwan, but seeing them in Japan is amazing.

The Service Workers are Dedicated

My favorite part of the Shinkansen riding experience is the service workers. Every so often they come in with a little cart of goods that you might or might not want. But I love the little touches that just seem quintessentially Japanese. For example, when they are about to exit the car they step out of the car and then from outside the door they turn around and bow at you. They do this even if nobody is looking. I love this.

It is interesting that no matter what these workers are doing in Japan, they are doing it with dedication and attention to detail. I have heard this from other people, but it seems like Japanese are the hardest workers in the world. But it is more than just how hard they work at their task, but that they do it regardless of what the task is. Doesn’t matter if they are scrubbing floors, serving you your dinner, or counting the change for your ice cream at the counter.

There is something about my interaction with these people that bothers me.

Why are all the service workers women?

I almost hardly ever saw men working the cashiers or cleaning or stuff like that. It was almost always women. Pretty much the only time I was served by a man was when I bought mochi (which are delicious by the way. Go eat them), or bought something from the likely owner of the shop. In almost every other circumstance, if it was a cashier in a 7-11 or taking my order at a Yoshinoya, it was likely to be a woman.

I am not sure what to make of this observation. Is it such that men traditionally used to fill these roles eventually ascended to better roles and the women are filling in? Are women perhaps entering the job market, finding themselves disadvantage in relations to men and as a result having to settle? Are they making enough money in their work to provide for their families? Are they more often than not the sole provider?

Japan really focuses on ambiance music

I noticed this while I was visiting the amazing Osaka aquarium (the first aquarium in the world to feature whale sharks) but Japan really really likes to play ambiance music. The sort of music that you notice when you are in the elevator. It isn’t really recognizable as anything other than just ambiance music.

Most of it is pretty unassuming and I presumed that there is some universal Pandora station that they are playing off of, but I managed to nab a Shazam while I was in the Kyoto Tower, and found that the the album’s name is “Kyoto Ambiance” (by Masafumi Komatsu) and the album cover is a photo of the Kyoto Tower itself. In other words, they are so hard core about their music that they went ahead and commissioned the pieces themselves, clearly with the song’s intent in mind.

I guess I should have anticipated this because …

Maybe it is because the businesses really care about how you FEEL

I was thinking of including this in my post about vending machines but I figured that people wouldn’t really care. But this is a consistent pattern that I have noticed about Japanese advertising. They really really care about how you feel and about encouraging a feeling of “peace” and “reflection” in your time with them. They are also quite explicit about this intent. They pledge it on their adverts: “Don’t worry about your daily troubles because we are going to make them go away. Please relax with us.”

It would leave me feeling very tempted except for this …

Everyone (ABC) Always Be Closing in Japan

Beware your wallet while you are in Japan. Not because it might be liable to be pick pocketed, but because every little business wants your money. Everyone is selling something on the street in Japan from tiny stands with an old lady manning them or a huge bill board on the biggest, most famous crossing in the world to even the humble vending machine.

Their favorite tactic is to put someone on the street, shouting at the top of their lungs to go buy their product. This seems to be a bit outdated (especially since the Chinese here in China employ loudspeakers and recorded voices) but if it works for them I guess. There are many things done in Japan just because it’s been done that way for a long time.

I worry about the Japanese

I think the Japanese work too hard. It is apparent to me in the fact that the men are almost never present during the day. I never see them with their wives. I only see them on their commute and at dinners late at night while they are drinking.

I see them frequenting mall shops downstairs in the basement, huge rooms with food for sale which is kind of like a food court in the US except the food is always refrigerated because it is expected that the people not eat there but they should take it back with them home to heat up. This is expected because it is not good to eat there alone, I suppose.

I wish I had a Japanese friend to speak to these things, but alas I was never able to successfully interact with them. They never spoke enough English to be able to and I didn’t know a lick of Japanese (they also seemed to me a bit standoffish in public interaction …). My new mission if I return to Japan - make a friend there.

Conclusion

16 days. Four cities. 200 miles walked. Several dozen landmarks visited. Staying nearly 16 continuous days with someone can cause any two people extreme strain, but the two of us made it through. Japan has been beautiful, and while I am not planning to return any time soon, I hope that it would not be the last time in my life I would see its beauty in person.