Vacations, vacations, vacations! Day and I have a great year ahead of us. We just got back from a long weekend in Savannah, Georgia. Day is going to Paris with our friend Sue in a couple of weeks (this post has taken so long to write, she’s already been back for a couple of weeks now). We are going to Tampa, Florida in March, Prague in April and Norway in June (which I am really excited about). In July we are going to San Francisco to help J celebrate his 50th. It’s been awhile since we’ve been to San Francisco to see K and J. We haven’t seen their new home and I took some crappy ass pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge the last time we went. I’m hoping for a chance to get some better ones.
Anyhow, with all this coming up, I need to get caught up on some past trips. And, I am getting some much needed practice with WordPress’s (there was quite the debate with Day about apostrophes after an “s”) new editing program, which has been driving me crazy. So here we go; Japan, who knew?
Where’s the trash, the dirt, the graffiti?
Our trip to Japan (almost a year ago now) included Kyoto and Tokyo, and the first thing I noticed, was how clean everything was. I am sure the airport was as spotless as everything else, but I don’t remember it. I do however, remember the subway station, and you could eat off the floor. Equally as clean were the trains. They looked as though every night an army of people cleaned them, front to back, top to bottom, they were spotless. Every taxi cab was immaculate as well, inside and out, with white linens on the seats and drivers wearing white gloves. I remember reading somewhere, you can get a ticket if your car is too dirty. I don’t know how true that is, but all the cars were clean, not just the taxi cabs and subways. As a matter of fact, everything was spotless.
As we walked and pedaled our way around Kyoto and Tokyo, I was shocked, shocked at how clean the cities were.
There was no trash on the streets. The streets were so clean, I started looking for trash. I started looking for trash and I couldn’t find any. I remember walking around Tokyo thinking, it even smells clean. The buildings were spotless, windows were clean, and there was no graffiti anywhere. Why? How? Japanese manners place a great emphasis on “ikkai ichi dousa,” a phrase similar to “one thing at a time.” So eating while walking is seen as impolite, as is drinking or smoking (and smoking in public is frowned upon and “frowned upon” and “seen as impolite” means it doesn’t happen). You stop and sit to eat or drink. And when your done, you throw your trash in the freakin trash receptacle, mister! If walking and eating is seen as impolite, I can only imagine how the Japanese feel about litter in their beautiful cities.
Ultramodern to traditional, historic temples to high tech gadgets.
Being a construction worker, maybe I look at a city from a different perspective than most, I don’t know. I thought the buildings were beautiful, ultramodern works of art. But what was truly beautiful, was how one building flowed seamlessly into the next. Amazing pedestrian skywalks, escalators and elevators connected one building to another. It was the perfect marriage of form and function. They were beautiful, absolutely beautiful structures, and people were able to move about the city quickly and efficiently, above, and below all the traffic.
The city, is a masterpiece of modern engineering. And mixed in with all this modern engineering, were temples and shrines, reminding visitors, that the Japanese people are very proud of their history and traditions. Which leaves me completely baffled by Akihabara.
Never in my life, have I ever seen anything, like the Akihabara Shopping District in Tokyo.
Akihabara is a shopping district (for adult children) famed for its electronics retailers, ranging from tiny stalls to vast department stores like Yodobashi Multimedia Akiba.
There are big stores, small stores, and thousands of vending machines specializing in manga, anime, video games, toys, trading cards and collectibles. We walked around for just a few hours, which was more than enough for me. I guess if you go to Tokyo, you should at least check it out, like I said, I have never seen anything like it. My intent is not to offend anyone, but this, was just not for me.
Please, please, please bring me back to the beautiful buildings, the temples and shrines, and the peaceful gardens (I like flowers and birds).
Yes, amid the many skyscrapers and temples, the pedestrian skywalks and public transportation, the cars and the craziness, there are beautiful and peaceful parks and gardens everywhere.
Right on the Sumida River is Hamarikyu Gardens in Tokyo. It’s beautiful, and I thought it was quite big, but actually it’s small compared to the many other gardens in Tokyo (gardens there, are what Americans would call parks). In Kyoto, there is the Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine a Shinto shrine dedicated to Inari the God of rice, sake and prosperity. Shrines are everywhere, some very small, but many, like Fushimi are very big, sprawling over acres of land.
Areas like the The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto are largely left untouched. Perfectly maintained gardens are everywhere in Kyoto and Tokyo.
Also seemingly everywhere, were small personal gardens, potted plants and flowers on every corner, at homes and store fronts. There seemed to be a community commitment or civic participation to bring nature into the city. Civic participation, I like that descriptor. People were quiet and respectful of their surroundings. Nobody crossed the street on a red light, everyone, and I mean everyone stood to the right on an escalator (if that irritates you as much as me, you don’t need an explanation). Subways, trains and the streets were all clean. There was no graffiti anywhere. The parks (gardens) were all perfectly maintained. For the good of the community, civic pride, civic participation, I like it. I like Japan.
With every trip, the world becomes a smaller place.
One morning in Japan, while Day sat in the hotel room, finishing getting ready for the day’s events, I went downstairs to the lobby. I remember it was raining, overcast and just a dreary day. I wandered about, and found a photography exhibit in some lobby, the subject, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, photos and stories of people who were there.
I looked at photos and read personal stories, I got choked up as I read…
“I got worried because my older sister and younger brother were in Hiroshima City, so I went to look for them the next day. What I saw there was hell, what I saw was many burnt dead bodies, I saw dead bodies with skin hanging down, lying around. My sister and brother never came home.”
Unknown author
“My sister and my brother never came home.” I got choked up. I was sad for her. I was sad for a woman I had never met.
Like I said, Japan was never high on my list, and I’m not sure why. I will say this though, without self examination, if a person cannot be introspective, prejudices and bigotry can lurk in the deepest, darkest corners of a person. I don’t believe I had feelings one way or another about Japan and the Japanese people, but I was ignorant. I knew nothing of the Japanese culture. I can’t say I know much more now, after only a week’s vacation, but my heart and mind are open, and I am better for my brief visit to this beautiful and wonderful country. Explore. Dream. Discover. Travel.
Luv ya,
Curly
