Japan: impressions

We spent the last 3 weeks in Japan with our two daughters. As we adapt to our routines and the chilly weather that welcomed us, I wanted to take a moment to write about our trip, Mark's dream. He has been a fan of manga and anime for a very long time (still watches at any chance he gets) and that incited his curiosity for the country and its culture. On my end I have to admit I always felt a bit strongly towards their policies regarding whaling and overfishing in foreign waters and as such, though -the contradiction- I always loved the food, I had a certain reticence towards Japan.

Going to Japan was being in a constant state of fascination, everything was new, everything was different. It was like being a kid in a candy shop for the first time, or truly, like being inside one of those cartoons. It really is exactly as you see it depicted (and the food tastes just as good as it looks).

Contrary to what stereotypes may lead you to believe -we imagined the Japanese as quiet and reserved- the people were so open and welcoming it made us smile every time. Particularly in Osaka, which seemed a more family-centered city than Tokyo. We would walk around playgrounds or temples and it was palpable that the curiosity we felt towards them was mutual.

 I particularly remember a group of school-aged children sitting and playing some kind of card-game at a park , how they came towards my daughter, asked her her name, how old she was. Other mothers and old ladies in the train would constantly comment on how sweet our girls' were, exclaiming: "kawaii, kawaii". We thought the opposite, little boys and girls in uniforms with their matching hats and teenagers in sailor dresses were one of the main subjects I photographed.

Everything was cute. So overwhelmingly cute, from ads at the metro station, to milk and toothpaste packaging as well as billboards, there really is a cult of kawaii, cute innocence, according to some, as a reaction to the chaotic and often pessimistic state of life and the world, and the constant catastrophes (earthquakes, fires, wars) that Japan has had to endure. Basically kawaii would be the equivalent to that other k word, kitsch, as defined by Milan Kundera: "...the aesthetic ideal of the categorical agreement with being in a world in which shit is denied and everyone acts as though it did not exist. This aesthetic ideal is called kitsch. … Kitsch is the absolute denial of shit, in both the literal and the figurative senses of the word; kitsch excludes everything from its purview which is essentially unacceptable in human existence."

And life really does seem hectic in Japan: we saw people, men and women alike, working long hours, sometimes leaving the office at 21:00 pm. However some things -like eating- are sacred and they really did take the time for a break. Scattered around the city there were eateries, high-end, low-cost and everything in between where people would eat sitting down in groups or alone (in little cabins).

But you would never see people walking around while eating.  Food is a pleasure and a moment of peace. Eating on the go is a big faux-pas, it is considered unpolite and just not done which is why even small shops of takeaway food had chairs and sometimes a couple of tables for that purpose.

We knew this but it still shocked us: the public transport system in Japan is large and complex.  It  is operated by several companies, train and subway lines, some that ride in circles. There are certain stations like Shinjuku where 2 million people circulate every day. Some of these stations had 8 levels underground and at each level you would find shops and restaurants. It was so easy to get lost, hard to find elevators or the nearest exit. Truly a labyrinth.  However what makes it somehow easier to navigate is the fact that each line has a letter and each station a number, it is easier to think in terms of "we're at C5 and going to C11" than trying to read Japanese. Also, if you have a good ear, each station is identifiable by its own melody. We did avoid to travel at peak hours, travelling with 2 small children, but the little that we saw was not more impressive than the subway of Mexico city.

The food really was delicious, exquisite, even from fast-food chains or takeaway convenience stores. It is exactly as you expect it from watching cartoon characters enjoying Udon or other delicacies. It is also rather affordable, fresh and high quality.  We could have a family picnic lunch made of Onigiri (filled rice-balls), Yakitori (marinated chicken skewers) and a sandwich for 7 EUR for the 4 of us. Fruit, however was extremely expensive. I remember trying to buy a small bunch of grapes for our girls for 15 EUR, which is crazy given that I buy double that amount for 3 EUR here in The Netherlands.  So we only got bananas and mandarins, which were still more expensive than what we are used to but not extremely so.

We loved going to parks and playgrounds, loved to see and interact with other families, and of course have our girls play and crawl a bit. Another remarkable thing is that most public toilets had this gadget where you could hang the baby while you used the facilities. There were separate nursing rooms complete with diaper changing stations at almost every shop and station.

An aspect of Japanese culture that fascinated me was a certain elegance that was almost spiritual, an importance of rituals and little details, of joy in tiny, little everyday things. We would see people at the end of their day picking up their bread at fancy bakeries, having it wrapped with the uttermost care.

 Or old ladies taking their time to pick cookies at a pastry shop, getting to try them while sipping a little cup of tea and then taking them home wrapped in beautiful paper and ribbon.

 There are of course all the things the Japanese are famous for: origami (it was the sweetest to see old men and ladies making origami to pass time at temples or at the airplane on our flight back), bathing at hot springs, the ceremony of tea, and all the details moms put into preparing Bento (lunch) boxes, for which all kind of gadgets are available.

The Japanese are also incredibly stylish, you can tell they pay importance to every aspect, and though the lines are simple and the colors neutral it all goes together for a very clean look: the girls would wear long A- line skirts with tights , sneakers and oversized sweaters. I thought I would go all out shopping there, but most of the clothes we saw were quite expensive, even those for children.

We stayed in Osaka and Tokyo, and made short day trips to Kyoto and Nara. I hope I get the time soon to write about our daily itineraries and all the things we saw in each place. Have you been in Japan? What impressed you the most?