KONNICHIWA! A three-week dive into the wonders of the Land of the Rising Sun–– Japan––introduced me to a society steeped in rich tradition and, at the same time, leads in twenty-first century modernity. Japan’s bounteous treasures saturated our senses as soon as we landed after the fourteen-hour plane ride over the top of the planet from New York’s JFK International Airport to Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport.
Walking more than we ever have on any travel adventure (a hallmark of typical Japan itineraries, it seems), we marveled at its gleaming, modern, neon-filled cities, magnificent temples and shrines, stunning natural landscapes and artfully designed gardens, efficiently-run systems for daily living, and its welcoming people.
Lights dazzle in nighttime Osaka
I found Japan both familiar and foreign. Its large cities, besides Kyoto, were rebuilt after heavy WWII Allied bombing destroyed them. Tokyo and Osaka have that familiar, Western, big city feel. Urbanites dress like we do, although with a bit more sophistication and style. As a gardener, I recognized many of the plants in gardens and natural landscapes, since many varieties we grow in the northern half of the U.S. come from Japan, China, and Korea. Yet, the cultural differences are also immediately noticeable, especially in people’s habits and behaviors, and I wished our culture could adopt some of those enviable cultural traits.
We timed our visit to catch fall’s renowned tapestry of brilliant colors (almost as popular as spring’s cherry blossom time), but global warming has pushed back that peak period to the third week in November. We caught the early days of leaf-peeping season, as some Japanese maples blushed with their reds and bronzes, and gingko trees hinted at their eye-popping yellow autumn glow.
These observations impressed me about Japan’s culture
Although a 23-day Japan immersion barely scratches the surface of this richly layered society, several impressive cultural aspects come to mind from my experiences and observations when my friends and colleagues ask me, “So how did you like Japan?” Here are my responses:
Japanese people embody a reverent and respectful disposition centered on a strong sense of community and the spirits of the natural world.
Japan’s two major religions encourage this life approach. The country’s ancient indigenous religion, Shintoism, is a polytheistic belief system that reveres the natural world where sacred spirits reside. Buddhism, the country’s other major religion, stresses enlightenment through personal ritualized meditative practice. Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples inspire awe, as the 50-foot-tall bronze Buddha does at the UNESCO World Heritage Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara.
I also suspect the culture’s strong sense of community developed during the 250-year period of self-imposed isolation from the outside world during the last centuries of shogun control. Rulers kept foreigners out, and travel by Japanese outside the country was practically forbidden. During this relatively peaceful period, the economy, the arts, and education flourished. Called the Edo period, it ended in 1868 when the emperor’s forces overthrew shogunate rule and opened Japan up to foreign trade and influences to modernize the country.
The Japanese welcome visitors.
It may be one of the reasons the country is the world’s most popular travel destination right now. Locals extended themselves to help us along our journey to find a place to eat or the correct train platform or subway line.
Standing with our confused expressions, not sure if we were on the right platform, a young woman approached us and asked if she could help. We showed her our tickets, and she took them away to find the stationmaster. Did we make a foolish mistake giving her our tickets? A few minutes later, she returned and, in proficient English, gave us specific instructions on where to stand, what trains to catch and when to get off and transfer to another train. And she stood near us to make sure we took the first train correctly! Another time, we asked a young man how to find a restaurant we identified on our phone. He walked a block with us to take us to the restaurant’s front door.
Japan has enviable organized and efficient systems for daily living.
For example, the chief way of getting around Japan, besides by foot, is riding trains, buses, and subways. Travelers hail Japan’s extensive transportation system for a very good reason––it’s incredibly efficient. You can set your iWatch to arrivals and departures of trains and buses. And what about those sleek shinkansens, commonly called bullet trains, topping out at 199 miles per hour?
On platforms, solid barriers prevent falling mishaps, and they’re punctuated with numbered sliding gates that line up perfectly with the doors of numbered train cars when they arrive. In front of the gates, people ready to board queue up on two rows painted blue with outlined footprints, separated by a yellow row marking where passengers exit between those waiting to board. Everyone follows the rules! Once on board, riders don’t talk or play music. It’s quiet.
Japan really is clean! No trash, graffiti, or abandoned orange traffic cones in the streets.
Japanese frown on eating while walking––no fast food consumed while moving around, no big soda cups to throw down, or candy wrappers to let slip out of one’s hand. And looking for a trash can is frustrating; they’re rare, except near transportation depots. On the occasions when I had trash, I stuffed the wrapper in my pocket until I found a bin.
The culture’s creative sensibilities and appreciation of nature permeate its applied and decorative arts.
Through architecture and its ornamentation, breathtaking garden landscapes, fabrics used in traditional kimonos, and fashionable clothing, many of the fine artistic aspects of the country’s culture developed during the Edo period of isolation, with its inward focus on society. During those years, people directed their artistic senses on the aesthetic qualities of objects and actions in everyday life, like the geisha tradition, kabuki and puppet theaters, the art of decorative kimonos, Japanese porcelain, and wood block printing. (Hokusai’s Great Wave Off Kanagawa is the most popularly famous wood block print of this period worldwide.)
Despite the Japanese’s regimented sensibilities, their playful nature explodes through pop art culture.
Manga (comics and graphic novels) and anime (animated cartoon stories and characters), video games, costume play, and J-Pop music, especially among the under-40 crowd (but not always!) belie the seriousness of Japan’s culture. One of the journey’s highlights––visits to Tokyo’s Akihabara section and its TeamLabs Planets immersive museum, as well as Osaka’s Dotonbori area to experience Japanese fantasy world. Outdoor marquees of moving animals, unimaginable plethora of television and video characters with sprawling displays of merchandise enjoyably overwhelm the senses.
Our guide introduced us to buildings with floors of games that excited the kid in me. Of course I played! I watched a man play a game with his feet dancing to music, while another couple beat on drums set to music to kill the enemies popping up on the screen. And these games are not just for kids. Adults stand in front of game machines seriously fighting off the cartoon villains. Then there’s a subculture of mostly teens and young adults who dress up in character styles––waitress outfits, young girls, Goth clothing––known as cosplay (costume play) that fascinated me for their creativity and sometimes bizarre appearances.
Japan is a relatively easy place to visit
Despite the intimidating language barrier, most people associated with the tourist industry know a little English. I suggest learning a few very basic Japanese phrases, like sumimasen (“excuse me “or “I’m sorry”; they’re helpful, and locals will greatly appreciate your effort. Surprisingly, in transportation hubs, the names of Japanese places and simple signage appears in Roman script, so we could figure out train and subway lines we needed to take.
Our tech-savvy traveling companions for the first half of the trip taught us the camera function on Google Translate, so we never accidentally ordered sea urchin from a non-English menu. And a surprising number of eateries had English menus. Speaking of food, street offerings are plentiful and safe to eat. Yakitori pork skewers, fried chicken (the best!), vegetarian and tofu dishes, and of course, the national favorite, fish. If you’re a sushi and sashimi fan, you’ll be in heaven. Oh, I almost forgot wagyu beef, a melt-in-your-mouth delectable treat that we cooked ourselves over a small personal grill, Korean-style.
A trip to Japan is well worth the grueling flight. If you can financially swing it, at least upgrade to Economy Plus seats for the extra seat width and legroom. Plan your trip for a minimum two full weeks, or more, if possible. Japan’s offerings will thrill you.
In addition to the requisite guidebooks, for those who want to get a real inside look at Japan’s “cool” culture, I highly recommend buying or downloading A Geek in Japan: Discovering the Land of Manga, Anime, Zen, and Tea Ceremony by Hector Garcia. I learned more about how Japan’s society works than any guidebook tells you. You’ll still need those guidebooks for practical information.
If You Go
GETTING THERE:
Most major airlines fly to the two largest international airports:
Tokyo-Haneda (HND) ––closest to Tokyo center, with more and cheaper public and private transportation options into the city. Haneda is the domestic airport hub for connecting domestic flights to destinations around the country.
Tokyo-Narita (NRT)––Japan’s largest airport, offering a broader range of international flights, but with a longer travel time into Tokyo. Traveling from the west coast of the United States, some of the cheapest flights to Tokyo travel to Narita.
GETTING TO CENTRAL TOKYO FROM HANEDA:
Best option to visit all national parks:
Train:
– Tokyo Monorail––popular option that’s a balance of speed, convenience, and affordability. A one-way trip to Hamamatsucho Station costs about ¥470–¥520 ($4–5). The monorail is covered by the Japan Rail Pass.-Keikyu Line: Offers a direct line to Tokyo, including Shinagawa, Shibuya, and Shinjuku. You can transfer to Japan Rail lines at Shinagawa Station and Yokohama Station.
Bus: Buses cover most popular locations in the city, but they’re not as frequent as the trains. There are usually only one or two buses every hour for each route. However, there are several midnight bus routes available outside the train’s operating hours.
Taxi: A relatively expensive option, with fares to central Tokyo costing between around ¥6,000 ($40) to Shinagawa area and ¥11,000 ($70) to Ikebukuro area in the late evening and early morning.
