Japan: so very different

by David&Michelle · Published October 9, 2023 · Updated October 9, 2023

Just for the record we really loved Japan. The people were really polite and always helpful, especially as we do not speak any more than two words in Japanese! The signage around airports, train and metro stations is almost always bi-lingual. This made travelling around so much easier. Thank you Japan for being bothered to put in the English language. Japan reminded me of NZ , the scenery at any rate. The cities, shops and food were completely different and made for an exciting time (what are we eating? can you trust Google translate? Not always but most of the time).

We flew into Tokyo and it was raining. My niece, Kerry, said that Japan reminded her of the Blade Runner movie, with it’s sounds, skyscrapers and neon everywhere. Well, I must admit that it did. Especially as it was raining. I half expected Harrison Ford to come running through the crowds!

The sheer number of people is mind boggling as are the huge sky scrapers in a region more prone to earthquakes than NZ. They obviously build well here. The other thing that took me by surprise was the myriad of small streets off the main arteries everywhere. It was like old and new mixed together all over the place. There were small Buddhist graveyards everywhere as well as shrines and temples. Japan is also very clean, no graffiti and also very few rubbish bins!

One of the most obvious cultural differences is the act of bowing. We found that the bowing is a part of the communication and nothing to be afraid of. The act of bowing conveys respect, so when you say “thank you” bowing is part of that. Just don’t get into a bowing war. Just do it once and make it more than a nod and you have it sussed. The Japanese have a polite way of dealing with people and if you are polite back then people will go out of their way to help and give advice. We found this many times as we blundered our way around train stations and shopping malls.

The food is amazing. So is the fact that there are millions of vending machines selling tins of coffee, beer, water, bourbon and coke and lemonade! Osaka is famous for the street food. Unlike most places, food hygiene is very high and so eating street food is fine. We loved it and ate lots, most of which we barely knew what we were eating – live life on the edge!

Please enjoy our photos of the four main centres we went to; namely Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kyoto.

TOKYO

**Tokyo is a massive city of over 40 million**

**The famous “scramble square” in Tokyo**

Japan displayed a rather disturbing undercurrent of sexualising the “cutesy girl look” that is often associated with Japanese women – the “school girl/ young girl dress up”. which was very evident throughout our stay. Everything seemed to be sexualised as is epitomised in the following photo where a “Love Bus” was touring around the centre of Tokyo with three young women dressed up waving and using a microphone to call out to the public. This was by no means an isolated incident of the sexualisation of women as well as the little girl look. Very disturbing and quite out there.

The Tokyo Sky Tree is a huge tower, over 2000 feet high, that allows you to look over the city.

The city from above!

Osaka

**16th Century Osaka Castle in the middle of a very modern city**

**This area Osaka Shinsekai an area that remains the same from the 1950’s – very kitch, very cool! Lots of retro computer games and the Hitachi Tower.** **Rubbing the Billeken’s foot for luck is a must.**

Peaceful cemetery and temples

**Lots of temples and peaceful graveyards dotted around the city**

**Dotonburi – all neon and lights – awesome!**

**Glico Man installed in 1935 to advertise sweets. Still there and iconic.**

Kyoto

Kyoto is well known for it’s temples

Magnificent Buddhist monastery that is still working today.

Beautiful gardens, gates with gold and intricate carvings

**Kinkakujicho temple – beautiful and serene**.

**Kyoto Gyoen – Orange is the new black. Ceremonial buildings still used today**.

**Where the sacred bronze mirror – Yata no Kagami is housed – part of the Imperial regalia of Japan**

**Yasaka Shrine Kyoto. Local Japanese dress in traditional kimonos**

Nagoya

A smaller city of only 10 million people!! We enjoyed our stay here eating fabulous food and seeing lots of very upmarket shops on a very large scale! For us this was a gateway to the Suzuka circuit for the Grand Prix so we didn’t sight see much.