Our son Lachlan and his delightful girlfriend Bethany Knights traveled to Japan last September. A big thank you to Bethany for sharing their experience.
Not Lost in Translation
Having seen two-for-one flight deals with Jetstar to Japan one early morning in December, I ran into the bedroom excitedly to wake up Lachlan. Half asleep, he agreed to go to Japan in the September school holidays, as long as I did all the planning. Oh no. Now we would have to do everything on the trip my way. How excellent.
With the help of famous travel blogger, Lea Greene, I planned our trip meticulously. Concerned that the language barrier might be an issue in getting around, I printed dozens of maps and specific directions off websites, to ensure we got to where we (or I) wanted and when. Our trip was going to be short and sweet, as the sale flights only allowed us to travel within an eight day period. God bless school holidays and the hiked up prices they bring.
I planned where we would go and what we would see. Scouring many websites for hours and reading a trusty Lonely Planet guide, I put together a 24 page itinerary. At the end of the process I felt prepared to take on our new and foreign adventure.
Catching the famous bullet trains to each city, we explored Kyoto, Hiroshima and Tokyo. There were many sightseeing highlights of our holiday and these were compiled into a scrapbook once we returned to Mareeba, as a week of school holidays still remained. Our Japan tourist experience was a positive one. This was not only because of the beautiful scenery, the food and the history, but because of the amazing pleasantness of the Japanese people who welcomed us to their country.
The “Japan Today” website (www.japantoday.com) lists the most common adjectives that Westerners chose when characterising the people of Japan. I read through these after we returned home and agreed with all of these positive descriptions of what I believe to be one of the friendliest populations in the world. Here are some of our experiences alongside the adjectives:
#1 Polite
Every Japanese person we met on our holiday was polite to us. As terrible as I was at remembering Japanese translations from the phrasebook we took over, I made sure I could reciprocate by learning that “kudasai” means “please” and “arigato gozaimasu” means “thank you very much”. Everywhere we went we heard choruses of “arigato gozaimasu!” from numerous staff members, waiters and tour guides. I also took to bowing as I thanked people, mirroring their polite Japanese etiquette. When dining out at Japanese restaurants in Cairns now, I get a real kick from seeing the big smiles and excited replies from staff members when I bow and say “arigato gozaimasu”.
#2 Punctual
The Japan Railway and other connecting subways and train systems are well-known for their incredibly punctual schedules. We found the train systems incredibly efficient and we were never late for anything due to the trains. We were usually late because we got lost getting to the trains, or got lost after getting off one.
#3 Kind
Always etched in my memory will be when a Japanese man stopped us in the streets of Kyoto and gave us a huge bear hug, saying “welcome to Japan! I hope you like our country!” Can you imagine anyone doing this to a tourist in Australia? People would approach us to give us directions when we were lost and would smile when we struggled to talk to them in Japanese.
#4 Hard-working
Every person we saw working in Japan seemed to take great pride in their job, no matter what it was. From the man at the 7/11 store who helped us sort our coins and sang some Kylie Minogue “Locomotion” to us when he discovered we were Australian, to the many places we ate out, where there would be a flurry of waiters cleaning up and ensuring we were served, knew what we were doing and happy. After I finish work there is a show on SBS called “Ninja Warrior”, where Japanese contestants attempt to complete a difficult obstacle course in a set time. Every time I’ve seen this show, I’ve watched Shingo Yamamoto compete. Shingo is the only person to have competed in every Sasuke competition, and the only person to have attempted the first and second version of the final stage. He usually competes in his gas station uniform shirt and cap. His uniform always has Esso/Mobil branding embroidered on it and whilst competing he wears it with pride.
#5 Respectful
On the plane to Japan, I read that Japanese people are so respectful that they don’t ever say “no”, as it’s considered too abrupt. They do not shake their heads either, they just look uncertain until you realise that they are not agreeing with you. I kept this in mind until I made (what I felt was) a major faux pas at a hostel reception. The receptionist offered to help with our bags and I didn’t want to inconvenience them so I started shaking my head and exclaimed “oh no! No, no, no! I can do it, thank you.” In trying to be polite, I felt like I was rude. I apologised and it became a bit awkward, as the receptionist was so gracious about it and I was so mortified, and we both stood there smiling and not moving.
#6 Shy
Not once did I see any outspoken or loud Japanese people in Japan. The loudest statements were not to be heard but were seen, through fashion statements and cos play dress ups. Lachlan and I made sure we used our “indoor voices” both inside and out in Japan, and only in our hotel rooms would be laugh loudly or be silly. On trains people were so quiet and shy, listening to music through headphones or reading their newspapers… except for one woman in Tokyo who seemed to think trimming her fingernails and letting them drop onto the carriage floor was OK. She was being quiet, though.
#7 Intelligent
There were obvious signs that the Japanese are an intelligent bunch before we got to Japan, having already heard about their technological advances and inventions. When we got to Japan, we realised that they carried out their day-to-day comings and goings in a just plain SMART way. In the train stations they have marks on the platform where the doors of the train are going to line up, what number the carriage is and the people on the train get off before people on the platform get on. In corridors and on staircases they would have arrows, so you knew which side to walk on and to avoid congestion. I was very impressed with the water jugs that were always brought to our tables at restaurants. The jugs would be double hulled, so condensation would drip and be caught by the second, outer layer of the jug. How simple but clever is that? No mopping up pools of water off tables like here in far north Queensland.
#8 Grouping
Japanese people like to travel in packs, apparently. The groups that come to mind for me are the groups of school children, who in Hiroshima and Arashiama, were obviously out on assignment from their English teachers to put what they’d learned into practice. They would ask us questions such as “Is this your first time in Japan?”, “what sort of Japanese food do you like?” and “where are you from?”. They were always very cute and interested, and thanked us with folded paper cranes.
#9 Formal
Lachlan had to tell me to stop using the words “OK” and “cool” when answering questions from Japanese people. But for somewhere so formal, I really did love getting to kick off my shoes to go inside a lot of places!
#10 Clean
I did not see a spot of rubbish in Japan. There actually weren’t that many bins around, but I would see Japanese people tuck wrappers into their pockets, obviously to discard later. Waiting for the trains at major stops would be people wearing blue scrubs-like clothing. They would scurry onto the train for a few minutes, tidying up and turning chairs around so no one would have to sit backwards. Gardens were well-kept and there was not much graffiti to be seen. Not only do they take pride in their work, but they take pride in their country’s appearance.
Whilst the sights we saw were amazing and unforgettable, I really think it’s the Japanese people that I encountered on my trip to Japan that I’ll always remember.
