Japan so far: every morsel I have tasted is delicious, every person is gorgeous and elegant, every child is adorable and well behaved.
Tokyo is the epitome of a modern urban capital with its streamlined trains seamlessly whisking however many millions of people around. Its sparkling clean streets offer everything you could possibly imagine from tiny restaurants specializing in eels or one type of ramen to mega department stores. Sheesh, Japan makes New York City seem positively antediluvian with its creaky and confusing subway system and it's grubby streets.
Since I am primarily here to visit my daughter, I hadn’t really done much research before arriving. Hell, if she had decided to do a semester abroad in Madagascar that is where I would be today. But I like the unplanned, unexpectedness of it all. I'm stunned by how fashionable Japanese men and women just walking down the street. They blow the French out of the water. OK, maybe Japanese politeness is socially enforced and constraining but, speaking as a tourist, it is positively delightful to have every interaction be so smooth and charming. Even when we are being asked to move aside it is as if we are ever so important and respected! I know I am not that fabulous, when was the last time EVERYBODY smiled at me all day long? Its a nice little vacation from reality.
Tokyo is the epitome of a modern urban capital with its streamlined trains seamlessly whisking however many millions of people around. Its sparkling clean streets offer everything you could possibly imagine from tiny restaurants specializing in eels or one type of ramen to mega department stores. Sheesh, Japan makes New York City seem positively antediluvian with its creaky and confusing subway system and it's grubby streets.
Since I am primarily here to visit my daughter, I hadn’t really done much research before arriving. Hell, if she had decided to do a semester abroad in Madagascar that is where I would be today. But I like the unplanned, unexpectedness of it all. I'm stunned by how fashionable Japanese men and women just walking down the street. They blow the French out of the water. OK, maybe Japanese politeness is socially enforced and constraining but, speaking as a tourist, it is positively delightful to have every interaction be so smooth and charming. Even when we are being asked to move aside it is as if we are ever so important and respected! I know I am not that fabulous, when was the last time EVERYBODY smiled at me all day long? Its a nice little vacation from reality.
So, yeah, I’m enjoying Japan. I’ve mastered the trains, seen the neon lights that puts Times Square to shame, drunk the canned coffee from a vending machine (surprisingly hot and non metallic). I’ve been astonished by the cleanliness. In a way, it is infuriating. The Japanese have soooo much delish street food yet they have have no culture of street eating. So if you happen to, say, scarf a curry puff after leaving a bakery, there is no trash can, anywhere, to throw out the empty paper bag, so you end up carrying the detritus for the entire day. Lesson learned.
In fact, the Japanese should be prohibited from visiting any other countries. This is what they think a public restroom in a public park should look like….
They are doomed to disappointment…
They are doomed to disappointment…
| But I didn’t LOVE Japan till I saw Children’s Day. On November 15th, children age 3, 5 and 7 years old and visit the Shinto shrines to receive a blessing usually dressed in traditional outfits. Oh, the Cuteness! My daughter and I were exhausted from constantly clutching at each other, pointing out yet another tiny child toddling by on wooden clogs or geta, and gasping out “kawai!” (so cute!). Eventually faced by all the adorableness it became more of a long moaning “Kawaaiiiiiiii!”   |  For a while Ming decided she must live in Japan solely so that she can dress her children up like this. Then we spoke to a few parents who explained it takes at least one hour to do the child’s hair and then another hour to do the outfit. How do you get a normal kid to hold still for all that!! Oh the patience! As a reward (bribe?) the bag the little boy on the left is holding contains a special long stick of candy each child receives on this day and this day only (do the math, they only get it 3 times in their life). I hope it is worth it! Proud parents and grandparents were snapping away. Some parents also memorialized the occasion by donning their finest traditional garb. Here a mom, grandma and sister accompanied their little boy for the ceremony.  |
Japan is a land of many adorable things - Hello Kitty, itsy bits tea cups, street signs displaying bunnies... But the most adorable dumplings in the land are the kidlets. Embrace the KAWAI!
RSS Feed