What is it about Japan?

We had a friend staying with us in Hong Kong for a few days this week. He decided to spend three days in Tokyo for a short visit mid-week and came back enthusiastic. He had never been to Japan and he was, like many, swept away by the place and the people. I have always firmly believed that  many people hold false preconceived ideas about Japan. What they find when they go there is a very different place from what they expect.

So… what is so different about Japan? To start with - especially when you come from Hong Kong - it's a shock to see how truly nice and helpful people are. Try standing in a street in Japan – even in the middle of Tokyo – with a map in the hand for more than a minute and you'll understand what I mean. Someone is bound to ask if they can help you to find your way. Trust me, this is a delightful experience, and it does not happen in many places in the world. The Japanese are polite, careful, attentive, eager to help and always smiling. Forget the image of crowds of commuters pushing you and smothering you to death in the subway. I have found this to be a fairly inaccurate picture of Japan. Yes, there are a lot of people around, but very rarely will there be any kind of physical contact. People welcome you with open arms in stores, shops, cafes and restaurants, they will never fail to say good-bye when you leave, and they mean their smile. Shopkeepers are also often seen joking with each other! As a general rule, people will enquire about where you are from with a genuine interested. Okay, you'd better speak some Japanese if you want to have meaningful exchanges, as most people tend not to speak English at all, but if you do or if you find an English speaker, you're in for an interesting conversation.

Then of course, there are the ubiquitous cafes and their amazing variety of cakes. Yes, the Japanese are into coffee and cakes. Big time! Japanese food is amazing, and there is so much more to it than sushis and sashimis. It is highly varied, healthy, and delicious. My favourite dishes are tempuras (battered vegetables or prawns) and okonomiyaki, a sort of pancake made of a variety of vegetables, meats, seafood etc… And it's cheap. Yes, I did say cheap. The higher end of the restaurant market is very expensive, but the lower and middle ends are not that dear. You can eat very well, and quite a lot, for not much at all. My stays in Japan have never costed me very much (but I tend to avoid Western places which are expensive).

Everything in Japan is a feast for the eyes. Everything is treated with care, prepared with attention and love. Try the basement of large department stores and your eyes will be popping out in all directions: food of all kind, beautifully prepared and wrapped, a feast for the eyes and for the mouth, food that is varied enough to keep you tasting new things for the rest of your life. Every single thing in Japan is considered from an aesthetic perspective; not only does it have to be useful, it also has to be beautiful. Everything is an art: wrapping a parcel, displaying food, serving tea, selling goods, or simply dining out. Modern cities are nothing spectacular, except for the odd boldly designed building, but there are numerous temples and parks to visit. Try Kyoto and Nara for a start. You won't be disappointed. And there are the million other small details that make Japan Japan! On top of my head, the heated toilet seats, the heated bathrooms mirrors which never get fogged, the white gloves of taxi drivers, how clean everything is (Have a look at the upholstered train seats if you don't believe me), the exquisite flowers and pot plants, the manicured gardens, the calligraphy, the capsule hotels, the complexity of subway lines, the silence of big cities (electric cars and no trucks… what a relief!), the extravagantly dressed teenagers… Of course, Japan, like any other country in the world, has its own problems and is not a paradise, especially for people who live there on a permanent basis, but this is not what I want to talk about in this post. As a tourist, it is difficult not to fall in love with Japan and its people. I keep going back and I love every second of it.