Japan Wrap Up

In so many ways, Japan is an amazing country. It is incredibly "civilized" with virtually no crime, no grafitti, not even any litter, and there aren't a lot of trash receptacles. At a recent World Baseball Classic game in Tokyo, Shohei Ohtani hit a home rum, and the crowd passed the baseball all around the stadium so people could take photos before returning it to the fan who originally caught it! Can you imagine that happening in the United States?

On the other hand, the Japanese in general are still very insular (we recently read that only 10% (!!) of Japanese have passports). They don't really like foreigners living in their country and, although they are fine with foreign tourists, they do not generally exhibit the genuine warmth and openness that we saw so often in Australia, New Zealand, and especially Vietnam. 

The best two things about Japan were the toilets and the food. Yes, the toilets. Once you have experienced a Japanese toilet with their heated seats, it is difficult to go back. Remember we were there during winter! Plus, any toilet with a control panel that looks like it belongs in a fighter jet can't be a bad thing. The majority of public toilets even have these feautures. Public toilets are also easily found and clean. What a concept.

As for the food, we have discussed many of our great meals in earlier posts, but just the fact that you can get such high-quality food so cheaply makes Japan one of the best places in the world to eat. And, of course, you can also spend a lot of money and eat truly world-class food. Definitely the best of both worlds. Even the snacks are great -- the variety is amazing. It's fun to walk into a Lawson, Family Mart or 7-11 and browse what is displayed in each. 

We were also impressed with Japanese public transport, especially the high-speed Shinkansen trains. The trains run on time, the systems are easy to follow with signs in English, and as long as you avoid rush hour in Tokyo, they are comfortable to use.

On the other hand, the lack of English, even among people who work in tourist-type places, did surprise us, and made our trip a bit more difficult. And, our experience getting stuck on the train in Kyoto showed us how insular the Japanese can be, and generally how little they care for outsiders.

We enjoyed visiting Japan, and we especially had a great time seeing our friends and spending time with them. But, I am not sure if we would put it on our list of places that we have to return to anytime soon.

Sayonara,

Jeff and Shana