Since several loyal readers of this blog will be visiting Japan soon, Jane thought it would be a good idea if I wrote down some of my observations... So here goes!
The flight over the Pacific wasn't nearly as bad I was expecting. Luckily I had a decent seat (i.e. the aisle), and the person next to me was under 400 pounds, so it really wasn't that bad. It helps to get up and walk around once every few hours. The food on the Northwest flight was pretty good too. The portions were tiny, but luckily I had some snacks with me.
When I first landed in Japan, I was surprised by how cursory the customs inspections were; they merely asked why I was in Japan and didn't even open my luggage. I was also struck by the fact that the Japanese police officers don't appear to carry guns. It's the first time that I've been in a country where gun posession is outlawed across the board. It's hard not to admire a society that can function without guns!
As soon as Jane and I left the airport and boarded the train that would take us home, I couldn't help but notice how clean the train was and how polite the attendants were. The train was immaculate and the ticket lady actually bowed before entering and leaving the different cars of the train as she walked through. At first, seemed a bit odd to me, but I grew accustomed to it quickly. After a week or so, I found myself doing little head bobs as well! Speaking of head bowing, I smacked my head about five times because the doorways in Japan really are much lower than the West. Yet I digress... the transportation workers in Japan are not only polite, but they are also nattily dressed. Taxis drivers wear suits. Actual suits with a tie and jacket! Even fast food workers look sharp and work very hard. Walk into a Mister Donut and you'll see what I mean! They are genuinely cheerful and happy to serve you.
Although a few restaurants did offer the option of using silverware, the vast majority only provided chopsticks. They really aren't that hard to use. The Japanese do seem to enjoy watching foreigners struggle to use chopsticks though; that and my declining body weight were incentive enough to learn to use them fast! I had the chance to sample several different Japanese dishes. As might be expected, I enjoyed the food that most resembled what I am accustomed to. I was delighted to discover that Pizza Royal Hat’s pizza is better than almost anything in Boston! After I spent three weeks living with Jane, she can now order just about any pizza in Japanese without a problem! I also highly recommend Pickle’s café. They have a fantastic cheese omelet with rice! Visitors should, however, be careful when Jane orders more exotic food. After beginning to eat one such mystery dish, I discovered a tentacle! I was surprised by how much I liked sushi though. It comes in a wide variety some of which was quite tasty even to an uncultured palate such as mine! I also liked udon, ramen, and okonomiyaki. Here I am in front of one of the ramen shops in Naruto. The chopsticks move up and down like a magic trick.
During my last week in Japan, I had the chance to help Jane teach English classes at a technical high school and a junior high. The junior high kids were very attentive and seemed to be quite interested in learning English. The technical high school students, however, were the exact opposite of what I had expected. I had assumed that Japanese students would all be very well disciplined and exceedingly deferential to their teachers. At the high school I visited, this was not the case; students talked amongst themselves and even used their cell phones to send text messages during class! Upon walking into the first class, a kid made arm wrestling gestures at me, which could have been confused with inappropriate gestures until Jane explained what he actually wanted. Jane said that he was the arm wrestling champion of the school (there was an arm wrestling tournament during the cultural festival before Jane tap danced). I let him think he could win for a bit and then I put his arm right down. The teacher said that if he had beat me, there would have been many more challenges throughout the day. One of the most surprising things that I noticed about the school was the apparent indifference of the Japanese teachers. They didn't even try to control the class. Even under these difficult circumstances, Jane was able to conduct useful exercises for those who wanted to learn. Here we are warming ourselves next to the kerosene heater in the staff room. We put our jackets on when we went to teach.
I found the amount of English used on clothing and signs in Japan very surprising. Though the English is barely comprehensible, it is everywhere! This despite few people actually being able to speak English (until Jane gets through with them, of course)!
Here we are on the boat to go see the whirlpools.
