Things which took me by surprise in Japan
Japan’s tourism tagline is ‘Endless Discovery’. And it sure lives up to it!
Although I never visited Japan before, I felt a deep connection to it’s culture through books, movies and anime. But Japan took me by surprise in so many ways!
Here are a few things which I observed, learned and loved about Japan in my first visit-
1. Kawaii Culture
People love their soft toys here! Everyone carries them around in the form of bags, charms, keychains. And it’s not just the girls. There is no stigma attached to being in touch with your inner child, or making it gender-neutral- and that is so liberating! Shops have cute cuddly displays or hangings. It made me wonder why do we — in the rest of the world- shun away from this after a certain age? Why do we feel its so important to put on the grown-up mask and label this as childish/cringe. Why not just embrace the little pleasure we get out of cute stuff and collectibles! It brought a smile on my face so many times whenever I encountered anything cute on the streets. It just makes the world a much better place!
2. Vending Machines
Japan has 1 vending machine for every 23 people, making it the country with the most vending machines! This is because of the high population density (and their love for all things robotic). But it’s also a pure supply chain wonder. You get everything from perishable items like eggs and lettuce, to even hot meals and beverages! They also sell cigarettes and alcohol which requires a local ID card; and before this system was in place, some machines had facial recognition in place, to determine the age of the buyer. How cool is that!
3. Bidets
Finally experienced the fabled bidets! Why has the world not adopted this culture?! And they have warm seats! I bet no country has got the toilet situation as sorted as the Japanese! Interestingly, of all the things, this tops my list of the things I missed the most after leaving Japan.
4. Japanese Politeness (Arigato gozaimasu!)
Whether you learn any Japanese or not, you would definitely learn this word — which means ‘ thank you’. The usual way of greeting or thanking in Japan is by bowing really low. Japanese people don’t just bow. They bow down almost 90 degrees from the waist, making you wonder what you have done to deserve such respect! This is called Ojigi or Rei. People are extremely respectful. But don’t take their respect and kindness for meekness.
Bowing came from China to Japan, where it was adopted as samurai tradition during medieval times
5. Takkyubin: Luggage-forwarding system (Ta-Q-bin)
In Japan, you can get your luggage transferred to any place or hotel you want, 365 days a year! You have same day deliveries locally (or next day for farther places). Their efficiency ensured that our luggage reaches our hotels before us, while we could travel light. It just blew our minds as to how affordable and convenient it made our entire trip! It’s the only service of this kind in the world, that operates at this scale and efficiency!
6. A Place of Contradictions
👉 Cash economy, despite being so advanced!
Although travellers can use something called IC Cards for some of their purchases, Japan heavily relies on cash transactions. This becomes more apparent when you travel outside Tokyo. Also, they have coins for big denominations. So you cant just ignore your coins. In the end, you walk around with a purse heavy with coins. Pretty fun!😬
👉 No dustbins! Yet so CLEAN✨
You haven’t seen cleanliness until you have visited Japan. And I say this, coming from Australia, which is not too bad itself. But there are hardly any dustbins! Apparently you are supposed to take your garbage with you. And since we carry our trash around, we are pushed towards producing less wastage! Genius, isn’t it?
Backstory :
This was not always the case, but the dustbins were removed after the 1995 sarin gas attacks which targeted Tokyo Metro lines during rush hour, causing many deaths and injuries.
The terrorists had concealed sarin (a lethal nerve agent) in plastic bags, which could have been easily hidden in dustbins. To mitigate the risk of any such future attacks, the authorities decided to remove public bins.
Many believed that this would lead to an uptick in litter on the streets. But that was not the case. The country has one of the world’s most stringent waste disposal practices, which worked in its favour. There was again a push for the dustbins to make a comeback for Tokyo 2020 Olympics, lest the city would overflow with garbage, but Japan again proved this wrong!
👉 It’s both baby-friendly and not!
They have so many baby change rooms (almost state-of -the-art change rooms even in subway stations and bullet trains!). They have apps where you can search for the nearest change room, along with pictures of how they look. But to the horror of many parents, many stations don’t have elevators! So you carry the stroller all the way up, through the stairs. Our 1 yr-old seemed to enjoy it a lot! It’s all fun and games until you have to carry the stroller, bags and baby, all the way up the steep stairs during rush hour.
The reason for no elevators in some stations could be because these are some really old subways with no scope to upgrade. And even if they did, the elevators were just too far off to be convenient.
But then,
Japan’s bathrooms have something incredible!
They have these incredible baby holders where you can seat a 6–36 month old while parents can do their business. What a genius design and idea! Finally someone thought about toddler-parents!
Tokyo has the most number of Michelin star restaurants in the world, but unfortunately kids are not allowed, so we could not try any of these. There are very specific restaurants where you can bring in kids. Part of the reason also is the limited real estate. Many restaurants are so small that the strollers or baby seats won’t even fit in. Also, the other patrons should not be disturbed.
We also we had a tough time finding hotels with baby cots as traditionally babies co-sleep with parents in Japan (as is the case with most Eastern countries). But the rare ones which do provide them, go out of the way in their hospitality!
7. Unique sense of style
Tokyo girls are uber stylish and have an anime-meet-sci-fi take on fashion. Athleisure is not a thing here. So it was a pleasure not to see black leggings everywhere. The sense of style is dainty with a sprinkle of Kawaii aesthetic, while men dress sharp with their dreamy hair and hairstyles. Japanese women are pretty but the ones in kimonos are divine!
8. Aesthetic and attention-to-detail packaging
Even if you order a take away, everything is arranged to perfect order and sizing, even in a take-away bag! Bento boxes are also one of the prime examples of how everything is compartmentalised to perfection!
9. No eating while you walk
I love this one! Eating while walking or in local trains is frowned upon in Japan. Japanese are very mindful of cleanliness and respect for public spaces. It also helps in avoiding all kinds of smells and possible spillage. This behaviour is off-putting as per local people. In touristy areas like Nishiki Market, there are sign boards to stop people from doing this.
10. All things Matcha!
Ok, so I’m a huge matcha fan but I could not have imagined so many foods and beverages in matcha flavour. They have matcha flavoured everything, and I’m not even kidding! It’s a matcha-lover’s paradise!
There is just so much to Japan that it cannot be covered in one article. I hope I would get to experience more of it’s culture, stories and food in the coming years. It is just my humble way of journaling so that I never forget what this land gave me. Japan exceeded my expectations and I know that I haven’t even scratched the surface. Here’s to leaving with the hope of revisiting this beautiful land and learning more🌸
