#8 This is a brief outlook coming from my short stay in Japan. Along with me were my friends and we had come to Japan for a conference. In no way would I claim this to be a summary of the people of Japan. This may be a flavor of a slice from that summary. I stayed in Kobe and traveled to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Kindai, and Hiroshima. I can roughly say that these places fall into the mid-south of Japan. Also, all these places are metropolitan. I haven’t gone to any rural, village landscape of Japan, though through my several train rides to these places, I did have a glance of this end of the spectrum.
Firstly, most people I saw in public wore formal dresses, with most men in suits. Maybe my timings coincided with the rush hours of Japan. Nevertheless, if I summarize all my memory, I can say the color tone of their dresses is skewed to shades of black and white. Take a photo of people waiting to cross the road or in the subways of Osaka; you will thirst for a splash of bright colors. The subdued approach to colors can also be felt in the cars on the road. All of them are in black and white tones. It also caught my attention that there were no American cars or Korean cars. Maybe, if I had gone a decade and a half before, I could see Sony Walkman phones. However, almost everyone was holding an iPhone or a Samsung phone. Secondly, people are dead serious in public. I hardly saw someone with a smile on their face. They also do not do any talking in public. It is in their rhythm that people shouldn’t engage in conversations, especially in trains and buses, so that the rest of the people are not disturbed. They are also not supposed to talk over their phones on trains. I heard that they do all the talking when they sit for dinner, and I did experience it when I went to a traditional Japanese restaurant.
Thirdly, the innumerous Arigatou Gozaimasu with bow downs I received. The thanking aspect, even for the slightest interactions, has, in a way, maybe unconsciously, set humility in the minds of Japanese people. Everywhere in Japan, you will see the respect people show toward others. Whether in a lift or train, they will first show you the way. And that is not because I was a tourist there. I had also seen them do this to their fellow citizens. You can see this also in the queues wherever they are in.
Fourth is trash. The conference that I attended happened at Kobe Convention Centre. On the first day, at the opening ceremony, the conference chairperson said there were no trash cans, and you will have to carry your trash. When you hear that, you may feel that he is joking. But it was true. There was no trash can there. Somehow, everyone across the world who was there carried their trash with them. Another thing that caught my attention in the conference center was no water dispenser. All I could see was a vending machine where the only mineral water of Evian selling for 500 Yens. I wondered whether the Japanese drank water. I think they mostly drink green tea. The vending machine had more green tea bottles than water. The only water I got from the convention center was a Kobe-branded water bottle (like the Fiji water), which they gave me when I presented my work. This was a subtle way of tourism promotion. When I went to Miyajima Island, there too I saw minimal trash cans, though the place was filled with tourists. Amidst this, you must admit that all these places were spotless except for cigarette buds. You can find cigarette buds everywhere, and it especially got my attention at Sannomiya railway station. I don’t know if its an aftermath of their rigorous work hours.
Fifth, it’s Japanese everywhere. While waiting for the train at Kyoto station towards Sannomiya, a few girls were gossiping about us. As our train arrived, they asked, do you guys speak English? We said yes. Then they asked where are we from? In those few seconds, as we boarded the train, we welcomed them to India. Before this, whenever the internet had its limitation, we resorted to asking native Japanese for help, and they couldn’t understand even the slightest bit of English. But since technology works (& do not discriminate, unlike people), life was easier with Google lens. I had a tough time buying the Japanese Railway (JR) Pass. The first was to get to the right counter. I asked an officer outside a JR counter if this was the right place to get the JR pass. He pointed inside, but I was not sure. I took a leap of faith, typed an entire paragraph of what Pass I wanted and how I would pay, converted it to Japanese, and showed it at the counter. It worked. I think it’s enough for now. I have to end this with ありがとう ございます.