Bikkuri shimashita!
(That reads Amazed in Japanese)
In this write up, am going to focus on things that amazed me of this Land of Sakuras, mangas, anime, bullet trains, futuristic toilets , beautiful people and more!
A visit to Japan feels like you’re on a wonderful planet of its own. It’s a place of opposites, of tradition and modernity, of chaos and order.
In an attempt to make the most of the densely populated cities, the Japanese employ a sometimes-traditional, sometimes-playful approach to living with each other, creating a unique social landscape.
Being thickly populated and even less space usually equates to chaos – unless you’re in Japan.
As we arrived at Narita Airport, we were welcomed with signs showing famous anime and manga characters as well as cute little origami at counters for free to welcome travellers.
That sweet gesture itself bowled me over! Everything is so well organized here!
After collecting our luggage as well as the Japan Rail Pass* ( I'll be going into detail about the Rail Pass soon in my next blog), we headed to board the Japanese trains for the first time.
They have queues not just for trains but for every aspect in life- trains, buses, taxis, even to climb stairs!!!
The trains here are incredible. They are so punctual that you can set your watches basis their timing!I come from a country where 15-30 mins delay is hardly considered a delay.Here even a 2 minute delay is considered disastrous!!
As per statistics, the average delay of the Japanese Shinkansen trains aka the bullet trains, over the last 20 years is only 18 seconds!!
Narita airport is about an hour and half from Tokyo.One thing that stood out through the journey was that Japanese people are obsessed with their mobile phones. They use phones constantly.They are connected to the internet 24/7.
On arrival at Tokyo station, we were struck in awe by the sheer magnitude of the commuters using the station! I just froze there to take a minute out to just admire the busy station and how commuters hurried along like ants moving!Even Shinjuku Train Station which is the the busiest station in the world is well equipped to handle its mass of commuters. More than 3 million people pass through it every day, yet with its excellent road signs both in English and Japanese, an abundance of food outlets, high-tech toilets (which sure deserves a special mention), and clean spaces to wait (or sleep in case you missed your last train) make it an ideal crowd control model.
The toilets! This deserves a very special mention!Be it public loo or the hotel room ones, the cubicles and toilets are spotlessly clean.The toilet by itself felt like something out of a sci-fi movie to me.They have everything from seat warmers, bidet setting, a blow dryer, an auto-clean function, massagers, white noise emission (for the ones who are kinda noisy while doing the deed 😉 ) relaxing music, and even lights!
Japan is popular for its vending machines.You have vending machines for almost everything literally! Be it soft drinks, coffee/tea with cold and hot option, condoms, fruits, snacks, sushi, movie tickets, full meals, umbrellas, alcohol, you name it! It sure is a site to behold!
What I like about the place is how liberal they are with alcohol! It sure is a heaven for people to enjoy their sip!
Their special Japanese whiskeys, Sake (rice wine) , Shochu (local alcohol made with either barley or potato) and umeshu (fruit liqueur especially plum) were devoured with elan!
Don't be surprised when you enter your hotel room and find yourself in a pint sized room after paying a bomb. Be it hotel rooms or houses, Japanese are known for their minimalist approach to life.Even if the room sizes are small, they are well equipped to the extent that you will be left in awe for the facilities it provides.Be it a budget accommodation or a luxury hotel, you are provided with the basic amenities like electric kettle, hair dryer, TV and bathroom amenities like towels, tissues, soap, shampoo, conditioner, dental kits, toiletries kit, grooming kit etc.They also provide things like air purifiers, air and fabric fresheners, Japanese style pajamas, 2 separate pairs of footwear- in-room slippers as well as bathroom slippers!Ever heard of such facilities in budget accommodations in any other part of the world? I sure haven't!!
They also have capsule hotels which are perfect for business travellers as well as light travellers (unlike me!) These are basically sleeping pods which give you the privacy you need and let you stretch yourself out and get a good night sleep.
There was something that delighted me- the comics & capsule hotel.Would have sure loved to try it out. A heaven for comic lovers!
The cafe culture is quite popular there. They have dog cafes, cat cafes, hedgehog cafes and what not! Here you get to relax and have a good cuppa with the cute pets.. cuddling them and playing with them to your hearts content!
Coming to the people. What a lovely bunch of polite humble souls!They are a beautifully complex mix of culture, traditions as well as modernity which is reflected by the technological advancements they have made.I can confidently say that the Japanese are light years ahead of the rest of the world!!
I wasn't fortunate to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom as it was peak summer when we visited.
Japan has amazed me so much that I would love to live there and experience its culture and all the seasons! As the localites in UAE say, "Insha Allah!"
More about the places we visited in my next blog!
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