Japan First Impressions?

Merlie and I have just returned from three weeks in Japan. Very fortunate to catch the cherry blossoms. It is risky to offer impressions after such brief exposure, but I will try.

Many things are exactly as you would expect. Things are orderly. There is no trash or graffiti. People are extremely polite.

But guess where bicyclists ride in Japan? Anywhere they want to. With or against traffic. Even on busy streets. Or on crowded, narrow sidewalks. We never saw anyone get upset and never saw a collision. Quite a contrast with all of the wailing about bikes on State Street here.

Most still pedal under human power. Rain was no problem. Some rode with umbrellas. Others had a unique raincoat covering themselves and the bike. Women and men both rode equally. It was common to see a mother or father riding with one or two children on the bike.

Even during peak commute hours, we did not see traffic jams. Most vehicles are buses, taxis or delivery vehicles, not private cars. Cars are not for status. If you buy a car, it must have its own storage space. Public roads are not for private car storage. Motorists ALWAYS use their turn signals. And yield patiently to pedestrians and bicyclists.

Public transit is very efficient and convenient. Bullet trains are actually faster than flying, door to door. First introduced in Japan in 1964, they have no equivalent in the U.S. At 170 MPH you hardly know you are moving.

Despite high population density, much of Japan remains natural or agricultural, due to transit-oriented development.

Public restrooms are abundant and clean. With fancy toilets that clean your butt with warm water. Paper towels and trash cans are rare.

Japanese have one thing in common with Americans: Almost all are monolingual! But Americans can speak to 1.5 billion English speakers. Japanese can only speak to about 120 million Japanese. From 1639-1853, Japan was shut off from the world. In some ways they still are.

Religion in Japan has no real U.S. equivalent: 70% identify as Buddhist; 67% as Shinto. Yes, many identify as both. About 1.5% identify as Christian.

But 62% will say they believe in no religion. Religion is more about ritual than belief. Shinto for birth and marriage; Buddhism for death. We met Sumo wrestlers who were part of Shinto tradition. The Buddha wanted no images of him and no worship. “Pure Land Buddhism” is popular in Japan. They pray to Buddha statues and hope to be reincarnated in a “Pure Land” of easier Buddhist enlightenment.

We also spent time with a Zen monk. He said that most religion is about fear of death. He said you should not fear death. Because you never really were born. My December 2021 Montecito Journal article “Wrong but Interesting?” explains this.

Geishas have no American equivalent. We met some, who explained they provide conversation and entertainment, not sex.

Unlike in Santa Barbara, we never saw a dog off leash. Nor did we ever see a dog on transit, in a store or restaurant. Some restaurants still allow smoking, but most of Japan is smoke free.

Most Japanese food there is surprisingly similar to Japanese food here. But served with wonderful, pickled appetizers. But there are local inventions like Osaka octopus balls (takoyaki). Apparently, octopus is very abundant in Japan. Hiroshima had a unique pancake stack of fatty pork and cabbage (okonomiyaki).

In Hiroshima we met with Sadae Kasaoka, a remarkable survivor of the U.S. atomic bombing. She was lucky to be in a sheltered location at the time of the bombing, but only bone fragments of her mother were found. She found her father charred black all over, yet still alive, begging for water. He died after two days of agony. The firebombing of Dresden may have burned as many people, but Hiroshima survivors were not told for years what had happened to them. They suffered mysterious diseases and were often shunned as a result.

Japanese people know little history of World War II, according to our Japanese guide “Katy.” Katy was a priceless resource for understanding so much that we found incomprehensible.

A good generalization: Japanese are about “we.” Americans are about “me.”