Live from Japan!

Hi everyone. Aaron’s mom here doing the promised guest blog. We just returned to frigid, white covered Minnesota from warm Japan and am posting advice for those considering a trip to Japan.

Do it. Japan is a wonderful, alluring piece of the Eastern world with a well-embedded sense of the Western mind. Unlike China, which I found difficult to maneuver around or learn the language, Japan is inviting and easy to navigate. Although the kanji dominates, English translations of major towns or headlines are usually posted. Japanese people are very helpful and will ask if you need help or start a conversation in English. If you don’t speak a word, pointing and nodding work well. Here are things to know when visiting:

1. Get a Japan Rail Pass. You must purchase a voucher for this before coming to Japan. They come in 7 day and 14 day versions. See the website for travel agents who can immediately issue them or give a travel agent a few days to get one for you. We got the 14-day one and it cost us $426 on the day we bought it. (Price fluctuates with exchange rate.) You exchange the voucher at a Japan Rail Information Center for a pass. You then show the pass at each rail turnstile you enter or exit, but all your travel is free. This is fantastic because you can make mistakes or change your mind without penalty. If you don’t buy a pass, keep the train ticket you purchase because you will need the ticket to both enter the train and exit it. (I played with my first ticket, rolled it up and crushed it after I boarded the train and was horrified to find out I needed it to exit. The turnstile rejected it and in my first hour in Japan I busted through the turnstile and set off the lights.)

2. Chose your toilet carefully. Japan has many more squat toilets than Western toilets. The squat ones, which are porcelain-lined holes on the floor, require you to have practiced yoga recently or be under the age of ten. The first time I used one, I thought the sign on the door would have to be changed to read “Permanently” in front of “Occupied”. Look for a handicapped restroom. It will have a “western” toilet. If there are western toilets, they will not be the basic model found here. The Japanese model, which Aaron’s supervisor considers Japan’s greatest contribution to civilized life, is quite high tech. It has a menu of options like a car wash, including a full underbody rinse at a pressure you chose. The seat will be heated and begin making soothing tinkling sounds to mask vulgar sounds you might make. Finding the flusher is tricky because it might or might not be with the other buttons and you need to know kanji to read. Just look in the usual place, push and hope for the best.

3. Work out on a Stairmaster before arriving. In Japan, you are always going up or down. The terrain is quite mountainous, with shrines, temples, and castles at the tops. The trains and subway stations are on multilevel. I swear one set of stairs was long enough to reach Nirvana. The Japanese people move in waves quickly and nimbly up these daunting vertical endeavors while I looked around for ropes, harness and someone to belay me.

What I enjoyed about Japan was feeling valued as a person. The flight attendants on Japan Airlines were attractive, immaculately groomed, smiling young women who bowed to you before asking what they might serve you to drink. The flight attendants on the Northwest flight coming home scowled at you like prison wardens and confiscated the plush pink teddy bear of the little girl in front of me because she could not have it during take off and landing (when she most needed it.) In Japan the airports were quiet and serene, not blaring and glaring. We went through security quickly, efficiently and quietly. When I went through security at Detroit, I was told to take off my coat, jacket and shoes. I told the big burley black guard, in Japan I only had to take off my shoes when I entered people’s homes. He laughed heartily and said, “Welcome HOME.” In Japan, blooming orchids and spring flowers lined the airport escalators.

The other thing I luxuriated in was feeling safe. We walked at night in a strange city without any concern about being mugged or ripped off. When I needed to purchase something, the sales clerk picked out the right coins from those I laid out and give me back the rest. There was no tipping. The expectation is of a fairly priced service rendered well. And when that is not given, an apology is.

So, go visit. Aaron and Danielle are wonderful hosts who will readily share their apartment, sushi and tatami mats with you. (But not peanut butter and maple syrup.)