Letter from Japan (standard:travel stories, 4412 words)
Author: John Ahern	Added: Sep 01 2002	Views/Reads: 4120/2478	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Stranger than fiction in Japan - personal observations.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

in the wind and when I was spotted trying to fold it up to keep I was 
abused for my lack of respect and made to stick it back on the wall, 
not in case someone reported me but because it was "not the thing to 
do". But then there is the contradiction that EVERYONE breaks the law 
on the freeway, the speed limit is 80 klms but traffic travels at 120 
or more. 

I was surprised too at their lack of concern for the children who jumped
about all over the car while we hurtled through incredibly narrow 
tunnels and mountain roads just inches from the oncoming vehicles. 
"Don't you think it's dangerous not to use seatbelts on the kids in the 
back?" and the answer "Yes, but it is not compulsory to wear seatbelts 
in the back seat." I guess that explains their thinking; doing what 
you're TOLD is much more important than doing what is LOGICAL. It seems 
almost every young person had his/her hair dyed brown this summer and 
I'm sure most of them would agree that it does not look good but it is 
important to follow the fashion. Many young people spend their earnings 
on plastic surgery or eye colour change in order to look 'Western' 
because that's trendy today. 

So far I've not heard one word spoken in anger in Japan and it seems
there is no crime; it's normal to leave your car fully packed on the 
street, confident that it will be safe and secure. My hosts were 
astonished when I admitted that I occasionally cross the street at home 
to pinch a lemon from a neighbour's tree. They just did not understand 
that it was better if I just took it without asking, (it would only be 
left to rot anyway), instead of knocking on the door, which the 
neighbour might then regard as an invasion of his/her privacy. 

I love the food but they could not understand my dislike of seafood and
were always wanting to discuss that subject though they were disgusted 
when I told them of our once-a-week meal of a pig's head in Ireland 
when times were hard. The supermarkets are good and I was surprised to 
find that food is reasonably priced even though just about everything 
is imported. There is lots of cooked food available in the supermarkets 
and always a microwave nearby to heat it up it if necessary. You can 
really get the bargains if you go there for your take-away food just 
before the 9 pm closing. There are drink-vending machines everywhere 
selling everything from tea and coffee, (iced or hot), to beer. The 
beer is great and so are the chopsticks...they enable you to eat slowly 
and really appreciate the many dishes that make up each meal. Slow and 
leisurely eating is good too for conversation round the table and the 
children (and adults) are very intrigued with the 'never ending story' 
that has everyone add his or her own bit as the tale goes round the 
table and lasts for days. What with everyone adding his or her own 
agenda/culture/imagination, these stories are very interesting and a 
real insight into people's different thinking. 

The trip to the west coast, (Sea Of Japan), was just fantastic - the
first day travelling on local trains and one long stretch on a 
switchback railway in open carriages with dragonflies and all sorts of 
exotic creatures flying in to land on us as we travelled thru the 
seemingly impenetrable mountains and forests. Then we travelled around 
the Matsue and Lake Shinji area, visiting ancient castles and temples. 
Climbed the tallest lighthouse in the Orient then west along the rugged 
Sea of Japan coast for a few hundred kilometres and next day through 
the high mountain valleys on a steam locomotive that was in perfect 
condition in spite of it's age, with it's five carriages furbished in 
their five original themes - all  in dark polished wood, plush velvet 
and brass lamps. Then we descended to sea level again and back along 
the coast of the Inland Sea to Hiroshima. 

I'm till not used to the humidity and it's the same everywhere we go and
very hot too even on the west coast, temperatures are extreme all over 
this time of year and the mountain villages which are now suffering 
this heat and humidity will be covered in snow a couple of months. 

In all those hundreds of miles I saw absolutely NO animals; no cow,
horse, pig, sheep....not even a goat or a CHICKEN! Saw only one dog 
during the first week and one  cat. One of the strange enigmas here.... 
no live pets but everyone has some kind of doll or cute creature 
hanging off of their trendy and rather pretentious bum-bags, back-packs 
and take-way (mobile) phones. You will never see a Japanese walking 
about with just his/her hands hanging to him/her like me; even the 
smallest child will be laden with STUFF if only to show off some 
designer label. 

As for the lack of LIVE pets, I can only guess that in this culture of
extreme order and harmony a pet would be deemed too `chaotic`. I miss 
my pussy!! Haruka, 5 year old niece, asked her aunt `Why does John like 
animals? after she'd seen me follow that dog just to stroke it 
(craving.) A strange question for a 5 year old, you might think, but 
understandable when she and the 9 year old made such sounds of disgust 
when they saw me pick up a tiny white feather. I told her that I 
believed that animals and children were the 'real people' of this world 
and that adults were only put here to look after us. She thought long 
and hard for a while and then asked me "Are you an animal?" I looked in 
some pet shops and a dog or cat costs US$6,500, and that's on special! 

The scarcity of wild birds is remarkable too and when you point out the
odd eagle or hawk the locals are not interested and look at you as 
though you were a weirdo. However, there are carp in every stream, pond 
and moat and I have seen fully mature adults trying their best to smash 
the beautiful dragonflies with their fans as they climb the (often 
hundreds) of steps to pay homage at a temple. 

Then I finally saw a BIG dog.... you may not wish to read the next bit
(as they say on the news.) The dog was in a tin box on the back of a 
small truck and it was out in the sun with the 35 degrees heat and 95% 
humidity and sounded very distressed.... I approached and was warned 
off by a policeman with a baton saying "Kiken" (danger.) Then I saw 
that there were more parked vehicles nearby with more dogs... all out 
in the sun and the sweat running out of the cages and down the street. 
There were tourists all around who though this was just wonderful as 
their cameras whirred to the woeful sounds of the distressed dogs. 

Then, outside a building, I saw a fat woman sitting astride a life-size
replica of a dog covered in fake blood and gashes, (the dog, that is, 
unfortunately) and she was smiling for her husband and his camera. 
Behind her there was a line of people that included small children, 
waiting to buy tickets. Miyuki said "Don't look John...this is not for 
you". It was a dog fight and I could not hide my horror and disgust 
that not only would they tolerate such a thing in a so called civilized 
society but even take their small children to see that extreme 
barbarity. The cages out in the sun were all part of the game to make 
sure the dogs were driven to madness before the fight. 

I met more than one person who seemed to want to legitimise the Japanese
whaling which seems to be talked about a lot these days  - "Why not?" 
they asked, though I never even wanted to discuss such politics  - "You 
eat cows and goats!" And I remembered telling my friends there, who had 
never even seen a cow "How incredibly beautiful and satisfying it was 
to kiss and caress a cow and smell her warm, milky smell and touch the 
delicate softness of her mouth and feel her breath on your face." I 
never told them that, in my travels,  some of the best friends I've had 
were pigs. Pigs that just wandered up to me in Central and South 
America and we sat there watching the sunset together as we scratched 
each other and grunted our pleasure. 

Almost as surprising as the lack of animals is that in all the hundreds
of miles travelled around lakes and along the coasts I've hardly seen a 
sail of any description even though the weather is perfect for sailing. 
 I did see a handful of yachts tied up though. We just spent a few days 
around the Island of Shikoku, (Pacific coast), and still no sailing 
except for one tiny speck out on the horizon. 

Japan has just had it's annual summer holiday of only one week and there
were millions queuing for everything but luckily they're more 
interested in the `theme park` kind of stuff and leave the rest to 
crazy 'gaijins' (foreigners), like me...if I had more time to see it, 
that is, or the nerve to upset my hosts and do what I REALLY 
want....like have a swim or just jump into a castle moat if only to 
cool down. After two weeks I have about 50 words of Japanese but feel 
it easier to pretend complete ignorance when "it is not permitted." 

Saturday night in Hiroshima we went to the city centre along with over a
million other people to see the fireworks to mark the beginning of the 
summer holiday week . Many people dressed in national costume, 
beautiful girls in kimono. There were hundreds of tiny food stalls all 
along the river and as we sat on the bank to eat the rain started; 
torrential rain that never stopped and lent a sort of lunatic 
atmosphere to the event and for the first time all order, peace and 
harmony went out the window! As we sat on the steep concrete embankment 
scores of people trying to make their way along soon slipped and fell 
onto the people below who then slipped even further down, crashing into 
more people in a terrible tangle of cameras, spilled drinks and kebabs 
and noodles, covering each other in sauce and mud. But there were no 
hard words and I never heard any at all while I was in Japan, the never 
ending chant of polite phrases is like music everywhere. 

Then the thunder and lightening started and it was better than any
fireworks as we fought the million people and their umbrellas to get a 
train home. I was doing my Gene Kelly impersonation with my umbrella, 
'Singing In The Rain' in all the clamour and I slipped and slid down 
some steps but never felt a thing with the deluge of water underneath 
me; it was like going down a waterslide. The thunder was deafening and 
the loudest bang of the fireworks just couldn't compete as it echoed 
round the valley and the surreal glimpse of the rain-swept mountains 
thru the mist and low, grey-white clouds was magical in the flashes of 
lightening. Nobody does it like god, or whoever she is!! 

My host on the Island of Shikoku works for a rural supply company. He is
a 'salaryman' and though his official working hours are 9 to 5, five 
days a week, he has been working 7 days per week now for months. As is 
the case most of his working life he leaves home before 7 each morning 
and gets home anytime between 7 and 10.30 pm. His two children aged 9 
and 5 hardly see him. 

He was on his annual summer holiday when I visited, he finished on
Saturday, (as did the rest of Japan), but after two days his boss 
called him in to work two days, (no extra pay), and then it was time to 
get ready for the BIG camping trip...two nights away. We drove south to 
the pacific coast...mostly underground because of the tunnels through 
the mountains and spent the first night in a log cabin resort beside a 
small stream where you could bathe your feet (I got right in and lay 
down to relieve the heat.) Then we fought the mosquitoes all night...I 
slept outside on the hard floor of the veranda just to keep cool. There 
were no fly-screens on the windows anyway. 

Next day I was looking forward to my dream finally coming true...I would
get into the sea and cool my bones which were at boiling point since I 
left the Australian winter. Beach Camping...that's what they said; we 
clambered down a hundred steps and I soon realised the reality was 
different....the campers were there with their cameras but not silly 
enough to get into the water as I did to almost get dragged out to sea 
by the giant waves that  pounded the incredibly jagged rocks. I really 
tried though, and after watching the movement of the waves I just sat 
on the waterline and held onto a rock while about one wave in every ten 
crashed over me and tried it's best to drag me away into the Pacific. 
The most common word I heard on that beach was "kicken". . danger, as 
the tourists and their cameras got drenched by the unpredictable waves! 


After climbing back up to the campsite I was so hot I had to go and sit
under a tap and then it was time to cook the BBQ at 4 pm - it was early 
because my hosts had to be sure that everything was cleaned and stowed 
away before dark. Scores of cars were arriving and all the latest 
camping gadgets were being unfolded and assembled, people who slept on 
the floor all year were now connecting up bits of aluminium to make 
beds. They spent hours setting up tables, chairs and some other 
complicated and expensive equipment that I'd never even know what to do 
with. I slept on the grass under a tree....it was nice and cool! I was 
really intrigued by the white camping gloves; everyone wore them and 
they must have thought I looked silly without mine! 

The wife (of my hosts) never even got to go down and look at the beach
but drove off to sit in the hot springs twice. Next morning, Saturday, 
we made tracks back home to the other side of the island a day before 
the end of the official holiday week and it seems everyone was of the 
same mind to get home one day early in order to avoid the traffic and 
clean up the gear and relax before going back to work on Monday. Being 
clean is the national obsession and still I was dismayed at the amount 
of garbage on the beaches; particularly the discarded fishing nets and 
such stuff that tangles and strangles dolphins and whales. 

Cartoonist Michael Leunig could write volumes on this place! We went to
a zoo and theme park and in spite of all the exotic birds and 
animals....even lions, tigers, zebras, monkeys etc., sweating away in 
their tiny cages, most of the visitors were only interested in rushing 
through to the other side where they could ride on plastic replicas of 
those animals! 

The most renowned scenic place in all of Shikoku... a beach, near Kochi
on the Pacific coast... and there I was, running forward from the car 
park until I suddenly realised I was the only one with a beach towel, 
(not to mention my snorkel, fins and water-wings), and like a torturer 
relishing his job my host told me "It is not allowed to swim....just 
take photo".  EVERYONE was trekking down to the water-line, fully 
clothed and dripping perspiration, laden with cameras in order to stand 
there sweating in their trendy hats and back-packs with their backs to 
the beautiful scenery and what was for me the most desirable and 
inaccessible thing in the whole world, COOL WATER,  saying the Japanese 
equivalent of cheese. I saw an indoor beach with a fake wave produced 
by a hidden machine and people were happy to spend their money to sit 
on the fake sand in there and not get 'soiled' by the real thing. 

Like everything and every place in Japan; 'doing' is not the important
thing: buying the t-shirt to SAY you'd done it and taking the 
photo/video to PROVE you'd done it is more important even though the 
t-shirt is usually printed in nonsensical English words or phrases such 
as on the favourite shirt of a woman I know who, after years of English 
lessons at school thought it very cool that her t-shirt read "Poor 
Spitted Muck"!!! 

I was surprised at the lack of foreigners too and that explains why
there is so little available in English at those incredible castles and 
temples so I guess I'm very lucky to have my own interpreter! Maybe 
it's the plumbing that has kept people away; the last thing I would 
have need for is a computerised toilet. Unlike other visitors I was not 
curious enough to explore that beast but for how long can you go on 
being lucky enough to avoid hitting at least one of those dozen buttons 
as you carefully sit down? Touch one and you are liable to awaken the 
caressing hand of the sleeping toilet 'akuma' (devil) or invoke his hot 
breath or a stream of warm spit on yer bum!! 

I doubt there are any leisure activities to attract tourists from other
parts of the world and the Japanese idea of leisure is another 'theme 
park' or McDonalds or their own version of Disneyland or there is the 
'Fan Factory' or the 'Noodle Factory' where you can pay your Yens to 
put on an apron and a funny hat and sit on the floor in a room full of 
Japanese, (usually adults, believe it or not), lovingly mixing flour 
and water to the unrelenting instructions of the owner/teacher while 
your friends film every heart-tugging moment on video for you to take 
away and treasure  for the rest of your life. You also receive a scroll 
to hand down to your grandchildren to prove you'd DONE IT! 

It would seem that news of the outside world is unimportant, I could
find little or no news on TV and when I asked my hosts they could not 
understand why I should want to know what's going on somewhere else. 
Strange and contradictory, I thought, particularly in Hiroshima where 
the locals are constantly reminding themselves and everyone else that 
"It must never happen again" (the war, the bomb.) "We must be vigilant 
and aware of evil." I arrived in Hiroshima the day before the 
anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb and went to the 
commemoration service next day, a sobering affair, particularly hearing 
the hundreds of names read out to the tolling of the bell – the names 
of people now added to the toll of victims who have died in the past 
year – people whose injuries finally killed them. 

I could find no foreign radio stations or newspapers even in the hotels
and the local papers have very little world news. Perhaps Tokyo would 
have been different. Their televisions are full of seemingly endless, 
silly trivia programs, day and night, These shows are almost always to 
do with food...maybe it's a sort of Japanese pornography as they really 
get off on watching other people eat all sorts of creatures and things, 
with the cameras zooming in close to get the juice rolling down the 
chin as they slobber over noodles. The audience goes wild as the eater 
makes faces and loud sucking noises while words in large Chinese 
characters flash across the screen in pink and lime green. 

The contradictions just seem too incredible but maybe that's why I still
love it, so when I return home I'll read this again just to see if it 
makes sense from the comfort of my home environment - after I've 
sampled the freedom of walking barefoot on the beach or on the grass 
outside my backdoor. 

I imagine these people would be just as astonished if they were to visit
me in South Australia where I now live; would they understand my 
decadent, though financially poor, lifestyle; work a few short hours 
and then laze away the afternoons sailing or playing music. What would 
they say if they saw me during my childhood in Ireland, carting bag 
after bag of potatoes up the steep hills to feed our family of seven or 
understand that I had to make the cold and dark trek to the church 
every night, winter and summer, to recite meaningless Latin prayers to 
a mysterious and cruel Catholic god and His/Her saints. What would THEY 
write if they saw me sleepless at night because I was unable to deal 
with the horrors of crucifixion, the fires of hell or the heartbreak I 
felt for the poverty of my family, seeing my father and mother trying 
to do the best they could from day to day. 

It's a crazy old world and the more I see the less I understand but I
guess that's just as well because the biggest sin would be to think 
you'd found the answer and tell others what is right or wrong and I 
have no intention of doing that. 

Regards, John 


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