KONICHIWA JAPAN – Hello Nihon

The earth moved for me. And for everyone else on Honshu (the largest of Japan’s four islands). An earth tremor of 7.2 magnitude on the Richter scale shook my world on arrival in Japan. Fearing I was just a drama queen (and much prone to exaggeration), the earthquake fact was confirmed by coat hangers jangling in the wardrobe and then corroborated by my Kiwi pals in the group. A dramatic start to my holiday in the Land of the Rising Sun.

My tour continued with further excitement each day, albeit minus geological trauma! But lest we forget, elemental forces rule Japan and they shape the land. Still growing exponentially in popularity, the country is booming. Cost of living is considerably cheaper than Ireland and the yen stretched well on a holiday budget. Some commodities are on a par with ours but dining out and housing costs are a bit higher. My tour was all-inclusive, so food prices were not an issue. For instance, a glass of wine (hotel prices) was 1.000 yen, the equivalent of 5.4 euro. Three stops on the train from my hotel on the outskirts of Tokyo (Prefecture of Shiomi) to the city centre was 200 yen = 1.07 euro. By the way, a source of great pride to me was that I managed that train journey all by my little self! The train stations can be pretty manic, but floors are well marked and colour coded, making it relatively easy to reach your chosen destination.

Japanese people absolutely fit the image that is universally propounded – polite, proper, precise and punctual. If manners maketh man, they are the ultimate. Generally small and slender in stature, they are often picture perfect in their love of uniforms. Early morning male workers are pristinely clad in dark suits, dazzling white shirts and ties; women are equally clothed immaculately. Many wear masks. School kids don cute little uniforms too as they trundle long in their crocodile lines, all holding hands. The love of uniform extends even to bus drivers who wear white gloves. Nobody drops litter in Japan. It’s impossible to find a public refuse bin. If the restaurant or shop you use has no bin, you bring your litter home. Streets are pristine.

In this law- abiding society, everyone is respectful and behaves in an orderly fashion. God forbid you even attempt to jaywalk. No one steps a toe off the pavement to the pedestrian crossing until the green man whistles. Speaking of toes, be prepared to bare all when entering a restaurant or museum or public space indoors. Shoes must be left at the door. Bring plenty of socks! Often, extra flip flops are visible outside bathrooms and meant to be worn so as floors are not cross contaminated. Cleanliness is next to godliness. Good manners are de rigeur.

As one might expect, Japan has stunning zen gardens, gilded pagodas, Shinto shrines with scarlet Tori gates and Buddhist temples. Intricately carved, perfectly painted and gold gilded to within an inch of their fluted curlicues, the edifices are a sight for sore eyes. Shintoism is the national religion where Animism means that everything in nature has a living soul and spiritual essence and therefore should be revered. However, Buddhism is also a major religion and considers life is a cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth to reach Nirvana. Many Japanese believe in both religions, thus maintaining a foot in both camps, running parallel like conjoined twins. It’s not a bad plan to achieve enlightenment.

Japan is a country of unpronounceable, unbelievable and indecipherable symbols. It’s a country of deep contrast, deep beliefs and deep respect. A lot of deep bowing too! It’s a real dichotomy – truly traditional on one hand and cutting-edge technology on the other. Both sides sit cheek by jowl and course along on a languid roll or rush headlong at a busy, frenetic pace. This is Japan. Tokyo itself has 14.2 million souls, so easy to feel overwhelmed at times. What surprised me most of all though was how utterly beautiful Japan is. Topographically the country is varied, thickly forested in parts with lush emerald green valleys and towering craggy mountains. Mount Fuji is the natural jewel. It’s quite an emotional sight to witness the majestic, almost perfect conical shape, snow spattered hills and cratered summit. A sacred mountain, it’s easy to understand the reverence in which Mt Fuji is held. It was quite a special experience. Awesome in the proper sense of the word.

Incredible highlights on my trip (although perhaps one shrine too many – there are 88.000 Shinto shrines throughout Japan!) included most of the major sights. The Imperial Garden, Sensoji Temple for a tranquil dander, 634 metre Skytree (which I did not climb as vertigo is my companion!) were all in Tokyo. The Shibuya Crossing is a famous and unmissable experience, known as the world’s busiest intersection, where approx. 3.000 pedestrians attempt to cross. Imagine the chaos when selfie takers, older people and camera wielding tourists all converge. Another memorable sight was Itchiku Kubota Art Museum to view a collection of incredible Kimonos (the only living artist to exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC). The Golden Pavilion shrine has 20 kgs of gold leaf and is splendidly situated in lovely gardens with teeming shoals of koi in clear ponds.

After Tokyo, the brilliant bullet train, Shinkansen, was boarded for Kyoto. It’s comfortable, clean (naturally) and goes like a bullet! Kyoto is a lovely city and was the ancient capital until 1868. I was disappointed that we didn’t see any Geisha in their fabulous intricately embroidered kimono, wide obi, white face and elaborate hair style. We did have a tea ceremony, but not in Gion (where Geisha live and work). For me, the Geisha is the reason to visit Kyoto. At least, lots of young Japanese rented the traditional costumes and loved to pose for photographs, so I enjoyed that pageantry.

Hiroshima was quite a harrowing experience and where one expected to witness the horror that was wreaked upon thousands of innocent people. Photographs are stark. The museum is very emotive and inspires silence and reflection. The eternal flame will burn here until all nuclear weapons are de-weaponised. Can’t come soon enough…..

We drove to Himeji where the amazing Himeji Castle, a national treasure, is the largest and most spectacular structure in Hyogo Prefecture. A proud Japanese fortress and a UNESCO World Heritage site today, one could imagine a Shogun here in the Samurai era where he ruled overall. Onwards to Osaka which is the 3^rd largest city in Japan (1.6 million population) and locals are reputed to be more open and direct than elsewhere. It’s a centre of commerce and considered to be food heaven. It’s common here that if you miss the last train home, just go to karaoke and stay all night. It’s cheaper than booking a hotel.

Although I missed cherry blossom season, the dogwood trees, ginko trees, pink and purple azaleas and rhododendron bushes more than compensated. The zen gardens were delightful. Designed for contemplation, at Ryoan-Ji Temple in Kyoto, 15 rocks are strategically placed. One cannot see them all at once – one must always be hidden from any vantage point to symbolize imperfection.

Shopping opportunities were scant, but the odd foray into Family Mart (equivalent of 7 Eleven throughout Asia) and bus depot stores were eye opening. Lots of goods (with endless packaging), snacks galore and plenty of gaudy souvenirs were displayed.

Japan is famous for many reasons – raw fish, lemon growing, oysters, matcha, tofu, rice crackers, delicious ice cream, seaweed and miso soup; neon lit signs, techno brilliance, leading technology, traditional values and the latest in trendy fashion. It’s also renowned for respect and good manners. The crane is the national bird, revered, deemed to be sacred and denotes happiness and longevity.  Cranes fly east to the iconic Land of the Rising Sun. Many will follow and I probably will again……. Arigato Japan and sayonara.

JACINTA MC GLYNN