Dispatches from Japan - Part 3



This is the third part of the article written and posted by Anu Garg, the founder of the online community, Wordsmith.org . He is an Indian American. 

Dispatches from Japan - Part 2

Pic courtesy: wikimedia.org Japanese folding fan

Here are some random observations from my trip.

  • ··         I had the image of the folding hand fan as something that little old ladies carried as a fashion accessory. Turns out it's something practical. I noticed everyone, taxi drivers, office workers, and students, fanning themselves with folding fans. It's an essential accessory for anyone, man or woman, during the hot muggy month of August.
  • ·         There's a vending machine at each street corner. No, let me be more precise. There are multiple vending machines on each street corner, selling dozens of hot & cold drinks, including tea, coffee, beer, and even Coke and Pepsi. If you don't find what you are looking for, chances are it'll be in the vending machine a few feet down.
  • ·         Even though it's hard to find roadside trash bins, it's even harder to find litter. Japanese put their trash in their pockets or purses to be deposited later into a trash bin.
  • ·         Sometimes the best way to protect high-tech equipment is low-tech. In Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima, I saw giant TV cameras being protected by tatami mats.
  • ·         Space is at a premium. Cars are often double stacked, and so are bicycles.
  • ·         I believe it's a law in Japan that every public sign has to accompany a cartoon.
  • ·         Every little patch of land is put to good use. On a street corner in Kyoto I saw a public car park with just two parking spaces. A barrier rises after you park a car. After you return and you've fed the right number of coins to the electronic toll man, the barrier goes down and you drive out and are on your way.
  • ·         Nintendo started as a playing card manufacturer, in Kyoto. If your child is being especially naughty this year and asking for a Nintendo for Christmas, give him a pack of playing cards.
  • ·         Tokyo Metropolitan Police has its own mascot. In fact, police in each of the 47 prefectures in Japan have their own cartoon mascots.
  • ·         Japan is expensive, but food can be especially expensive. (that's $126 for a pair of mangoes)
  • ·         In Tokyo there are giant electronics stores (nine floors) with salespeople hawking the latest in high-tech like in a fish market.
  • ·         It's rare to find an overweight Japanese person.
  • ·         The former capital, Kyoto (literally, "capital city") and modern capital Tokyo (literally, "eastern capital") are anagrams of each other.
  • ·         In stores, there are usually small video screens or audio players next to products, pitching the virtues of the products in mini-infomercials.
  • ·         Learning English is a big business in Japan. You'll find learners' editions of The Economist and other magazines with hard words explained.
  • ·         In the Hiroshima Peace Museum, I saw a man with a tattoo in binary code on his leg. (photo, Decoding it has been left as an exercise for the reader.)
  • ·         Basebaru (baseball) is big in Japan (though not as big as sumo wrestling). Their eyes lit up upon learning that I live in Seattle and they'd talk about Ichiro Suzuki.
  • ·         In Japan, a subway station is more than just a place to catch a train. There are stores, restaurants, and much more. Some subway stations have dozens of exits.
  • ·         I saw tree limbs supported by stakes, no matter how old or withered the tree or the limb. If that's a metaphor for taking care of one's old and disadvantaged, I don't know.

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