Japan offers exotic experiences for an American family visiting a college student studying abroad.
By: Fran Hulette
Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market was buzzing with activity when we scrambled out of our cab into the damp darkness of 4:45 a.m. Wending our way through dozens upon dozens of seafood vendors, we were target practice for Japanese workers on their bicycles and tiny trucks swerving their way through the maze that is Tsukiji. Our destination was the tuna auction, held six mornings each week beginning at 5:30, and touted by guidebooks and acquaintances as a top Tokyo attraction.
But this was not a touristy spot, and after a fruitless search for the one door visitors are allowed to use to enter the auctions, we were about to give up. A kindly Japanese man on one of countless propane-powered mini flatbed trucks offered our son a map of Tsukiji, then a ride on the back of his flatbed right to the "Visitor Passage Entrance."
By the time the auctions started, there were close to 100 tourists packed into an aisle between two rooms filled with what must have been 1,000 frozen gutted tuna lying on the floor, ready for inspection and sale to wholesalers who help satisfy Japan’s voracious appetite for seafood. The woman next to me, a Californian, confided that she saw the tuna auctions featured on The Food Network.
Welcome to Japan, where I never dreamt I’d spend a spring break but where we soaked up Eastern culture instead of Florida sunshine. We were lured here by our son, Chris, who was spending a year teaching English through the Japanese government’s JET program, and was adamant about having us visit "his" country. (Does this convey he’s having a wonderful time?) And once we committed to a 10-day trip, he planned an itinerary that included not only Tokyo but also Kyoto, Nara and his current hometown, Sabae.
Rather than reviewing the historic Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines we visited, I’ll leave that job to the guidebooks of Fodor and Frommer and concentrate instead on what we found most striking during our time in Japan:
English may not be the universal language after all. Chris made Japan easy to navigate by dealing with cab drivers, train ticket sellers, restaurant workers and many others who don’t speak English. Though he claims true fluency in Japanese takes 13 years, he did pretty well with his limited vocabulary, aided by an electronic English-Japanese dictionary. Surprisingly, even the front desk help at our Kyoto hotel located in prime tourist territory across from the famed Kyoto train station didn’t speak English, save for one woman who helped us print out airline boarding passes for our trip home. Even signs at famous temples, shrines and other prime tourist attractions are rarely translated; and, where they are, the translations are awkward and often amusing. (At a staircase in the Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto: "Exit only. Please go down with this stair." Our Tokyo hotel’s dining room offered "Coffee of fresh ground.")
The familiar is everywhere. McDonald’s and Starbucks were sprinkled throughout Tokyo and Kyoto. We also saw several KFCs, Talbots, and even Sabae a small city of about 60,000 in the "inaka" or countryside had a Mickey D’s and a Mister Donut. In Tokyo’s Ginza district, known for its shopping, there were stores with other familiar names like Dior, Chanel and Gucci plus large department stores, with scads of pleasant salespeople eager to help.
For Americans used to indifferent, sometimes surly customer service, Japanese workers are a different cup of tea. The very polite and seemingly happy retail workforce of Japan also includes cabbies, who drive their pristine taxis wearing white gloves (and the cab seats frequently feature white lace slipcovers), and smiling apron-clad women pushing food and beverage carts on trains.
The Japanese are fastidious. Just as beautifully clean as the taxis are the city streets. My husband was especially struck by the lack of trash in the bustling areas of Tokyo and Kyoto as well as the lack of trashcans. Elaborate recycling is in place in Japan and there are places to throw all kinds of cans and bottles, but almost never a receptacle for, say, a gum wrapper.
One way the Japanese seem to have cut down on trash is by failing to provide toilet paper (this is not a typo) and paper hand towels in many public bathrooms. Luckily, a friend had tipped me off about this cultural difference, so we carried our own tissues and pre-moistened towelettes.
Everywhere the traditional mixes with the modern. We saw women of varying ages wearing kimonos in business districts as well as at shrines. And then there were the 20-somethings, apparently slaves to fashion, navigating gravel pathways and uneven stone stairways in pointy-toed spike heels. There is a fortune to be made in podiatry in Japan if they keep it up.
Tokyo even has a gathering spot for punks and goths, Harajuku, where teens in outrageous outfits display themselves and pose for tourists’ photos. And despite Chris’ insistence that geisha no longer exist, we saw four scurrying to their evening appointments in Kyoto’s Gion district simply by heeding Frommer’s Japan, which advised visiting the area in early evening.
Leisure pursuits point up cultural differences. We spent a bundle on tickets to a famous Kabuki theater in Tokyo, only to begin dozing off during the second of four featured programs and this in spite of using English-translating earphones we paid extra for. We left after the third program, all of us agreeing that Kabuki must be an acquired cultural taste.
We spent far fewer bucks and had a lot more fun during an evening of karaoke in Sabae. After arranging a "traditional Japanese meal for a small party" (we were 13 in all) at Mizuho restaurant, where we sat on tatami mats and were served a seven-course meal by kimono-clad waitresses, Chris led us off to a local dining and karaoke establishment. Numerous private rooms for karaoke were available for up to 50 people and were equipped with cushions on the floor in front of a low table, TV screens that display words to the songs plus video loosely themed on the lyrics, songbooks in English and Japanese, and a phone to call for more food and drinks.
After two hours of beer and belting out lyrics, we returned to the hotel via "daiko" cabs. Two men arrive in a taxi. One drives your car with you in it while the other drives the cab with any other people in your party. Daiko is a drinking and driving solution that the U.S. could sorely use.
Japanese are the true "flower children." Our spring break trip coincided with cherry-blossom season, a major celebration in Japan. Though we were plagued by chilly temperatures and rain all but two days we toured, the "sakura" (cherry blossoms) were still beautiful and we marveled at the Japanese fascination with them. Tourists who can cope with crowds and the crowds viewing sakura were huge should consider visiting Japan this time of year.
Cherry blossom season is a time for festivals and we happened on two: one near Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine and one at Kyoto’s Maruyama Park. Chris led us in sampling yakitori (skewered chicken), yakisoba noodles and takoyaki (octopus balls). "Yum," he said.
Not bad for a kid who only ate peanut butter for lunch all through high school.