to you

Dear D

I finally found some time to sit down and think about what to tell you regarding Japan. It's much more different then any other country and culture I've seen. It was hard to figure out how people really felt inside, but then again their genuine politeness made this problem much less important. Not only the geographic isolation, but also long political isolation during the Tokugawa era can probably explain some of it.

All in all, it was a really pleasant experience. Whether you are in Tokyo or in the countryside, things are amazingly clean and neat. Given the density of population in Tokyo - which is really like a beehive - it also amazing just how safe it is. I believe that is unique. I am not talking safe as in a boring, small city in Switzerland - I am talking about a dense, dynamic, 24/7, crazy, gigantic machine, boiling with culture, business, entertainment, parks, museums, concerts, railroads, advertising... New York doesn't measure up to it, and yet it is filthy and full of aggressive, frustrated people. Walking through the streets of Tokyo or Nikko I couldn't help but think of the fact that at that same time people in Italy were rioting and burning things down surrounded with piles of garbage that local mafia-controlled businesses were not collecting for months. In some ways, Europe appears to be in a state of slow decay and barbarization nowthat all those advantages built on exploitation of colonies are slowly melting away - and at the same time, Japan appeared to be an advanced, civilized, clean, safe, progressive society, a true modern-day power. Ten years ago or so something at the time unheard of started happening: lay-offs. The companies adopted American models, I guess, so people actually lost their jobs. This was a shock, and it turns out that many of them never learnt how to deal with it (like get a different job), but rather decided to adopt another unheard-of American concept: homelessness. There are 30,000 homeless in Tokyo. They live mostly in tents, but again are very neat compared to what you see in the States.

My feeling was that they are still capable of feeling shame - an art long lost in the Western societies due to its abuse by the churches and political parties. Furthermore, they don't appear to be selfish - actually, they are almost selfless sometimes, especially when in groups that they feel they belong to - at workplaces, for example. All these things may lead to tiring perfectionism and obsessive, or even fanatic, behavior.

People were extremely friendly and helpful. Now, my impressions are those of a white guy - not surprisingly, my lady had a different and less pleasing experience as a non-Japanese female when walking around alone. Perhaps there is still of that old, backward, primitive racism present, and if you think about it actually fits the picture presented above. Many of them are having a hard time expanding their selflessness and altruism beyond the boundaries of their own "race." But then again, in historical terms, they made a huge progress and I think we should all give them a credit for that. In less then a century they've transformed from you-know-what to what I am describing here.

Finally, a word on prices - you can hear people saying how Japan is expensive, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find examples to support such claims. Good food, drinks, transportation, hotels, are all comparable to what I saw in Western cities. Imported designer clothes are, of course, expensive, but I couldn't care less. The thing is, Japanese do care about fashion, and they pay for it. Massage was cheaper than what I found, for example, in Boston. Sure, you could go eat a $100 steak - I didn't - but you could do the same thing in Montreal or Lyon.

posted by eye @ 4:04 PM