I have learnt more about Japan from this short trip. Actually Japan was never in my list of top 10 countries that I wanted to visit. I’m not very crazy about Japanese food. But I used to read Japanese detective stories (translated into Chinese) written by this author called 松本清张； I used to be fascinated by how Japanese ghost movies (translated into Chinese) were much more frightening than the English Drucula ghost movies. And I remembered watching this Japanese Drama － ‘TOKYO LOVE STORY’ on TV that I liked so much that I bought the VCD set and watched it again and again about 10 times and crying at the last episode everytime I watched.
SO let me start writing about Japan.
Places: Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hakone, Mt Fuji, Tokyo.
Tokyo: a metropolitan city of 12 million people, a city with the 2nd highest rate of suicide in the world.
Places in Tokyo: Shinjuku, Harajuku, Ebisu, Ueno, Akihabara, Ginza
Photos I’ve taken at Osaka and Kyoto:
http://ckexpress.multiply.com/photos/album/74/The_Zen_and_not-so-Zen_of_Central_Japan_Osaka_Nara_Kobe_Kyoto_Nagoya
10/12/08奈良
So it’s Nara first. It’s the place where you can find deers, sometimes, they come out of the forest and onto the roads so gotta be careful of them. Nara residents were known to wake up early in the morning (3am) in the past. They woke up early to check if there were dead deers around their house like the backyard. Dead deers found around their house were viewed to be of bad luck and people would wake up early to dispose of the bodies before their neighbours found out.
The sun set at about 5pm and by 5.30pm it was complete darkness. We were at Shinsaibashi after dusk, and the night scene of Shinsaibashi and the full moon made the night so beautiful.
11/12/08 京都
Kyoto used to be the capital of Japan. In the 1700s, the capital moved to Tyoto. Kyoto is a place where you will find roads in the grid system, just like the USA. The houses in Kyoto are not built higher than 5 storeys. (requirement by law)
Japan has the busiest trains and subways. Frequency of trains is every 1 to 2 mins. Fast! And there’re 4 cabins exclusively reserved for women passengers. This is to prevent cases of molesters preying on the ladies during the peak hours when it is a body to body contact with one another. Another observation: you can eat in the trains. There’s no litter.
At the 清水寺 (Kiyomizu Temple), when the rest had to choose one of the three blessings, 幸福， 健康， 快乐, I just wondered why you can’t choose all three but only one of the above.
Frog in Japanese is called ‘Kairu’. ‘Kairu’ means ‘come back’. Buying a frog symbolises that your money will come back to you. Giving your son a frog when he goes abroad to study symbolises that you wish that your son would come back home upon successful completion of his studies.
Something about the Japanese when it comes to studies and work: Japanese students only start to study hard when they are in high school. (Prior to that, there’s no stress studying in elementary school and secondary school. Children are very independent at a young age. And the educational system in Japan is one of experiential outdoor learning so the schools will always organize 休学vacation twice a year around April to May and around November to December. During these vacation trips, they will learn about the Geography, culture and history. No TEXTBOOKS!) In high school, they aim to gain entry into the best universities based on the important high school examination results. When they get into the best universities (80% of Japanese go to universities! There are 508 universities in Japan!) , they are more or less guaranteed a good standing to get a job in one of the big and established companies, eg. Sony and Panasonic, etc). Once they land a job in these established companies, they will work there for life. There are no politics in the Japanese work environment!!!! Shocked! Yes, no politics coz there’s no interpersonal competition among staff. Everyone works together as a team in the company for the benefit of the company. There’s no promotion. So when the company is not doing well or closes down, they will face retrenchment. And older men in their forties or fifties will have difficulties finding a new job. And that explains the high suicide rate in the country.
Religion of Japan: Shintoism and Buddhism . But note the interesting thing about Japanese: they carry out Shinto rites for the happy occasion of a new born in the family. However, for funerals, they carry out Buddhist rituals instead. Why? Coz they choose to believe in the reincarnation belief system of Buddhism that their loved ones will come back again in another lifetime.
Gambling is illegal in Japan. So they have the legalized game arcades which is a legalized gambling.
12/12/08 名古屋
名古屋Nagoya
Nagoya women are known to be smart and materialistic. They splurge on themselves with branded clothes and goods and they marry rich men for the sake of a good life of material satisfaction.
Japanese people are generous when it comes to giving ang pows to wedding couples if they are invited to the wedding banquet, it’s at least $1000 (Sin dollars). But the couple have to 回礼to all their guests with similar amount of vouchers and souvenirs after the banquet, so it’s a LOSS and not profit to throw a wedding banquet in Japan. The divorce rate is also very high in Japan. Sometimes, as soon as a divorce immediately after honeymoon, so the phrase of 城田离婚 (城田refers to Narita airport: meaning divorce upon reaching the Narita airport)
There are two days for Valentine’s celebration. The first one is February 15th for the gentlemen to give gifts to the ladies and the second one is March 15th for the ladies to give gifts to the gentlemen.
1st of May is not labour day but 采茶叶day.
Apples are expensive in Japan. Fruits and vegetables are also expensive in Japan. Coz they grow all their own fruit and vegetables. And they are seasonally and naturally grown. So they are really expensive.
13/12/08 富士山， 箱梗
Mt Fuji, Hakone
Mt Fuji is really beautiful. yes, you must experience Mt Fuji. It's like a mountain hanging in the air. And in winter, you see more of the snow cap. And above all, it is just beautiful admiring it from afar.
There are surrounding 树海 (forest) around Mt Fuji. (The last eruption of the volcanic mountain was only 400 years ago! ) In these 树海， one can easily get lost as the metalic composition of the volcanic ground interferes with the magnetic field of the compass. The compass simply won’t work at all in the jungle. Handphones can’t be used in the forest coz of the magnetic field too. And there are many tree holes left over from the vocalnic eruptions. Many people try to get to the (7 to 8 hours climb)top of Mt Fuji. (higher than the 五合目 highest peak for vehicles on road) and many also perish during the climb. One Singaporean died at Mt Fuji not long ago. Many Japanese who commit suicide choose Mt Fuji 树海 as a means of ending their lives.
14/12/08 东京
Tokyo- a city of 12 million people.
Photos I’ve taken in Tokyo:
http://ckexpress.multiply.com/photos/album/75/T._O._K._Y._O.
Interesting city. People can’t have pets in the house coz their houses are so small. Average of only 65 square metres per apartment. So they rent pets for a time of 3 hours per rent, they can bring their pets out into the ‘Doggy Parks’ where there are hotsprings for dogs, dog restaurants where dogs are allowed into the food outlet and dog fashion stores to doll up their dogs.
Japanese still refuse to admit that they have Chinese ancestral roots. They despise Chinese and they have this superiority complex about their culture, language and everything Japanese.
We were at Ueno (上野). That’s when we found out about the ‘Homeless’. There are a group of ‘homeless’ people who live in tents along the streets of Tokyo but they are not beggars or totally poor. These are poorer people who just make a living in Tokyo picking out old things like old electrical products left behind in the streets rubbish bins by Japanese who are always going for newer products and newer models released. These old things are still in good condition and can be sold for a good price. They are like our garung gunis. And everyday, they can afford to earn about 3000 to 5000 yen which is about Sin dollars $45 to $75.
Ginza (银座) That’s where we found out that Geishas are not prostitutes but they are of a high reputation in Japan. 她们是卖艺， 不卖身。 (In traditional Japanese society, there are 4 levels of social hierachy. 1.Highest is the King, 2. Samurai and Geishas, 3. Merchants and 4. Lowest are the peasants) Only the very rich men can afford to keep a Geisha as a sign of their high status in society. The most well-dressed and brand conscious Tokyo women all shop in Ginza, a very up-market place in Tokyo. On weekends, the road is closed for pedestrians at Ginza. They call it 步行者天堂.
After listening to the story of the modern imperial family of how Princess MASAKO from commoner background got married to the royal family in the first ever marriage in history between a royal prince and a commoner, I’m getting more interested in the imperial story. Let me end with a website as reference. http://www.japan-zone.com/culture/imperial.shtml