11/15/11 Japan

We are just about to set sail from the port of Yokohama, to begin our long journey across the Pacific Ocean. We spent our final 2 days here, after 1 day in transit on the ship, and our first 2 days in the port of Kobe.  Over the last 5 days, I've developed very conflicted feelings about Japan:

1) Japan is amazing!  It is clean, safe, efficient and very modern. The food is wonderful, and you can find any type of cuisine your taste buds desire. The people are incredibly nice and helpful. If you hold up a map, someone will quickly show up and ask if they can help you. There seems to be zero animosity towards Americans, despite the fact that we decimated huge numbers of their people with our bombs not all that long ago. There is no reason to own a car here. Of the countries I have visited, the public transportation in Japan is unrivaled. If you tried to use the excuse of getting caught in a traffic jam to explain your lateness, you would get laughed out of the room. The parks and monuments are beautiful and well-maintained. And then there are the toilets! I think our best belly-laughs in Japan came after using the bidets and directional sprayers strategically located to clean any part of your bum you would like cleaned. There were also "powerful deodorizer" buttons and seat-warmer buttons. Someone please tell me why we don't use these in the USA?!

2) Japan is oppressive. Things are SOOOO expensive in Japan! A small cup of Starbucks coffee that costs $1.60 in the USA, costs about 320 Yen (~ $4.00) in Japan. A $15 Mac brand lipstick in the USA costs $37 in Japan.  We spent $20 on four soft-serve ice cream cones. In general, clothing and food is two-to-three times more costly in Japan than in the USA. We tried to be frugal in Japan, eating only one meal per day off the ship, and doing very little traveling. We still spent much more money than we have spent anywhere else, and for the first time, have nothing to show for it. Japan seems to be one big megalopolis, with each densely populated city running into the next. There are so many buildings and people that it is hard to see the sky. Conformity is valued, and people try to look alike. The business suit industry must do very well here, as that seems to be the uniform for working men. The young men all look totally hip in cool jeans and fancy shoes. The young women wear tights, tall boots, and short skirts or shorts. They can walk miles and miles in very high heels. I could maybe last one block in some of the heels they were wearing before my feet disintegrated or I broke an ankle. The school-age kids wear matching uniforms. There is almost no ethnic diversity in Japan and almost no immigration to Japan. If you are born in Japan but one parent is not Japanese, you are not considered to be Japanese. You may not maintain dual citizenship in Japan and another country; you must choose one or the other. Japan has such a low birth rate currently, that soon they aren't going to have enough young people to support the elderly. We've dealt with that problem in the USA by allowing lots of immigration. Since Japan really doesn't want immigrants, they're finding themselves in a bit of a pickle. In sharp contrast to the rest of the world, the Japanese are actually trying to provide incentives for their women to have more children, but their best efforts are not working very well. The women have discovered that is is very difficult to have a career and children, so are giving up the children. It will be fascinating to see what happens there over the next few decades.

My favorite experience in Japan was the day I traveled from Kobe to the Osaka Castle. I went by myself because I was on-call and could not go as far from the ship as Jeff and the kids were going to be on their pre-scheduled trip to see some wild monkeys. When I got off the train in Osaka, I walked past a beautiful, peaceful, wooded area and towards a hill. As I approached the hill, I got to a huge, tall, stone wall. This wall turned out to be the outer side of a wide moat, which I crossed by bridge. Then there was another huge stone wall encasing another moat, which I again crossed by bridge. On top of the hill was an amazing 16th century castle surrounded by many old out-buildings.  Inside the castle was a museum chronicling the history ot the castle.  I just loved it and it really got my imagination going.

My grandfather (Donald) just loved the Japanese, and tried to spend as much time there as possible. Although I can certainly see the draw, Japan will likely not make it on my list of places to revisit anytime soon, at least not before I make my first million.