Japanese People

Japanese people....aah, what a broad topic to write about. I could say so much about my impressions of Japanese people, but I decided to start with this photograph of Japanese women cleaning the streets. They were sweeping up leaves and collecting them in bags as other people were pruning the gardens which surround this area. I included this photo, which I took recently when I visited Osaka castle because ever since the first time I came to Japan, I noticed how incredibly CLEAN things are here.  Coming from the 4th largest city in the United States, I am quite used to seeing clutter and mess around the city. In all honesty, I was blown away by how clean the subway stations are here and the streets in general. In fact, the first time I came to Japan I was in a station in Nagoya and saw an old man meticulously cleaning the stairs with a hand-held vacuum cleaner which was strapped to his back. I was totally in awe because the stairs weren't even dirty!  I simply couldn't believe the dedication to cleanliness here. In all honesty, this was one of the reasons I decided to return to Japan. I am not saying that this is always the case; in fact, recently when I was in Tokyo I discovered an area in Shinjuku station in which the floors were almost completely covered with homeless people and trash. This was quite shocking to me as it was in stark contrast to what I have seen elsewhere. Still, in general I am impressed by the drive that the Japanese people have to keep their city streets clean and orderly. No doubt this is a necessity when living in such a compact area. 

On the same trip to Osaka castle, we encountered this guy; an interesting character indeed....

I decided to include this photo because I feel like this proves another point about Japanese people that I have thought since the first time I came here (and even before that really): Japanese people are UNIQUE. I think from a Western point of view, we tend to sometimes think that because the island of Japan is relatively small and was for a long time cut off from the rest of the world, that somehow they (Japanese people) all have the same basic characteristics because they have such tight-knit communities. However, this is actually couldn't be farther from the truth; everyday that I go out to visit some interesting new place, I am always taking note of the variations of people, like this man for example. In front of him him was three cans, each for a different amount of money. Depending on which can you put money into, he would play a song and the songs got more complex the higher the amount of money you deposit. After the song was finished, he would return to a frozen posture, waiting for the next person to deposit money.

I've decided that there is really no way to categorize Japanese people other than their nationality, and to do so would be missing something. Beyond nationality, it is really open ended as to how each person will choose to express themselves, and you can never be sure of what you will encounter next.  But, of course, this should not come as any big surprise, since in reality this holds true for all places on planet earth. Of course 'Japanese people' do have some common qualities, but with these commonalities also comes great diversity.         

** At Osaka castle I took a video of this man who was entertaining the crowds with his unique skill....check it out. **

Exploring Hirakata--->

This picture was taken in early September on my very first outing around Hirakata. After knowing the people in the picture (I will leave them anonymous just in case...) for only 5 minutes or so, we left the seminar house together and rode off in search of an electronics store.  Because we were short one bike, we decided to follow the example of the Japanese kids around Hirakata, whom we had seen several times before skillfully maneuvering through the streets carrying their friends on the backs of bicycles. How easy they make it look! I suppose our thought process was, "If they can do it, surely we can too!" In reality, it is quite a difficult task and we stopped more than a couple of times due to near accidents. As the driver finally got the hang of it though, we began to cruise the streets until we realized we were totally lost.  After using what LITTLE Japanese we knew at the time to ask directions from local pedestrians, we were able to eventually find our way to K's electronics, where we again made use of our elementary Japanese in order to find an adaptor. The employees at K's were extremely helpful (albeit slightly amused, no doubt) and they even double checked with the supervisor to be certain that they had recommended the right product. If there is one thing that I have constantly noticed since arriving to Japan, it is the eagerness of employees to help customers. The kindness of the Japanese people was exhibited even in this very first trip around Hirakata.

                                 

To continue with the story, on the very same outing around Hirakata I also discovered KAPPA SUSHI, just around the corner from K's electronics.  I decided to post this picture because this type of restaurant is particularly intriguing to me, not just for the obvious reason (sushi on conveyor belts!?) but also because of the recent discussion in class about 100 yen shops and discount stores, which have apparently only recently popped up in Japan.  Prior to this phenomenon, people were quite secretive if they shopped at discount stores, almost as if they were ashamed. However, today so much has changed in Japan; this restaurant, for example, obviously does not serve the highest quality sushi, but you get a lot for your money. Every time I have been to Kappa Sushi, there is always a lot of business (the same with 100 yen shops for that matter) and for me this really drives home the point that (as we saw in the documentary Tokyology) Japan is indeed a place of constant growth and transition; never stagnant.      

                       

**For fun, I uploaded this short video that I took from the first time I visited Kappa Sushi....enjoy!