Travel, 50+, Japan

Have you even truly been to Japan unless a deer from the old capital has bowed at you in exchange for deer crackers?

Once, a long, long time ago, as I was young and handsome enough to charm a banana tree from a monkey, I was flattening my derrière at the university. I was doing Asian studies and tasked to specialize in East Asia. A request came to drop one of the options (Korea) to focus on two main countries and especially the other one. Soon enough, my brain was pulsating with centuries, then millennia of information from history to culture to arts to wartime brutalities to philosophy to kawaii. And then I somehow ended up posted in China.

Fast forward a lifetime of a thousand battles, I finally had the opportunity to recuperate and reclaim my status as the guy who once learned something old about the "main" country. Excited as a little mouse, I landed on the sinking airport of Kansai International.

Sinking as the airport was, so were my spirits. Never have there ever been so long lines for entry. The famed Japanese efficiency was beaten by the famous Japanese preciseness. Everyone was checked real close, as long as you were a foreigner and not airline staff. It took time. Or maybe it was the staff struggling with their eyes. Seriously, it was near impossible to find airport staff that was not gray with thinning hair. Then, for the glory of Kansai, the machines broke and things got a little awkward. Almost as awkward as I would have been, if the process and the following transportation took fifteen minutes longer.

The plane had landed in the afternoon. It was already very dark as I (finally!) had the chance to slip into one of the trains, arrive at the station, rush to the bus stop to find out the last bus had just gone and the only way to get to the hotel was walking.

The young lad at the counter was just closing shop as I collapsed through the door. A good quarter of an hour to go before the siren song of the park bench. Only nearly a full working day after arrival, tired, hungry and soon addicted to mediocre leftover bento. On the bright side, it was probably the only thing to nudge someone to walk through a random Japanese city district (in Osaka) to find it was all eerie and empty. Like being in a ghost town while there were supposed to be millions of people there (metro approx. 20 million per wikipedia). One experience the richer.

As any stereotypical tourist who has just arrived to Japan, this one had to go find that golden turd and then me some maid café girls for streaming purposes... No wait, that's the big boys. And, besides, I'm too square to be hip. Instead, the first target on the hit list was nerding around Mozu tombs like a history otaku. You can, to a limited extent, see them close up. You can, to other extent, see them from above. The city hall is right there, waiting for you to enter for views.

On the way down, as if destined to do so at an even hour, a happy accident took place. The city hall clock started blasting sounds as it split open and automatons marched out to do a free gig for everyone present. Even the domestic tourists seemed pleasantly surprised by the Easter egg, so it must be a secret. Shh!

Heading for the bigger fish, the next target was Kobe. Let's just say I have beef with them. The city is somewhat famous for historical reasons and how many places do you know have been opened for foreign trade in the middle of a civil war? And then they have the "western" buildings and the, as some call it, "English street" (which most definitely has to be a joke). I was not particularly interested in going, alas the climb to the sightseeing spots on the hills went through it anyway...

So, there I was climbing in the sick summer heat with the monstrous moisture being pushed on by the incoming typhoon. Took a quick peek and a single picture with a shrug. Big mistake. An instant criticism crushed my being as a Chinese tourist lady blasted so loud as to get the attention of anyone within a hearing range. Probably around a dozen square kilometer radius in a circle. "I don't understand why a western person would travel to see western buildings." ... Lady, you are an East Asian person in an East Asian country looking at East Asian things. Someone lost face that day. Was it me? I don't know.

While Kobe was steamrolled by Chinese tourist groups, the next location was a bit different. Shall we utter the magic quote: Nobody expects the Spanish in-vasion of tourists. Seriously, they must have brought the whole population of Badajoz with them. Even the Japanese hotel staff went "si, si" with their company installed smile. Or maybe they jokingly called me a sissy? You never know what's going on behind that painstakingly rehearsed Japanese kindface. At any rate, they cursed me with an uncalled for view of what I came to see. I was beginning to question my life choices as I was still leaning towards going out there to see it even closer. In the lobster boiling heat of the day. Yep, I was gonna do it, no. Yes... What's the question again?

Japan truly is a collector's paradise. The gaijin hunters collect yous. Yous collect manga, life experiences and those little balls from the machine I forget what the things are called, Japanese edition CDs (with that special sleeve/obi and all you can sell for good profit in "western" countries) and stamps. Everywhere. The towers have stamps, temples give you stamps, Dokuritsu Gyōsei Hōjin Zōheikyoku gives you stamps and a lot of these seem to be in the fashion of "collect the whole series". Does it encourage people to visit the places and learn about the country and see the best bits? Does it make people just go around list item by list item while ignoring the surroundings outside the stamp? You've got to collect them all, after all. Cannot say, but at least, it gives a decent inkling of the nature of the soul of Japan as a nation. The pulse on which I attempted to experience a little hands on.

I am no stranger to talking to people from all walks of life. Usually, it is fairly easy to find someone who likes to have a chat and be real. Not in Japan. In both cases. Everything is, in principle, always fine and people tend to respond to your words. At least that worn out phrase "no ingürisü" they seem to love repeating. But no matter how little or a lot you get to drive them in the corner with that face of polite panic and waterfalls of cold sweat, deep ruminations over why they quit being hikikomori today... Everything always feels faux. You, the foreigner, cannot help the intense feeling you are experiencing Japan from behind a Plexiglass (acrylic glass). No matter how considerate, kind, warm, genuine, respectful et cetera you are... the connection lacks the human part.

On the other hand, it is not all that different from a domestic perspective. Certain bits are driven inside every Japanese, hard. Of course, this was to be expected. There had been warnings of many kinds in oral and written. I have had under the surface talks with the Japanese outside of Japan. Often people who have lived abroad for a long time or the infamous hāfu. But still, the intensity is something else. You can feel the burden of Japanese-ness in the air. Unless you lack the ability to empathy, sympathy and such def woke nonsense no real man would ever even claim to have heard of, I suppose. While the society as a whole is politely unwilling to engage and somehow individually disconnected [add the goofy I'll coital'ng do it again! meme]. Maybe the "chivalrous organization chapter 893" will be more relaxed. They are the rebels and outsiders, after all.

The Judgment:
While the industrialized, some may claim "westernized", world is quite alike in many respects, Japan fights against it. Not quite in the ways of North Korea or Papua New Guinea, but they do. They have learned to cater to tourists in some of the more popular cities and you may not instantly notice how different they are. The first time you get banned from a restaurant for being an outsider might make you think. Then you brush it off and go on until another denial slaps you in the nards. Slowly the world of things that are different start to open up. Were you to stay for longer or, even, live in Japan, you're in for so much more. You will probably struggle not to run home with the tail between your legs. Or, perhaps, you are observant and pick up all the weird little things on the spot. Without going into any finer details, let's just say Japan is very different. In good and bad. In new and old.

From my pseudo-professional point of view, I was getting some of the things I was long overdue for. Experienced some of the things that I had heard legends of. Did not see a maiko, could not afford kabuki, but the architecture could not escape me. A bushel of happy surprises occurred. Scored a good load of rarities that compensate a large part of the trip when sold to the right people. Yet, the mission has not ended. Tourist-wise or otherwise.

Japan is fairly easy for a solo traveler to do, although, unless you're a reader or a speaker of the local, you will face some challenges. More stories to tell your grandkids, huh? In case you wish to see a lot of the country, you will want to buy a special discount train ticket for that (which, as I recall, you must buy before entering the country, go see Japan Rail Pass). It is not cheap, but definitely worth it, if you go long. You can also buy another kind of card (IC Card) eg Suica/Icoca/etc as you land (also a collectible, I was told I received a "foreigners only" themed card which can only be purchased from one office at the airport while other locations sell the "basic" version that has other themes) which is what I did. It also serves as a payment card in some shops and other places. Whichever is cheaper depends on your travel needs.

Many things in Japan can be very expensive. The dip of yen has occasionally made things more affordable, but it is by no means a cheap country to visit. And the items seen as higher quality can cost an arm and a leg. You can easily see this with food, for one. Be modest, don't yell, don't run after the geiko for a photo op, don't block or eat in the traffic, respect the rules, put your polite face on and act as much like locals as you can. Most especially don't be that guy. You know what I mean. It counts for so much more in Japan. Even if some people cannot see the faces tightening as they pig around, it happens. Especially now that the current political winds are increasingly anti-outsider.

Would I go again? Yes.