It's June 30th and I have been home from Japan for 24 days and still feel a bit out of sorts from travelling in and out of different time zones. I feel better about that, though. Last night I had several of our travelling companions over to reminisce and we were all in the same boat. As a nurse, I used to work shift work and switch from nights to days without too much trouble. Doing that now is a killer!
But the question then becomes, Was the trip to Japan worth all of this trouble? The answer is a resounding yes. I fell in love with Japan. Though, as my husband so rightly pointed out when I said this, I seem to fall in love with nearly every place I travel! Israel, San Diego, Sarasota Florida, Hawaii.....I guess I just enjoy travelling and seeing other countries and learning about different people and their customs. And believe me, the culture of Japan was definitely different.
Being a sushi lover, it never occurred to me that food would be an issue for me. It was. We mostly stayed at hotels that Japan's 'Salarymen' stayed at, so the accommodations were on the cheaper side and the food was standard fare that the average Japanese person ate. In Tokyo and along the way to Kyoto the morning fare was sashimi, miso soup, some sort of egg and pickled vegetables with a salad. No dairy to speak of, and no beef. Lunch and dinner were pretty much the same fare minus the eggs. Like one girl said, she'll never take cornflakes and milk for granted again. It's not that the food wasn't good. It was just that it was always the same.
The times we enjoyed the most and considered highlights of the trip were the times we got to see Japanese people enjoying themselves. Kabuki Theatre and Sumo wrestling were key times.
Kabuki-zan theatre is very well attended and most of the people who go, especially the women, dress in kimonos with obies. They look beautiful. We saw one of Kabuki's classic plays that was all about honour and dying for honour. It was very moving and whether you understood Japanese or not, you understood the emotions. One of the traditions is the men in the audience shout out during the performance, especially if they agree. Whenever honour was mentioned many men shouted 'Hai!' and nodded their heads. There was no doubt in our minds what the Japanese felt about their honour and it it governed their lives when the play ended.
And in a very different way Sumo wrestling showed us again how tradition and honour, and how you present yourself to the world governs the behaviour of the Japanese people. This was going to come up over and over again during our trip.
But as it is one in the morning, I will say sayanara for now, but I will write more at another time.