Every country is unique but Japan is the treasure-trove of uniqueness. For all my dislike for travel, this is the only place that I feel compelled to visit regularly. The country and its people are extraordinary and exquisite, their culture and habits forged by centuries of fighting the elements of nature. Persistent earthquakes and typhoons, the remoteness of the Japanese isles from the trodden paths of Western civilizations, self-imposed millenium of isolation – all contributed to the formation of this fairy tale of a country.
Once you have been to Paris, London, New York and LA, done your African safaris a couple of dozen times, scaled a few walls (China), mountain ridges (Rockies, Alps) and swam a few oceans (Tahiti, the Maldives and Sardinia are best in class), ate at most or all culinary venues from the Michelin book, travel gets ferociously boring. At some point travel stops exciting the senses and turns into more of a logistical quest and a grand idea of the unknown, rather than the enjoyment of the locale once you get there.
Not so with Japan! This is a place where a street food vendor surpasses any Michelin-quality grub with ease without asking for any recognition. This is a place where the social sophistication, politeness, order, hierarchy, and manners reach the heights unseen anywhere in the West. This is a place where hard work and cleanliness are worshipped and pomp and dirt bedeviled.
It is not a place where world-class museums take center-stage, not a place filled with glam and glitz – rather, Japan provides an ideal setting for quiet sophistication and contemplation. When you go, look at the people, street lights, pavement tiles, wooden roofs, vending machines, cook’s aprons, counters at sushi shops made out of the solid chunk of wood that can cost up to a few hundreds of thousands USD – all of the things you would neglect to pay attention to in a bling setting of Paris.
I will be filling the Japan photo gallery with some pictures from my frequent travels to the place. Let me know if you need any advice before you go.
I, once again have to agree with everything you are saying here. I’ve not traveled as much as you, but I’ve been around and notice much of the same sorts of similarities you describe as places in comparison to other places. I too find Japan wonderfully unique, sophisticated and an absolute joy to have visited for all the reasons you have described. One thing that jumps out to me, is the rigorous cleanliness of the place. No garbage on the street or in its subways (even the subway tracks themselves almost look clean enough to eat off of). The order, scale and detail is beyond superfluous! Being that half of my family is of Japanese descent, there is more than a casual observer’s take on this subject…I have to say that I am still deeply and emotionally affected by my recent visit there! I am very grateful to have lived long enough to have finally made the trip over there. I intend to visit as often as I able to get over there, because I think Japan and its people are truly amazing! I always wanted to go to Japan, and thought for the longest time I never would get a chance to make it over there. I am also very grateful and indebted to you, for your incredible hospitality and thoughtfulness to make it an experience that I will never ever forget! I thank you from the bottom of my heart! You embody much of the character of the people of Japan as well!
Cheers,
-=Don=-
Excuse the omission of the word “am” in the obvious place in my last text.