Japan has to be on your bucket list

It’s been a little over a year since I took a 19-hour flight from the U.S. East Coast to the islands of Japan, and I still can’t stop thinking of it.

I’m not a world traveler, per se. I’ve been to Mexico, Canada, and some of the Caribbean islands; this was my first trip to a place that wasn’t connected by a bridge or a boat port.

My brother recently returned from a two-week trip to Italy and Austria. He loved the history, but couldn’t stop complaining about little things, simple things like the availability of drinking water at dinner. And that got me thinking yet again about the “Land of the Rising Sun.”

I spent some time trying to find something that annoyed me, something that was negative or relatable to the experiences my brother had on his trip. The only thing I could think of was the Nara deer.

The deer are incredible to see, but they nip and will bite you because they want those apparently wonderful cookie/biscuits you can buy and feed them. It isn’t pleasant.

The people are amazing

I’ve never felt more welcome in a foreign country. I wasn’t treated as a tourist, but as an individual experiencing a new culture. On my first day in Kyoto, I got lost trying to find the train to Uji. I called out to a young Japanese man dressed in a suit and tie, “Sumimasen,” I yelled.

He turned around, and through broken conversation, I pointed at my ticket, mentioned Uji, and he pointed me to the platform. “Arigato gozaimasu,” I said proudly with a slight bow. Moments later, he was back, tapping me on the shoulder, bowing. “Ie,” he said. The Japanese word for no. He walked me to another platform, and then another.

That doesn’t happen regularly in the U.S. If you give someone the wrong directions, you feel bad, but you don’t tend to chase after them. Needless to say, I do now. That simple act of kindness was my introduction to a culture that had long since begun to vanish across America.

He was one person, but every person I encountered was like that.

The Japanese expectations

When you come to the U.S. for a holiday/vacation, there are no major expectations to have from American citizens. Sure, there is an overabundance of tipping (to the point of ridiculousness), but there is no cultural etiquette. No expectations for a foreigner’s behavior. Over there, there is.

Japanese people expect visitors to follow their cultural standards. Bowing when entering through a Tori Gate, bowing at a temple, putting your money on a tray rather than handing it to the person. They don’t expect you to bow to them, but they appreciate it when you do.

Japan’s history is rich in culture, dating back long before WWII changed the direction of its civilization. They are still proud, maybe even more so. They expect courtesy, turn their heads to those being rude, and they do so with a respect I haven’t seen.

When two visitors to a temple refused to bow at the gates and were making too much noise, a visitor politely asked them to bow out of respect. When they refused and laughed, the man simply bowed to them, then to the temple.

Stuck in my mind; I can’t get over it

My office is now adorned with pictures from my travels to the country. I have wall scrolls hanging on my walls, and hanging from my air vent is a Japanese lantern. I loved my office before, but now I don’t want to leave it.

Japan is etched into my memory, and I find myself walking through the trip from the customs gate to the Nara deer. The train to Fukuoka and back again, the fall on Miyajima Island outside of Hiroshima. Even the lady at the pharmacy counter who helped me clean my miserably cut hand from that fall.

As I hung up the phone with my brother, I reflected on what made Japan so special, and I realized that it was the people of Japan, their respect for others, and the welcoming smiles, handshakes, and directions. I realized it was everything.