Japan

paul and i were able to spend last week in japan. i had never been to this beautiful island country and was very excited to explore its capital city of tokyo. the momentum for this trip was paul's wish to meet up with his kiwi, aussie and english friends to attend the springboks vs. all blacks match at the rugby world cup. its a tradition with these guys and japan was hosting this year so......done deal. i also had a friend, as one other wife and their two kids came along as well. we had a fantastic time and i absolutely adored our days in this amazing city. clean, tidy, efficient and kind were my first impressions on our arrival and all were constantly reconfirmed throughout our stay. what an amazing culture and society. they know what they're doing and they've got it down pat. i think there is a lot we could learn from the japanese. the trains, communication, services......perform like clockwork and there is an average of 38 million passenger segments a day on the rail and subway system! with the 14 million people in this city, it is unusually quiet, rarely did i see a piece of trash and everyone i encountered was polite and respectful of those around them and their environment. they park their bikes in an organized fashion outside their apartments with no locks (all through the night!), refrain from speaking on their phones in public and don't eat while walking. we came upon a community service project on our way to the station one afternoon (photos above) with families gathering with their nets to clean the water running through the neighborhood canal. i really like this place. 

paul and i first stayed in a japanese hotel in northwest tokyo, complete with tatami mats, a big japanese style shower/bathroom, sliding walls, and japanese breakfast room service (to be eaten with chopsticks, an open mind and adventurous spirit sitting on the floor in a kimono). it is always our first choice to stay where we feel as immersed in the culture and surroundings as we can amongst the comings and goings of a neighborhood. to shop in their stores, eat locally, see children leaving for school and workers heading off for the day. i love learning about new cultures and their ways and am always able to bring new, enlightening ways of doing things back to add to and enrich our life at home.

we watched the opening rugby match of the month long tournament, japan vs. russia, in a japanese sports bar in our neighborhood - the local men went wild, shouting, cheering, drinking throughout the game but when the final whistle blew, they quieted down, changed from their japan rugby jerseys back into their work shirts, folded the jerseys into their briefcases and headed home, like nothing had happened. interesting. we spent the days as tourists, taking the trains and subways around the city, exploring the fascinating food, counting the unusually vast numbers of outdoor drink vending machines (accompanied by an equal number of recycling bins), sightseeing, visiting the fish market (saw but didn't choose horse sushi nor whale sashimi), parks, museums, the emperor's palace and gardens. it was quite a sight to see the big and brawny world of rugby descend upon this country of small and gentle people. the rugby sightseers, including us, smiled at each other as we stuck out like the tourists that we were. 

after saying goodbye to our dear friends (hope to see each of you stateside or somewhere again soon!), paul and i moved to the eastern side of the city next to tokyo bay for a few more days. tokyo disney is right there and so we made a very fun day of it! whoa, the japanese know how to disney like no one else! they all, and i mean older men with mickey ears and cool, teenage boys costumed as aladdin from head to toe, dress up like disney characters making it difficult to figure out who is a legit disney princess and who is a guest. everyone is cheerful, obliging, patient, respectful and having the time of their lives. paul and i bought a couple of cold water bottles from a cute, costumed vendor who set our dripping bottles onto the towel of her cart. we went to reach for them but she shook her finger, no-no-no and proceeded to take her time wiping one bottle carefully with another towel and then presented it to me with a smile, took the other one, wiped it dry and presented it to paul with a smile and a bow. whoa! tokyo disney is THE happiest place on earth. on the clearest day, from our window across the bay, we could see mt. fuji to the west (you can just see it in the third photo from the bottom). another reason i hope to return to and explore more of this incredible country, history, culture and its people. 

          wabi-sabi  japanese   

     

(n.) a concept, an aesthetic, and a

worldview that focuses on finding

beauty within the imperfections of 

life and accepting peacefully the

cycle of growth and decay.