Japan's Obsessions

It finally dawned upon me why Japan is often beguiling to the visitor.
Much of Japan's culture takes the ordinary and elevates it to an art
form. Flower arrangement. Wrestling. Hotels - many kinds. Bathing.
Eating. Toilets. Trains.

This takes a certain amount of obsession - in hobbies, and pride in
work. It can turn horribly wrong, of course, as history has shown,
but on a day-to-day level, it's why traveling here is so much fun.
You never wait more than 30 minutes to hop on any train, bus, or other
forms of public transportation in any stretch of the country. Believe
me, I've tried. Merchants are always very friendly and helpful. It's
unheard of to see the scowls one finds back home.

Every time in Japan, I employ the "water" test to see if it's still
applicable. At any restaurant or cafe, the minute I begin to think
that I want a refill of water, a waiter is already there refilling my
glass. I've never, ever had to ask for a glass to be filled. Well,
the water test passed with flying colors on our 2nd day. It goes
without saying that you are always served water at a restaurant as a a
default. Isn't that natural?

Since it's a small country with an even smaller area where most people
are crammed together, everybody is polite. While on the futuristic
Shinkansen, a woman got on board and sat in front of us, then looked
at me, smiled politely, and excused herself with an apology before
tilting the seat back. That's very Japanese. What's even more
Japanese is that the precision design of the seating arrangement
assure that even when the seat in front of you is tilted backwards,
you don't feel it as a passenger.

I can go on for hours about the minute details that make life so much
more pleasant, again, on a day to day level. Hot, damp towels given
to you prior to a meal. Always a small yummy salty snack at a bar to
go "gratis" with your cold beer. Packages that open up logically and
efficiently, with a small slit that doesn't reduce you to tearing at
it like a caveman. Potato chips in a bag coated with an invisible
resin that don't crumble. Small packets of sealed ice packaged with
together with our take-away strawberry shortcake. Food and drink that
manages to be both strong-flavored and subtle at the same time.
Numbered platform on train stations that correspond to your ticket.
Automatic toilets everywhere. HEATED toilet seats - the most
underated technological breakthrough of the last 50 years. a "sound"
button on the toilet to mask the other, natural sounds. Automatic
"Star Trek" doors on the trains with a cool "woosh" sound. Trains
that go through mountains with wide, open windows to enjoy the
scenery. Trains that go to and from the airport that automatically
dim the lights 50% in consideration of the dazed and jet-lagged
passengers. Lack of jarring noises. Quietness. Vending machines
serving cold and HOT drinks. This is such a treat in cold weather,
holding a nice, hot can of "royal milk tea" or "UCC coffee". After a
minute of holding this hot can in your hands, you then get to drink
this hot drink and warm you up inside - only in Japan.

We were both wondering why the public toilets didn't have soap
dispensers, until we realized that the automatic hand dryers all have
a built-in UV ray dispenser to kill the germs. I told Jaclyn that she
would be angry at the level of day-to-day assault on the senses when
she returned to the States after a week in Japan. The only comparable
thing is probably walking into a "pachinko" - Vegas style gambling
places dotting the urban landscape. We walked into one, and Jaclyn
turned around in 2 seconds and walked out - not enough time to even
snap a photo. Sure enough, it was a shock coming back here. You don't
realize how different and better you can make life in an advanced
economy by paying attention to the small things.