Thoughts about Japan

[ellen_datlow]

I've been thinking about my recent trip, still digesting. (and finally getting over jetlag).

I was especially impressed by the Japanese RR stations of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kanazawa--each was beautiful in its own way. In Tokyo, the back end of the building is relatively old and made out of brick. The front entrance is very modern. I'm sorry I didn't take ever more photos of the three stations I spent time in than I did. Each station has food for sale that is fresh and varied--even in small stations you can buy the local "delicacy" to eat on the train. In Tokyo and Kyoto the stations are connected to underground malls-multi malls in Tokyo. Yes, there are (alas) Starbucks there and some other crappy intrusions from the west, but mostly there are restaurants that show their wares in front (the plastic food)--which makes it easy to point out what you want when you don't know what to ask for. Or you can buy a bento box type lunch/dinner at the many "deli" equivalents in every station. In Tokyo's mall there is a giant department store that has one floor (or two--maybe the one that had two was in Kyoto Station) of food markets---from mochi to french pastries for dessert to pickles, tempura, niguri (spelling) rice triangles stuffed with tuna, pickles, or other stuff, noodle dishes, all kinds of fish--raw or cooked, etc etc. Eileen and I went down there at least twice before traveling somewhere as John stayed with our baggage upstairs.

The malls in the stations seem much more interesting than most of ours (possibly because they're foreign to me? But I think not).

Comments

[czakbar.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's just because they're foreign to you. After two years living there, I still think their mall stations are fifty times better than what we've got anywhere in the States. They have a lot of public service amenities period. It was very easy to live there, and foreigners who can't speak the language will more often than not agree that it's easier to live there than other countries. The Japanese know how to make things easier, in these particular ways, the service sector, for everyone. I loved their train station malls, and miss being able to pop into a 7/11 even, which also had smaller selections of the same sort, but still really useful.

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Yes-- even though initially being in a large station and not knowing the language was intimidating, once I calmed myself down and checked where I was going I could usually figure out what to do/where to go. The ticket taking agents were as helpful as possible not speaking English (only a few did) but strangers more than once came up to me and helped (like the time I was trying to get to a Tokyo flea market and didn't realize that the subway ticket I'd bought was no good for the JR line so I had to buy a different ticket from the mysterious machine).

And free toilets all over the place! Yayyyy--when I was there in 1990 most were the Japanese style, which are not great for women wearing long skirts or who are carrying packages. Now there seems to be at least one western stall everywhere. I was pretty impressed with the various buttons on many toilets that hide the ummmm sounds. Also, bidet, seat warmer, etc. I finally tried several of the buttons out in the privacy of my hotel room before I left the Asia Center Hotel ;-). Fun fun fun.

[elenuial.livejournal.com]

Heh heh. I remember my mother screaming when she was "attacked" by a bidet while vomiting into it, all courtesy of "those damn robot toilets!"



Convenience is a concept that is fundamental to modern Japanese life in a way hard to convey except through being there. I really love all the little things that the culture has that make life more interesting and accessible. Like having models of the food in the windows to see! That's awesome! I like being able to see what I might be eating before I order it.

[jeffspock.livejournal.com]

We just went back as a family eleven years after my wife and I left. We found Starbucks useful for one reason -- getting pancakes for young kids who can only handle rice and cold fish for breakfast a certain number of days in a row.
The bento boxes were a wonderful source of amusement and entertainment; even having lived there sometimes you can find no other word for the food than "the squishy brown thing" or "the stringy purple stuff."

[ellen-datlow.livejournal.com]

Even I could only handle rice and pickles and noodles for breakfast or lunch for a limited time, which is why I ended up eating cornflakes and milk or cocoa krispies (for the first time in over 40 years) for breakfast at the Asia Center Hotel buffet sometimes.