Final thoughts on Japan

We made it back to Tokyo from Kyoto last night in time for dinner. This was going to be our last proper meal in Japan, so we decided to go to one of the nicer restaurants near the hotel. The food, yet again, did not disappoint, and both Saeeda and I ate our fill. By now the quality of the food has stopped surprising me. Instead, I am constantly taken aback by the level of service we receive at every dining establishment. Everyone acknowledges your entry into a restaurant. Everyone – the maitre d’, the wait staff, the chefs, and the person cleaning tables. You can call on anyone anytime during your meal, and they will come immediately, leaving the same way to make sure that they meet your needs as quickly as possible. When you leave, everyone (and I mean everyone) will bow and bid you goodbye. Keep in mind that we haven’t eaten at fancy restaurants while in Japan – we have received this level of service no matter where we’ve dined. I wonder how disappointed Japanese traveling abroad must feel when they receive what passes for service in the West.



This morning Saeeda and I thought it would be a shame to have been in Japan and not have seen the Imperial Palace, so that was the one place we visited before returning to the hotel and leaving for the airport. Incidentally, the Imperial Palace was underwhelming. You are not allowed into the palace itself, and have to satisfy yourself with a picture taken from a bridge across a moat (below). Very disappointing. Still, this last stop wrapped up our visit to Japan, and after a flurry of trinket shopping at Narita airport, Saeeda and I boarded our flight back to Hong Kong.


Japan is fascinating. Its people, its history, its culture, everything. One of the things that I’ve struggled with the most is how its cities and infrastructure could just as easily be those of cosmopolitan New York or London, but Japan's people and culture are such that no westerner can easily understand them.

For example, I am not used to people older than me bowing to me in respect. I am not used to female bellhops running up to me to take my bags. I am not used to the formality and beauty of the tea ceremony. In Japan Saeeda and I encountered levels of service we had previously never imagined, and it embarrasses me to think what treatment these same Japanese must receive when they travel abroad.

Of course, all is not golden here. The population decline is a severe issue. Through all our time here we saw very few young couples with children. Instead, it was much more common to see elderly Japanese. For a homogenous society such as that of Japan – one which voluntarily closed its borders to the outside world for hundreds of years – allowing foreign workers into their country (which they will need to do to counter the shrinking population) is going to cause friction, to say the least. The strength that comes with a diverse society is absent, and will have to be developed from within. Newspaper articles I read during my stay here also commented on the increasing move towards nationalistic policies that will help confront the threat from China – this too will cause ripples given Japan’s militaristic past. However, above all else, Japan is a country of beauty – beautiful people, beautiful traditions, beautiful places. As we left Tokyo, Saeeda and I knew that we’d be visiting again in the not so distant future.