Early Impressions of Japan

So I’m in Japan. If I had to describe to describe my overall thoughts this week in three words and an exclaimation they would be “Oh, they really do that.”

I don’t know what I came here expecting. I really don’t. I just expected differences, and to have deal with them. So far I've done that, but they still catch me off guard.

I’ve read about the taxi’s whose doors open for you, the jam packed trains, the crowded housing areas, the variety of vending machines, the many temples, the electric-wonder toilets, and the sometimes unique food. But every time I see one of these things, or something cultural happens, I realize I didn’t actually believe anything I may have read in the past.

-Soda and Cigs: Japanese Vending Machines-

There's also a different mindset towards things. It's kind of evidenced below. When my friends and I took a trip to Kyoto we saw this ad that my friend, Justin, took a photo of: Cute animal park? A daycare? Graves?
Graves!

-Why My Window Can't Be Seen Through: View from my Room-

I suppose it is to give the buyer a feeling of relaxation that they’ll be OK after they die. To me it seems reminiscent of the creep factor in these ads for an American law firm.

But the longer I’m in Japan, the more I can see the benefits and negative aspects of the different lifestyle and thinking here. Sure, it’s great that Japan has a hyper organized recycling plan, but they don’t recycle paper. Yes, the pump showers in my dorm save water, but what is saved in water is wasted on electricity for the same dorm's electric, heated toilets. I think I can learn a lot here comparing and contrasting cultures and I hope to write about that a bit here.
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