First Impressions

Although I've been to Japan before, this was my first trip as an adult. I noticed a lot more on this trip than I remembered from previous visits. I think that writing things down and taking pictures also helps to make a traveler more observant. I made sure that Miles had his own camera and journal too.



First I have to say how nicely my parents and CSAA planned out this trip. In each city we visited there was a tour guide and a bus waiting for us. Sometimes we would take a train to get somewhere and a guide would pick us up at the hotel and buy our train tickets and make sure we got on the right train. At the other end of the train ride a guide would be there to take us to the bus. Having this luxury made the trip so easy and enjoyable. Each tour guide we had was knowledgeable in their city and spoke english. They gave us information about each place and we could ask all the questions we wanted. They also kept us on schedule so we could do all the things we wanted in the short time we had. Having the bus for our group meant we could spread out and leave our belonging in the bus while we toured the various sites.

My first impression of Japan is how clean and orderly everything is. From the Hotels to the subways you just never see anything dirty or any trash. You also don't see trashcans very often. I think this is because most trash in this country is recycled. My impression is that people in this country have a lot of respect for their land, their people, their heritage and even their tourists. We were treated very well everywhere we went.

I could tell that a lot of thought goes in to making things visually appealing. I guess that a good visual sense translates to calmness and happiness in the Japanese people. From the design of a building, a garden, a children playscape, or the presentation of a meal, there were so many beautiful things to look at.

Another thing I noticed is the contrast between the old and the new. We saw people watching live TV on their cell phones on the bullet train on our way to a thousand year old shrine. It is interesting how advanced their technology is but they also embrace the ancient history of the country. We saw that most people dress in suits during the week but when we went to a shrine in the middle of Tokyo on a weekend we saw many young adults wearing traditional kimonos.