10 things Japan Gets Awesomely Right

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/11/09/10-things-japan-gets-awesome-right/

10 Things Japan Gets Horribly Wrong

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2013/11/06/10-things-japan-gets-horribly-wrong/

18 Life Lessons Learned From Traveling The World

Life lessons a person can learn by traveling the world.

ハフ - Hafu

This new documentary focuses on the lives of the "hafu" (katakana for half) and difficulties of growing up with a different face in a homogeneous country. This generation's Japanese look differently than any before it. Japan is changing and the debate continues to rage about whether or not this is a positive.

How I Travel

Over the years, I've made many a travel mistake that resulted in many less-than-pleasant experiences.  Below are a few things I do to make every trip as enjoyable as possible.

Check My Bag
I'm usually on international flights so checked baggage is free, but I find the world seems brighter after obnoxious rolling suitcase has been taken away.  No navigating through crowds with a trailer, no tripping on the wheels, no carrying it up stairs, no cramming it into the overhead compartment, etc.  Unless you're rushed upon arrival, get rid of the bags.

Carry-On
I try to keep this down to essentials.  Have a folder for travel documents, an easy-access (but somewhat secure) pocket for passport and boarding pass, a notepad, pen and pencil, tissues, a good pair of on-ear headphones with airline converter (two prongs), and light jacket for the plane or to use as a pillow if I need to sleep on a bench or floor.  For entertainment, I love travel magazines or novels set in my destination.  The airport experience is quick to suck all idealism out of travel and I like to arrive feeling romantic.  Years ago, I remember watching the "Vietnam" episode of Anthony Bordain: No Reservations when he mentioned that his motivation for vising the country was Graham Greene's The Quiet American.  Since then, I've always followed suit.
The 21st century has been kind to travelers, providing smartphones and tablets that can be packed full of reading material, movies, music and games catered to you.  Airline entertainment can be wildly irregular so it's still best to have your own stuff.  Also, I always have a toothbrush and travel toothpaste for when I get off the plane.  For me, patience and a clean mouth go hand in hand.

Dress for Comfort and Airport Security
Avoid all jewelry and accessories when flying or pack everything in your carry on before you get in line at security.  It drives people crazy when they have to wait for someone to strip down at the front or remove watches and wallets to walk through metal detectors a second and third time.  I'll always wear a sturdy pair of comfortable shoes that can be worn in any situation and are easy to get on and off such as modern lace-free Royal Elastics or desert boots.  Have your computer or tablet out and ready to put into a separate box and your boarding pass and passport in your hand.  When I get through, I'll buy a bottle of water for the plane.

On the Plane
It's nice to spend your hours of free time preparing to customs and immigration.  I'll always use my own pen to fill out cards beforehand rather than use the cheap 3 inch pencils at the tiny desks in the airport.  I'll sleep as much as possible if I'm flying east, but try to stay awake if I'm flying west and avoid alcohol completely.  It's free, I know, but it's not worth arriving feeling sick or buzzed.

Souvenirs 
For the most part, I've completely stopped buying souvenirs for myself.  Living in Japan, I'm required to buy huge quantities of sweets everywhere I go for students, friends, and coworkers so I need any extra space for that.  For my family, I like to find authentic local art or crafts that can only be found abroad.  Cheap t-shirts and trinkets may seem like a good idea at the time, but they add up quickly and don't last forever.  As a keepsake, however, I have always taken a coaster from every city or country I visit.  They're small, light, free, and unique.

Eating
I always try to avoid big restaurants.  The English may be better, but they're usually overly tourist-friendly dishes that may lose some local flair.  I love to buy from street carts or hole in the wall places with grandma cooking in the back, mom and pop working the register and taking orders, and the kids serving drinks.  The food is authentic, the ingredients are local, and the experience is richer.

Planning
I prefer to avoid tourist guides and read travel blogs and chat rooms for tips.  I'll never read user comments in any other situation, but travel sites have some good stuff in the comments.  Just find a post about "the greatest _______ in _______" and take advantage of the debate that follows.  I'll finish with a long list of local places to visit and tourist traps to avoid.

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Hangzhou and the West Lake

West Lake, Hangzhou

Linyin Temple

Tea Plantation

Green Tea Valley

Impressions: West Lake

Always crowded, even on the 6am train

Shanghai and Nanxun

People's Square, Shanghai

The Bund

Nanxun

Taoist Temple

Nanjing Street shopping

Saturday morning matchmaking market

Pudong

Good morning, and goodbye

Back to Japan

Now that I'm back in Japan, I find it very difficult to describe my experiences in China to the students that ask.  Not because the words aren't there, but because of the dual competitive nature of the two nations.  Any positives I offer that may be misinterpreted as things I believe to be better in China are countered:

"I took the bullet train from Shanghai to Hangzhou and it was very nice"

Chinese

"You took the bullet train? It's very dangerous in China.  You are very brave.  The Japanese Shinkansen is very safe."

I believe most people are referring to a derailing incident a few years ago where no inquiry was made and no explanation offered.  I don't know much about this incident beyond what I've heard from friends and students, but it's seems to be an isolated incident.  

This international competition of words is hardly one-sided.  My experience was very much the same in China.  While guides were very interested in Japan and what Japanese people think of them, they never missed a chance to point out that EVERYTHING Japanese comes from China.  I made the mistake of referring to characters as kanji once and was quickly corrected and reminded that even the name kanji is a "mispronunciation" of the Chinese word.  Playing the clueless American card was received very well but as a representative of Japan, I became a window behind enemy lines.  People often spoke to me as if I were a mole in Japanese society, someone able to spill the beans and confirm how much Japanese people deserve a bit of Chinese tough love.  In Japan, much more passive-aggressively of course, I am asked to confirm Japanese civility, politeness, punctuality, cleanliness and safety as my preferred way of living.  Students are proud to hear how yen are more simple to count than yuan or about Chinese planes and trains being delayed for no reason as that is unheard of here. 

Japanese

These are merely observations and should be taken as such.  During my short visit,
I met many a Chinese person who thinks arguing over a group of uninhabited rocks in the middle of the ocean is as stupid as most Japanese people do as well as those who openly discuss the shortcomings of the People's Party rule and how they wish they could have a chance tonsee Japan for themselves.  Despite the consistent rib jabs and cheap shots, the two countries are far less at odds with one another as some might think.  

Now, the most common questions I continue to receive from my students are about "Chinese English."  

"Whose pronunciation is better?"

"Whose vocabulary is bigger?"

Comparing Japanese and Chinese English is the same as comparing apples and potatoes simply because the gap between the two native languages is even larger (apples to hand grenades).  Even so, I try to answer the questions as honestly as possible based on my limited experience.  In general, I feel that Japanese people tend to have a bigger vocabulary.  However, this vocabulary is usually hidden behind katakana pronunciation and the signature "shyness," making for a truly daunting communication challenge for the average traveler.  In China, the vocabulary seemed be much more limited but communication was easier.  Most people I came across were either very outgoing or downright aggressive.  This was my favorite thing about my time there as it is something I desperately miss being in Japan.  The expressive, unprotected way people deal with each other is both shocking and refreshing.  

As for my personal experience in the PRC, I had an unbelievable time.  I chose China because I wanted a short escape from the Japanese way of life that has begun to feel too normal.  The challenges I've faced throughout my two-year tenure have either been completely overcome or pushed aside as unavoidable parts of gaijin life.  My time across the sea was meant to be a breath of fresh (figuratively speaking) air and a time to unbutton the collar.  Japan is wonderful, but the indirect, formal, and community-focused way of life can begin to feel a bit stifling after a while.  China is the perfect shock therapy. 

Just a two hour flight takes you to another world. To sum up the not so subtle differences I experienced in my first few days I offer the following  examples:  In Japan, children point at me and their parents pull them away and tell them not to stare.  In China, parents and grandparents point me out to their children so that the entire family may enjoy the giant sighting.  Second, babies don't wear diapers in Beijing.  When it's time to do business, mothers walk their babies over to a bush, pull up the little legs, and let the system do its thing before continuing on their way.  People publicly clear their nasal passages, spit on the sidewalk, push by you, drive through pedestrian crowded crosswalks, stare, scream various English words as you pass, hand you their children for pictures, follow you offering various massages and "massages," push cheap souvenirs in your face, and (as opposed to the Japanese) sit next to foreigners on trains.  It's fantastic.  

Soon you'll realize the chaos has an order to it.  Drivers seem insane, but follow a very particular set of rules.  Commuters fight to board the subway  but allow the elderly the prime spots inside the car, waiters seem disinterested and rude but provide every service you request, bottled water is readily available and cheap, and hotels go out of their way to prove that Chinese hospitality services are quickly catching up to international standards. It may be fast and wild from the outside, but people know exactly what they're doing and they act with a confidence and pride that is most admirable.  Observing and enjoying the extremes along with the seemingly mundane makes the time spent among them its most fascinating and refreshing.  

Despite the tone of this post thus far, please don's so far as to think the Japanese are the robotic polar opposite to the Chinese wild stallions.  In Japan, more time is required to form relationships as every person is expected to function as a piece of the collective.  I admire this aspect of the culture immensely, but the social order does require more than a bit of patience to break through.  I embrace the challenge and strive to understand all, but I am still a Westerner.  I was brought up like all millenials on our side of the Pacific, believing that I am   unique and should thus strive to stand out from the pack while proudly executing all of my "inalienable rights" as a citizen of the United States.  Despite my greatest efforts, I'm hard wired this way and it's going to take more than two years for that to change. 

China served as a very appropriate change of pace.  While day to day interactions may be more reminiscent of home, the culture gap is still as wide as they come.  Every sense was employed fulltime to soak up as much of the environment as possible.  The scent of the food, the colors of the lights and temples, the sounds of various languages and dialects completely foreign to me, the immense length and/or height of everything, and the constant honking of car horns (taboo in Japan) are among my most vivid memories.  All are so simple, but are what I will remember most.  

I loved every minute of my time in China.  It was exhausting in the best of ways and exactly what I wanted it to be.  After arriving in Tokyo and boarding my safe and punctual Shinkansen train, I settled into the seat and took a deep breath.  It was a quiet I hadn't experienced in two weeks.  I was relieved to be home again, but all I could think about was what part of China to visit next.

Beijing Days 3-4 (The Wall, Olympic Complex)

First sight

Coca-Cola rules the world

Every photo album needs a bit of "epic"

The trick?  Just keep climbing.  Eventually, you're alone.

Crossing over from the rebuilt to the ruined

Jiankou 

More millipedes than people