Since I went to a school named the Sheridan Japanese School, I aptly learned some of the Japanese language and culture. I had some teachers who were Japanese and came from Japan, some who were Japanese-American, some who had lived in Japan at some point or another, and alternatively some who had never been to the country and didn’t speak any of the language. However, the ones who taught me Japanese were usually from Japan.
In my sophomore year, I had the chance to be part of the school’s biannual Japan Trip, visiting the main island of Honshu for two weeks along with some other students and a few teachers. I had to raise about $2000 for my plane ticket and other expenses, but since most of the rest of it was covered by the school, it was absolutely worth it. We had a special elective class to prepare us for traveling, in which we learned how to talk with our host families, where we were going, and folded 100 paper cranes each. It was the most exciting semester of my life, looking forward to going out of the country and visiting someplace on the opposite side of the world. Finally, a few days after school got off, my mom drove me early in the morning to Portland Airport and I was on my first ever plane flight.
I’m not going to share all the details of my two-week trip, because that would be more like a short story than a blog post. I’ll probably tell a few more stories from my time there in some other posts. This time, however, I will share some of my favorite things about Japan, though there are a lot of them.
Firstly, it’s beautiful there. The cities are large and sky-scraping, and if you go a few blocks in any direction you can probably find a small forest shrine. You’re usually never more than a few miles away from a shrine or temple. It’s a wonderful mix of ancient/traditional architecture and modern buildings, and the variety of plants and animals are wonderful too. There’s about three types of places you can be in Japan- the city, the country, or completely secluded in nature. Only 1/3 of the land is habitable since the rest is so mountainous, and so there’s still a lot of wilderness in Japan. It’s majestic, and I love it as much as I love the Pacific Northwest.
Secondly, I love the culture. I didn’t get to see any festivals or anything while I was there, but everything about Japan was nice. The politeness of the people there, the vending machines on every corner, hard-to-navigate train stations, everything. Japan just had an atmosphere to it that I enjoyed a lot. I’d been learning some of the language and culture since 6th grade, and finally getting to go there and see it for myself was amazing. Sure, there were a few drawbacks, such as muggy weather (complete with mosquitoes) and sardine-packed Tokyo trains, but even those were worth it.
Finally, while the scenery and overall atmosphere of the place were wowing, one of the things I enjoyed the most about Japan was the food. Seriously, everything there is amazing. There are maybe one or two dishes I tried that I didn’t like, but they were outlandish foods like uni (the insides of a sea urchin) and natto (fermented soybeans). Everything else was absolutely delicious. Sukiyaki, katsudon, katsukare, yakitori, yakiniku, onigiri, udon, ramen, sashimi and sushi of all kinds, soup and salad and rice and even ice cream… the list goes on. Even the McDonald’s there tasted like four-star restaurant fare instead of a crappy fast food burger.
Japan absolutely ruined food for me, because nothing else can ever be that good. Not only was all of the food top tier, but a lot of it was cheap and easy to acquire as well. Something costing under 300-400 yen ($3-$4) was not an indicator of its quality- I regularly acquired inexpensive food that tasted better than any equivalent back home.
The most astonishing version of this I saw were the convenience stores, or konbini, every few blocks. The most common chain is one familiar to us, 7-Eleven. The first time I walked into a Japanese konbini, expecting the somewhat sketchy food and appearance I was used to in America, I was completely blown off my feet. Not only was the compact building clean and pristine, but the walls were lined with food that actually looked appetizing, as well as being about the same cost as the greasy fare in American convenience stores. Shelf after shelf of breads, noodle cups, sandwiches, onigiri, drinks, packed bento lunches, and more were efficiently placed in the small space. The purchasing counter had a heater full of freshly cooked tempura and meat. People quickly bought their selected items and then left. It was nice and quiet, small but not crowded. It was amazing.
Two weeks in Japan was too short a time, and I missed it as soon as I left. I would love to visit again for a longer stay, maybe study abroad there? It was a great experience and though every part of the trip was amazing, I wish I could have brought an entire 7-Eleven konbini with me. If you ever travel to Japan, I highly recommend all of their food!
Writing Wizard 