Japan: A Perfect Beginning

When we started planning this trip, we had (and have) a long list of exotic and off the grid countries to visit. Most of these countries are in Asia and Africa, largely because both continents were particularly foreign to us all. However, despite  previous trips to Central America with our children, landing in a third world country in Asia, where everything from the language, alphabet, foods, customs and transportation system were completely foreign seemed a bit daunting. That said, we knew our six months would go quickly and didn't want to dilute our opportunity for cultural immersion. With that, we landed on Japan as a first stop for several reasons. 

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Several people with whom we consulted claimed that Japan is a unique combination of a modern society that has largely retained it's heritage and traditions, and our own dated experience supported this view. Opinions on why this is true ranged from it being an archipelago and therefore removed from the normal cross border culture osmosis that occurs between countries, to a view that that Japanese prefer a monoculture and encourage behaviors that help to maintain such culture. We were delighted with what we found: the language and customs were very foreign to our day-to-day lives, yet it was incredibly safe, clean and very easy to navigate. A great toe in the water, if you will.

We shared perspectives on Tokyo and Hokkaido, both of which we loved, but I think Kyoto is the place we were learnt the most. The week spent in our Machiya (traditional townhouse) provided just a peek of the day-to-day living of the Japanese, from the table with a well (where so much of the day-to-day took place), to the mats in the living room (that took a while to get used to), to the traditional bed mats where Glenn and I slept.

Wandering the city each night provided us with a greater sense of the culture, what was acceptable and what was not (we finally got the hang of making a reservation!), and the sights that we took in where a great taste of the vast culture in which we could have immersed ourselves. I think the favorites for me were the Inari gates and the day of shrines, though the bamboo forest of Arashiyama was very cool too. The real favorite, though, was our interaction with the Japanese people. Without exception, we found them to be kind, gentle and welcoming, even when our kids were a bit out of hand (see photo insert). ​