29/10/2012
09.00
Japan, here I
am! After a twelve hour flight I finally landed and I am ready to
visit this beautiful country, despite the jet lag!
22.00
Ok, maybe I
needed some rest. This bed is so comfy and the flight has been sooooo
long. It is late to go and visit Tokyo, but I didn't want to waste
more time in this hotel room, so I did my homework. Since I know very
little of Japan, I googled it and now I know anything is worth to
know about Japan. I can't wait to go outside and verify if all I've
read it is true! Maybe it's better if I write down what I found out:
POLITICAL
SYSTEM
Japan is a
constitutional monarchy. It is similar to Great Britain system
because the power of the Emperor is very limited. The Emperor is the
symbol of the state and the unity of people, a ceremonial figurehead.
Until the Second World War, he was considered divine, but the
Constitution of 1946 limits his role as a consequence of Second World
War defeat.
Nowadays, the
Emperor is dropping down
in popularity. He broke with traditions when he apologized in
national live broadcast for the Fukushima disaster: he and the
Government are considered responsible for this tragedy by newborn
protester movements such as Scream for the Truth, which fights also
against censure.
These
movements are deeply innovative and Japanese people are not used to
them:
Japanese society is based on respect, power acceptance and
this is proved by the fact that, even if it is a democratic country,
from 1996 until now the Liberal-Conservative party has always won
elections.
HOW TO BEHAVE:
- Never point your feet to your interlocutor or show them in public: feet are considered dirty and showing them is a sign of disrespect!
- Never blow your nose in public. Wait and sniffle until you're alone (weird... Hope I don't catch a cold)
- Take off your shoes before walking on a tatami
- Respect personal space: Japanese people avoid touching each other and are not comfortable with hugs and back slaps (it will be hard!)
- Never leave your chopsticks standing upright in a bowl of rice, this is how rice is offered to the dead. You won't find any napkin since they don't use them
- smoking is allowed everywhere but in streets! You will find provided places where to smoke or a kind white gloved Japanese man will ask you politely to put that cigarette out
23.15
Ok!
It’s late, but my stomach it started to make some strange noises.
I’m starving! The first restaurant I’ll see it’s going to be
the right one! I’ve always been fond of Japanese cuisine and, in
particular, I’m a wasabi addicted...the first step is to admit it!
Tomorrow I’ll write everything!
30.12.2012
10.00
I
found out that what is commonly fought about Japanese food is
absolutely true: it is really good and hard to cook. Japanese cuisine
is based on fish (since the state is an archipelago) and on rice,
because it rains a lot. Rice fields are spread all around the
islands. The Japanese diet is extremely healthy because most of the
dishes are served raw and with no addiction of grease, such as oil or
butter. It is reasonable that the average older age of population is
around 88 years, with a slightly difference among men and women.
While
I was going to the restaurant, even though I was starving, I managed
to get a look to the buildings surrounding me. They are built in a
particular way as so to be more “flexible” and to resist to the
frequent earthquakes that hit the country. In fact, Japan is located
over four different moving tectonic plates. Amazing!
13.00
I
just went out to try getting to know new people. Japanese is really a
difficult language to foreigners and the writing is totally
incomprehensible! Luckily, I met some people who spoke a good English
(better than the average Italians) and who were glad to talk with me
about their country.
They
told me that Japanese society is very strict, life, education, work
everything is encircled in a deep sense of duty. When someone happens
to fail something (e.g. a man loses his job) it is likely that he
attempts suicide to avoid the shame of having to tell it to his wife
or to his family. However, nowadays this sort of endeavours are rarer
than in the past. A samurai used to act a “karakiri” act when he
was blamed for something: he killed himself to avoid the shame of a
failure.
It is to be said that, due to the
strict rules working on Japanese society, the suicide’s rate is one
of the highest in the world.
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