favourite things....

well, I think this will be my last post in this blog - although stay tuned - there may be another blog happening sometime!
I could talk for a long long time about everything I've seen and done in Japan, but I think that could get tiring :) so instead I will finish with some of my favourite things....

- The people.
Japan is full of so many friendly, helpful people. Like when I asked a station worker where to catch my train from - and later he came down to make sure I was on the right one! Or the person who goes completely out of their way to take you to the place you asked directions for.... Sometimes their generosity and helpfulness can become rather tiring! but really, it is so lovely to be somewhere where people are so hospitable.
This also carries over into safety. Japan is by far the safest place I've ever known. You could leave your luggage at the train station and come back and it would still be there. I never encountered any pickpockets in trains or on the street (and in those crowds it would be so easy! - and it is a 'cash' society - where people generally pay in cash most of the time) The only thing that you have to watch is your umbrella. and your bicycle. Other than that you're pretty safe :)
And of course, the many good friends that I made on my trips. I will try and keep up my Japanese so that I can stay in touch with you all! :) and hopefully will see you again soon!

- The "culture"
I love how old Japan is and how it has such a completely different history from European countries. The houses, castles, temples are all so different from the way we designed them, it is completely fascinating to me. I love that many of these are preserved, so you walk around buildings that are so old.....(coming from a very young country its quite mind-boggling!).
I love the smell of these places, woody, and in the temples they have this lovely musky incense that is divine.

- The gardens
The manicured trees are sooo cool. Little clouds of leaves on the branches (check out the photo of me at ise-jingu in Nagoya - they have some great ones). But best of all this is not just in temples, people have these trees at their houses too. You see them everywhere. You start to think they must naturally grow like that - ...until you see the little strings holding the branches perfectly in place. :)

- The fashion
Japan to me, is full of contrasts. A land steeped in history and yet coming up with the latest technological crazes...salarymen working night and day and the school kids giving off a very studious image but then the game shows are insane! and the fashion. Women dressed in kimono and yukata walking along with others dressed quite normally...and then others who are dressed like slappers! Everyone seems to dress in a way that is really put together, (no matter how wacky). Like, I'm going to dress 'punk' so they have punk hair, ripped tights, gloves, punk shirt etc. Or I'm going to dress like little bo peep. Or I'm going to dress like a french maid. ... it's all here.

- The technology
Japan is renowned for its technological advances and I love them for it, once you've sat on a heated toilet seat you realise what you have been missing. But they have taken it a bit far with the music of birds chirping that plays as you sit on the toilet....and the toilet seats that automatically rise (then the toilet automatically flushes)....it's all a little bit much maybe? ....but I do love the technology, lots of fancy gadgets, the latest tiniest cameras, video phones....everything.

- The temples
A little piece of Zen in the city....Kyoto in particular is a place I really love for its temples and shrines. It is so lovely to walk around the streets and pop into different temples, and as soon as you enter you feel a little bit of peace.
My favourite ones are Ginkakuji (the silver pavilion) which has a lovely garden and feels so peaceful, and Ryoanji (which has a famous rock garden).
In Tokyo I love Asakusa, which is not really peaceful, but I love the hustle and bustle and all the little shops selling all kinds of souvenirs.

- The language
I think immersing yourself in the culture really helps you understand the language, and I love the way they sometimes express themselves and describe things so differently to how we would in English. It really helps you understand how they think. My favourite word is natsukashii. It kind of describes the feeling of nostalgia, when you see something you haven't in a long time. It's so cool they have a word for that feeling :) ....and my other favourite is yoroshiku. This is sort of asking someone to be favourable towards you...it's kind of hard to explain but basically if you ask for a favour or something you say yoroshiku - meaning - I'm trusting that you will do this for me ... hint hint! ...hehehehe....

ok, I think that will do for now.
Sayonara,
~mm