It’s only 6.30 am and we’re both awake but we’re not going to rush off this morning. We’re planning a trip closer to home, to see some of the areas of Kyoto that we’ve missed previously. Arashiyama, Pontocho and the Philosophers’ Walk are possibilities.
I thought I’d take the chance when I have a few minutes to make some general comments about Japan and the culture. The first thing that strikes a visitor is how many Japanese there are. The crowds around the stations at peak hour are immense. In the department stores, there seem to be dozens of shop assistants and you never have to wait to be served. Every worker wears a uniform, whether it’s the dark suit and white shirt of the ‘salaryman’ or the sometimes bizarre outfits of the shop assistants. In the Hanshin Department store, for example, the people in the wine department wear long white aprons and caps. It’s almost like fancy dress. From an Australian’s point of view, I would think that there’s a terrible inefficiency in having ten staff to do the job of two. There’s still an inspector on the trains, who comes around to punch a hole in your ticket, and a counter at the station for fare adjustments with three or four staff and so on. How can this possibly bring in enough to pay the wages? I remember on a previous trip we noticed cars driving in to a parking station. A couple of men in uniform stood in the street directing the drivers in, other uniformed men directed the cars to particular aisles and even more men pointed to the spot for the driver to park. Surely the parking fees couldn’t pay for all those wages.
I thought I’d take the chance when I have a few minutes to make some general comments about Japan and the culture. The first thing that strikes a visitor is how many Japanese there are. The crowds around the stations at peak hour are immense. In the department stores, there seem to be dozens of shop assistants and you never have to wait to be served. Every worker wears a uniform, whether it’s the dark suit and white shirt of the ‘salaryman’ or the sometimes bizarre outfits of the shop assistants. In the Hanshin Department store, for example, the people in the wine department wear long white aprons and caps. It’s almost like fancy dress. From an Australian’s point of view, I would think that there’s a terrible inefficiency in having ten staff to do the job of two. There’s still an inspector on the trains, who comes around to punch a hole in your ticket, and a counter at the station for fare adjustments with three or four staff and so on. How can this possibly bring in enough to pay the wages? I remember on a previous trip we noticed cars driving in to a parking station. A couple of men in uniform stood in the street directing the drivers in, other uniformed men directed the cars to particular aisles and even more men pointed to the spot for the driver to park. Surely the parking fees couldn’t pay for all those wages.
The other thing that strikes visitors is that the Japanese all look the same, not literally, of course, but they tend to be shortish, with similar features and black hair. Walking through the streets of Launceston you can see what a mixture of races make up the modern Australians but that’s not the case here. Young women try to express their individuality by their dress but, because they are slaves to fashion, they end up all looking the same again. Current fashion is for frilly short dresses, almost like nighties. And they wear awful shoes, dangerously high platforms and heels. I’ve never seen so many people limping around with obviously sore feet.
Also the Japanese value fitting-in and have no problem with lining-up and waiting their turn. Good manners are common and politeness is practised by almost everyone, and it’s a delight to see clean streets and no yobbos hanging around looking for mischief.
We noticed this bike when we arrived on Sunday morning. Of course, there are bikes everywhere but this one was not parked neatly on the side of the pavement; in fact, it was a bit in the way.
It wasn’t chained up, it was just there. And it’s still there today. Nobody has touched it, nor knocked it over nor torched it. How long would an unattended bike last in Launceston? And I wonder how many abandoned bikes still exist in the mammoth bike parks at every railway station.
It wasn’t chained up, it was just there. And it’s still there today. Nobody has touched it, nor knocked it over nor torched it. How long would an unattended bike last in Launceston? And I wonder how many abandoned bikes still exist in the mammoth bike parks at every railway station.
A quick last word about the food. We’re eating very well and cheaply and are, tentatively, trying new food. Our pastry shop makes a fabulous soft bun with cream cheese and apple, but they also make a potato Danish which is just as delicious. We look for a good lunch and take in bits and pieces for the evening meal: cold chicken, savoury buns, fruit, etc. We saw some apples last night at $9 each but had to make do with four lesser fruit for $8.
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