Blue apples and heated toilet seats

… and possibly one of the most beautiful mountains in the world.

Mount Fuji

Sally and I are suffering from sensory overload. Japan is so different from anything we have experienced so far and a ten-day visit is far too short a time to come to terms with everything we are experiencing. Our trip started in Tokyo and took us, via our friends’ home town of Kofu down towards the south of the country – Kyoto, Onomichi and Imabari on the shores of the Seto Inland Sea and an unplanned but worthwhile day trip to Hiroshima (the subject of a separate blog). We are on our way back to Tokyo for one last weekend before heading back to the UK next week.

Japan is a country about half as big again as the UK but with a population of 126 million. As some 70% of the country is covered in uninhabitable mountains that means there are a lot of people crowded into the small space that is left. Coming as we were from New Zealand with its population of 4 million this was something of a shock. It becomes apparent just how populous the place is when you look out of the train window – there is no Green Belt around cities and towns, each one merged into the next all the way from Tokyo to Hiroshima. Only on the islands of the Seto Inland Sea as we cycled part of the famous Shimanami Kaido ride (highly recommended for all you cyclists) did we finally come across places where there were no people.

Tokyo

The people we have met have been unfailingly charming, polite and hospitable. I guess in such a crowded place it is the only way in which society can function. There is very little crime (houses and bikes are routinely left unlocked) and it is a safe place to travel around.

One thing we were anxious about before arriving was how we would manage to get about without understanding any Japanese. We needn’t have worried – English signage is everywhere and indeed many Japanese, especially the young, have some exposure to English. Miming and ‘Google Translate’ also help complete the picture, although the rather charming confidence of the Japanese in the powers of Google Translate leads to some hilarious notices in shops and on public monuments.

The trains are nothing short of wonderful – not only the Shinkansen (the famous bullet trains), but local trains too. Armed with our JR (Japan Rail) pass, which we purchased in advance of our arrival, we travelled extensively with ease. Trains run strictly to time such that you can set your watch by them (a train that left 40 SECONDS early led to a public apology on national television a while back) and they run whatever the weather.

Everyone loves having their photo taken

One thing that seems to be a national characteristic is the need to be photographed in any and every situation, with the subject of the photo checking to make sure they are happy with how the photo has come out. At times it was hard, especially in Tokyo, to walk down the street without photo-bombing carefully constructed compositions.

In the midst of the never – ending cities are oceans of tranquillity provided by a multitude of shrines and temples (and a more limited selection of castles – 30 in total throughout the country). We arrived before the famous cherry blossom season starts (typically late March/ early April), although there were plum trees and camelia in bloom in the grounds of the temples, especially further south, which brought colour to what is generally a brown backdrop as the land emerges from winter.

Matsumoto Castle

So, back to the subject of this blog, blue apples and heated toilet seats. The following article explains better than me as to why green apples are described as blue – basically for a long time the Japanese language didn’t have a word to describe ‘green’ and old habits, it seems, die hard! It also gives a bit of insight into an ordered society where a little bending of the rules exists even at the highest level.

Why are Japanese traffic lights blue

As for the toilet seats, (and once again it appears that toilets feature large in this blog!), if there was one thing from Japanese society I would like to transport to the UK (that is apart from trains that run on time) is the heated toilet seat. Surely this is a most enlightened invention that would enhance the wellbeing of the British public, especially on a cold winter’s morning. Indeed, perhaps this invention is the real reason why the Japanese are such a warm and hospitable nation – they don’t fear their first dump of the day!