Predictions Revisited: Language, Culture, People

I have so many reactions and memories kicking around in my head that I am breaking this summary of my trip to Japan into two parts. The second part will be ready in a few days, but I wanted to get some of my ideas into writing as quickly as possible.

Our group atop Mt. Wakakusa, near N

The day before I began my trip to Japan, I made some predictions about what my experiences would be like (click here to read them). Now that I’m back home, it’s time to look back at those predictions to see how they turned out -- and also to reflect on some things that came as a surprise, or "predictions I could not have predicted" before the trip. 

Language: I learned how hard it is to do even the simplest things in a country where you don’t speak the local language. Almost all signs on public transit and at tourist destinations were in English, but restaurant menus and ingredient labels were not, which was a big problem for me because of my tree nut allergy. Almost all Japanese know basic written English, but the education system doesn’t emphasize speaking skills, so having a conversation can be tough. I was lucky that my host parents both had unusually good English skills, and my host siblings were learning in school, so we didn’t have many problems communicating.

It's a bit hard to see in this picture, but most signs on public transit were also written in english

I'm sure glad this sign was in english!

My host siblings were very patient with me and my bad Japanese! They were pretty good at english, too. 

I would have liked to pick up more Japanese, but my vocabulary improved considerably considering I knew next to nothing at the beginning of the trip. I tried to use Japanese whenever possible. The words and phrases I learned were mostly for basic conversations, but it was enough to find my way around and order at restaurants. If I have the opportunity in the future, I would like to continue studying Japanese.

I would have liked to know Japanese to understand what this ad was about

Some symbols can break even the toughest language barriers

No translation needed to understand the awesomeness of this sign

Food: The food was everything I had hoped for and more. In a previous post I mentioned that the Japanese take food seriously -- the level of care and dedication they put into preparing meals is amazing. Tokyo is by far the best restaurant city I’ve ever been to, and the regional dishes of the country are just as impressive as the main national staples like sushi and ramen. I tried to eat at least a little of everything that was offered to me, including raw horse meat and some very strange sea creatures that I could not identify, and I think I did pretty well on this score.

Raw horse meat sushi--a culinary highlight of the trip

Raw egg and chicken in the bowl on the left--another adventure in testing my digestive system's limits

One of my favorite parts of the trip was learning to cook Japanese dishes with my host family. They picked up quickly on my love for food and made it a point not only to give me cooking lessons but also to take me to restaurants featuring various styles of Japanese cuisine. They even gave me cooking materials and recipes to bring home so I could try them with my own family.

Learning to make rice balls with Ruki

One of the many delicious home-cooked meals I ate with my host family

One of my favorite dining experiences was when my host family took me to a sushi conveyor belt restaurant

I was also impressed by the variety of cuisine. Sushi is the food that Americans most commonly associate with Japan but in my experience ramen and soba or udon noodles are more popular. 

Udon noodles (pictured left) were very popular

Host family: My host family was fantastic. My Japanese parents were both exceptionally laid back, the kids were super friendly, and they all went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. We did a ton of stuff together, and whether it was cooking dinner together or sightseeing in Tokyo, there was never a dull moment. I made four friends for life!

Tokyo subway: I never got lost on the train or bus, and I walked, ran and biked around Tokyo and the other cities we visited. I feel that my willingness and ability to use every means of transportation available to get around helped me get the most out of the trip, because I was able to explore areas not on our itinerary and to experience even more of what Japan has to offer.

Some of the other students took a little more time to get used to using public transit, but by the time we left the whole group was able to navigate the bus and train networks with ease. The subway system is enormous. We didn’t have to ride during rush hour much, but when we did, the subways were unbelievably crowded. Even in the middle of a weekday, an empty seat can be hard to find, and the sight of hundreds of people crowding into a car can be intimidating.

The subway was about as crowded as I could have imagined

But, we suffered no casualties on public transit!

The Tokyo area is served by several different train systems, and the scale and complexity of these systems can be overwhelming at first. There’s the Tokyo subway, which is publicly owned and serves city. Then there are the Japan Railroad lines, which are privately owned and connect the suburbs to the city. This can make it difficult to understand how different train lines relate to each other, including where and how to make connections between the different systems. 

Despite the challenge of learning to use transit in a foreign country, everyone from my group made it to the designated meeting spots on time. DC’s Metro system is simple by comparison, but Tokyo’s system is so clean and efficient that I can’t say I’m really looking forward to going back to the Red Line and its slow, unreliable service.