My first time in space… I mean Japan

Let me be clear from the beginning to avoid any confusion… the title is meant as a compliment. You might find it odd but that is how it feels to visit Japan as a North African fella. The planet I grew up in and their world are apparently part of the multiverse… Initially, I wanted to compare it to time traveling in the future but even then, it feels like the universe created by Japan is on a whole other plane. The immense gap in lifestyles is baffling in every way, sense, or form.

Before diving into what makes Japan so special, let me take you on a small trip down memory lane… to my origin story with this country. Back in middle school, I was the poster child for social awkwardness. I thought I had friends, but I had none, my family members found me peculiar and childish (they were not totally wrong, but it still stings), I had zero control over my emotions and was physically unable to express myself. I could go on, but I think I painted a clear picture! Needless to go into why this was the case but suddenly, the world of Anime was introduced to me. It was the first time that I found an escape that felt safe; it was the ninja world of Naruto. I dove into fiction to escape the confusing reality that I was facing as a semi-unstable teenager… In a time where I was constantly feeling worthless, my curiosity to know the end of One Piece is what kept me motivated to live!

This creative form of art, Manga, was my first introduction to Japanese culture. From that moment, I developed a profound and strong curiosity about Japan. With the internet at my fingertips, I first googled what I was, to try and get a sense if I was an aberration or not but after figuring it out, I started researching every aspect of the country only to realize that Manga was just the tip of the iceberg. Japan was an exemplary country in terms of resilience, hard work, preservation of history, architecture, nature, education, nutrition, and so much more.

I remember that two specific facts impressed me the most. The first point was how children in elementary school are responsible for cleaning their own classrooms; what a simple yet powerful initiative to ensure that children learn a sense of responsibility from an early age. The second is the lowest obesity rate in the world in Japan due to how healthy their food is; I mean who doesn’t love sushi if you don’t, no worries, not everyone is supposed to have exquisite taste in food.

For as long as my conscious memory has been intact, I have always dreamed of visiting Japan. I was so eager to peek behind the curtain and see if it lived up to the expectations that I’d developed. However, Japan is literally on the other side of the world. It takes over 24 hours to get there and shitloads of money. As a young adult, time and money rarely coincided but the moment they did, I hopped on an airplane to the most fascinating and attractive destination to be part of the 30+ million special people who get to see Japan every year. While it would be fun to walk you through my day-to-day whereabouts, I think that’s boring and reserved for my tight-knit inner circle. Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing time, but I don’t feel like throwing yet another itinerary of things to do in Japan because those have flooded the internet. Instead, I will attempt to be creative and share three fascinating realizations that I experienced yet have not seen much discussion about in the Japanese content that my IG’s algorithm is dumping on me daily:

1. Urban vs. Rural Disparity

Since I started my journey in Tokyo, considered one of the biggest cities around the world, I was swamped with the modernity of this place. There is an overwhelming number of things to do, reaching a point of overstimulation. The transportation system of Tokyo as well as other big cities like Osaka or Kyoto is extremely intricate and developed through an unmatched infrastructure that I haven’t seen in North America or Europe. This urbanization though comes with a big ass dose of capitalism, one you cannot escape. As a tourist, you don’t see much of it but you notice the little things, the exhausted locals sleeping on the subway (without missing their stop by the way, I asked and it’s a superpower unique to Japanese people), the business people on their laptops in public transportation getting some work done, the existence of soundproof work capsules in train stations to ensure that you can get work done and attend meetings even when you’re traveling, the overwhelmed workers overdrinking to destress after work who end up sleeping on the curb because they missed the last train!

If a tourist with a hobby for observation notices these occurrences on the surface, I can’t imagine how ugly the reality must be deep down. I even read online about a service in Japan that you can acquire to quit your job on your behalf. Yup, you read that right, people are so intimidated by their supervisors that they try to avoid a guilt trip by outsourcing their resignation to a stranger… absurd but sadly real…

Now let’s go to the other side because I have had the pleasure of seeing the rural side of Japan! How rural you might ask? One to two buses a day kind of rural, where everyone knows each other, and it was precious. For my first Japanese rural experience, I decided to stay with Satomi-San, a lovely Japanese woman who rents out rooms in her house for tourists. Satomi speaks little to no English while I speak nothing to no Japanese, yet I was able to have and feel an indescribable and precious connection to her. The three days I spent in her beautiful home gave me a completely different perspective about Japan. I saw how Japanese people, who are not struggling to keep up with urban life, can feel fulfilled. I also got to meet Satomi’s adorable dog Yoshio and even her English teacher as they took me out for the best Sushi of my life. Short story long, the rural regions of Japan are a separate experience that is worth trying. Far from the glamour of Tokyo or Osaka, lie hidden gems where people will show you unconditional levels of generosity.

2. Collective responsibility

It has always been known to me that the Japanese society is collectivist by nature. However, the manifestation of this behavior is quite unique. First, let us define collectivism briefly. The fastest definition according to Google is “a society where the value of the community is above individual gain”. Japan proudly displays this choice, and you see a great deal of respect in day-to-day interactions that is not only defined in words but also action. One of the most challenging things about Japan, that every visitor must have noticed, is the lack of public bins. If you have trash that you need to get rid of, prepare to carry it for hours on end before finding a single bin (I traveled around 80 km while carrying a trash bag at one point). This inconvenience came as a bit of a shock to me, especially since I have never seen streets and parks cleaner than the ones in Japan. When I asked around to understand the logic behind it, I found out that it was a strategic decision that aims at creating a shared responsibility for the cleanliness of public spaces by avoiding the saturation of trash in the streets (it’s also a security measure).

Another mind-boggling example is the cleanliness of Japanese toilets. First, the technology behind the Japanese toilet is the most impressive human achievement that I have ever seen (yes, even more impressive than space stuff). In fact, toilets in extremely crowded public spaces tend to be spotless. I noticed that each person takes advantage of the multiple cleaning tools at their disposal to ensure they can leave it cleaner than they found it. The final and most unbelievable realization lies in the public trust. You never feel that your physical belongings are unsafe. When you go to different stores with outdoor sections, you find little to no surveillance in fear of theft… unlike the rest of the world. There is a public trust in people’s values that I’ve never seen in my life. It’s a country where stealing could be so easy yet it’s extremely rare. This sense of community is in my humble opinion one of the things that drove Japan to the level of economic success that it enjoys nowadays (I know they are struggling from deflation and an ageing population, but globally, they still have the 3rd largest GDP).

3. The marriage of traditional and modern values

Japanese people take a lot of pride in their culture. I highly doubt that people can question this statement given the beautiful harmony that Japan achieved through the marriage of traditional and modern values.

First is the pride in the Japanese language. It doesn’t matter if you seem to speak Japanese or not, you will be addressed in Japanese and when the conversation reaches a stalemate, technology comes in place to remedy the situation. You will find endless expressions of modernity in architecture that leave all shrines and temples intact while ensuring they are still valued and highlighted. You will find endless regular jobs that have been replaced with machines thus eliminating all human contact before seeing endless repetitive menial jobs. While choosing a path to follow, I think Japan realized that its past defines its identity, and its present reflects its choices. A shrewd tactic that can give multiple homey vibes in a huge city like Tokyo. Even in their respect for nature, Japan ensures that technology is never invasive, and it can enhance the experience of visitors without impacting the authenticity of the place.

There is so much to learn from Japan, both from positive and negative aspects as no country is perfect. However, Japan did manage to brand itself as a dream destination, not just for geeks like me, but for nature lovers, spirituality enthusiasts, history lovers, technology fans, and so many more creating a cosmos that truly feels like a voyage in space…