Saturday, March 9, 2024

The texture of liver pate.

 

That stage of the trip when the homeward journey starts to cast a damper on proceedings. How can the time have flown by so quickly ? Our abiding take aways are cleanliness, safety and affordability. Tokyo really is a modern marvel of a city. There's always a subway station with a three minute walk that can whisk you safely and cleanly where you want to go. I guess our surprise is that we thought the place would be bland but there's no other city that we've been to that matches Tokyo for urban design and a culture that is startlingly creative. 


A quick bullet train trip to see an outlying coastal  town. The train nearly empty ... or certainly emptier than a British train. There again British trains don't run every twelve minutes.


You can eat cheaply. A sausage curry costs £4.50. 'The Font' has insisted that we don't eat in restaurants with European cuisine. This has worked well although Angus has had some reservations about trying grey 'unknown' things with legs and  the texture of liver pate.


In the window of a barber shop a hand drawn sign. This is presumably targeted at bobble hatted  Australian tourists who appear to be here in huge numbers to try the local ales. German tourists and Americans with young families appear to be the other leading demographics. Kyoto was wall to wall with visitors.


We've seen lots of temples.


And like all British visitors followed Monty Dons guide to Zen gardens.https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p070vf37


Seems there is a down side. From our hotel window we can look across the street to the open plan offices of a large industrial company.  The staff arrive early and stay much later than you'd expect in NY or London. This seems to be a replay of the old 1960's idea of management that says the more time you spend behind the desk the more work you'll get done. GLWT ! A friend who works here says that corporations hire youngsters straight out of college. This provides job security but it also means that promotion and pay are based on the length of time at the company. Smart youngsters can't rise quickly and new ideas are ignored. There's little incentive to work more efficiently than you have to as productivity isn't recognized. Job hopping, the natural remedy, is treated with suspicion.

I don't think we have ever walked as much as we have on this trip. That 10,000 paces a day has probably been closer to 25,000.


9 comments:

Linda said...

I am most intrigued by "women face shaving" in the barber's shop.

Lisa in France said...

Some things changed in the thirty years we lived in Japan, but the couple things you mention hang on very stubbornly. It is considered bad form to leave the office before any of your superiors, so people just hang around, and it is generally taboo to have anyone older supervising anyone younger. Lifetime employment still exists at the big companies but it is a little bit of an illusion. When someone rises to the point where they won't rise any further, they are shifted to an affiliate company so make space for someone younger. (Technically they remain an employee of the main company, seconded to the affiliate.) The pyramid just keeps narrowing at the main company with the affiliate companies absorbing those who are shed. One other big problem - there is no concept of learning from your mistakes in Japan, mistakes are simply bad and to be avoided at all costs. Hence, a very risk-averse population.

Lisa in France said...

Maybe for your long trip home, or after (if you haven't read it already), here's a very smart recent NYT article about Japan. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/world/asia/japan-economy-population-politics.html?unlocked_article_code=1.bU0.1KTG.qkI2W9hK536-&smid=url-share

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
So, in the end, a) was it worth the long flight required, and b) would you go again? Two important questions when assessing a destination. YAM xx

Diaday said...

Walking around a new or even familiar city is my favorite way of getting around. The flexibility to stop when something catches your eye or take an unplanned turn makes the visit uniquely yours. I agree with The Font: eat the food that is unique to where you're visiting. It's all part of the experience. Bacon rolls await you on your first walk when you return home!

Stephanie said...

We have a young friend from Northern California who fell in love with Tokyo and has chosen to make it his home. Your posts have so well illustrated the city's many charms that he has shared with us.

Travel said...

The food looks interesting, I always to eat where the locals eat.

Jake of Florida said...

Wow!!! Exceeding all expectations.

WFT Nobby said...

I am now wishing your Japan visit were longer, if only to be able to read a post featuring 'Angus's trip to the Japanese barber'...
Cheers! Gail.