Firefly in Japan on the Your-Japan Blog Network

I’ll share another Japan anecdote with you. My parents came over to visit at one point, and they were staying in a decent hotel in Shinjuku. Much the same way as I did, and the same way as many foreigners coming to Japan, they were struggling with the language barrier.

They had a bit of trouble getting around, and they felt a bit lost without my help and assistance. So anyway, I met my father one day at lunch, and he told me what happened to him that morning :

<Dad sits down in Lobby, reading a paper>
<A helpful member of staff comes over>
Staff : Good Morning Sir !
Dad: Oh, good morning.
Staff : Can I get you something to drink sir? Tea or Coffee?
Dad : Uh, no thank you. I’ll wait until my wife gets here.
Staff : I understand sir !
Dad : Thanks.

3 minutes later, the Staff came back, and with a smile, he placed a large jug of hot water on the table in front of my Dad.

Staff : Enjoy, sir !
Father : *stunned and confused* Uhh, thanks,

To this day we still don’t know what happened. Mysteries of life*.

*(but of course, just another day in Japan!).

Today I’m going to focus on some positive, fantastic things about Tokyo that I personally greatly enjoy.

• "Irrasshaimase". The greeting you get when you walk into a shop or place of business. Said correctly, it is very warm, welcoming, and creates a fantastic environment.
• Sensitivity towards others. Tokyo is a very small place - you live very close to other people, and no matter where you are, there are always several thousand Japanese in your vicinity to share the experience. As a result of this, a majority of Japanese people are extremely sensitive and empathetic towards other people. This is a very endearing and fantastic trait that people in other countries would do well to learn.
• Honesty. It’s very nice to have something returned when you lose something. If I lose something overseas, I immediately resign myself to the fact that it will not return. However, if I lose something in Japan (which rarely happens, since I’m a careful person), most of the time, all I need to do is wait. If you lose a wallet, chances are good that it will return… WITH any money that was inside.
• Service. Best service in the world. Bar nowhere. I have an incredible amount of buying confidence - I know that almost anything that goes wrong will be fully supported and fixed until I am completely happy. Even when such services mean that the shop is now selling to me at a loss. Incredible.
• Food. Japan has really good food. Healthy, tasty, refined, and generally reasonable.

I believe Japan to be a country of extremes. There are many things that are so fantastic, it just blows your mind. I could talk about this all day. Then, there are things that frustrate and anger you, that put you in a bad mood for days. As a positive person, I tend to focus on the first category.

Interestingly, I find that things that used to make me really, really angry, don’t affect me any more. A real life example - I went to dinner with a friend, and I was expecting another friend soon. Here is the conversation between the restaurant guy, and me.

Me : (Japanese) Hello there, table for three please.
Restaurant Guy : Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Me : (Japanese) : Er, there is another person coming soon.
Restaurant Guy : Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Me : (Japanese) : Um… are you ok?
Restaurant Guy : Uhhhh…. Umm… I no speak…. English… Uhhhh
Me : (Japanese) : Pardon ?
Restaurant Guy : Uhhh.. sorry. No English. Uhh…. Sorry.
Me : (Japanese) : Thats ok, I’m speaking Japanese.
Restaurant Guy (pained facial expression) : Sorry…. Ummm..
Me : (Japanese) : Whats wrong with you? I’m speaking to you in Japanese?
Restaurant Guy : Ummmmmm, very, very sorry…. please wait
Me : (Japanese) : No, I wont wait, I want a table for three. Give me a table right now. Aaarrrggh.

I used to get really worked up about this. I spent so long studying Japanese and practising my language skills, why the hell cant this guy understand me!!??!? Recently this happened to me again, and I noticed my response was totally different.

Me : (Japanese) Hello there, table for two please.
Restaurant Guy : Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Me : (Japanese) : No smoking is best.
Restaurant Guy : Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Me : (Japanese) : Oh, I’m sorry. (slowly) Is there someone here who speaks Japanese ?
Restaurant Guy (Japanese) : Um.. what? Umm, Japanese? I speak Japanese… !
Me : (Japanese) : Great ! Table for two please. No smoking.
Restaurant Guy : Ok!!

Isn’t it interesting how your reactions change over the years, and they way you adapt to certain situations evolve?