Early Impressions of Japan!!!

Japan, Japan, JAPAN! - Delicious food, spectacular nature, vivid traditions and mesmerising culture..... all of this in one single country, a country full of possibilities, able to please anyone who dares to step on its territory……

This was precisely what caught my attention in the first place, urging me into getting on a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight (KLM Boeing 777-200ER to be precise) and coming here to explore more of this incredibly diverse country.

KLM Boeing 777-200ER- my plane from Amsterdam (the first photo taken upon my arrival in japan)


So, “How exactly DID I imagine Japan before coming here?”

Well, I guess I could say that I imagined Japan to be packed full of Geishas and Yakuza gangs hanging around on every corner of the town, pachinko slots on every major street and a lot of sushi restaurants… But then again I would probably be lying…

The truth is that Japan for me, for some unapparent reason has always been a place of peace and harmony, disregarding the fact that there is indeed a large number of Yakuza operating in the country and that crime rates are slowly on the increase. Nevertheless, after one week of living in and exploring the area, my expectations of this nation turned to be surprisingly correct.

Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine

As I expected, I encountered a vast amount of the infamous “karaoke places”, various temples and shrines in the area, and of course “ the” conveyor belt sushi restaurants (回転寿司, kaiten-zushi)))… I have always craved to try a “real” Japanese sushi prepared by the Japanese in Japan, not a random sushi made of unknown and suspicious looking raw fish made by a Korean guy in England… Makes sense right?

Anyway, my first ever sushi restaurant experience was near Hirakata Station (the annoying thing is that I still can not remember the name of the place, although I have been there at least 3 times)…

Sushi restaurant near Hirakata Eki

From the outside the restaurant looked rather… well, let’s just say I would never go inside, if it wasn’t for my friend who really insisted that this was a nice place to eat in. I pressed the button on the wall and the wooden automatic door slid to the right. We walked in, and straight away we were warmly welcomed by all the staff working in the premise. At the time I just couldn’t believe it, I mean how often in western countries do you see/hear the waitresses and the chefs shouting to you at the same time across the whole restaurant – いらしゃいませ( WELCOME)?

We sat down and I was told that in Japan before starting a meal one has to say “いただきます-itadakimasu”( which literally means “I will humbly receive [this food]” ) and after the meal “ごちそうさまでした- gochisōsama deshita”(Thanks for the feast). We drank a cup or two of hot green tea and just enjoyed the sushi tasting experience. I must admit that it was the best sushi I have ever eaten, even though it was only my second time (^-^). After paying the bill, we got a rather warm farewell on the way out of the restaurant. I was absolutely astonished by the behaviour of the personnel working in the restaurant.

I always knew that Japan was full of politeness and had its systems of etiquette and manners, but I never would have imagined how ever-present and important these are here.......

SM