Saturday, November 03, 2007

The Japan Diaries - 1


The last couple of months have been hectic and draining. Gathering Requirements from a Japanese client can be as difficult as getting the Left Parties to change their ideology. But now, having finished my work in Japan, and being in the fag end of the project with very little work, I finally got some time and enthusiasm to update the blog. There is a lot to write especially about my travel to Japan. As always, I have a lot of observations which have resulted in a lot of opinions and comparisons.
Being in Japan was like being in a different world altogether very different from the one that we have been born and brought up in. It seems difficult to believe that the country has made such rapid strides in the last 60 years. But the biggest difference that came to my observation was the people. Never in my life before have I come across people so polite and respecting. Not even once, in my three months in Japan, did I encounter a single incident of any person even talking in a raised voice to another let alone the question of witnessing a fight or a brawl. Japan does not have a history of non-violence (samurais and the world war 2) and this behaviour of its people really stumped me. But I had to accept it. They are the most well behaved and courteous people that I have come across till date.
As for the country, it has everything that you expect a developed nation to have. Good Roads, unlimited power, a very effective public transport system to name a few. Now to mention a few downsides, the first one would obviously be the language. English is still a language which very few in Japan know or understand. It is not even a second language in schools from what I have been told. So any foreigner has a very difficult time in communicating and if it is a long stay in Japan, learning the local language is necessary. The next will be the expense. Tokyo is a very expensive city and the general well being of the people has spiraled the prices of everything there.
In short, I found Japan to be a small and a quiet place with a world of its own untouched by the world outside with its own language, culture and heritage and offering its people a life full of security, independence and worry free environment.

1 comment:

Mitali Bansal said...

wow...sounds like a world of dreams...so peaceful...!!!