From China to Japan and Back Again

I have been under the largest pile of marking one can imagine and I emerged from it just in time to take a breath, pack my shit, and fly to Japan.

Okay, I can’t contain it any longer.  Japan.  Aaaahhhhhh.  What an amazing breath of fresh air.  I’ve heard about culture shock before and some might think I would be an expert on it, but I have never experienced anything like this.  Maybe the fact that I was coming from China has something to do with it, and maybe if I had come from Canada it would be different, but I do believe this is the first time in my life I have actually been aghast upon arriving in a new country. 

The first thing I noticed was how clean the streets were; SO CLEAN.  Then I listened…nothing…I see cars, people, more cars…no noise.  It was like instant Zen.  Such a huge contrast coming from a country where people believe that their car horns can speak for them: “I am not stopping!” or “I am driving up beside you!” or “Me first!”  Sometimes I imagine that the cars are saying, “ME, ME, MEEEeeeeeee” because that is how people are in China: everyman for themselves.  In Japan, it feels like everyone has collectively decided to keep the peace, and no one fucks with the serenity.    

The next thing to note is the kindness of the people.  The Japanese have a greeting, that I will not butcher here, that translates to, “please be kind”.  What a beautiful way to begin an interaction!  The bowing and the open displays of respect that I encountered were so calming and appreciated.  I still feel the tranquility of it all.  Even today after I got groceries back in smoggy China, and this woman gave me the most disgusted look I think I may ever have seen I just laughed because she is the one who is ridiculous; not me.   

I never once felt stressed or anxious in Japan.  We saw signs that said, “Please do not rush” and so we didn’t.  There is no stress around the trains, once you know where you’re going, because everyone lines up, and the train won’t leave until everyone is on board.  There is no pushing or shoving or getting your elbows out.  I had to be reminded by my friend to get in line because I am so used to crowding into the front.  If you don’t get in the mix in China, you are the chump who does not get on the train.

I am tall in Japan.  All the little old ladies made me feel 6 feet tall.  On a bus one day in Kyoto, this little bitty of a woman was on a crowded bus and could not reach anything to hold onto.  My friend offered the woman to hold onto her arm, and she did.  She held on the whole way and it was so heartwarming. 

When we got to Osaka, there was a shift in the energy of the place.  Kobe and Kyoto had been serene and peaceful, but Osaka is full tilt.  There are so many people crammed in and we finally got to see the other side of Japan.  My friend is living there teaching yoga and you can see that the place is wearing on her.  Traditional culture feels far away as you walk by the myriad of malls and neon signs.  

Walking past the “escort bridge” was quite an experience.  There are female escorts and male escorts and they are wearing the same amount of make up and skimpy clothes.  Slot machines ring incessantly and you can’t even imagine how much someone would have to pay you to walk into those rooms with endless rows of machines, lights, noise and smoke.  Yes, there is still smoking indoors.  In most places you are not permitted to smoke OUTDOORS, but please, take your cigarette inside where the people are crammed in.  At this point, I remember that I’m still in Asia and some things never change. 

Still, amid the madness there is stillness to be found.  My yoga teacher friends took us to their classes and it was amazing that you can shut all of that out and focus again on the breath.  I think the work they are doing there is so important for those people who are just working their way to death.  

She says that it can be frustrating to teach yoga to the Japanese because they are never bothered.  Or, at least, they never let you know if they are bothered.  They are raised to be perfect, and to be quiet from a young age.  Outward displays of emotion are not common and it may be the reason there is such a high rate of suicide in Japan.  Their bodies are lithe and the physical asana part of yoga comes very easily to them.  However, they treat it as something to achieve and be the best at; like most things.  So, the more subtle components of yoga: the awareness of a collective consciousness and the self, and the energetic shifts which people experience with this practice of Ashtanga are lost on them.  Instead they approach the yoga from a vapid space and miss the incredible gifts that can come out of the practice.    

On the whole I felt like I had a very round experience of Japan.  I marveled at the culture from the moment I arrived to the moment I left and I feel incredibly refreshed.  It was sad to feel it slipping away from me in the customs line at the airport when a Chinese man pushed his way in front of me.  Normally I would ignore him, but we were not back in China yet, so I got out my scolding finger and I said, “Boo hao” (no good!) and he reluctantly let me keep my place in line. 

When I did arrive the spitting was the first thing I heard.  We were still on the plane!  The next 5 people I encountered were rude to me in a way that makes me feel small and hopeless about the future of our world.  It is hard to come back to China after being in Japan.  

Resigned to my address, I set out in China to get ready for the week with my toughest of skin on and something unexpected happened: people were somewhat nice to me.  The begging woman outside of my café was appreciative of my 5 jiao instead of scornful.  The girls at the checkout counter wanted to practice their English and thought I was cute.  My cab driver had his windows down and was singing at the top of his lungs without a care in the world.  It was kind of a fabulous day, even though I had written off Chinese culture as my last choice on this earth.  

I was convinced that the Japanese were the only kind people and that I would dread my dealings otherwise.  I was pleasantly surprised today and so, even though I do not aspire to their cultural beliefs as I do the Japanese, there is kindness too in China.  It was so cool to be able to compare those two countries in that way.

The same way that I came away from India with a slight head bobble I have come away from Japan with a small bow.  I hope to keep it.  It feels good and it is a small way to spread kindness in the world. 

I bow to you, my friend.
Another bow to you, and one more, and okay, last one…one more.