Japanese Life: Notable Experience

While looking at my old photos in Japan, I found several unique, distinct and noteworthy experiences that are definitely worth sharing. It can be the things that caught my attention while traveling around the beautiful city of Nagano. Or the activities I did with my foster family. It might also be Japanese actions or cultures that, in one way or another, contributed to their country's success. It might be nothing for us but its really something for them.


SELF SERVICE GAS STATION:
Have you ever imagined a well-respected corporate employee wearing coat&tie gassing-up and washing their own cars in the gas station? Well, you will find a lot in Japan. Self-service gas station are a little cheaper than gas stations with gasoline boys. However, looking it long-term, if you finish one full tank in a week, one can really save hundreds of money in a do-it-your-own station.  Just lower your pride a little. I also had my share of becoming a gas-boy fueling our car while preparing for the following day's big activity: Tokyo Disneyland trip.

Filipino Gasoline Boy

Waiting for full tank

Fashionable Japanese cleaning their cars

SNOW CLEANING:
For countries with 4seasons, it is inevitable not to have a snowy day. And when there is snow, most especially heavy snowfall, the roads are really slippery. Its already slippery when there's downpour, how much more with iced snowfall? So the families would usually use winter tires especially designed for winter conditions.  This type of tires have different rubber composition so that it would have better traction on snows and wet roads. The government would also deploy big tractors to clean the snow on city streets and highways. But how about the residential streets? The families also have their share in cleaning the roads. It's a big sacrifice for the families but a very selfless act. You have to go out on a very cold weather, shovel the snow and set it aside to secure the safety of the people passing by whether they walk or with car.


It's quite unusual for me most especially that we don't have snow in the Philippines since it is a tropical country. And I didn't thought about it until I tried it on my own. Here are some of our photos cleaning the snow.

Snow Cleaning: A sunny but very cold day

Snow. Snow. Snow.

The snow are frozen on the ground already

Oops! We were the last resident to clean the snow. Sorry!

INDEPENDENT KIDS:
During my 1week stay in Japan, I learned the lifestyle and the daily schedule of my foster family. As you know from my previous posts, I have foster sister, Mai, 12yrs old and foster brother, Haruto, 9yrs old. And they are a very good example of independent kids.

Here they are: Mai (12) and Haruto (9)

Now, what do I mean by independent? They walked around 45min everyday going to and back from school together, or sometimes with their neighborhood friends who attend the same school with them. Yes, you get it right, 45min, to and fro and it's everyday. They are also aspiring swimming Olympiads -- looking forward for the 2020 or 2024 Summer Olympics.  Having said that, they swim 5kilometers on weekdays and 10kilometers on weekends.  People don't even walk that far everyday, how much more swim? They are in the pool 2hrs per day, and 4hrs on Saturdays that would sum up to 14hrs per week plus occasional swimming with family on Sundays.

Olympic Swimming Pool used during the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics

Another one, they can be left home alone when their parents are out. And I mean even just one of them can be left in the house alone for sometime during the day without any problem at all. And they even write on a paper what they did when everyone was out. Lastly, they also prepare their own food when they're hungry. Yes, you read it right, they prepare their own food. No wonder why they are very resilient. And in case you forgot, they are just 12yrs old and 9yrs old. WOW! So cool!

Haruto slicing his own sausage

And with a good comparison, I have 2sisters, 13yrs old and 8yrs old back in the Philippines. My mom would always bring and fetch them from school everyday. They never experienced being left in the house alone. However, they are willing to stay at home, just watch television or play but always with someone at home, And my youngest sister doesn't know how to prepare her own food yet, thought the older one knows already. 


I don't know if my foster family's lifestyle is unique or really normal in Japan. But based on what I observed and the stories I heard, kids in Japan are really independent. Really amazing!


LOCAL LIFE:
I have travelled around the city like a local and I have quite a lot of observations among the people.


The citizens are very civilized in public. They are very silent, use space that is just enough for them, and always think of the others. Also, they are very order and organize. They make sure to fall in line and never cut in lines. Even to their things, it's all put in place. The city of very peaceful.

Nagano City, Japan

Nagano Station Grounds

Nagano Station

Not to mention about Japan being one of the safest country in the world. If you leave something somewhere, whether intentional or unintentional, I can guarantee that it would be untouched or returned 99.9% of the time. Unless, some really bad guys would eye on the item or a kleptomania (someone who has irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value). I guess its not just your day if you are a victim of stealing Japan!

A very peaceful day

Hundreds of bikes parked

I don't know if you've read the article about the items and cash lost in the aftermath of the tsunami last March 11, 2011 and were returned to the rightful owners.  The government has gathered $30 million worth of money/items turned over by the citizens who found it on the streets. And to think, some of the things found are thousands of money, very expensive jewelries and signature apparels but they still return it.  

Remarkably - since residence of the tzunami zone have scattered across the country and even the world, 96% or nearly $29.6 million in cash, has already been returned to its rightful owners, or if authorities feared the owner had died in the disaster, their closest relative. -Arata Yamamoto, NBC News Producer

WOW! Imagine, 96% of the $30 million dollars were returned.  It's million dollars. Not just a small amount. And according to the article, the reason why not all of the money was returned is because residence are nowhere to be found anymore. 


If you want to read the article, click here: Japanese find millions in lost tsunami cash - and return it.

JAPANESE TRADITION:

Japanese also save their tradition in tact. I'm not quite familiar about the Japanese traditions but I can say that it is very in tact. They celebrate very important event in their tradition and history each year.  And they spend thousands of money for very significant days in the life of the person.  The same way as filipinos celebrate debut at the age of 18, the Japanese girls also have their 'debuts' called Seijin No Hi or the Coming of Age Day at the age of 20. 

Too bad I was not able to witness the celebration because I left Japan on January 7, 2012 and the Coming of Age Day fall on January 9, 2012. I was 2days short of the big event for Japanese ladies.

A Japanese family preparing for the Seijin No Hi celebration

The Coming of Age Day is celebrated to congratulate and encourage ladies who have reach the age of majority over the past year and celebrated adulthood. Unlike in the Philippines, filipinas would usually celebrate it on their birthdays, Japanese ladies across the country would celebrate it on the 2nd Monday of January wearing their traditional kimonos.  By the way, kimonos are very expensive that could reach as much as $10,000 USD depending on the materials used.

A beautiful Kimono

More Kimonos

Lastly, they also put importance on traditional Japanese dolls for collections at home. And as a collector's item, these traditional dolls can be very expensive as well depending on the significance of the dolls.

Japanese traditional dolls

More traditional dolls

More snowy day and night photos:

One of the residential areas in Nagano

Outside one of the many shopping areas in Nagano

Well, these are some of my observations in one of the most advanced countries in the world. It just amazed me a lot! Really! I hope to have these kind of citizens back in the Philippines and we can be like Japan as well someday. I'm really hopeful and very positive of our country :)