A Week in Japan

I'll be honest with you: I've always been skeptical of Americans who are obsessed with Japan. I've run into quite a few people like this, and I've always felt a bit confused about them - I figured that they must feel very out-of-place in America indeed for Japan to seem an attractive alternative. Sure, it made sense that Japan is intriguing in an alien, weird sort of way - but that alien-ness rendered me incapable of identifying with a desire to move there.

Japan seemed so culturally opaque that in my ignorance, I was blind to any of its purported redeeming qualities. Indeed, I reckoned that any such redeeming qualities had a very long way to go if they were to rectify the alien-ness of the place.

That was how I felt until December 13, 2015, when I arrived in Osaka for the first time. Now, I'm happy to report, I get it. I really get it.

After a very long night of travel-induced slumber, I awoke to the most beautiful, functional, modern urban landscape I had ever seen, and it was filled with the loveliest, gentlest people I could have wished for. I had never seen this combination of truly modern city with truly friendly and apparently happy people.

The public spaces were simply incredible! Walking from my hotel to my conference center, I was shocked at the concessions made to pedestrians - the sidewalks were often wider than the streets, and there were trees everywhere! In America (with exceptions, certainly), big built-up urban areas often feel rather dead to me, if not downright scary. In Osaka, on the other hand, I was never alone, and I never felt unsafe. Every place I went felt like it had purpose and that it had been well cared-for.

So, here's to Japan. Different, perhaps alien, certainly. I suspect it would never feel like home to me. But for all that, I loved my time there and I would recommend a visit to anyone - and maybe you'll get a chance to "get it" like I did.