Changing Impressions of Japan

My perceptions of Japanese society have definitely changed radically since last semester when I was planning my trip, and from when I first arrived.  I like to think that I was not one of those people who idealize Japanese society—I have long been well aware of the fact that every country has its problems, and Japan certainly has many.   However, there is one impression that really stands out in my mind.  Before I came here, I had several friends and acquaintances who had already been to or lived in Japan.  They all said relatively the same thing: You’ll never be truly accepted by the Japanese people.  You’ll have a great time, but it may also be really lonely.

This made me a little worried, until I arrived here.  How wrong they were, I thought! Everyone here is so eager to be friends.  I certainly made a lot of Japanese friends in my first few weeks here. However, I have since become familiar with the “gaijin hunters” of Kansai Gaidai and I’ve realized that my friends at home were right.  While I have made several wonderful Japanese friends here and I’ve often been astonished at the kindness and generosity of the people here, I often feel excluded and I have come to realize that I’ll never be accepted in mainstream society here. 

I also think I somewhat pictured Japan as a very exotic place before I came here.  I thought it was so different and its customs so strange.  However, I’ve realized that people are pretty much people no matter where you go, even given some experiences that seemed incredibly bizarre to me—such as, for example, having to fill out paper work to retrieve a pair of gloves I had left at a train station minutes before.  The streets of Kyoto start to seem strangely reminiscent of Boston, if you replace temples with churches. 

I think that this lesson has broadened my mind in a lot of ways.  I have made friends with people from all over the world, not only Japan.  I no longer view any one’s habits or customs as so strange, and I think I’ve learned to accept people with all their respective baggage and differences.  I’m really glad I came to Kansai Gaidai.  Some experiences were bitter, some were sweet, and I don’t think I can say anything about this semester was truly disappointing.  Thank you, Kansai Gaidai!

Sightseeing in Japanese Culture

Something that has really interested me ever since I came to Japan is the way that Japanese people flock to their own historical sites and sightseeing attractions.  As for me, I have always felt that Americans tend to somewhat neglect their own landmarks.  In my hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, we have several tourist attractions—museums commemorating the witch trials, wax museums, fortune telling, even a world famous art museum.  However, it kind of seems as if no one is interested.  Some Americans will travel to Salem to see them, but most of our tourists are foreign and those of us that live in the town are somewhat less than enthusiastic. 

I’ve been to several Japanese landmarks since I’ve been here.  In Kiyomizu-dera, I had to fight against crowds of tourists—the grand majority of them Japanese—to take pictures of its world-famous view, or to drink from the wishing fountains. 

At Kinkaku-ji, it was almost impossible to get a picture of the temple because there were always tourists blocking the view—again, most of them Japanese. 

Most of these attractions have also been very commercialized (this is not exclusive to Japan, but it is interesting).  At Ginkaku-ji, you could buy anything from bookmarks to cell phone charms of the famous temple.  Lots of Japanese tourists snapped photos of themselves posing with their traditional peace-sign pose.  At Kinkaku-ji, there were vending machines selling soda and Hagen-daas ice cream.  Even the bright yellow Omikuji machines at the temple seem kind of out of place—neon yellow and metal next to stately wooden temples. 

It’s not only old ladies and school children on trips who frequent these places—they’re very popular date spots as well.  And yet, the younger generation doesn't seem too interested in the history of these places--they mostly just want to snap photos and buy phone charms.  I went to Kinkaku-ji with a few Japanese friends, and we passed by a waterfall that looked as if it was a bit special.  I asked them if there was any significance to it, and they just said "Uh... it's a waterfall? We have no idea."  I wonder why this is.