Mom - your question can be easily tied into the next blog that I was writing, so I'll answer it first!
Japan is so clean - and not to mention safe. Public transportation (trains and planes) and bikes are just as popular methods of travel as driving a car. The trains are so clean. I obviously haven't experienced them in hot weather, but in cold weather they are warm - they even heat the seats! They are punctual most of the time. The Japanese philosophy about being on time - they always try to be punctual because they feel that if there is a set time for something, to be late is to be rude and disrespectful of everyone else's time. If you can imagine, I enjoy this philosophy :) This goes for work, dinner plans, trains, and well…everything really.
(adverts on the subway)
Our park is very clean as well - spotless even. You know why? Because there is a very hard working team of people who always are cleaning it. The other day I was walking through one of the more officey type buildings and in one of the stairwells, there were a few people attacking the stairs with toothbrushes - scrubbing every little nook and cranny! I was impressed!
Taxis are expensive here. They are nice cars, they get you where you need to go without having to wait on a train or anything, but they are cho (much) expensive! I don't take them if I don't have to. However, if you go out about about in the city and are out kind of late, it's almost impossible to not take one home. The last subway is around 11:15 or so. If you don't catch that, then you either walk or cab it. My favorite function is that the driver can open up the back door with a push of a button so that you don't have to do it. And another sign of how safe it is in the town is that people can sit up in the front seat if they choose - and there is no divider between that seat and the driver. Coming from America, it feels so much more personal to be in a cab like that than one that's so divided. A strange feeling, initially.
So I suppose this is where your question comes in, mom. I feel very safe in Japan. According to Wikipedia (I know it's not the most reliable source). Their crime rates are considerably low - some of the lowest in the world for first world countries. Now, that's not to say that stuff can't happen. As for our group of entertainers, there are those who go out and have a good time and are respectful of the country that is playing host to them and all of their customs. Then there are others who maybe aren't quite as respectful - the laws and culture are different than America, but they still behave like they are in America - or they maybe think the laws are stupid so they break them anyway (these are all suppositions and hypothetical situations btw - I personally haven't seen law breaking - I've only experienced attitudes of "that's silly so I'm not going to follow it" with regards to rules and regulations laid down in the house or at work. The mentality is more what I'm getting at. Of course the reasons behind the mentality I won't know for sure, but that's how it comes across in those few people who act that way). Those people who choose to behave that way would be the ones who could get into trouble. But, on the whole, I feel like the bunch that we have here is a great one!
As for crime and trouble on the whole, you can rest assured that if something was stolen from you or some wrongdoing was had, it would be somewhat of an anomaly. Japan is so safe that there aren't laws against public intoxication - and what time do bars close down so that people can get home at a safe hour? Some of them not until 8 or 9 am. Now of course one could argue that a whole night of partying is not that safe. :) I, for one, would not recommend it (and almost surely won't try it) merely for the repercussions one would face the next day...and possibly the next. But, when told about the nightlife in Japan and why - unlike so many other countries - there isn't a last call and some bars don't even open until 3am, the only real reasons anyone could give me was that it was safe enough here to do that. This is definitely a country of contradictions and surprises though. I always pictured it as a place where people worked extremely hard and they were very reserved and formal and polite and to a fairly great extent, that is true. Most all of the Japanese that I met are all of those things - maybe not VERY reserved, but somewhat reserved (compared to foreigners).
Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling a bit now. The point of all of this last bit was to say that if you are a good citizen you shouldn't have any trouble. I have even heard stories of people leaving wallets and purses in restaurants or even dropping a passport on the street and either getting it back the next time they went to the establishment or someone picked it up on the street and turned it into the police who made sure that the person got it back. Just the other day, my Cinderella and I were coming home on the train after Magical Starlight Parade rehearsal and she accidentally left a glove on the train. As we walked away, we heard someone raise their voice and as we turned around, a man came up to us and gave Mary back her glove that she had dropped in the seat. The brief ordeal was still long enough that the man could have conceivably missed the train by getting off of it to give Mary her glove, but he did anyway! (and thankfully he didn't miss it).
Alrighty, I'm off to work. More to come soon! In a while, I think I'll have enough material to do a random facts/fun thoughts of Japan blog.
Love you all! Talk to you soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment