Welcome to Japan

We've been in Japan for about 6 days now. I think that qualifies us to share some of our experiences as typical 'foreigners'. We're not actually considered visitors or tourists here, but foreigners who aren't aware of the rich Japanese culture or, um, 'way'.

The learning curve has been pretty steep. It was only after day 5 that I started to feel like we were getting the hang of things, and it was largely because I equated our experiences here like being long term visitors at another family's home. A family who is far more fastidious, strict, and well, foreign than ours/yours. I feel compelled to pick up after myself everywhere we go and research rules about the most common social situations. Things like not pointing with your chopsticks, and not waving around your umbrella (things you wouldn't normally do anyway) are actions we seem to have a heightened awareness of.

Our initial goal when we arrived was to try and blend in as best we could. An impossible task really, and one not worth stressing about. We realized pretty quickly that attitudes towards Westerners, particularly Americans range from indifference to adoration. In particular, kids under the age of say 15 or 16: they love America! We were stopped at least a dozen times between our travels to Nikko and Kamakura earlier in the week to answer questions for school aged kids who were tasked with trying to speak English with anyone they could find in these tourist dense areas. As soon as you describe where you're from, eyes widen, and gasps run through the group of 10 kids huddled around you. Then you tell them that you're from near Boston or New York City, and it gets even more fevered! I've never felt more like a rock star, knowing that I'm not even remotely close to being a rock star.

So far, we've spent almost 4 full days in Tokyo and two day trips (by train) to Nikko and Kamakura earlier in the week. We've got a two day excursion to Kyoto planned for Sunday and Monday, with likely side trips from there to other outlying areas. The weather started hot and humid, pretty much like any other summer day back home. Right now, we're in the middle of a two day torrential rain storm, which has grounded most of our outdoor activities. You can only see so many Tokyo Shopping complexes after all...

I'm going to make some additional posts about our experiences with food, travel, and anything else we think is interesting or noteworthy for other travelers like us that know hardly any Japanese but are anxious to experience another, very foreign culture.