Our First Impressions of Japan

Tokyo City View Flickr photo by かがみ～ shared under a ​Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) License

First Impressions of a country can sometimes be wrong. We sure hope our First Impressions of Japan aren't! Skiing in Japan was always on our list for 2019 but we didn't really know what to expect. Japan was unlike anywhere we have travelled before and our brief experience in the country left us with a longing to explore it some more. 

Impressions of Flying in Japan

Our first impressions of Japan started during the check in process for the Japan Airlines Flight. The polite staff inquired if we would like to check our bags. The bewilderment of finding something actually included in our plane tickets was like being tasered! The royal treatment continued with the lovely warm towels before supper, a delicious meal and all the wine and beer a person could want. We checked our boarding passes to make sure we hadn’t accidentally purchased a first class ticket!

10 hours after take off we landed in Narita airport in Tokyo. Human behaviour on a plane can tell you a lot about a culture, and the Japanese did not disappoint. The entire airplane waited in the seats and we didn’t hear anyone unbuckling their seat belts while the plane was taxiing. When the unmistakable sound of the seatbelt sign went off, the sound of 175 people unbuckling at the same time sounded like something out of a Stomp show.

Within seconds, like a giant game of ‘whack-a-mole’ programmed for all the gophers to rise at once, the entire plane load of passengers was standing! Performance art at its best.

We were worried that the language barrier would make navigating our way around airports a challenge. What we should have been losing sleep about was if we could scan our boarding pass while walking through the scanning station quickly enough.

I recommend for anyone who works for a North American airline to spend some time watching how efficient and effortless it is to load hundreds of people on a plane in Japan. Not only did it take about ¼ of the time it takes at home, but the staff took the time to bow, and smile politely at people as they walked on.

About that language barrier - no worries because these smiling, bowing staff were also walking around with a sign (in multiple languages) stating what group was currently boarding what flight! No obnoxious loud speaker comments and thinly veiled threats of the flight leaving without you. In Japan - I suspect the plane really WILL leave without you if you don’t arrive on time.

Impressions on taking a bus in Japan

Our reading had told us that time works in Japan - that is schedules are accurate and can be relied upon. We experienced this first hand on multiple bus rides in Tokyo and on route to the ski hill where our friends were waiting for us. At one point we wondered if we were in a line to get on a ride at Disneyland. There were lines painted to stand behind on the pavement, flashing lights on the signs and helpful people making sure we got to where we were going. We both kept our eyes peeled for a walking mouse singing It’s a Small World...

Our impression of staying at a cheap hotel in Japan

Japan is not an inexpensive destination but these increased prices come with some added bonuses - like Onsens. An Onsen is a large vat of hot water - typically spring fed. Our cheap hotel near the New Chitose airport in Sapporo was our first exposure to this thing of beauty. It was lovely and peaceful to unwind in the hot water and get ready for the day while washing away the stress of flying across the world. The towels were comfortable and the slippers provided by the hotel were padded!

The hotel also provided delicious free coffee (which was actually delicious), and a continental breakfast. There were lots of extras available for guests, like books, and games. For a while we thought the hotel was also offering a bread maker which seemed to be quite popular to many of the guests. Neither of us could figure out why people were making bread in their room so I asked someone. Dehumidifiers look a lot like bread makers!   

General First Impressions about Japan

Obviously these generalizations after only a few short days in the country don’t do justice to the depth of a place. That said, first impressions are important (isn’t that what we tell every kid before their first job interview?!). We found the people we met in Japan to be polite, helpful and pleasant to converse with, even if we did not share a language. It would appear that society as a whole has common sense and a strong consideration for each other. This attitude appears to be  built into the daily lives of the people of Japan.

The skiing was awesome, and our brief glimpse of the lovely countryside cemented in our minds that these islands are a definite ‘do-over’. We have talked about returning during the summer months with our bicycles. I would love to see much more of this exotic place. The people and the attitude of kindness is so refreshing.

I cannot wait to return!

Have you been to Japan? What did you love about it? Tell us in the comments below. 

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