OK, I promise, this is it for Japan. There are just some thoughts and images that did not fit into the previous posts and I wanted to share them.
I have mentioned the cleanliness before, but it must be restated. Mainly in the cities it is simply incredible the level of spit and polish. Yes, when you go into the trendy areas where the twenty somethings spend all night drinking and smoking you will see trash on the ground. You have to go looking for it though.
This went for the garbage trucks as well. We never saw one that didn’t have its chrome polished. This was the same for the dump trucks we saw as well. Beautiful.
If you do any reading on travel for Japan you will inevitably find someone commenting or complaining about the lack of garbage cans in public places. We were told the reason for this was the government ordered them removed after the terrorist sarin gas attack in 1995 (Apparently that is where the sarin gas containers were hidden). The fact is there is no trouble disposing of your trash. You put in your bag until you come across a trash container. There are enough.
The other neat thing about their trash is that they burn about 70% of it to produce electricity. It only supplies about 2.3% of their electricity needs, but it beats the hell out of landfill sites.Space is a valuable commodity in Japan and nowhere is that more apparent than in hotel bathrooms. A couple we stayed in you literally had to step out just to turn around. Still they worked and the toilets were awesome. Also, every hotel we stayed in supplied toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, q-tips, cleansing pads, slippers, house coats, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, absolutely everything you need. Certainly lighten the packing requirements.However, where the bathrooms were tiny the advertising was over the top huge. Whether 3D digital billboards or just massive models above restaurants showing off their wares. It was awesome to observe.Once in the restaurants you inevitably were served a small appetizer, whether you want it or not. It served as a type of cover charge. Once coupled with a bit of sake and a beer it was quite acceptable.As always in Asia, the Google translated menus were always good for a chuckle. It did keep ordering meals interesting. We found the majority of restaurants utilized tablets for ordering.Lots of locals dressed in the most interesting ways and were constantly doing selfies.
If you are into extra quests when you explore new countries, Japan is ripe with opportunities. Though we didn’t get carried away we found the specialized man hole covers very intriguing.
We truly enjoyed Japan and look forward to returning one day to explore some of the more out of the way places. For politeness, cleanliness, and efficiency I doubt there is a place on earth that tops them. It is an awesome country.
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