Lost in Japan

In writing a post about travelling to Japan, it is so easy to slip in to clichés. I have just got home from my third trip there. Each visit has been short – a work trip with little recreational time. Each visit has been just long enough to be dazzled, confused and mesmerised by the place, but never long enough to really begin to know it.

I saw Lost in Translation some time before my first trip to Tokyo. It is one of my favourite films – the tale of romance between the characters of Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson was superbly portrayed. I was also amused by the images of Bill Murray as a traveller – although I had not been to Japan, I do travel a lot, and the sense of disorientation that Murray conveys in the early scenes had me both laughing and understanding.

And Japan is one place where the jet lag really gets me. I have no idea why. Unlike the movie, my wide awake scenes are not conducted in hotel bars consuming whisky, but rather in the hours before dawn, waking at 3am or so, and wondering what to do until breakfast.

This trip I went out for a run one morning to while away the hours. There was a huge park marked on the map – a magnet for me. Navigating the streets, I readily found it, only to discover it completely locked up. Surrounded by high fences, this park only opens from 9:00am til 4:00pm, and has turnstiles. Even if it had been open, I did not have 200 yen in the pocket of my running shorts…

Back to jogging the streets and the occasional bemused glance of early morning commuters. One of these trips I will get the hang of Tokyo.

But the highlight of the trip was undoubtedly the flight home. I discovered I was sitting next to two Japanese flautists on their way to Europe to give a concert. Neither Ayako or Chikako (pictured above) spoke much English, but they were equipped with a phrase book and electronic translating gadget, and we more than amused ourselves trying to understand each other.

Mind you, the phrase book really raises the question of the Japanese perception of the rest of the world. In working on how to convince Japan to give up whaling, I have thought about this quite a bit, and it remains a great challenge. But the book had some great ‘everyday phrases’, such as “I am crazy for you, can I kiss you?” and “I have been in love with you since I first saw you”. Who ever said the Japanese where shy and retiring! (And no, I was not subjected to these phrases, they were just in the book…)

Shane