Shake hands? No! Smile and bow? Yes! That is the Japanese way. Alternatively, try a namaste and get back a namaste .
This modern, developed nation is steeped in its ancient culture. If it is skyscrapers and bullet trains that come to mind while speaking of Japan, think again. See the cherry trees in full bloom during March and April and the families and friends picnicking under them and celebrating Sakura .
As for punctuality, the Shinkansen bullet trains, metro, buses and trams are exact to the minute. Public transport is the backbone of commuting in any city or town. And traffic is manageable even in as big a city as Tokyo.
Japan’s capital prides itself on its 13 metro lines with good connectivity and easy transfers. I never heard a mobile phone ring on any of my journeys. If people get a call, they go out, if possible, speak and return to the seat. Of course, smartphones are almost universal. People are busy looking at or working on their phones, lost to the world, even when standing in a crowded train. Some read books or magazines.
No honking
On streets, one can smoke only at designated spots. Needless to say, traffic signals, including pedestrian crossings, are followed strictly at all hours.
Drivers are polite enough to make way for pedestrians. I didn’t hear honking anywhere. Tokyo has many cyclists who follow the traffic rules strictly.
What impressed me most was the cleanliness. Even small towns, narrow lanes, parks, gardens, any public space, buses, metro coaches and railway stations are spotless. Bins are provided for paper, plastic, metal and glass waste. In some places, combustible and non-combustible waste bins are provided. I watched with interest a young girl walk purposefully towards a waste bin at a railway station and drop litter in it carefully.
Ageing but fit
I met a friend of mine, an Indian settled in Kyoto, a university professor, married to a Japanese. His mother-in-law, 83, goes regularly to the gym with her friend who is 90-plus. That is the fitness regimen men and women follow.
“It’s an ageing nation,” my friend rued about the declining population. In a few years, 40% of the population will be over 65. He was all praise for Japanese discipline. “They follow the law strictly and so the police don’t have much work.” He was impressed by the work culture. “Japanese hate to do a bad job; they’re ashamed if they do so.”
I visited Hiroshima where the first atom bomb fell on August 6, 1945. The grim reminder of that fateful day is the Atom Bomb Dome. The day I visited was Sakura . People sat quietly enjoying a picnic lunch under the cherry blossoms. There was no music, loud talk or boisterous behaviour.
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