First Impressions of Japan

I can hardly say these are my *first* impressions of Japan because I have come here twice before. However, these were only for 2 week school excursions so I can hardly say I'm a master of the Japanese culture. Nonetheless, there are still aspects of life in Japan which I have not yet seen, or which still confound me.

One thing I must say I am still impressed with is the food here, particularly in the cafeteria at the uni.

 

This here is the kakeage don with miso soup and a glass of water. In total this was about 340 yen, that's about AU$4. It's so incredibly cheap! And it's all healthy too - you would never find this sort of stuff at the cafeterias back in Australia. Even if you could it would be rather pricey and you'd be better off buying an unhealthy sausage roll. 

Even the portions they give you are generous for the pricing. Back home I would estimate this meal to cost perhaps AU$12, or 1000 yen. And back to my sausage roll comparison, the cheap AU$3 sausage roll you'd be better off buying over the AU$12 healthy kakeage don  is very tiny - perhaps the length of my hand (which is rather small). The larger, more substantial sausage rolls are even more expensive at around AU$5 (400 yen). Yet even this larger sausage roll doesn't compare in quantity to what I have here with my kakeage don. And needless to say, the kakeage don is much more healthier too.

My second impression on Japan which I shall post here still amazes me. Japan is incredibly grey. I'm sure the wintery sky and weather doesn't help, but the buildings are all drab shades of grey or off white, and there is little vegetation to be seen. Every so often I come across some of the newer houses which are more brighter shades of brown and these are very pleasing to the eye in the midst of a completely grey backdrop. As for the vegetation, even the green colour looks dull to me.

It's as if everything has been precisely planned and there's no room for colour and fun. Everything seems to be very angular. The houses are all square, the cars are compact like boxes, and even the greenery is planted in a square plot of land. In fact when I think about it this actually reflects the Japanese culture. There is a saying 'the nail that sticks out gets hammered in' - meaning monotony is preferred.