Travel Day
Today there is not much to report as we spent most of the day traveling from Hakone National Park to Kanazawa. We took the famous bullet train first, and then changed to a regular train for another 3 1/2 hours to get to Kanazawa. The bullet train is really something. You are assigned a car and a seat and stand on the platform where it is marked for your car. When the train arrives there is exactly 2 minutes for passengers to disembark and those on the platform to embark. The Japanese are the most polite and organized people I've ever observed. Everyone lines up on the platform in row number and waits patiently for passengers to leave the train and then quietly, politely and very quickly gets on the train. And at exactly two minutes the train leaves! It was great to be on a train that was going so fast. Makes me ever more annoyed that we can't get a decent rail system in our country. It is such a civilized way to travel. Even the regular train that we were on for much longer was a great experience. Immaculately clean, comfortable, quiet, efficient and on time. When we arrived in Kanazawa we got taxis to the hotel, got settled in our rooms and then went to the local market which is right across the street. Our hotel is right next to a major shopping area with a huge department store opening into the hotel lobby. The basement of the store has an amazing food bazaar with all kinds of food and restaurants. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant and then I took a walk to a Shinto shrine just up the road from the hotel.
The weather is brutally hot. Today it was pushing 100 degrees and the humidity was high. The next few days promise to be just as bad if not worse. Predictions for 100+ degrees by the weekend have us concerned. It's really uncomfortable to walk around outside in the middle of the day. Much as I love hot weather, this is a bit much even for me!
Some observations about Japan and the Japanese:
This is the cleanest country I've ever visited. You could eat off the city streets! Everything is immaculate no matter where you go. Public facilities are spotless, well maintained and comfortable. The trains are clean and more comfortable than any public transportation I've ever taken.
Japanese people dress well. The men are in the ubiquitous black pants and ironed white button down shirt with tie, whether they are business executives or taxi drivers! The taxi drivers not only dress like business executives they wear white gloves when they are driving the cab. And the taxis, like everything else here, are immaculate, both inside and out. Women dress up in dresses, skirts, fashionable shoes, matching accessories...I haven't seen anyone as casually dressed as most Americans. "Business casual" does not seem to exist here.
Obesity is not an issue in this country. Japanese are the trimmest, fittest looking people I've seen anywhere.
The Japanese are exceedingly polite, well mannered and clearly socialized to consider other people before themselves. The narcissistic "me first" culture of the West does not exist here. They are also socialized to obey the rules. In the cities, I have noticed that when waiting to cross the street, they wait until they get the "Walk" light even when there is no traffic coming in either direction. They simply do not step into the cross walk until the light turns green, even when they could do so safely. Quite a contrast to New York City, for example!
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