I would like to start this piece by assuring everyone that any analytical attempts to explain an entire country, its millions of people, its culture and centuries old traditions, based on a four day stay in the same one location, are purely accidental. For I am not truly analysing, but I am simply narrating our experiences and recounting our impressions and personal opinions, likes and dislikes, without forming any judgment.

This was very much our first time in Japan and to be totally honest we were not quite sure what to expect. Nor did we do any in-depth research before travelling except for a few informal chats with a couple of friends. There are always two sides to a coin and for me this is akin to reading all about a movie before watching it. It does give you loads of information, but also tends to take off that edge of surprise and discovery. We have had the opportunity of traveling far and wide and I really feel comfortable landing anywhere on earth with very little preparation and simply taking it from there. For me this is also part of the fun, whilst on the other hand there was many a time when I thoroughly researched a destination, with exact details of restaurants, sites, etc., only to be disappointed and end up doing my own thing in a different way anyway once I’m there. So in many ways both methods can work well.

And of course Japan is one of those places you hear so many weird and wonderful things about. It sounds from afar like a different planet where everything is done in a totally different way. You hear of samurai, ninjas, geishas, tea ceremonies, maid cafes, schoolgirl uniformed waitresses, dragons and hobgoblins, although admittedly the last one of these is more from the Irish side of Japan.

And then you go there and no there aren’t samurai vs ninja battles at every street corner. Actually there aren’t any at all. The only couple of geishas we encountered were standing outside a temple charging dumb tourists money to take a photograph with them. And although all of what I mentioned above does truly exist in Japan, it is a bit like expecting to see A-list celebrities everywhere when in LA, or running into the queen on Oxford Street, or again meeting milk maids everywhere in Holland, if you get the gist.

So we get there and move around as normal, unknowing and relatively uncaring tourists would do. We see the sites, ask around and generally do and see what comes our way, which I assure you is a great way to travel. If nothing else it allows for total objectivity, no bias or preconceived ideas and no particular expectations at all.

By far the most stunning and pronounced aspect of Japan is the exceptional politeness, kindness and helpfulness of the people. This is way beyond belief and really taken to the extreme. You are very humbly greeted by everyone, saluted with never ending singsongs whenever you enter or exit a building, people jump in very keenly to help others, it is all quite surreal really. We saw people virtually fighting on the underground to give each other their seat, others pushing and shoving to help an elderly person carry a heavy bag. We had half the personnel of a metro station falling over themselves to give us a few cents refund after we accidentally purchased slightly more expensive tickets. Policemen walk with you for miles to show you the way. From all the people we encountered in four days, I cannot remember having met even one single individual who was not excessively and exceedingly polite in every possible way.

And yes there are even times when it can verge on being too much. Their greetings and salutations go on and on forever and are always uttered in a sloppy and screechy singing way. When leaving a shop you have gathered your purchases, walked away from the cash point, gone all the way to the front door, exited the building, start your way down the road outside and they are still at it and you can still hear them continue their singsong rant in your honour – really! In the large department stores there are always two or three staff members strategically positioned next to the main doors who constantly and incessantly just sing out their greetings by repeating the very same phrases over and over again, without as much as taking a breath in between. This was a case in fact which even verged on the annoying.

But so many a time we just looked at each other in total amazement and wondered where the rest of the world went wrong. I will leave out Russia, where unfortunately people are generally of the extreme opposite demeanour and which only heightened our delight and disbelief when encountering such wonderful politeness. If we take Europe in general, be it Malta, Italy, France, the UK or any other country, there is absolutely no comparison and one is even unable to equate. Because the extent of their politeness permeates literally everywhere, including places which in Europe are certainly not associated to extreme friendliness, such as public places and offices, airports, supermarkets, taxis, metro stations and even the average person in the street.

This in turn links up very directly and effectively with the matter of communication when you’re there. Very few people speak any English and the ones who supposedly do, and this includes the staff at our luxury hotel, speak it vely badry and can hardly be understood. There are quite a few signs and notices in English, but then again most are only in Japanese. Their intricate transport and most other systems require several Ph.D’s to even start to understand the concept due to their complexity. But you know what, as they are all so keen to help you and to go totally out of their way to assist, it really doesn’t matter so much. They all somehow overcome their ignorance of English by trying so hard and often even by rummage up a small crowd of passersby who collectively would know each individual word of the required sentence. So we just became super lazy and didn’t much bother with maps and metro plans and how to get places and do things. We just head straight into the street and literally asked our way around town. With the metro too which can at times be quite daunting, the easy way out is to go straight to one of the attendants, inform them of the station you want to travel too, hand out some coins and let them work the ticket machines.

We had the dubious occasion of visiting two different red light districts, being Kabukicho and Roppongi. These areas are also major tourist attractions, as are so many red light districts around the world, excluding Albert Town in Marsa. So I assure you that we were only window shopping and both these areas are amongst the best evening locations for dining and for all types of entertainment, from the cleanest to the smuttiest. I have yet to learn why many of the pimps there were black American ‘gentlemen’, many of whom, in stark opposition to the local pimply pimp variety, looked like they were related to Mike Tyson. The girlies themselves, were exactly that. Little girlie innocent looking very modestly dressed anything but prostitute looking young girls, and all Japanese. Yes I properly checked that they weren’t Korean or Chinese or Taiwanese, is all about the angle you know…. Now I am sure that they were all well above legal age but all being so tiny and petite and having those white porcelain like faces, they always betray their true age.

So as we warily waded through big black hulks, little Japanese pimplets and even littler prudish looking miniature hookers, we were very politely greeted, propositioned, suggested and proposed. They offered different options, invited us in and out, over and under. They very caringly enquired what a nice couple like us might desire. Because walking around with my wife didn’t in any way stop them and they seemingly had many a ‘fitting’ option to what we might want. But the whole surreal experience was full of smiles and gentleness and loving care. And with each refusal they received from us we were invariably gracefully bidden farewell and a nice evening and thank you for passing by and for giving us the opportunity to propose our esteemed sexual fare. Now when in a country where even the pimps and the prostitutes are so perfectly polite, you really and truly know that this is a polite people indeed!

We also must keep in mind that Tokyo is by far the most populated city on Earth. The population of its urban area is around 38 million, which compared to the population of entire countries would put it in 36th place out of 256 nations! It has a population higher than Canada or Australia, all packed into one massive city and there are many places where you distinctly feel it, such as the famous and iconic Shibuya Crossing where up to 2,500 pedestrians cross in each two minute interval and up to one million people a day! But then again there are many parks and gardens and secluded corners all over town and right in the centre where Tokyo actually feels like some sleepy county town. So the crowds and the madness can be easily avoided and many a beautiful, tranquil garden exists.

On the other hand one of the drawbacks of such a huge city is the time it takes you to get in and out. Based on this fact we decided to stay put rather than venturing out to Kyoto or beyond. The main airport Narita alone is over 60 kilometers from the centre and takes around one hour by express train. We enquired about taxis but these cost around € 250 each way, so we wisely decided to spend these € 500 on more pleasurable stuff.

After all the trains such as everything else, are spotlessly clean, organised and efficient and run perfectly on time. Cleanliness everywhere is hard to beat and the word immaculate instantly comes to mind. In fact a strange point we noticed is that it is very hard to find any thrash cans anywhere in public places and this was not a wild impression. This might sound contradictory to cleanliness but it seems that they have even gone beyond needing bins as nobody would ever dream to throw away anything on the ground. We also clearly noticed that in public places nobody tends to eat or drink and that this is always reserved to the obvious places such as kiosks and cafes. The complete and exact opposite to Malta where people seem to be always stuffing their face with one thing or another and at every possible opportunity.

Another interesting feature is that there are so many different centres of activity unlike so many cities which only truly have one main hub. In fact Tokyo has many districts, all with their own buzzing centre and with their specific characterisations and specialities. Some are known for mainstream shopping, or for specialised shops, others for temples and sights, some for offices, others for parks and walks and also those for nightlife and entertainment. So in many ways it is nearly like many cities fused into one. The convenience and practicality of this as a tourist is that all you have to do is head to the centre of a different district every day and automatically explore something different each time.

These were our very first impressions of Tokyo which could only be summarised as great! A truly interesting place with so much to do and see and graced by about the gentlest and politest people on earth….

… more to come on Tokyo