A Tourist in Japan Part 1

Osaka
Arriving at Kansai (Osaka) Airport was remarkable. Passengers are moved from the point where they arrive to the main terminal by an electric, elevated train. This was a new and agreeable experience to us, although I am told that there are a few other airports which use the same system. Another novelty was the absence of jackhammers, cranes, detours, temporary walls and other evidences of construction. We had apparently arrived at a point in the airport’s history when the latest expansions had been completed. We had reservations at a hotel in town but did not know the best way of getting there. A very helpful woman at the terminal information desk told us that the hotel was next to a train station on a line directly connected to the airport, and directed us to where we could buy our tickets. We had a choice of an expensive express train or a more reasonable ‘limited’ express and chose the latter. This meant that we had a chance to see what turned out to be the industrial suburbs, interspersed with many tall apartment blocks, a few agricultural plots, greenhouses and individual houses in the traditional style. The absence of parks and playing fields made it quite a depressing landscape.

Our room in the expensive hotel to which we had been directed by our tour was modern, spotless but small. Contrary to what we had been led to believe, this was the only time that accommodation seemed unreasonably priced. Although fabrics used for curtains and chairs were very attractive, the walls were entirely bare. The desk drawer had a copy of the New Testament in English and Japanese in side-by-side columns, and a volume entitled The Teachings of Buddha in the same style. The bathroom was also immaculate including a toilet that had an electronic ‘menu’ by which it could be converted to a bidet. I decided that this was much too complicated after a long journey and postponed exploring the full range of its possibilities. In the evening, we took a walk through the commercial neighborhood in which our hotel was located, and found Chez Luc, a small French restaurant with a Tricolor planted next to its front door. Assuming that we would be eating Japanese food for the next several weeks, it seemed quite a logical choice for dinner. We went in and found a few tables as well as a bar at which a number of patrons were seated. When the menu arrived, we were surprised to find that it was entirely in Japanese with neither a word of French or English. Fortunately, the chef who spoke quite good French acted as our translator. We had been confronted and perplexed by some kind of ‘menu’ twice in the space of only a couple of hours! The dinner was very good and cost somewhat less than it would have in Montreal. Much later we were told that French-speaking customers rarely frequented this district, and while the food was French, the restaurant was intended for Japanese customers only.

By the next morning, the entire tour group had assembled. The nine other participants were Australians as was our leader, Ian Perlman. Ian had worked and lived in Japan and was not only fluent in Japanese, but also had a very genuine affection for the country, its history and culture. He took us on a long walk starting out from the hotel and ending in a taxi ride back. The very heavy bombing to which Osaka had been subjected during WW II and my observations from the train combined to lower my expectations of the cityscape. I was pleasantly surprised that I found the city lively, full of energy and quite attractive. Zoning laws exist but are not rigidly enforced. One walks through streets with a great variety of buildings, of varying sizes a few painted in a variety of colours. There are semi-circular balconies, some outside staircases, slanted roofs and brick veneer — dark red, dark yellow or white. Bricks cannot be used structurally because even small earthquakes make brick walls crumple. In some neighborhoods wood is used as building material, but only for up to three storeys, and is treated to give it a dark and antique look. The highlight of the walk was a Shinto shrine at a street corner of a fairly busy commercial street. This installation, the size of a large living room, was a mini-park with two trees and a number of ornamental bushes. One entered it through the traditional Shinto portal which consisted of a somewhat curved horizontal beam supported by two posts leaning towards each other at a slight angle. Often there is a straight beam a distance below the curved one. At the left was a small shed with a fountain with several cups attached to handles. These cups can be used to pour water into one’s mouth as a symbol of purification. As an alternative one can wash one’s hands under the stream of water as it comes out of the fountain. The altar at the center of the shrine was devoid of statuary or pictures. Whatever calligraphy there was present was lost on us. We did see candles and metal collection boxes with slots where one could pay for lighting the candles or make a monetary offering. Near the altar hung a thick rope with small bells attached directly to it. When this rope was pulled, the small bells tinkled, but the rope was not connected to a large bell located elsewhere. Ringing the bells and clapping one’s hands is a ritual originally used to alert the gods that someone ‘down here’ needed their attention. Lastly, we noticed a very thick rope, twisted and made up of many strands, lying on the top cross beam of the portal though which we had first entered. This, it was pointed out to us, was symbolic of the ties between people on earth and the many gods above. We were told that Shintoism was the indigenous and only Japanese religion until Buddhism arrived from China around the 6th century A.D. Shintoism is a birthright in Japan and requires no action on anyone’s part. One may participate in its observance as one wishes, or not at all.

Next, most of us went to see the rebuilt Osaka castle located on a hill, not far from the hotel, but the best part of the rest of the day was the walk through Osaka’s restaurant and entertainment district on our way to dinner which had been pre-arranged. The neon lights of the major arteries and even the cross streets were spectacular. It was like many Times Squares at night, strung out in linear fashion. Ian had decided that we should sample as many dishes of Japanese cuisine as practical. Most of these were excellent and were washed down with a number of pitchers of Japanese beer and topped off with Sake. Tea was also served but dessert was not. The bill for each participant was very modest reflecting the fact that it included whatever taxes had been imposed, and that tips are not customary in Japan. On our visit to Australia a number of years ago, we got the impression that Australians knew how to enjoy themselves. The first dinner together in Osaka confirmed that impression and ended our stay in Japan’s second largest city on a high note.

November 2004