Japan. Well it was great. A mix of ultra-evolved and organised and slowly distilled ancient traditions. Many things characteristics of the Japanese are like the English, but even more so. They are:
- polite: "thank you", "you're welcome", respectful of personal space, champion queuers
- obsessed with drinking tea (green though)
- obsessed with having the perfect garden
- crazy about fashion and not afraid go to extremes and to stand out like a Manga character
- living in a cold, wet country!
There are differences of course. The place is so clean I never once worried about what I was eating or the loo I was visiting, for the nth time. I've never seen so many real Louis Vuitton bags (in Tokyo). If looking good is near the top of the Maslow triangle the Japanese are at the peak: the men and women are impeccably dressed.
The food was a real challenge. Japanese food is not very salty or sweet and can often be slimy in texture. This means it is very healthy: tofu, noodles, miso soup. But can be difficult for breakfast! And after a while you start to crave different things. Fortunately, I can blame my pregnancy on what I craved: double cheeseburgers!
My mum, my yoga teacher, my Japanese enthusiast friend and many others would probably make their equivalent of the sign of the cross hearing this. But that's what I wanted. Fortunately for me, McDonalds is highly present in Japan and my hubby was more than happy to accompany me in my cravings. Blasphemous it can feel when you're visiting a country (but this guilt just increases the pleasure) but American invaders like Starbucks really allowed us to find a dietary balance and not go cold noodle crazy.
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