Cultureshock– ourwhollynatural
alarmat a newenvironment,with
newpeopleanda newwayoflife- is themedicinethatmakesus
bettertravellers,andbetterpeople.
WhenI landedinOsaka,I
quicklyrealisedthatnocornerof
lifewasleftuntouchedbyJapan’s
dramaticdisparitytoeverything
myunsophisticatedWesternmind
knows.BeforeI’devenleftthe
airport,I’dreluctantlyconcluded
thata Japanesetoiletis smarter
thanme.A Japanesetoilethas
greateragility,musicalabilityand
dedicationtohygienethanthe
averageAustralian,Americanor
European.Kneelingformyfirst
traditionallunchona riverboat
cruise,I thoughtI knewabout
Japanesefood,butrapidlyrealised
thatno,I knewa bitaboutsushi,
whichis muchlikeconsidering
yourselfanexpertinItalian
cuisinebecauseyou’veeaten
pizza.Andtravellingbypublic
transporttomyhotel,surrounded
bysuchmass,standard-issue
Japaneseserenity,sleeknessand
stoicism,I lookedlikea panic-
stricken,red-facedhothead,a John
McEnroetoeveryoneelse’sBjörn
Borg.I haveneverfeltmoreIrish
thanI didinJapan:disorganised,
dishevelledanddisruptive.
Yes,it chafedtobesoill-fitting
in my new surroundings, but I
Annais a travel
andlifestyle
journalist,and
authorofthe
travelmemoir
Departures.
@annadothartfoundmyselfwide-eyedwith
disbeliefanddelightaround
a hundredtimesa day.I knew
I’dbethrilledbyJapan’sclassic
sights:theShintoshrinesinKyoto,
theretina-searingneonlightsof
Osaka’srestaurantdistrict,the
traditionalryokanandonsenin
Wakayama.ButI hadn’tanticipated
beingmoved, nearlytotears,by
theroadsignsresemblingadorable
cartoonanimals.(Suchwidespread
commitmenttocuteness!)When
I ordereda “cloudcoffee” ina
café outofcuriosity,I neverin
mywildestdreamsenvisageda
suspendedclumpoffairyfloss,
meltingslowlyintothemug,sugar
dropletbysugardroplet.Why
haveanordinarydrinkwhen
youcanmakeit extraordinary?
I spenthoursina 7-Eleven
“Conbini”,becauseconvenience
storesfunctionascommunal
kitchensinJapan,withtop-notch
onigiriinthefridgeandstuffed
yakisobabunsandhotdrinksin
thewarmingcabinets.(InJapan
theyhavehot-drinkcabinets
aswellasregularcoldfridges.
Howmind-bending!)
Thecherryblossomfloating
intheairwaspretty,yes,butfar
moremagicaltomyeyeswerethe
easelsliningcanals,as children
andadultsalikepainstakingly
paintedwatercolours.(How
quaint!It’sasif Netflix,Instagram
andWhatsApphadneverbeen
invented.) A traditionalmatcha-
teaceremonyis mesmerising,
certainly,butI didn’texpect
thesamedegreeofreverence
andritualtogointothe
preparationofa $5bowlof
ramen.InJapan,virtuallynothing
is madewithoutloveandcare.
Therewereculturalshockwaves
thatdidn’tdelight,ofcourse;
thelovehotelsmademesad,
eventhoughtheycombinetwo
ofmyfavouritewordsinthe
Englishlanguage.Thebrutal
workinghoursandlengthy
commutesacceptedbyevery
“salaryman” made me realiseFeelinglike a
fishoutofwater
forcesus tolaugh
atourselves, itnips
emergent prejudices
in the bud.myownwork-lifebalanceisn’t
quiteas shoddyasI thought.It
wasratherdepressingtorealise
thattheKyotoConventionand
VisitorsBureauis havingtotake
boldstepstoreducethefootfall
oftouristsintheheavilycongested
former-geishadistrictofGion.
Buteverydayofmystay,Japan
aggressivelyshookmeoutofmy
comfortzone,andopenedmyeyes
tothefactthatthereweredifferent
waystodoeverything: a different
waytoeat,a differentwaytorelax,
a differentwaytohavea coffee,a
differentwaytocontroltraffic
congestion,a differentwaytogo
tothetoilet.Everyhour,I learnt
somethingnew,andquestioned
mydefaultwaysofdoingthings.
SoI’llalwaysbegratefultoJapan,
forteachingmehowmuchI still
havetolearn.Andforreassuring
methatI’llnever,ever be immune
to culture shock.●GOURMET TRAVELLER 107The art of travel
ILLUSTRATIONS GETTY IMAGES.