Our Overseas Trip

This June holiday is a special one. We spent the first week holidaying in Osaka, Japan. We have waited so long for an overseas trip and this is our first one as a family after so many years (not counting travelling to Malaysia). The trip was not a very much anticipated one because it was a last-minute decision to travel to Japan and I have also always envisioned a holiday trip with the children as one to either Australia or New Zealand. It turns out to be an enjoyable and fruitful trip. It is an eye-opener for the children, as they watch and observe how people from another culture live. We were left with a deep and positive impression of the Japanese's living habits. They have impressed us as organised, polite and purposeful people.
The train system in Japan is excellent. Their trains ran smoothly, and even if there were delays, announcements were clearly indicated on the sign boards, with the length of delay. At the train stations, people lined up patiently and orderly. Japanese do not have a no-eating rule in their trains but their trains are clean. They dispose their litter in respective bins - recycling is a culture in Japan. Not only that, we are impressed by their responsibility to clear up their utensils after their meals, cleaning up after their own mess! They are not messy to start with. One thing that I am most impressed with is how different people take up different roles in the society. There is no need for liberal imports of foreign labourers. From cleaning of the streets, washing of the toilets, construction, factory operations, administrative work and service industries, Japanese are the ones who do the job. It is amazing that they do not give excuses such as labour shortage or 'no one wants to do the work' in order to bring in foreign talents or labourers. Female crew manned the boats that we rode in and old people swept the streets.
Japanese demonstrate child-like innocence, in the way they showed joy and excitement at Universal Studios Osaka. Cute decorations or stuffed toys are greeted with 'kawaii' and a great smile. I love observing the Japanese, who often demonstrate their child-like innocence so spontaneously.
Japan used to be a leader in technology and innovation, but it has been outshone by the Americans. However, a visit to the country still proves to be an eye-opener for us. Visiting the toilets is a learning journey in itself. It takes me a while to figure out how to use the flush and the bidet. Even the toilet roll holder has some gadget that neatly replaces the roll after the first one is used up.
Not knowing the language proves to be a disadvantage. I believe if I have understood the language, I would have appreciated their culture even more. There are so many things that we can learn from the Japanese.
The boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves despite the long walks each day. The trips to the zoos, Nara deer park, aquarium will be something that they will remember for a long time. They spoke about returning to Japan soon. Even my husband, who is often critical, is full of praises for Japan and desires to return.
Hubby and I went to Japan in 2001 but this trip with the children seemed more meaningful than the first. The excitement over feeding wild deer is now twice as much as we had as a couple. We have created memories as a family.