Little Acts of Kindness in Japan.

On my month-long trip to Japan, I realized my notions of Japanese people – and the country in general – were mostly wrong.

Here’s a confession: Before I set out for Japan, I carried a lot of preconceived notions about the country.

Based on the movie Lost in Translation, I wondered if Tokyo would be too chaotic and overwhelming. If I would struggle to adjust to the unique culture and connect with the seemingly rigid locals.

Based on blogs I had read, I anticipated spending a fortune on food and mainly eating out of supermarkets.

Based on conversations in Facebook groups, I imagined I might starve as a vegan.

Based on quirky stories I read online, I foresaw waiting at the airport luggage belt to see that my bags had been thoroughly cleaned by the airport staff!

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Quirky Japan – Japanese people sometimes carry their teddy friends to see sakura!

In this digital world, our minds are flooded with impressions created by others. Some of them turn out to be true, many of them don’t – and that was the case with Japan too.

Personally, I think that’s the beauty of travelling – it helps us break stereotypes, challenge popular perspectives and form our own impressions. And that’s exactly why to me, Lufthansa’s campaign – “Say yes to the world” – is so meaningful.

Also read: What Solo Travel Has Taught Me About the World – and Myself

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Japanese people | Learning about Shintoism in Japan.

Time and again, little acts of kindness during my four weeks in Japan made me see Japanese people in a totally different light than I initially expected.

The night before I set out for Japan, I serendipitously ran into Katsuyama san – the owner of Bonita Cafe and Social Club in Bangkok. He had moved to Thailand from Japan several years ago, and is a passionate vegan himself!

When I shared my apprehension of travelling as a vegan in Japan, he immediately opened his laptop and spent a good fifteen minutes typing out a personal (and polite) note in Kanji (the complex Japanese script), explaining what I could and couldn’t eat. His note gave me confidence, but more than that, his instinct to help without a second thought assured me that I’d be just fine in his country.

Also read: Vegan (and Vegetarian) Friendly Cafes and Restaurants to Indulge in Bangkok

Tokyo subway, Tokyo rush hour
Japanese people | The Tokyo metro at rush hour. Photo: Tim Adams (CC)

The orderly chaos of Tokyo’s subway intimidated me at first. Will I like this country? I wondered as I dragged my bag among multitudes of people rushing to their stations.

At the obscure metro station closest to my ryokan, there was no elevator or escalator going up. So I slowly began lugging my bag up (too lazy to convert it into a backpack), when an elderly businessman, dressed in the ubiquitous navy blue suit and in a rush, stopped and gave me a hand. How could I not like that country?

Also read: Why Travelling in Japan is Like Nowhere Else in the World

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A Japanese friend contemplates Ume, the plum blossom.

While on assignment for Japan Tourism, as I visited my first few Shinto Shrines, my mind was filled with questions about Shintoism – Japan’s indigenous faith – and how Japanese people practiced it.

These days, Shintoism and Buddhism co-exist in Japan more as a way of life than deep teachings to contemplate. But observing my curiosity and unable to answer my numerous questions, my guide called a friend who still holds Shinto purification rituals and patiently translated our conversation. Just so my curiosity could be quelled.

Also read: Secrets Behind Some of Japan’s Most Intriguing Traditions

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No one does sunsets like Japan.

On the train from Osaka to Kyoto, I was tired after a long day out and quite annoyed to find no empty seats. So I just stood there blankly, amid the sea of Japanese people.

That’s when a random conversation broke out with Chizu san, a young public health student who was standing next to me. We spoke of Japan and her studies. When she heard my name, she immediately made a connection to Shiva – the angry blue god she had seen in her mother’s book of gods from around the world! Oh, and her name Chizu means a thousand presents from god.

Also read: My Million Reasons to Love Turkey

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Japanese people | With Tamo san in her guest house / home.

In the small town of Aso on Kyushu island, where we spent nearly a week exploring its stark volcanic landscapes, our hostess Tamo san (of Guest House Asora) invited and drove us to a local festival at the neighborhood Shinto shrine.

To the sound of hypnotic drum beats, the priests rather fearlessly swung fire-lit haystacks around their heads, then invited the public to do the same. It looked pretty intimidating, so I stood in a corner watching the show from a safe distance. Tamo san got me a stack of hay, led me by hand to where it was to be lit, and left me no option but to start swinging it. And I’m so glad she did, because it was incredibly fun and totally had my adrenaline racing!

Also read: An Unfinished Affair: Places I’d Love to go Back to Someday

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Japanese people | Teruyuki san, in a secret forest with yellow wildflowers.

I landed up in an obscure little village of 30 people on the Kansai countryside, hoping to visit a village where three local women, each over 90 years, still ride motorbikes!

Unfortunately the road to their village is under repair and I didn’t get permission to visit. Sensing my disappointment, my host Teruyuki san (of Satoyama Guest House Couture) asked me to hop into his car and drove me to his favourite, secret spots on the countryside. A 7th century wooden Buddhist temple, a 1000-year-old horse chestnut tree, a cedar forest where wild yellow flowers bloom like fire at the onset of spring. Thanks to him, I got to experience far more of the Kansai countryside than I could have hoped.

Also read: Four Years of Travelling Without a Home

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Feasting on a vegan tofu platter in Japan.

At a guesthouse in Tokyo, our local host was amused when I explained my vegan lifestyle. But when I woke up, he had experimented with a vegan breakfast feast just for me: tofu steak and miso soup with seaweed dashi! Yum. And he was so impressed with his experiment that he decided to officially include a vegan option in his breakfast menu.

Also read: Why I Turned Vegan – and What it Means For My Travel Lifestyle

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In love with the Japanese countryside.

While cycling alone on the Kansai countryside, I needed to use a washroom desperately but there were no public loos in sight. When I spotted a post office, I figured I might have some luck and rolled my bike into the compound. A man was hanging around at the back, and I asked if I could use a washroom – and he thankfully let me in.

I later realised it was Sunday and the post office was shut. The kind gentleman had let this stranger use the washroom in his house. Just like that.

Also read: 17 Incredible Travel (and Life) Moments of 2017

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Cooked up this vegan feast with newfound Japanese friends!

I serendipitously landed up in the home of Naoko san and Noriko san in Osaka to learn about macrobiotic vegan-friendly Japanese cooking. Although they weren’t offering a cooking class on my only available date, Naoko san made an exception and invited me to join their family for a meal, despite our brief communication online.

I’m not much of a cook, but I learnt the secrets to some of my favourite Japanese dishes. Vegan sushi, creamy tofu and the most incredible avocado seaweed salad.

Amid the warmth of our conversation in their traditional tatami room, I couldn’t help thinking how different Japan had turned out from anything I had imagined. For there I was, relishing home-cooked vegan food, with a local family, talking about our lives like long-lost friends…

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A local cycles past Matsumoto Castle.

What are your impressions of Japanese people? Has travelling changed your perception of any places around the world?

Note: I wrote this post as part of Lufthansa India’s ‘say yes to the world’ campaign. Opinions on this blog are always mine.

Plan a trip to Japan:

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42 Comments

  1. Yes, the people of Japan are quite hospitable. Proud and humble. Loved this blog.

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      For sure! I was surprised, amused and grateful!

  2. Japan is a really nice place to visit to. Hospitality is great there and if you’re a big fan of food, there’s no other place like Japan. By the way did you live in any heritage property there?

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      Indeed, even as a vegan 😉 I stayed in an old ryokan, and a couple of houses that were about 80-100 years old!

  3. Happy to hear incredible things about Japan. I have never read such experiences before, Shivya. Thanks for writing it for us.

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      It’s a country worth spending time in! Hope you get to experience it yourself someday 🙂

  4. Oh yes! My recent travel to Kashmir changed so many perceptions. The way media, people, news project it, is so different. Warm, hospitable, ever-smiling, helpful people, vegetarian food, salubrious climes – if thats not enough to fall in love with a place, then what is.

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      Sounds blissful, Poonam. Can’t wait to experience it myself one of these days!

  5. You have got many positive experiences from Japan and her people. From my experience, I know Japaneses are polite and humble yet very punctual people.

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      I guess the punctual-ness applies more to the corporate culture 😉

  6. This was a great read Shivya – I’ll be honest I pretty much have the same impressions of Japan as you had prior to your visit but your post is seriously making me rethink Japan’s priority in the places I wish to visit 🙂

  7. This was a great read Shivya – I’ll be honest I have the same impressions about Japan as you had prior to your visit but your post is seriously making me rethink Japans priority in the places I wish yo visitt 🙂 For me a change happened when I visited Lahore at the age of 21 . I realised how much media and governments disrupt ground reality and how people of Pakistan are not different from me and others around me. So now, when shit happens, I do still get angry, but that anger never spills over to the country and it’s people in general, and at times I find myself even defending the people there. So yeah, travel can change perceptions massively, I couldn’t agree with you more 🙂

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      I’m yet to visit Pakistan, really hope to make it there soon!

  8. I’m also a solo traveler. I have travel more than 15 countries and Japan is one of them. There was an amazing experience while travel to japan. People of japan were so kind and helpful.

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      That’s amazing! It sure is one of a kind.

    2. Hiraeth india says:

      Japan also has around 1100 national treasures and 13000 items of cultural significance.

      Japanese culture such as “Samurai”, “Ninja” and “Tea Ceremony” that are well known

  9. Japan is such a nice place to visit.Also Japanese are very polite and humble also they look so cute and innocent.

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      It is an amazing place to visit 🙂

  10. You are just marvelous, you narrate your stories, in a very decent manner and it cost a lot much. Really enjoyed a lot while having a read of it. Thanks Ma’aM.

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      Thanks Shubham; glad you enjoyed reading it!

  11. Thanks for sharing this. Always great to know that people are very accommodating when it comes to different food habits. Japan is one such nation that even vegetarians aren’t so confident of finding their food but your post inspires confidence.

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      I’ll be sharing my detailed guide to being vegan / vegetarian in Japan soon!

  12. Chinmay Joshi says:

    This blog has created a positive perspective of Japan in my mind breaking the stereotypes. The narration is so perfect that now Japan could never be off my travel list. Thank you for inspiring me.. I look forward to read more of ur blogs

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      Glad Japan is on your travel list – it’s an incredible place to experience!

  13. “…that’s the beauty of travelling – it helps us break stereotypes, challenge popular perspectives and form our own impressions. ” I truly believe in this; thanks for sharing your Japan experience 🙂

    1. Shivya Nath says:

      Thanks for reading 🙂

  14. What a wonderful experience! You write so eloquently about it, it makes me feel as if I’ve enjoyed these adventures right alongside you. You also seem to have mastered the art of slow travel, really immersing yourself in a place, interacting with locals, and venturing off the beaten path.

  15. I’m also a solo traveler. I have travelled to more than 15 countries and Japan is one of them. There was an amazing experience while traveling to japan.

  16. Beautiful, Shivya. I try to keep an open mind about new places and experiences, but it can be difficult to shut out all the stereotypes we’re assaulted with! You’ve definitely helped break down some of those stereotypes about Japan. I love especially hearing how accommodating your hosts were to vegans — that’s so heartening!

  17. Wonderful post, Shivya. Congrats on your feature on WP today which led me to your articles on Japan. I am traveling to Japan soon and your insights are terrific.

  18. Thank you for sharing Shivya. In fact, this is the bliss of being at your place and doing your thing (like, in your case, travelling): you automatically attract the right kind of nearly everything. People, sites, events, occupations, possibilities, even food… they all tend to open from their most attractive side. Anything becomes possible.

  19. It may seem exaggerated but i really cried when i am reading this post i dont know why mostly coz of envy thats strangely warm.My longing for travelling got bigger

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