Japan: Through the eyes of a Nigerian

It all started with a letter I dropped with Mr John Nwanko at the Japanese Embassy in Abuja who asked me to drop my email address and mobile telephone number. Few days later, we began exchanging phone calls and emails which culminated in the issuance of a visa by the embassy and e-tickets detailing my […]

It all started with a letter I dropped with Mr John Nwanko at the Japanese Embassy in Abuja who asked me to drop my email address and mobile telephone number. Few days later, we began exchanging phone calls and emails which culminated in the issuance of a visa by the embassy and e-tickets detailing my travel itinerary from Abuja, through Lagos and Dubai, to Tokyo.

Landing at Narita Airport

I arrived in Tokyo in the evening holding only my medium-size travel case and a small purse containing my passport and other immigration-related documents given to us before landing at the Narita Airport. I have earlier been told that by the time we landed an English speaking guide would be waiting for me at the arrival gate holding a card with my name written on it. That did not happen. So I quickly obtained some coins and called the number given to me to contact in the event that I did not see a guide at the airport. And few minutes after speaking with Ms Yuki Fukuda of the Foreign Press Center Japan, I outside the airport waiting to board a chartered bus to Daiichi Hotel, situated in Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Indeed, stepping through the doorway leading out of Narita airport was an introduction into a whole new world.

From the airport, it was about an hour ride to the hotel. And even though it was already dark by the time we got into the bus, the streets were well lit – in fact enough to pick up your pin without much hassle. We drove past street signs written mostly in Japanese. The city looked tidy and clean with no visible sights of litter or trash cans. Most of the cars are also very small and compact, very unlike what we have here in Nigeria. I also didn’t see any accidents even though I saw so many using their phones as they drive. But somehow I didn’t get to ask whether it is allowed or not because the Japanese seem to respect the law.

By the time we arrived at the hotel some minutes past 10pm, Ms Fukuda was on hand to receive me. She apologized for the ‘inconveniences’, led me into the hotel front desk where I collected a key to my room and bade me good night, with a promise to see me together with all the invited journalists the following day. Once inside my room, I became confused as to where to start from. I had missed prayers on transit and jetlag had set in. Somehow, I managed to observe my prayers without even trying to find where the qibla is. Seconds later I was in bed.

The following day at 9:30am, I came down to the hotel lobby and met the rest of my team members: Hani (male) from Saudi Arabia, Najla (female) from United Arab Emirates, Javaid (m) from Kuwait, Rita (f) from Lebanon, Mekkonen (m) from Ethiopia, Reham (f) from Jordan, Innocent (m) from Gabon and Gizem (f) from Turkey. It was after that encounter that I realized why I couldn’t meet any guide when I arrived at the airport. All members were at the arrival gate at the same time, and the guide thought it unwise to keep eight people waiting for one person.

Japanese etiquette and more

The Japanese, or rather the ones I came across, are very friendly and always smiling. From cleaners to drivers, and even the police – I did not see a single police officer in Japan without a communication gadget just as you find a police car at almost every major junction in Tokyo – seem happy doing their work.

From the materials given to me by the Japanese embassy in Nigeria, bowing is not only common in Japan but very important. It has many functions and can be done to show respect, appreciation or just greeting. So when someone bows to you, you are expected to at least return it. I really cannot say how many times I bowed from the airport to my hotel.

The crime rate in Japan, according to one of our guides, is low. This, she said, explains why a woman can go out alone at night without fear of rape (though they occasionally happen) or robbery. But the suicide rate is also high and a policeman is more likely to use his gun on himself than on someone else, which I find difficult to fathom. But Javaid thinks the answer is not farfetched. “In Japan, it is like the entire population is working for very few individuals. If a business is not owned by Suzuki, then it is almost always Daihatsu, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda etc,” he said.

Japanese dishes

I had my first encounter with Japanese food during a lunch with the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria Ryuichi Shoji back in Abuja. I really enjoyed the meal and the company of the ambassador, the embassy’s Political Head Shinichi Maruo and secretary Ryoji Tsuge at the lunch. But as it appeared after arriving in Japan, what I experienced in Abuja was only a tip of the iceberg. The Japanese love food and their cuisine offers variety of dishes which can be raw (I ate raw fish four times and I enjoyed it), steamed, boiled, grilled, or deep fried. It is not uncommon for instance to see ‘cooked’ beef with traces of blood. Breakfast is in most instances a buffet, so there is always something for you to eat. Again you don’t go into the dining area with your shoes on, and there is always someone to ensure that you respect that tradition.

At a lunch hosted by Mr. Masaru SATO, Assistant Press Secretary/ Director of International Press Division, MOFA at Hibiki, Akasaka, and dinner hosted by Toyota Motor Corporation at their guest house, we were treated to a wide range of Japanese dishes and I ate almost everything that came my way. I was not bothered at all because, apart from giving the embassy my food and drink restrictions of ‘no alcohol, no pork’, the things you eat are always listed on the menu, and you can strike out the ones you don’t like.

I also enjoyed the dishes from sushi to sashimi, which can be a  main course presented with rice and miso soup in separate bowls or tempura which is mostly seafood or vegetables battered and deep fried. I will also not forget soba, a thin noodle, served chilled. And “When you eat noodles in Japan,” a top Toyota executive told me at the dinner, “it’s perfectly OK to slurp them. In fact it is very common to hear the sound of slurping around places serving Japanese dishes.”

Dishes are always accompanied by green tea, black tea or coffee.

Religion in Japan

Religion is almost nonexistent in Japan save for occasional sights of Buddhist monks or their temples scattered around Tokyo. In fact, not for once did I see any event opening or closing with prayers as is the case in Nigeria.

I remember the Japanese ambassador telling me at a lunch in Nigeria that an overwhelming majority (more than 90 per cent he told me) in Japan are adherents of Shinto (which is as old as the Japanese civilization) and Buddhism, while Christianity, Islam and others share the remaining percentage. But still the only time I saw Buddhist monks in session was during a visit to the Akasaka palace (formerly palace of the crown prince and now State Guest House) and Ishinomaki during a memorial for the disaster victims.

But even with the seeming secularism, most funerals are Buddhist in nature. The deceased is cremated and the ashes buried in a family grave (almost all families have their graves right at their doorsteps). During the memorial, I realized that many graves had bottles of whiskey and packs of cigarettes placed on them.

At my lunch with the Japanese envoy in Nigeria, one request I made to him was an opportunity to see Islam in Japan. The ambassador seemed to have no idea where I can find a mosque in Tokyo, even though he was certain I can get to see one or two. True, I was able to visit the Arabic Islamic institute in Tokyo, but only with the help of my Saudi Arabian friend Hani who contacted his country’s embassy and made an arrangement. The centre was built in 1982 by the Saudi Arabian government specifically to introduce and promote Arabic and Islamic traditions in Japan. There we were shown round some facilities that included a library, an audio-visual room, Arabic language classes, a small museum and a prayer hall. Out of a population of over 125 million, there are less than 200, 000 Muslims in Japan and majority are foreigners.

Places to go sightseeing

Travelling from Tokyo to Sendai in Shikansen (the Japanese bullet train with a speed of 320 kilometers per hour), we were able to see so many natural sceneries like rice fields living side by side with human shelters, snow-covered mountains and more. The journey stretched a total of 227.4miles (or 366 kilometers) but we covered it in 1 hour 17 minutes. The Pacific Ocean is also meters away from the Sendai airport and the sight was breathtaking. When we visited I wanted to have a feel of the water but my guide would not allow that.

Another area I was fond of visiting is the Ginza district with its numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. It also hosts prominent brands like Chanel, Dior, Abercrombie & Fitch, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton, Sony showroom and the Apple Store etc, all of which make the area perfect for shopping (even if a window one).

While strolling in Tokyo, it is pretty easy to see why it is the largest urban area with 35.2 million people (according to a 2008 estimate) in the world. At the numerous crossings in the city, there is so much pedestrian traffic that when the traffic lights stop, they do so in all directions at the same time for people to cross simultaneously. And you see a massive amount of people walking in every direction across a huge intersection, like the one leading to the Ginza area. I sometimes spend minutes by the window of my hotel room just to see this sight.

Apart from that, going through Tokyo in chartered bus, one building that you keep coming across is the Imperial Palace, where the Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko live in the heart of Tokyo. It is a magnificent building. Though I didn’t get to have a view of it from the inside, its surrounding environment is always a beautiful to behold. Ms Fukuda told me that apart from the Emperor’s main palace there are also many private residential apartments of the imperial family, an archive, museum and administrative offices. Indeed, according to an entry in Wikipedia, “During the height of the 1980s Japanese property bubble, the palace grounds were valued by some as more than the value of all the real estate in the state of California.”

Another sight that dominates the Tokyo skyline is the Tokyo Sky Tree which is said to be the world’s second-highest building (dwarfed only by the 828-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates) and the world’s tallest communications tower. It is built in such a way that it will survive the strong earthquakes that are regular occurrence in Japan. It is 634-metre long with a communications mast on top of it. We also did not get to enter it because it is slated for opening on May 22 this year. The tower will have two observation decks at 350 metres and 450 metres above ground.

Saitama City has many places to go sightseeing, one of which is the Saitama Stadium, where the some 2002 World Cup matches were played. You also get to see other places like the Minuma rice paddies, among others.

Obsession with America

Tokyo city is a mixture traditional Japanese and western architecture with very compact rooms no bigger than the security post at many Nigerian mansions. Yet, even as a first time visitor to Japan, it didn’t take me long to observe that the Japanese are obsessed with the United States of America, and visibly to the disadvantage of their own culture and tradition. For instance, many Japanese women have abandoned the kimono, which they say is too complex to wear and expensive to afford, in favour of western wears. Many feel comfortable in shorts (mostly jeans) despite the extreme cold weather.

But that is not all, some parts of Tokyo were built just like the Manhattan part of New York City and another like the central part of Chicago, boasted one of our guides. When Javaid wanted to know why our guide provided what I thought, albeit initially, was a perfect answer. She said the reason was to give tourists and visitors something they can easily relate to because some people are not comfortable with new things. But then, the more we stroll across the city the more we come across structures that make us feel vindicated. For instance, we saw a shopping mall called Time Square, a relaxation spot called Disney resort. I mean this is not healthy for a country that wants to export her technologies and more to the outside world. If tsunami, a Japanese word meaning harbor wave, can achieve global fame, gain why not other things that are peculiar to Japan but which can be exported to the outside world?

Last word

I enjoyed my stay in Japan and will not mind visiting the country year in year out. Next time, however, I will want to enjoy the country’s serene and orderly atmosphere – not to report on any disaster.