Sleeping with the Earthquakes!

It was chilly Thursday morning in Japan, my alarm was yet buzz to wake me up, when someone shook me vigorously till I woke  up. Only my younger brother, overfriendly room mate and son had ever done that to me before. Half angry and half surprised I woke up, there was none in the room. My bed in the hotel room on 25th floor was rocking like a cradle and i sat there frozen. It was a small earthquake in Tokyo, which did not even make it in scrolling news bar on any news channel. But I was shaken to the core!

How do Japanese people live and sleep with earthquake? In city like Tokyo, earthquake happens almost everyday. It does not even disrupt the city even for one minute. People in office don't even pause striking their keyboards unless the earthquake lasts for more than 20 seconds.

All Japanese residents are trained to deal with earthquake from age 2. There regular drills, like fire evacuation drills, which happen even in kinder gardens regularly. My friend's son rushes for the dining table and waits under it, if earthquake lasts more than 5 seconds. There are no loosely hung wall paintings, kitchen shelves are specially designed to make them quake-proof. So all in all earthquake in Japan is equivalent to rains in Singapore, it happens everyday but you hardly notice it.

What is even more amazing is there are skyscrapers everywhere in Tokyo. To make buildings structurally strong, they are squarish in shape. There are also rules about not building such buildings near main roads, just in case they fall down they should not block arterial roads. "Wow", I exclaimed as my friend was explaining to me how they built quake-proof skyscrapers. I learnt that the main difference between a normal building and quake-proof building is its foundation. Usually, we look for a deep and solid foundation to support the building. But that exactly is the biggest cause of failure in case of earthquake. Quake-proof buildings have rolling foundation. When quake hits the whole building rocks like a cradle and survives. The building with strong but rigid foundation perishes.

 When you encounter nature's raw force, the rigid wont survive. Someone who is nimble, flexible and willing rock in nature's cradle has nothing to worry. They can sleep well even in earthquakes!

Onsen in Japan and courage to walk nude

Japan is the land full of culture shocks. But the culture shock that I got in an Onsen was the biggest and the most unexpected. I had heard about Onsens but never got a chance to visit one during so many trips to Japan till my  last  visit.  I knew Onsen was a great natural phenomena which occurred in specific places closer to volcanic activities.  The mineral rich hot water in Onsens has medicinal properties which can cure various skin diseases. I also knew that Japan had the highest number of underground hot springs and therefore a  lot of Onsens.

What I did not know was experience that came with it was so unique.  We visited the Onsen about 200 km from Tokyo in Tateyama. After depositing our belongings in the counter, we were given the Onsen gown, a towel and a napkin... Slightly bigger than a pocket handkerchief.  "what is this napkin for", I asked.  "you will know soon", my friend winked. I wrapped a towel around and started walking towards the Onsens.  I was promptly stopped by the service staff. "only napkin is allowed in the onsens", she exclaimed in her broken english. Now I knew.

 

Being naked among a large group of people was my worst and the most frequent nightmare. When it happened in real life it was my biggest culture shock. I did take my own time to overcome my shyness and getting used to that state. Nobody was really looking at each other directly but just the fact that there were so many men around who could potentially watch me naked made me nervous.  I realized that it takes immense courage to walk naked in a room full of people.

My host was my friend's husband.  We did not know each other that well. But once I got used to that state and we got used to each other, we started talking about things that were closer to our hearts, things that we deeply believed in and things that we are ready to do for our loved ones. Such profound and intimate discussions were possible only because we had nothing to hide...literally.

We all are living a busy and rushed life. Everyday morning we get ready, get dressed, put on our masks and look at ourselves in the mirror. That is the image we want to project to the world. Everyday we are busy hiding ourselves from others and we land up hiding us from ourselves. We seldom get a chance to stand naked in front of the mirror, look at ourselves, accept ourselves and be comfortable with what we are. The satisfaction and mental peace you get by facing yourselves  naked in the mirror and accepting yourself whole heartedly is worth experiencing.

What is unique about Onsens in Japan? They don't just cure skin diseases, they help you prepare yourself to accept that naked person in the mirror.

There is something about Japan - Workoholism

Quite frankly, english dictionary does not have an accurate word to describe Japanese passion for work. Workholism is the closest. May be they should introduce a word Workadict or something which represents the addiction.
Japanese people work all the time. After Fukushima disaster, government appealed to their people to save on electricity. The easiest option would have been to limit office hours and save energy on air-conditioning and lights. They rather opted for switching off lighting in shopping areas, billboards and escalators going down. Office hours and working hours largely unchanged. A Japanese mind would thinking just after a big disaster, one should be working more not less. �
My Japanese colleagues check mails round the clock, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Their client contacts are no different. Commitments are taken very seriously. If you say a file would reach client at 5:00, the mail needs to leave your inbox by 4:55 if it has a heavy attachment. Otherwise it is considered as a delay.�
The last train from downtown generally leaves closer to midnight. Due to work or work related socializing a significant chunk of people miss it. What is amazing is, instead of making alternate arrangement to go home and creating a possibility of turning up late the next day, they check-in a night stay hotel. This hotel provides common bathroom and a bed with provision to keep a small bag. Those who missed the bus just sleep there rather than going home and resume their working the next day on time. Their family is used to such things and don't think of any alternate solution.�
But the incidence i faced with one my clients takes the cake with cherry on top. We were looking to meet an important manager on client's company on a particular day. We were seeking an appointment. His secretary gave us an appointment at 9:20 pm. We were perplexed and asked for another appointment. She said sure.. How about 10:40 pm? Needless to say we took our appointment at 9:20. The meeting started on time, discussions were excellent, we could not believe we are working well past dinner time.�
On our way back from the meeting we got the mail from the manager profusely thanking us for the visit. Before we went to bed I saw a mail from my Japanese colleague capturing minutes of meeting and confirming next action items.�
I was really speechless. Help me to find a suitable word for this degree of workholism.

There is something about Japan - aging gracefully

Of various countries I have travelled, Japan is very special. There is something different about this country, something very special about how people age here. Looking at ageing people is a paradigm shift in Japan. It is incredible to see so many people who age so gracefully together. Officially, Japan has become the first country in the world whose population has started declining. It is evident as you move around in Japan, the high proportion of old people hits you on your face!�
What you notice almost immediately is the ageing is not sad, pitiful, waiting for the death kind of ageing. The ageing active, graceful by leading a normal life. Men after they retire find a job, get dressed nicely in their formal coats and work. It is very easy to spot a grandma whose age might be hovering around 80 riding a bicycle in shopping area.�
In Japan context 70 is not old. I discovered this the hard way. I was quite impressed and taken in by their politeness. Somehow, i had this urge to match them and feel belonged in this foreign country. I was actively looking around for opportunities to be polite and nice to others. I saw this 70+ kind of a gentleman standing in the train next to where I was sitting. I stood up and offered my seat to him and...boom... He got offended. He not only refused to take the seat but also murmured something which sounded like " young man, buddha hoga tera baap.Arigato gozaimasu" Out of courtsey he did accept the seat. A little while later an old man in 80's appeared on the scene and the 70 year old offered the seat to him. Couple of stops later a woman in 90's appeared and got that seat. It is incredible to watch such old people living and ageing gracefully.

There must be something about this country where peole age so gracefully.

There is something about Japan - Polietness

There is something  about Japan - politeness
Of various countries I have travelled, Japan is very special. There is something different about this country, something very special about the people. They are polite from bottom of their heart, not just for the sake of it but thats the way they want to be. Even when they are speaking on phone, they bow down to show ... Sorry, none can really see it.. To communicate their respect. I got into the airport limousine bus at Narita airport. As the bus was leaving I noticed that the luggage handlers had bowed down and stood in that position till the bus disappeared. Isn't that amazing? 
They follow rules. Everyone does that, what's so different. The difference is how the rules are enforced. I live in Singapore - the fine city. The government uses "fines" which are imposed on almost everything to force people to follow the rules. US uses police presence and empowerment to make people follow the rules. Guess what makes people follow rules in Japan - social pressure. No fines, no penalties, no police just the desire to be seen as civic and accepted by society. You can't speak on cellphone when you are traveling in Japan. Japanese believe it annoys the neighbors. Personally, i find it quite strange, its is OK to speak to one another loudly in Japan but not on phone. But this rule is followed to the limit. You will not find a Japanese speaking on phone ever in a train or a bus. Many foreigners - like me - do it, but they are pardoned out of politeness. 
The best incidence I experienced is the cream with cherry on top. I was standing in my friends home, his neighbor's dog looked at me and started barking. Within 30 seconds, his lady appeared to investigate. She noticed her pet was being impolite by barking on someone needlessly. She bowed down, 45deg, I could hear or understand what she was saying, but an apology from bottom of her heart about irresponsible behavior of her pet was written all over her face. She took the dog away and bowed down again as she was leaving. 
There is something special about Japan, people here want even their pets to behave politely with other!