Please exile me to the most beautiful time

Chapter 12 Japan: Abuse and Desire (2)
Prejudice in Osaka

I don't know when, Japan has the saying of Kanto Kansai.Kansai refers to the Kinki area around Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe.I heard that in ancient times there was only the Kanto, not the Kansai, because for a long time the capital and central city of Japan were in Kansai, with the west as the center, naturally only the east.It was not until the concept of "Tokyo" was formed that the core moved to the east, and only then did the term "Kansai" come into existence.

Japanese folks often make jokes about Kanto and Kansai, and compare everything from the temperament of the people to the characteristics of the dialect.Kansai dialect is very different from Japanese Mandarin (Tokyo dialect). I can't understand Kansai dialect, but I can tell Kansai dialect from Tokyo dialect.Japanese people often talk about Kansai people and Kansai dialect, but Kanto people do not call themselves Kanto people, nor do they call their dialect Kanto dialect. It seems that this appellation is unique to Kansai.When the Japanese talk about Kansai people, they immediately think of: realistic, good at doing business, can tell jokes, love to complain, and can be funny. In short, they are a group of happy and interesting people.

Standing on a high place in Osaka, you can hardly see tall buildings, and the eyes are full of small houses, which does not look like an international metropolis in the concept. This may be due to the frequent earthquakes in Japan and it is not suitable for building high-rise buildings.Unlike the earth-shaking construction projects in Chinese cities, Japan's urban planning has matured long ago, so the era of drastic changes has long passed, and it is time to enjoy the fruits.The perfect infrastructure and meticulous public facilities in the streets and alleys perfectly interpret the concept of "highly developed".Vending machines and 24-hour convenience stores appear in every corner of the city. If you walk for 2 minutes, there must be more than one vending machine offering hot and cold drinks. Interestingly, the representative of petty bourgeoisie in China There is no difference between Evian water and other mineral water in Japan, both are around 120 yen (about 7 yuan).Ask the waiter to count the plates at the checkout at the conveyor belt sushi restaurant. The waiter takes out a smart scanner and gently shakes it on the side of the messy piles of plates. The scanner automatically calculates the total number of plates and the plates of each price. Quantify and print out the barcode, and the customer takes the barcode to the cashier to check out. The process of "counting" the plates takes less than 5 seconds, and the waiter does not need to touch any plate with his hands.

The garbage sorting here is also done to the extreme. Japanese housewives spend a lot of time sorting garbage every day.Not only the classification must be detailed, but also the correspondingly classified garbage should be discarded according to the specified date. At the same time, tourists also need to carefully read the classification on the garbage bins. Most of the garbage bins in public places are divided into 4 to 5 categories, even for small hotel rooms. There are also two types of trash cans: combustible and non-combustible.The unmanned ticket vending machines on buses and trams made me ponder for a while. This machine can swipe cards, insert coins, and change!Pay the fare when you get off the bus. The fare is displayed on the upper electronic display screen. It is usually 200 yen (about 12 yuan). Don’t panic if you don’t have any change. Just put a big bill or a large-value coin into the machine and it will be automatically exchanged out The equivalent of several small coins.

From these small details, it can be seen that Japan is a place suitable for lazy people to live, especially for petty bourgeoisie who need meticulous service, it is the first choice.

crawling japan
Facing the status quo of high aging, Japan has considered the elderly and the disabled in detail.Almost all elevators and cross-street passages will have a special button placed in a lower position so that wheelchair users can easily touch it; where pets are not allowed to enter, it will be specially marked that guide dogs are allowed to enter.I often see people shopping in electric wheelchairs in shopping malls or supermarkets, which is not common in China.This must not be because the number of disabled and elderly people in China is far less than in Japan, but the way for them to step out of the house is far less convenient than in Japan.Even when I was on a business trip in China, I felt extremely inconvenient when I dragged my suitcases to the train stations, subway stations, and bus stations in the metropolis. One time I lifted the box and climbed up and down, let alone a person in a wheelchair.

As a backpacker, I brought a suitcase to Japan for the first time this time. When I dragged the suitcase in and out of hotels, subways and train stations on the streets of Japan, there was no obstacle and it was extremely smooth.

After seeing a country 50 years behind China, and a country 50 years behind China, we know where we come from and where we are going.A country is like a person, with its own natural ups and downs.When the fortunes are bad, no matter how hard the people in the country work, it will not help; when the fortunes are rising, it is good to just wait and watch. All the noise and debates are fleeting, and no one remembers what the society was paying attention to 10 years ago.Just an inadvertent distortion of this curve becomes the distance of a hundred years, and becomes a cruelty that a person can never see in a lifetime.

I am glad that I live in this era of China. It is very gratifying to see this country that slowly climbed out of the valley, got up, and has been moving forward. If I were to choose an ideal state of habitat, I would like to live in this country in the process of crawling.

Foodies meet sushi
In the warm Kansai, I did not treat my tongue and stomach badly.Sushi, ramen, Japanese hot pot... "eating" has become the most important theme every day.

After experiencing the unsatisfactory food in so many countries, Japanese food has become the only food that can be used to talk to Chinese food.It’s not bad to walk into a restaurant that looks pleasing to the eye at random, especially those that look old and have a lot of customers.What amazes me the most is the sushi. After tasting the sushi made by the master, I don't know how bad the sushi I ate in the past.You can tell the secret of good sushi once you bite into it.Egg sushi may be one of the simplest sushi in the sushi world, and it is also quite a test of the master's skills.If the taste of egg sushi can pass the test, the skill will not be inferior.So no matter which store I eat in, I must first try the egg sushi to see if the taste is satisfactory, and then decide whether to kill.

Before coming here, I guessed that Japanese food must be surprisingly expensive, but this is not the case in reality. Guests can choose from different price points.Therefore, I also gave up the habit of thrift I had always maintained.For a foodie, even such a beautiful meal is a long-term account, so what's the point of living?I estimated that if you just eat something casually, there are probably several options: 250-600 yen (about 15-38 yuan), you can have a quick meal in an ordinary fast food restaurant.For example, a simple beef rice bowl costs 280 yen (about 17 yuan), and a small bowl of udon noodles costs 400 yen (about 24 yuan).Choose 500-1000 yen (about 30-60 yuan), and you can eat ramen in better restaurants. 1000-2000 yen (approximately 60-120 yuan) is enough to have a meal in an authentic sushi restaurant, or order a small Japanese-style hot pot, and of course there are many more expensive dishes.As far as the price of food is concerned, it is cheaper than that in Beijing.

The sharp drop in the exchange rate of the yen has made Japanese prices, which have been unattainable for many years, also have a trend of being close to the people.I remember that before leaving Sri Lanka for Egypt in 2012, I exchanged 10000 yen with the Japanese as a backup. At that time, the exchange rate was 10000 yen to more than 800 yuan.This "2013 yuan bill" was not used during the subsequent trip to Africa. It followed me around a large circle and returned to China. When I entered the country from Kunming in April 4, I didn't expect to go to Japan in a few months, but I only thought about exchanging this 10000 yen back to RMB.At this time, the exchange rate of the yen has plummeted, and 10000 yen can only be exchanged for 600 yuan. At that moment, I really wanted to cry but had no tears.

The phrase "the customer is God" is best interpreted in Japan.Every first-timer will be amazed at the high quality, good attitude and awareness of the front-line service staff. Even the most demanding passengers will find it difficult to pick out faults.I guess it is difficult for a business like Haidilao to develop and grow in Japan. After all, the service it is most proud of is just a basic level in Japan, and any small restaurant has the same or better service.If the retail industry hires Japanese employees to train store managers, the service effect will definitely be better than others.

Living in a place with delicious food is a great happiness, and every compatriot who has been away from Chinese food for a long time will understand this feeling.Fortunately, Japanese food made up for the shortcoming of leaving Chinese food.Chinese people are all foodies.I once discussed food culture with a British person. The other party said that his favorite Asian food is Japanese food, which is beautiful, clean and delicious.At that time, I didn't take it seriously, and just swallowed to describe to the British how the unrivaled Chinese food in my mind is full of color, fragrance and taste.Looking back now, I understand what the British mean.In Japan, even the food served in small street restaurants is as exquisite as handicrafts, beautifully arranged, beautiful in color, delicious, and looks clean and hygienic. From the quality of the tableware to the workmanship of the food It has a Japanese feel to it.

there is a knife inside
When you come to a country, the first impression it gives you determines whether you like it, but there are also negative teaching materials.The most typical is India.

When I first arrived in India, I just wanted to give a bad review for the messy picture.But the longer the stay, the more I like it here, and I can't bear to leave after two months.Another example is Swakopmund, Namibia. When I first arrived, I could see garden houses everywhere, which were in a mess, but after staying for a few weeks, I felt really boring and fled.But Japan is a bit of an exception.All those who have traveled to Japan have unanimously positive comments on Japan. Even friends who have criticized Japan every day for political and historical reasons have all praised Japan's environment after returning.

I have been thinking about this phenomenon. Why did I have such a big change after going to Japan?Just when I was about to leave Japan, I finally got a clue.

Japan and India seem to be two extremes on the same dimension. The former writes all their advantages on their faces, and only gradually discovers their shortcomings after a period of contact; the latter writes all their shortcomings on their faces, and their advantages can only be found in ordinary life. Find.When you travel to Japan, they bring out the best things and contribute the best services to the people, so you remember their kindness to you.But India is different, they can do whatever they want, and never care about how you think of them.This is why Japanese backpackers like India so much, don't talk about order, just be yourself.

Everything in the world needs to find a balance, and so do people.The rigid order makes many people extremely depressed and urgently needs to find a place to vent, and India is the ideal place to vent.Chinese people in Japan often say that if you go to an izakaya and look at the Japanese drinking, they are the real Japanese.The overly rigid and patterned life restrains human nature, so they have to rely on alcohol to release their inner wildness, showing the other side of extreme madness, and the izakaya has become a catharsis in the rigid social life.

Therefore, the Japanese you see hide their dissatisfaction and anger, and you cannot read their true thoughts and demands deep in their hearts. This is really disturbing.

In the eyes of rational people, many Japanese people have a knife deep in their hearts, an invisible knife.

Flying from Japan to Guam, an overseas territory of the United States, and watching people's unrestrained body language when they talked, I realized that I had left Japan and that highly ordered land, and I suddenly let go of everything The inherent posture formed during Japan has changed back to a free and natural self.Although there are no convenience stores and vending machines everywhere, no complete infrastructure, and no public toilets that are spotlessly clean, I can finally show my true colors and be myself freely.

All good things need to be obtained at the expense of another goodness!
(End of this chapter)