Month: August 2007

First thing to do in Japan is to go find sushi! In Sweden I usually don’t feel like eating sushi at all because I know what it tastes like in Japan and as soon as I land here I instantly need to go find some raw fish (and it’s not difficult here). The variation of sushi in Sweden is very limited while in Japan you will be busy for a long time if you want to try everything.
This time was no different, I immediately went to a sushi place a colleague had recommended. It was close to the hotel and it was lunch time = I was hungry. It was not particularly crowded and I got a seat at the running sushi counter. Usually I let the plates go by for a while before I choose what to take. I know that I can not eat more than 4-5 plates until I am full so I need to choose carefully.
As I was picking out my first taste of the wonderful sushi the man next to me made contact. He was a middle aged, well dressed, slightly drunk (this was a nice of me) man who started of course to speak in japanese of which I understood basically nothing. This often has no affect on the japanese who gladly continue to talk although you look like a living question mark (don’t know if that expression works in english but I’ll give it a try 🙂 ). The only english word he knew was chop sticks which I now know in japanese… But he seemed to be happy talking to me anyway and he pointed out a few very good plates of sushi for me so I was not unhappy either. As I was leaving to go see the city of Kyoto he insisted on paying for my lunch. Thank you!

As I was taking the express train from Kansai Airport in Osaka to Kyoto I saw something very unusual. When the train was leaving the station three men in uniform with white gloves were standing in a perfect line waving the train off. Where else in the world would you see that? Is that really in their job description? I like Japan!

Today I arrived in Kyoto, Japan, and during the flight I thought more about why I like flying so much. Because I actually do like the flying itself. And why would anyone like being trapped in a noisy, confined space for more than 9 hours, being served more or less disgusting food, having to go to tiny bathrooms, putting up with sulky stewardesses and other passengers who are always standing in front of the movie screen (where they always show the movies that I did not want to see)? It doesn’t really sound like something anyone would do unless forced under threat.
For me one reason is the fact that you are trapped without any contact with the outside world (unless in the new planes where they have internet connection). You have no choice but to just take it easy, read your book, listen to your favourite music or watch a movie. Normally I tend to be very efficient and use my time in the best possible way, which eventually results in exhaustion when I isolate myself from the world for a day or two. On the plane I am forced to just sit there, think about everything and eventually allow myself to be bored.
Although you might think that all flights are the same, you get the same safety instructions, the same drinks before dinner, the food tastes the same and the same message from the pilot, they all are different. The passengers are not the same, sometimes you’re lucky and sometimes not. The weather is different and you fly on different times of the day.
This time I left Sweden in the afternoon, saw the sun set and moon rise, saw the lights being turned on in the cities below and the stars coming out. As the moon was rising it was very hard to see the horizon, it was all just different shades of blue. It did in fact look like the moon was rising below the horizon. It was absolutely beautiful. And there I was watching the sky, sipping my wine not having a very bad time at all.
Also you can learn that “määränpää” means destination in finnish. I would never have guessed that you could fit that many “ä” into one word.