Japan 2006: Culture, Technology and Contrast

Shinjuku

Although large developments such as Ropponggi Hills and the department stores around train stations are ubiquitous in Japan, small businesses continue to thrive. This may be the only place in the world where Walmarts and other hypermarts would not succeed in the near future.

Steps at Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto

Strength of the Small Businesses
Everywhere you go in Japan, you can see small businesses competing side by side with giant commercial thigamajigs. The strength of the local small businesses, restaurants and convenience stores could well lie in the uniqueness of Japanese culture. This is a country that prides a lot on their consumption of detailed craftsmanship and superb quality. This is a people that believe that the gift wrapping is just as important as the gift. In this way, Japanese are prepared to pay high prices for good quality products, and stores like Wal-mart, with their cheap, Made in China or some other developing country items will not find favor here.

Also, not many Japanese own cars. Even if they do, Japanese cars tend to be small. Grocery shopping is often done on a daily basis (using trains and maybe bicycles) and rarely do people buy in bulk. Such cultural practices are antithesis to the low-cost-high-volume marketing axiom of the hypermarts.

Service Standards
Customer service standards are also unbeatable. When I bought my Porter bag at OICITY, the staff eagerly chatted with me in his halting English while putting my purchase in a paper bag, then waterproofing the bag, before escorting me to the elevator and handing me my purchase with a complimentary 90 degree bow.

Technology
Any mention of Japan cannot omit the high-tech wizardry of the country. From the overly efficient train system (which cost me a missed flight due to its remarkable punctuality) to vending machines for ordering restaurant meals, and from the slew of electronic gadgetry at Akihabara to the multi-function toilet bowls, nothing seemed to be forgotten.

It is a country where everything that needs to be invented has been invented and that thought is put into everything. It is a very thoughtful country. (Yet, not everything is so labor-unintensive. I have seen teams of 4 or more men going around cleaning advertizing panels, doing a job that could well be managed by one man.)

Land of Shadows. Land of Contrast.
It is a land of contrast and a fascinating one at that. Japan is more than the tourist images that we have come to know, or of the minimalistic sushi and green tea (though they were commonplace). Despite its homogeneity and its highly conformist mentality, the country offers contrasts in numerous striking ways.

There is the Japan of temples and shrines of mythical image-laden proportions. But there is also a real Japan, with its over-conformed salarymen and the bubbling underbelly of niched sub-cultures that are held together in a delicate balance of new and old, modernity and tradition.

"Not another cherry blossom"