Some come to Japan expecting to find a country filled with polite and reserved people and are shocked to see the loud and boisterous behavior coming out of bars in the evening. Others may be disappointed to find small plastic bathtubs in their apartments after hearing so much about the spacious Japanese baths. For some, it is a shock to see the run-down quality of public institutions, such as schools, hospitals and government offices, when Japan is supposed to be one of the wealthiest nations in the world.
Japan is, in fact, full of such contradictions. People seem polite and yet at times are outright rude or even cruel. They seem to be obsessed with cleanliness, and yet many places are filled with garbage and clutter.
The serenity and peacefulness found in temple gardens are quickly erased by the loudspeakers of the yakiimo man (selling hot sweet potatoes), the right wingers' jeeps, and the election campaign trucks. People seem to be indirect and yet direct.
(LIVING IN JAPAN by Joy Norton and Tazuko Shibusawa)
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