Postscript
This is a translation of a German post. View original or Never translate German
20:43, somewhere above Novosibirsk
I'm watching a Chinese movie, silently cursing whoever had the genius idea to make the subtitles extra tiny and use a white font. The movie is still reasonably entertaining, given that I can't really follow the dialogue in the brighter scenes.
And because I still have about six hours on this flight, it's time for the
Japan Review
To keep it short — It's pretty awesome. Tokyo is huge and crowded and alive and I love it. Those of you who've been to Seoul before will feel right at home in Tokyo. Only from the plane's birds-eye perspective can you grasp how unbelievably huge this city is — and yet the districts themselves can feel like a pleasant small town at times — most houses are rather small, and not a lot of them look like they belong in one of the most densely populated cities on earth. Everything is just packed a little more densely here.
Compared to that, Kyoto — with a mere million inhabitants — does feel a bit like a downgrade when you first get there. Along the large main streets, Kyoto doesn't show much of its charm and feels more touristy (Japanese as well as international tourism) than metropolitan Tokyo.
But as soon as you dive in to the small alleys and side streets (Take the streets barely recognizable as such on the map), you'll find beautiful streets, little houses, restaurants, cafes and temples. More temples than you can possibly imagine.
In the distance
And since I am, as you've probably noticed by now, quite the Asia-fan, I feel very comfortable in the Japanese culture — people everywhere are incredibly friendly without seeming inauthentic or shallow and everything is organized to the tiniest detail — which often means that there's one supervisor for every construction worker. I think the reverse-culture-shock of bus drivers annoyed at my general presence and cashiers who'd probably prefer if I'd just leave will confirm it: The Japanese people have made a very good impression on me. And for that, I can forgive them for their weird little France-fetish...
Seasides
And with regards to Sakura: Believe the hype. Even for seasoned blossom-haters, these few weeks in spring will feel very special — if only because all of Japan falls into cherry-induced ecstasy and every cherry tree becomes a place for photo shoots, picnics, and celebrations.
Hearts
Goodbye Tokyo — I'll miss you
Okay, I'm not just done yet — you know the drill: I'd like to use the opportunity to end this post by offering a bit of contrast to my usual content.
Skeletons in the Closet
Human beings that are only referred to as 'Logs', large scale human experimentation for biological and chemical warfare with hundreds of thousands of casualties, forced pregnancies, rape, and vivisection of humans without anaesthetics.
— the Wikipedia page of 'Unit 731' is definitely not an easy or comfortable read.
It is still a good reminder, though, that most nations do have skeletons in their cupboards — Japan, for one, has to this day never formally apologized for the war crimes committed in the prison camp in northeastern China, some of which I have listed above.
While a court in Tokyo has acknowledged the historical facts, the evidence is deemed too insubstantial to warrant an official apology — partly because the USA granted medical personnel of Unit 731 immunity after the war in exchange for exclusive access to the data they collected in their experiments and in turn dismissed reports of cruel human experimentation as communist propaganda.
Read the article. You'll be depressed afterwards, but read it anyway.