“ Let’s see if we can follow this. When Amtrak doesn’t have enough riders, it needs to be subsidized with taxpayer money. Now it has too many riders, and that’s also a reason to subsidize it with even more taxpayer money?! Where else but in govt. is increased demand seen as a problem, and a need for more funding. Has Amtrak ever broken even, let-alone turned a profit?

— Amateur Economist: All Aboard: Too Many for Amtrak

Politeness and Courtesy in Japan

In light of Japan’s neon signs, giant television billboards, and high-tech gadgetry, perhaps it is a bit surprising that the politeness of the Japanese people left the most overwhelming sensory impression upon me. Although I loved much about the country, this courtesy was by far my favorite thing about Japan.

Here are some examples of the courtesy we witnessed:

When our cab driver in Nagoya thought (mistakenly) that he might have missed the turn to the restaurant that were were going to, he shut off the meter and apologized for the mistake, then continued to drive without charge to our destination. This would never happen in the states.
When my wife asked the cashier at the grocery if she knew what a certain fruit we’d purchased was called, she did not, but she instantly summoned another employee who went off on a quest to identify the mysterious fruit and provide the requested information. In the states, the cashier would have just shrugged and said “I don’t know.”
Every person we asked for directions patiently tried to understand our inquiry and then took great care to make sure that we understood their directions. I mean every person … ticket takers, policemen, transit workers, random people on the street. Everyone.
At the movie theater, people took great care in choosing their seats to ensure that the wouldn’t hinder or obstruct the view of anyone else. We watched an older couple quietly debate whether a seat two rows ahead of us would possibly obstruct our view. Now, mind you, it couldn’t have, since (1) it was stadium style seating, (2) they were two rows down from us, and (3) like most older, Japanese, these people were considerably shorter than us. But they still were concerned about our view. Also, during the movie, no one talked or made any noise. When was the last time you had that experience in America?
We had a snack at the counter of a small fruit shop in the basement of one of the department stores. When we left, I pushed in our seats so that they didn’t stick out from the counter. The fruit chef quickly came out from behind the counter and profusely apologized for my having to push in the seat, suggesting it was his dereliction that led to my assumed inconvenience. (This is one of those instances where the politeness is a little weird).
We showed up at a department store a few minutes before it opened, and waited with a crowd for the doors to open. When they did, all of the employees of the store were waiting by their counters, and they bowed. Not just a little bow, but a full, back-is-parallel-to-the-ground kind of bow. I wish I’d caught it on video, because it was pretty impressive … all these very professionally attired and groomed people dropping in this incredibly deferential manner … it felt like a movie.

If these minor examples can’t convey just how polite the Japanese people were, maybe this can: We went to a few fast food restaurants during our trip (Wendy’s and some local chains too). The people behind the counter were professional and competent and friendly and smiling. They all acted as if they enjoy their jobs. I don’t believe for a second that they all actually do enjoy their jobs, but they acted like it. They were pleasant and courteous and helpful. They—indeed, almost everyone—acted as if they were being filmed for an employee training video. That sounds like it could be creepy, but it wasn’t at all creepy. It was really, really nice.[1]

Imagine if you could go to movies without having to worry about noisy people; if you could go to restaurants without having to worry about surly service; if you could take a cab without worrying the driver was trying to cheat you. All of these things make everyday live MUCH more pleasant.[2] Since the common courtesy practiced in Japan is a significant enhancement to the quality of one’s life, it’s worth questioning why the Japanese practice this courtesy, and why, too often, we Americans don’t. I have some thoughts on this, but I’ll save them for another post down the road.

——

[1] Maybe this is one of the reasons that McDonald’s has a low-end stigma in the United States, but is still a symbol of quality in Japan. When a McDonald’s is clean, its employees are friendly, and its food is prepared properly, it is a much better restaurant than the McDonald’s we know in America.

[2] Now, I should add that people in Nagoya (aside from the taxi driver) were less overtly polite and helpful to us than those in Tokyo and Kyoto. That’s certainly due in part to the fact that Kyoto and Tokyo more commonly tourist destinations. But Nagoya was still a far more polite and courteous place than most American cities; only in comparison to Tokyo and Kyoto did it seem to pale.

Preface to My Thoughts on Japan

We’re back from Japan. It was an incredible trip. While I was there, my mind was swimming with thoughts and observations that I wanted to blog about … not because these thoughts are certain to be interesting to others, but because I want to preserve my impressions for myself. But maybe these thoughts will be interesting to you, so first, I’d like to state some caveats.

There are many reasons that my observations and conclusions could be wrong. First, I was in Japan for only 8 days. That’s hardly long enough to make sweeping conclusions about a country and a culture. Second, I don’t speak Japanese. That means I couldn’t read most of the signs or understand most of the conversations around me. This means I was often left completely ignorant of context—which is troubling when you want to analyze and conclude. Third, we went to Japan as tourists. What we saw is surely not a good representation of all of Japan. We saw a simplistic geographic and socio-economic sliver of a complicated country.

Having stated these caveats (and there are certainly more), let me backtrack just a bit. I’m not a good tourist. I have little interest in historic sites or modern monuments. My interest is more anthropological. I like to see how people live. This means I’d rather visit 10 groceries than 1 temple. That’s not to say we didn’t visit temples … we did. But we visited more groceries. We watched a movie in a theater. We ate in lots of restaurants and went to lots of stores. And we spent most of our time walking the streets … looking at neighborhoods and gas stations and dry cleaners and restrooms and office buildings.

You can’t help but challenge your beliefs (cultural and political) when you visit a foreign country. There were things that were better in Japan than here, and all of these things have been forcing me to consider “why?” This leads to big, ideological questions, as in, “why are they better?” and “why are we worse?” . . and to more personal, introspective questions, like “why do I like these things more?”

It’s easy to pontificate on all things political and social from inside the comfort of one’s home, but visiting another country lets you look at and analyze things not easily represented by data. It also does something else—it reminds you of the vastness of humanity. When you ride the subway in Tokyo and see a group young girls giggling over something they just read on their cell phone, you begin to think about their social circle … and their schools … and their families, and you start to see all these personal connections that they have—these very full lives—and you can’t help but think how amazing it is that halfway across the world people live lives just as full and fulfilling and complex as we do. I know that this is an obvious point—and don’t misunderstand me, I’m not claiming that this was in any way revelatory. But it is one thing to know this in theory and another thing to see it in practice. When you walk through the Shinjuku Station and you’re surrounded by tens of thousands of commuters on their way to jobs or to home or to visit friends, you can’t help but feel smaller; you can’t help but realize that you don’t exist to these people … that your life and family and social circle is completely irrelevant to them, just as they’ve been all their lives to you. It is, in fact, more than a bit disconcerting. So when we met up with one of my wife’s old friends and her husband in Kyoto, it seemed like all the more magical an experience … suddenly we were relevant to someone in Japan; somehow, we’d bridged the divide of geography and culture.

I don’t expect any of my blog posts on Japan to similarly “bridge the divide of geography and culture,” but I hope they make me feel a little closer to a place that I loved. Expect posts on Japan to stretch out over the next few weeks.

Hit & Run > “A five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes” - Reason Magazine

“ In Alabama it is illegal to recommend shades of paint without a license. In Nevada it is illegal to move any large piece of furniture for purposes of design without a license. In fact, hundreds of people have been prosecuted in Alabama and Nevada for practicing “interior design” without a license. Getting a license is no easy task, typically requiring at least 4 years of education and 2 years of apprenticeship.

— Marginal Revolution: Designing Monopoly

“ HitMeLater is simple. Forward any email to 24@hitmelater.com and it will send it back to you 24 hours later, putting it on the top of your inbox pile. You can change the number of hours to anything you like, up to 1,000 hours ahead (3@hitmelater.com sends it back three hours later). Alternatively, put in a day (Wednesday@hitmelater sends it back the next Wednesday). If you send it something it doesn’t understand, HitMeLater sends back a polite email message saying “We’re not sure what you want.

— HitMeLater: A Snooze Button For Your Email

“ In fact, the world oil shortage is political, not geological. In the U.S., the government prohibits drilling offshore. In Nigeria, civil strife has shut down major production. In Libya and Iran, Washington effectively blockaded and isolated the nations for years to inhibit new production. In Iraq, of course, the U.S. destroyed much of the infrastructure since the first Gulf war in 1991 and then blockaded reconstruction. In nations such as Russia and Mexico nationalism and corruption curtail increased production.

— Open ANWR Already!: The case for drilling—and more energy production - Reason Magazine

» The Folly of Obama’s Tax Plan — The American, A Magazine of Ideas