Thursday, February 17, 2011

My first impression of the land in the far East


To be frank this is not my first encounter with Japan. In all this will be my third time as a foreigner in the country of the rising sun. It is fascinating, how I seem to find a new Japan very time I am here. But I do very well recall my first impression of Japan: To be lost in translation! My first stay in Japan still marks my impression of the country the deepest.
It is always the simplest things that hit the hardest. The simple fact that in Japan they write and read Japanese is overwhelming. It is the first thing that hits you in the airport “よこそう”, welcome to Japan. (In big contrast to my first stay in Japan, I have now enquired a limited understanding for the Japanese language.  And the difference is immense.) Simple everyday tasks become huge obstacles. Navigating through a world full of signs made up solely by little abstract pictures - it is quit complicated. Simply ordering the right meal is a sudden challenge.  Dare say life is not easy at first.



     There is kanji every where! 

The second thing is a pure visual observation of the mass of sameness. To the untrained eye the Japanese seem to be one uniform mass. To me the fact that I now am the odd one out is very new. It kind of gives you the idea that Japan is truly a homogenous country – and as a foreigner you have to learn to live with the “gaijin” (foreigner) mark on your forehead. Japan is very fascinating in deed.

  
This is a picture from my first stay in Osaka, taken at noon
 - the time for the businessmen to go hunt their food.

If you want to take a go on reading some Japanese, this is the link for the japanese version of Kansai Gaidais home page: 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

This blog is a class project for my “Visual Anthropology” class; as such it is for educational purposes only. All photos posted here are taken by the blog author unless otherwise noted. If any problem with the posting of a particular photo is brought to my attention, I will earnestly review the problem and remove the picture if necessary.