Japanese anecdotes

To explain why I loved Japan so much I have to narrate a few anecdotes (sorry no pictures) because they show how Japanese people have been kind to me and this makes such a difference.

There are first the people who spontaneously propose to help you when they see that you are lost. If that was to happen in Europe (this is a big if) they would not do like I saw several times asking everyone around for help if they do not know or making calls hoping the person on the other side of the phone would know.

I remember also the man of the metro for the fare adjustment (when the ticket you took is not at the right price you have the possibility to pay the difference after you tarveled) diminished my fare because I did not have the right change. This is a classic in Japan but still very pleasant.

There are all these Japanese people who offered me something just because I was a foreigner:
- a drink in a bar;
- a postcard when I went to the tiny post office of Magome only because the manager there who spoke bits of English had visited Paris 3 years ago and loved it at the time;
- a small gift when I went to a temple and I saw I had to pay to get in so I went out and the employee came out to show me how to use the vending machine. She thought I wanted to get in but I did not because I was not interested. When she understoodin my bad Japanese that I would not come she went to get me a small gift.

The cops in the small city of Shimosuwa gave me a lift. I was going to the house of my hosts for the evening and when I arrived at the small train station I was just checking I was going in the right direction so I asked one young man just outside the station. I started then to walk and it seemed easy to find (on the map at least). 50 meters later I heard steps of someone catching up with me. It was a teenager who stood next to the one I had asked and dressed a bit like a bad boy. He told me to give him the map and he would come with me to where I had to go. Obviously in any country I would take this with caution but this is Japan so I decided to give it a try. At the same moment a car of police stopped next to us and two cops got off with a big yellow book (full of maps). They told the teenager they would take care of me and after understanding where I was heading they told me to go in their car and they simply drove me there!!!!

Finally the kindest thing that happened to me. I met Keiko on the temples of Angkor in April and if we talked two minutes, this is the really the max. I just saw she was from Japan and I thought I know no one there so let's try to get a contact with a local. Obvisouly this was weird but she game her email. When I contacted her and when we met she organised these two really nice evenings with her friends that you can see in the pictures of Tokyo and when I did some typical Japanese things. All this for someone you absolutely do not know I can just take my hat off and thank you.