A talk by Richard Sinfield
I recently had a holiday in Okinawa in the far south west of Japan. Japan is a very long country running north east to south west . Tokyo is more or less in the centre and the Okinawan islands are about 1000 miles from Tokyo - Rome is 900 miles from London - so it's a place with its own culture and traditions distinct from mainland Japan. It is subtropical so a good place to escape the UK winter. Temperatures were from 18 - 24 degrees. It is where the earliest cherry blossoms appear in Japan - they peak in Tokyo at the end of March. And it's where calving humpback whales migrate to between December and March - late January and early February being the peak season. I had 3 whale watching trips and we were very lucky and saw whales each time. The trips cost about £30 and last between 2 and 4 hours - the rule being that once a whale is located each boat can only stay with it for an hour so as to prevent too many boats stressing the whales.
Japan is a great place to visit - you don't have to like fish but the sushi and sashimi are worth trying. There are a lot of cultural shocks - the toilets are high tech and need a careful approach - have your camera handy so you can use Google translate if necessary to avoid flooding!
Japan is geared for retail - there are shopping malls around every station (often owned by the rail companies) and even in very rural areas there will at least be a convenience store on the station forecourt. Airlines are now allowing passengers two 23kg suitcases on most flights - on my return the check- in staff were surprised I was only had one (18kg) suitcase. You are definitely intended to go shopping.
Walking around in Japan is a different experience from here - the streets are clean, there's no dog mess , potholes are minimal and cars can't park on the street. You are not allowed to own a car unless you have a parking place. Either a car park under or near your building or a rented space in a rotating car garage - again high tech. These were common 30 years ago in Japan and have now spread to other countries. It's not all wonderful - the pavements can be narrow and uneven, there is a lot of street furniture and bicycles are allowed to use the pavement and can give you quite a shock! Dogs are not allowed in the main parks in Japan - which all have park keepers and often charge a small entry fee. This makes taking a picnic and viewing the cherry blossom a pleasurable pastime.
I could go on but I think that's enough for now - do go and see for yourself if you have a chance.
