Japan by John Carroll

Author:John Carroll
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0-8048-3436-9
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing

Friendly rivals shake hands at a Senior Citizens Olympics held in Kyushu. Japanese of both sexes enjoy the longest average life expectancies in the world.

Japan is a land of high peaks — many of them volcanic. Steaming vents belch smoke from the flanks of 2,290-meter-high Mt. Asahidake in Hokkaido's Daisetsuzan National Park.

One thing is for sure, Japan is a highly urbanized society, with roughly three-quarters of its people living in its amoebae-like megacities. No matter what the time, day or night, you can find a convenience store or eatery open in Tokyo and the other major conurbations. But just when the visiting New Yorker or Londoner begins to suspect that things are pretty much like at home, he will see something that brings him up short. Perhaps it will be the sight of a middle-aged Japanese in suit and tie perusing with the greatest of pleasure a sado-masochistic comic book or a motley crowd lined up outside a pachinko, pinball parlor.

One of the greatest changes of the post-war period is that Japan has become a motor culture par excellence. The scenic beauty of much of the exquisite countryside has been scarred by a seemingly uncontrollable desire to cover everything with concrete and cars. The RV (recreational vehicle) is the latest craze, even though they are often nearly as wide as the residential streets they try to navigate on.

The same Japanese who is so utterly polite in business can become appallingly rude or even recklessly dangerous in public situations such as when driving a motor vehicle on a crowded city street or riding a bicycle on a sidewalk. That's the price of progress.

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