Canada Again

As I got off the plane in Canada, a JTB tour group was reassembling in the departure lounge to hear some announcements from their guide. I had to catch myself from falling into step with them! They were most certainly here to see the autumn leaves, the last Canadian tourist attraction of the year with wide appeal in Japan

Few Japanese will brave the cold for winter events like le Carnaval de Quebec City and Ottawa's Winterlude. Exceptions to the Japanese aversion to cold weather are the travel packages to the Northwest Territories to see the Aurora Borealis -- they come out in droves to lie on the snow in boots and parkas to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights.

I walked on the streets of Toronto, and things seemed to be moving in slow motion. Harried urban Canadians may find this hard to believe, but the Japanese who are assigned to work here often say they find the nombiri (slow) pace of life in our nation's largest city quite relaxing. I would need some time to gear down a bit!

I finally opened the present I got from Takeshi and his wife at their wedding. It was a set of beautiful, handcrafted ceramic cups. But there were only 5 cups in the box, a row of 3 and a row of 2. A card with the artist's name on it occupied the 6th spot. Cutlery and china sets in the Western world have even numbers of settings: 4, 6, 8, etc. The card mentioned nothing about a "rain check". Had there been a mistake at the shop? Then I consulted the Internet and found that this is a Japanese custom. Japan is strange!

Final (?) Thoughts

In the past: "What a silly country." "They look like me! / I look like them!" "Great clothes -- that fit!" "I'll never understand this place." "I don't even want to understand this place." "Expensive, crowded, humid." "Never again!" "Been there, done that, got the T-shirt."

This time: "Nice people, great food, interesting culture. I'll be back, probably in person, certainly by Internet."