Richard Turen
I have always felt that travel is about perceptions -- enhancing or changing one's preconceived ideas about a place one has not yet visited. The great joy of travel is that sense of discovery when it becomes clear that previously held perceptions were wrong.
The first time I dealt with travel perceptions was in 1973. I had been given an incredible opportunity to launch an American school in Europe for students from the Washington, D.C., area. I had, after much searching, established the school in a rather large villa in Tuscany, about 40 minutes from Florence.
Only three of my students had ever been to Europe. Several had never been on a plane. In interviews, before they flew over, I quickly determined that they viewed Europe as a backwater sort of place lacking the cleanliness, order and sophistication of the United States.
The first two days after arrival, our staff let them sleep, rest and ride the motorcycles we had provided to each student to explore the backroads and local villages.
On the third day, we woke them all up at 5 in the morning, and our staff announced we were going on a little "field trip."
We took the entire school to Zurich. I wanted them to see what a "backwater" European city looked like. I wanted them to see the automated stores that had no employees and the spotless streets. I wanted them to ride the transportation system and experience the food. I wanted them to learn, in 48 hours, that there is much we can learn from other cultures. I wanted them to spend their year with us abroad with more open minds about the joy of experiencing some of the best parts of how others in this world of ours cope with challenges.
I remember those 48 hours as the most successful trip I have ever planned. We repeated it with students for years. And each time I heard the young voices echoing, "Wow, did you see the way they ... ."
I mention this because my wife and I have just returned from our second vacation of 2024. We escorted 53 clients on a sailing around Japan, preceded by several days in Tokyo. It brought back memories of Tuscany in the sense that we were unprepared for the changed perceptions we would experience.
With a metro population of just over 37 million, Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities on Earth. The real story behind Japan's urbanization successes is how they cope with that.
I think one story that made the rounds on social media a few years back summarizes what life in Tokyo is like and how it challenges many perceptions.
A 10-year-old boy found a 50-yen note (worth about 46 cents U.S. at the time) on his way home from school. But rather than keep it, he told his mother he needed to report it to the local police. There are small police stations in every small neighborhood of Tokyo, and the assigned officers are expected to know and to speak personally with every resident of their "territory." The police are helpful, polite and eager to help. In this case, they took the boy seriously, thanked him and filled out a report.
Police knew the person who had lost the 50-yen note would likely contact them, expecting it to be turned in. And there were hundreds of similar responses to this story online, as this was considered "normal" behavior in a land where honor, tradition and courtesy are shared values.
That is why they bow in Japan. And now, after two weeks of extraordinary politeness and grace, I must bow in return.
Read part 2, "How Tokyo does urbanization right."