The piece below was written after returning from a trip to Japan, December 2006.
''One of the things that most impressed me was the tremendous attention to detail the Japanese seem to have afforded everything. The everyday routine of life is made so much easier and pleasant in Japan, toilet seats being warm in winter for example! Gifts are delicately and beautifully wrapped, food is presented as a form of high art and people work tremendously hard to do a good job.
The innovation and drive for excellence impressed me greatly. Never have I seen such cities, such buildings and such incredible design. I took endless photos of cars. In the UK,we are just about beginning to grasp the ideas of economy, compactness and low emissions in vehicle design. The Japanese, however are ten years ahead. Vehicles over there look futuristic. In actual size they are very small but manage somehow to provide plenty of space for passengers whilst looking incredibly stylish.
When we went up to the viewing platform of the Tokyo Tower (one of the tallest free standing steel structures in the world) I was reminded of the manga cartoons I had seen: acres of flashing neon, skyscrapers like something from Star Wars, highways extending as far as the eye could see, nothing but lights and city. Whereas in other countries I have visited, where technology seems either aging or imported, Japan seems to have wanted to reinvent everything, going one step further in innovation, efficiency and design. Getting back to the UK almost seemed like stepping back a century in terms of technology and organisation.
Providing a contrast to all this human endeavour, is the wonderful beauty ofJapan’s natural environment. Although we were visiting in late December, winter had come late and the autumn colours were at their best. Driving up the valley towards the volcanic spring town ofHakone, the autumn colours and landscape were simply breathtaking. Early in the morning I went to do some exercise on our hotel roof and Mount Fuji could be seen, crowned with snow and with a dramatic walnut-whip swirl of cloud around its base. Japanese landscapes are wild and yet at the same time delicate and incredibly aesthetic.
Harmony between ones surroundings and a sense of perfection and wellbeing is emphasised in cookery and traditional architecture. Sashimi represents the freshest and best cuts of raw fish, presented with shavings of Japanese horseradish, Japanese delicate vegetables and fruits cut into perfect shapes of flowers: many courses, many flavours, freshnes sand beauty. Using chopsticks allows the person to select a single morsel and enjoy that particular flavour before the next.
Famous Japanese social etiquette was at first slightly daunting but rapidly became a pleasure. Bowing when receiving things or meeting people quickly becomes second nature and great importance is stressed on ones bearing and relationship towards people and environment. Although the young people we met seemed to be less inclined to cling to the old ways, Japan still emanates centuries old culture and tradition through everyday contact.
I became aware of the determination of the Japanese people to renew and reinvent themselves.Two significant places we visited were Hiroshima,where the first Atomic weapon was used, and Kobe, struck by the great earthquake in 1995. Visiting these modern and vibrant cities today, it is as if the Japanese used such terrible events almost as tools for regeneration, improvement and growth.
A supremely pragmatic and practical people, the Japanese, throughout history have learned quickly from the world around them and responded to challenges quickly and courageously.''
