Things you should know before coming to Japan
by Shihei Kamiya
When you walk around the streets of Tokyo, you will meet many foreigners. They often travel in groups. This is still the case today, but for some time now the number of foreigners traveling individually rather than in groups has been increasing. What surprises us is that foreigners come to travel even in rural areas like this. That’s such a surprise.
Tokyo and Kyoto are standard destinations for foreigners. The purpose of this customary visit is to experience Tokyo as a modern city as a developed country in Japan. Experience old Japanese culture in Kyoto.
Recently, Japanese entertainment such as anime and games have become popular. Their purpose is to buy game software cheaply in Japan. If you come to Japan, it is true that there is a wide selection of products.
What do foreigners look for when traveling to Japan?
I thought about this while watching Japanese TV recently. Why do foreigners travel to Japan’s regional cities?
The answer is, after all, to know the true state of Japan. That’s the answer.
I started working to introduce old poetry, which is a part of Japanese culture, to foreigners. When I deal with old Japanese things, I begin to see the value of Japan in a different way. Japan has many temples, shrines, and nature that cannot be found in other countries around the world. No wonder. That’s when I started thinking about things to inform foreigners coming to Japan before they come to Japan. This idea is a recent demand for inbound tourism in Japan. Tens of millions of foreigners come to Japan every year, but how much do they know about Japan before they come to Japan? Perhaps they come here because they admire the image of Japan.
Eastern culture has something unique. There are foreigners who go to famous temples in Japan, stay at the temple’s accommodations, and experience zazen meditation. They step onto the tatami floor with their shoes on. After entering the tatami room, I meditate. However, it is difficult for foreigners to cross their legs in a tatami room. We have to teach them such things one by one. Still, people from Europe and America continue to come to Japan. It is a longing for oriental culture.