More about Japan

Japan has a population of 127 million living in an area that is 1,900 miles from north to south and 300 miles east to west, 70 percent of which is mountainous. This means that some 40 million Japanese live in a 100 square mile area, making it one of the world's the most densely populated countries.

A post-visit discussion by the Semester at Sea students after our four-day stay resulted in the following observations. Japanese people are:

• Very friendly and helpful: They will walk several blocks to get you where you need to go.
• Law-abiding: There is no jaywalking, littering or graffiti. One student left her iPad on a counter in a crowded train station and found it in the same spot two hours later.
• Speak quietly and softly, respectful of other people’s comfort levels.
• Students wear uniforms, carry fashionable backpacks (that all look alike) and are eager to practice their English. 
•  One never hears a crying baby or sees a toddler throw a tantrum.
• On Sundays, families are outdoors or at malls spending time together.
  

After spending two days in Yokohama and Tokyo, we sailed to Kobe (population 1.5 million people), Japan's second-largest port. It is west of Tokyo, near Osaka, and is the country's fifth-largest city, having had thousands of residents migrate to other parts of Japan after an earthquake in 1995. Tokyo has 12 million residents; Yokohama 3 million; Osaka 2.6 million; Kyoto 1.7 million. All the big cities on the Island of Honshu can be reached within a few hours, thanks to bullet trains.  

Kobe is a narrow city, just 15 miles from east to west, and Mount Rokko rises 1,000 feet to the north beyond which are the Arima hot springs. Kobe’s underground water supply is very good (some call it sacred), resulting in a good crop of rice. This means abundant sake production. 

Sake wine, made from rice.

Kobe is home to the country's first golf course, built here more than a century ago by a Scotsman. It is one of the few courses within city limits in a country with precious urban space. Golf carts are banned at Kobe Golf Club and players are limited to eight clubs, part of efforts to preserve the course, which was carved out of Mount Rokko.

Tucked away in a corner of Kobe's Chinatown is this storefront, a little taste from home.

Kyoto, an hour and a half north of Kobe was the capital of Japan for a millennium until 1868 when Tokyo took that title. This historic and picturesque city has three rivers running through its center, and several mountains surround it. A castle built in 1603, several shrines (both Buddhist and Shinto), the four-story gold-leaf-covered Golden Pavilion, serene and beautifully landscaped gardens with ponds and waterfalls make Kyoto a visitors' paradise. The carmaker Toyota's headquarters and 20 universities make Kyoto a vibrant center.

We learned from our tour guide that historically the emperor was the highest-ranking individual in Japanese society, but the Shogun, the top Samurai warriors, were more powerful. In the old caste system, farmers came next since they were in charge of growing rice and feeding the population. Artisans and manufacturers were next, and merchants were the lowest of them all. Our guide was quick to tell us that today, the mercantile class has climbed up from the lowest rungs, possessing the technical and business savvy to become the country's richest class.

 

Our ship left Kobe to the sounds of American favorites played by a band dressed in red and white as people waved huge placards in the shape of hands, open palms or V-signs. This was the first time Semester at Sea had returned to the Port of Kobe since the 1995 earthquake.