Viewing Japan

In many of my classes this week we have been discussing about how Japan has been viewed by Western societies in the past and present. In many cases, western societies have the idea that the old Japanese cultural is better then the new modern culture, which is seen just as an imitation of the west. Upon reflection, I have discovered that I myself am guilty of doing the same thing.

Since coming to Japan I have done a lot of walking around the cities. In doing so, while I find the cities very interesting, they are in many ways just like home. Just another city. However, it is when I see sights like this and those that I have posted about before that I think, "This is Japan," "This is what I expected to see." Of course I also respect many things about present day Japanese culture, but I suppose all those years of influence do not get washed away in a matter of a few days.

I still think that areas like these are beautiful, more like the Japan I expected to see. But now maybe I can appreciate other areas of Japanese culture a little bit more now.