Today’s speaker was our own John Mitchell, who gave us the second part of his talk entitled “The Land of the Rising Sun”
The talk centred around his visit to Japan in 2008 to attend the wedding of his niece to a Japanese gentleman.
The trip was self-organised, with all arrangements made at this end without the need of a tour advisor. Needless to say, John left all the organising to his wife, Celia!!
They were particularly impressed by the cleanliness, neatness and civility of all the people and areas they visited, usually by train, taxi or occasional bus. Tips are apparently seriously frowned upon in Japan. The three main islands of Japan are Hokkaido, Honshu and Kyushu, and 75% of the landmass is mountainous and uninhabitable, so the very large population live mainly in coastal area. Temples abound, most having been constructed between 660-670AD, and scrupulously maintained ever since.
The Peace Gardens in Hiroshima surround the untouched site of the first atomic bomb dropped on 6thAugust 1945, and walls decorated with millions of children’s crayons from around the world testify to the need to ensure that such an event never recurs.
Most Japanese speak a little English, but until 1853 the country had little connection with the rest of the world until an American, Colonel Perry visited, and international trade was established. The highlight of the trip was the eventual sighting of Mount Fuji, during a day of particularly unwelcome weather.