Close Quarters

(Actual Size)

There are a lot of people in Japan. Most of the land here is mountainous or slivered apart by rivers, severely limiting the total of habitable space that they have to share. Sure, it wasn't always like that. Before the Japanese needed to deal with a huge population, there were feudal wars and rival clans all going after what land there was and it tended to sort itself out. But now there are 127 million people strong (that's about 1.94% of the world's current population) and they all have invented some pretty creative ways to fit everyone into a meager 377,873 km² of space from tip to tip. This nation of islands is no Canada, let me tell you.

It's in the way they greet each other on the street. It's in the way manners have built the language. It's in the way the Japanese bow in lieu of shaking hands. It's in the way they respect their elders and revere their children. It's in the way Japanese people avoid confrontation by taking an "apology-first" approach in their daily lives. It's in the way that they keep crime to a near global-low.

Also, it's in the way they stack hotel rooms on top of each other that are no larger than a luxury casket. But it was an incredibly comfortable way to sleep. There was a communal bath and sauna on one of the floors, and beds and beds in stacked rows and rows. My second night in the capsule hotel, they were playing Star Wars on the tiny little television that is built above the bed. It should go without saying that these hotel "rooms" are single-occupancy spaces. I was surprised to discover that the bulk of the capsule hotels are men-only. I think it's the best way to spend a frugal night in Shibuya, which is renowned for being one of the most expensive areas in Japan.

I'll be spending another night or two in the capsules just before I take off to Singapore on January 27th. Tokyo is going to have to deal with Makinasu-san one last time. At least, for this leg of my Japan life.

December is update-a-day month! To read all the posts this month, click on December 2006 on the right-hand side of the screen!