The Land of the Rising Sun

Traveling to Japan has always mesmerized me. I learn more and more each time I travel to this Land of the Rising Sun.

This year, we ventured to Mount Fuji, which is considered a divine and blessed mountain. It stands over 3,700 meters and is the highest mountain in Japan and the second highest in Asia.

The weather was negative 15 degrees Centigrade, but the sun was shining and the route was passable.

There are no trash bins in Mount Fuji and there is no waste up there. You are expected to bring down what you consume. Even the tour operator gathers all the trash from the passengers after every tour.

Going to Hakone for lunch was such a treat. Everything was so orderly. We also visited the hot springs, which make this place the most visited part of Japan.

With a population of only 15,000, over 20 million tourists visit the place annually. Thus there are over 400 hotels and several golf courses and hot springs.

Meanwhile, going to Odawara was such an experience. It was the Hojo clan that ruled Japan from the Odawara Castle. They were Shikken, which means they were the regents of the Kamakura Shogunate from 1203-1333.

The bullet train took us from Odawara to Tokyo in 35 minutes and the subway system was so good.

The transport system in Japan is so efficient.

Walking around Tokyo is so pleasant as the air is clean and there is no traffic. Everyone also starts with a bow and a greeting. There is so much respect.

Japan is so clean. Yes, they are affected by climate change, including super typhoons, but they mitigate their carbon emissions. They use electric vehicles.

The Japanese are very disciplined. How I wish we could all learn from these soft-spoken and polite people.

New Year celebration in Japan is not noisy and dirty. The people visit the 90,000 shrines and temples, paying respect to Shinto and their ancestors.

In the Philippines, especially at Luneta Park, trash is scattered everywhere after New Year’s Eve. We Filipinos have no discipline and our government doesn’t seem to care.

Japan has a population of 127 million, compared to our 105 million.

What it more striking is that with only 11.5 percent arable land, the Japanese are self-sufficient in rice – their staple food. They also grow all their vegetables and fruits using micro-farming techniques and greenhouses. There is no idle land for everything is cultivated and planted.

We in the Philippines have so much agricultural land but we are always short of rice. We even import most of the rice we consume. We must get away from the old monocrops such as sugar and coconut and start planting what we consume.

It would be good for us to learn from our Japanese neighbors and become self-sufficient and more disciplined. Perhaps then, the next generation could lead our country to greater heights. – ANTONIO CLAPAROLS, President, Ecological Society of the Philippines