This week: Respect for others
Today I am writing from Nikko, Japan. It is a two-hour train ride 80km north of Tokyo. The bitingly cold and wet weather only enhances the ambience of the place. It is known as the natural refrigerator of Japan and is a favourite summer resort to escape the hustle and heat of the urban jungle. This is a mountainous region covered with lush alpine forest, pristine rivers and lakes. It is a sacred place to the Japanese and is the site of numerous shrines and temples devoted to an eclectic mix of Shintoism and Buddhism and a memorial to their most glorious and honoured shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who unified Japan in the 1600s. In 1999, Unesco bestowed World Heritage status on the area and its shrines and temples.
The area was apparently settled by a priest named Shoto in AD735 through divine intervention. Many gods of the Shinto religion are closely associated with mountains, and the mountains of the Nikko region represent several important gods in the Shinto pantheon. Tokugawa Ieyasu was enshrined here north of Edo (the old name for Tokyo) because he wanted to continue to protect Edo after his death and because the north is the direction where demons dwell in Japanese mythology.
It is the last few days of my holiday and I want to reflect on what else we can learn from the Japanese. During my stay in Tokyo, I saw dogs of all shapes and sizes. Not surprisingly, the breeds popular in Japan are the same as the favourites in Hong Kong. There are lots of poodles, huskies, cocker spaniels and quite a few dogs that originated from Japan, such as shiba inu and akitas. What was pleasantly surprising was that dogs were allowed everywhere. They were in public parks, shopping malls and even some restaurants. This reflects not only the freedom of pet ownership but also the high level of tolerance shown by people who don't have or even like dogs.
The society has an underlying unspoken code of conduct, and it would seem obscene for a citizen to step beyond the invisible boundary of decent conduct and common sense. For example, no parked bicycles are locked, as it appears bike thieves are uncommon. In Tseung Kwan O, where bike riding is more common, not only are all the bikes chained up, lots of them are rusted with flat tyres and obviously abandoned. This is simply irresponsible, and even though Hong Kong is a generally safe place crime-wise, it is obvious that petty theft is common.
I witnessed someone walking a dog on the streets of Tokyo. Not only did he pick up after the dog, but he used gloves to put the droppings into a plastic bag before he deposited it into a bin. He then cleaned up the dirty smudge on the concrete with a wet towel. With such public displays of consideration for others, it is no wonder pet dogs are so much more tolerated there than in Hong Kong.