Coming Clean

After a couple of nights at the traditional ryokan, where we all slept on futon mattresses on the floor, I can tell you a few things. One of my children grinds her teeth every time she shifts positions. Another cannot abide by going to bed on the early side (this actually afflicts most of us, but the time difference has certainly thrown me off my late-night game). And I can say with absolute certainty that this sleeping arrangement was not created with jet-lagged, middle-aged ladies who need a hip replacement in mind.

So while I was sad to leave the island of Miyajima behind, it was a pleasure to move into a more modern pair of adjoining rooms with actual beds in Kyoto. These rooms are actually tiny apartments, and I marvel at the efficiency we see. In the space of a large American living room we have a bed, a set of bunk beds, a kitchenette, 2 love seats, a coffee table, a shower and bath, a toilet room, sink and a washer. The Japanese take their bathrooms seriously, with soaking tubs everywhere we go. Every toilet has a couple of bidet options and most have a heated seat. At our first hotel, it was almost comical how tricked out the bathroom was when we barely had room to open a suitcase!

In the entrance of most accommodations, slippers await us. We are to remove our shoes and wear the slippers inside. But in traditional guesthouses, you are supposed to take the slippers off when you get to the woven tatami mats to avoid damaging them. And in those places, you are also expected to remove the house slippers and put on the bathroom slippers when you walk in the little toilet room. Even in public places, like Hikone Castle, plastic bags were provided that we were to put our shoes in while we wore their slippers or just socks to tour the wooden-floor rooms. And do not put your shoes on the raised wood walkway in the shoe removal area—that is intended for a clean passage to the interior, and putting shoes on them will earn you a stern word from the attendant. The website for one ryokan said you leave your shoes at the door so that you can leave the “dirty” outside world behind.

Octopus with quail egg, yum!

So much comes in plastic. The napkin at the restaurant. Bananas. We stopped at a bakery last night and picked up 6 different items for breakfast this morning; each delicious item got its own plastic bag, then they were all placed in a larger plastic bag. Today Allison bought a bracelet at the eclectic and awesome Nishiki Market (flavored octopus stuffed with quail egg, anyone?), and her little bracelet was carefully wrapped in bubble wrap, placed in a small paper bag that was sealed shut with a sticker, and then placed in a small plastic bag with handles. Still they come in second to the US in plastic waste production! They are facing some of the same challenges in recycling plastic that the US
is since China and other East Asian countries are no longer taking so much of our plastic surplus. The Quist family isn’t helping—we don’t know enough words to graciously decline. Mostly, I’m pretty sure the
plastic use is meant to keep everything as clean as possible.

One of the most ubiquitous stores in Japan is, surprisingly, 7-11. It’s a great resource for tourists because they always have an ATM that takes international cards (important because most businesses here require cash instead of credit cards), good bathrooms (which actually aren’t hard to find), and good food at any time of day. When we visited Nara, I plugged 7-11 into Google maps and found 12 locations within a mile. They sell 2.2 billion rice balls a year; they committed this year to move to wrapping them individually in plant-based plastic instead of traditional plastic. It’s a step forward, and it preserves the desire to keep food clean and safe.

The need to be clean only seems to fall way when animals are involved. Yesterday we visited Nara, where deer are a major attraction. They lounge and linger on the sidewalks and pavement, looking for food from all the friendly visitors. People gladly fed and touched the deer with no hand sanitizer in sight. Kyoto also offers up animal cafes: cat cafes, dog cafes, otter cafes, and owl cafes. The whole point is to get up close and personal with animals. That just doesn’t seem hygienic. I mean, you are all welcome to come and hang out with my dog for $10/hour, but let’s not think too hard about where her tongue has been!

We have visited a number of beautiful and awe-inspiring shrines and temples at this point. The week of the New Year is a busy time as people come to ask for blessings on the coming year. As they approach the holy sites, they first purify themselves with the running water provided or with the smoke of burning incense. The purification at a Shinto shrine is intended to chase away evil spirits. One website (Japan-Guide.com) points out that Shinto holds an optimistic view of people, that we are generally good. It’s a bit of a contrast to my Reformed tradition, what with the total depravity and all, purification and leaving behind my dirty old self is largely dependent on the work of Someone Else.

A book we brought along, “A Geek in Japan,” talks about religion in Japan, saying that most people here mix aspects of Shintoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and even Christianity without really thinking too much about which religion each practice might come from, but many traditions run deep. It seems to me that the traditions of purification or leaving notes with your wishes at the shrine are somewhere between the faith component of confession and supplication and the fun tradition component of writing a letter to Santa and leaving cookies out for him.

American Christianity does the same thing sometimes, mixing our spiritual and biblical practices with other practices, beliefs, and philosophies, like Christmas trees, bridal veils and patriotism, or on a darker note, we've claimed biblical backing for both nationalism and slavery. Our religion is rarely pure, in spite of our desire to be.

I can think of a handful things in my life that have felt truly purifying. A cool, clean shower at the end of a sweaty, humid day. Admitting to a wrong against another person and asking their forgiveness. Both serving and receiving the sacrament of holy communion. Those moments are so life-giving, so ripe with joy and relief, it is no wonder that we all look for ways to experience that feeling.