through
my eyes
In Japan, I noticed
that English was used for lit-
tle more than decoration. It’s
not used for the purpose of
communicating with non-Jap-
anese speakers. I was lost at
a train station that was not
meant to be my stop. I asked a
nice young lady which train I
should take to my destination.
She couldn’t speak English but
she definitely understood what
I was saying. In that sense, Jap-
anese people are exceedingly
helpful and even if they don’t
speak English, they will drop
everything to help you find
your way.
And I saw some Eng-
lish lettering somewhere,
somehow, however English
is used more for styled, not
as function. Miku explained,
“We learned English at school
but never took them as a seri-
53
ous subject”. I guess what Miku
was trying to say is that Eng-
lish in Japan is like Pendidikan
Sivik in Malaysia. (Sigh)
Japan has long held
a reputation as being one of
the most expensive countries
in the world to visit, with To-
kyo holding the crown as one
of the world’s most expensive
cities. After my visit, I think
that reputation is a bit unde-
served. Two things in Japan
are quite expensive: lodging
and long-distance transpor-
tation. But beyond that, pric-
es aren’t that bad. I compared
prices in Japan with London
and it’s definitely cheaper in
Japan. Food, in particular, can
be done on the cheap. Almost
all of my meals cost less than
1000 Yen (RM 35). Subway
rides would cost 100-200 Yen
each (RM3.50 – RM 7.00)