Richard Touraine
I have always felt that travel is about perception. That means reinforcing or changing your preconceptions about places you haven’t yet visited. The greatest joy of travel is the sense of discovery when it becomes clear that your previous perceptions were wrong.
The first time I addressed travel perceptions was in 1973. I was given the amazing opportunity to establish an American school in Europe for students from the Washington, DC area. After much searching, I set up the school in a rather large villa in Tuscany, about 40 minutes from Florence.
Only three of my students have ever been to Europe. Some had never flown before. Before they flew out of the interview, I quickly determined that they viewed Europe as a backwater lacking the cleanliness, order, and sophistication of the United States.
For the first two days after arrival, our staff made sure the students could sleep, relax and explore the back roads and local villages on the motorcycles we provided to each student.
On the third day, we woke them all up at 5 in the morning, and our staff told them we were going on a little ‘field trip’.
We took the whole school to Zurich. I wanted them to see what a “backwater” European city looks like. I wanted to show automated stores without employees and clean streets. I wanted them to experience food through transportation. I wanted them to learn in 48 hours that there is a lot we can learn from other cultures. I wanted them to spend a year abroad with us more open to the joy of experiencing the best parts of how other people in our world cope with challenges.
I remember those 48 hours as one of the most successful trips I have ever planned. We’ve repeated this with our students for years. And every time I heard a young voice echo, “Wow, did you see the way they did it…”
I mention this because my wife and I have just returned from our second vacation in 2024. We escorted 53 clients on a voyage around Japan before spending a few days in Tokyo. It brought back memories of Tuscany in that we were not yet ready for the changed perception we were about to experience.
With a metropolitan population of just over 37 million, Tokyo is one of the most densely populated cities on Earth. The real story behind Japan’s urbanization success is how they deal with it.
I think a story that went viral on social media a few years ago sums up what life in Tokyo is like and how it challenges many perceptions.
A 10-year-old boy found a 50 yen bill (equivalent to 46 U.S. cents at the time) on his way home from school. But rather than keep it, he told his mother she should report it to the local police. Every small neighborhood in Tokyo has a small police station, and the assigned officer must know and speak personally to every resident in the area. The police are helpful, polite and willing to help. In this case, they took the boy seriously, thanked him and wrote a report.
The police knew that anyone who had lost a 50 yen bill would contact them and expect it to be turned over. And there were hundreds of similar reactions to this story online. Tradition and courtesy are shared values.
So they bow in Japan. And now, after two weeks of extraordinary politeness and grace, I must return the favor.
