Tinka Ines Kalajzić

Tokyo is so crazy and bizarre that a month of non-stop exploration wouldn’t be enough. With its natural environment, beaches and greenery, Zamami Island is so beautiful, to my mind even more beautiful than the Maldives and the Andaman Islands put together. And Nara is really something special with all those wonderful deer walking everywhere. The biggest cultural shock for me were their toilets. Gosh, I have already written and talked about it so much that I feel that I’m overdoing it a bit, but it really was a cool experience. Heated seats, various sounds that “drown out” the sounds emanating from you to give you more privacy, spray, deodorant, water temperature controls, perfumes, flushing with adjustable jets... It was slightly strange at first, but very easy to get used to. I remember using it for the first time at the airport. I almost screamed and jumped out of my seat when the bidet function started doing its thing. After a month of use, I already felt like a "professional" and would often stay in the toilet much longer than necessary, because in a realm of so many buttons you have to try every single one. A month may seem like a lot, but it takes a long time to feel the "nuances" of a culture and society. One of the funny things was hearing vocal reactions to something you say to them. The amount of various noises they make just to confirm something or show how surprised or pleased they are by what you're saying is hilarious. One lady on the Tokyo-Kyoto bullet train reacted to my statement, "I’m from Croatia" with a sound that literally encompassed 14 tones, almost two octaves. I’ve never experienced anything like that in any other country.