The Grass is Green

On July 2, 2008, I had a chance to go visit my daughter and her family in Japan. She was there for three years while her husband was stationed in Iwakuni. (He is a Marine) I was very excited and was not real sure what I would find but Cindy told me that they lived on base and that it was not somewhat like being in home. I had planned to stay for one month

As I flew into Tokyo, my first glimpse of the country was a very interesting one. I saw the grass and thought “The GRASS is green!” Immediately after that thought, I smiled and told myself “Well, duh, what other color would it be?”

In the airport, I had some time before I had to catch the bus to the Haneda airport that took me to Hiroshima where my daughter was to pick me up. As I sat in the Tokyo airport, I noticed how quiet everything was. There was soft Japanese music in the background and everyone gaily ‘trotted’ their way through the airport, even the elderly! Quite a bit different from the airports here in the states.

On our way to the smaller airport I noticed that again everyone was very quiet! It was not something I expected to see, or rather NOT hear in a city as large as Tokyo. There were signs above the windows, some in English and some in Japanese. Just then an announcement came over the speaker: “Please turn off your cell phones as they can annoy the neighbor.”

When we arrived at the Haneda Airport, I found the bathroom and was surprised to see that the toilet was a ‘keyhole’ shaped porcelain hole in the floor! It is called a ‘squat toilet’. There found smoking rooms in the middle of the airport walk ways. These were completely enclosed glass rooms with tables to stand at. There must have been a vent with a fan because there was no smoke to see and there was a good dozen people smoking.

People were more polite than I had ever seen, when greeting someone, they bow. You take your shoes off at restaurants and put them in cubbies at the front door. Restaurants are quiet and most of the tables had cut outs under the table for your legs. Teens and children were very respectful to others. Some did dress wild, but they are very respectful and polite. There wasn’t very many, if any, trash cans about town, yet there was absolutely no trash anywhere, even in the city! People carry it until they could throw it away.

If they thought they may be getting sick but have to go out, they would wear a surgical mask so they do not expose anyone else. They build up, we build out. Their parking garages are auto elevators with platforms that turn the car to the right position to park or deliver back to the owner. Streets are narrow, even the highways. Malls are stories tall with a store on each floor. Many of these malls had one pay station on the main floor. Many different stores, but pay for all on your way out of the mall. Crime is practically non-existent. My daughter left her purse at a carryout restaurant. I was frantic, she didn’t worry. Three hours later it was still on the floor where she left it, nothing missing.

Everywhere I went, everything I saw, everything I did was completely opposite to what I expected or am used to. Trees were sculpted everywhere except for the parks. Yards were mowed with weed whackers rather than lawn mowers. I could go on and on for hours on the differences. But that is not what I wanted to tell you.

God once showed me that there is no difference between nationalities, cultures, or race. No matter their color or gender, they were all the same. And when I was flying out of Tokyo on my way back home, I noticed the grass again and realized that it was God who told me “The grass is green” when I first arrived.

He was telling me that no matter what the difference is between people, how they dress, act, talk, or live, they are all His children and He loves us all equally, after all…”The grass is STILL green”.

^“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)