Rajio Taiso

picture source/insidejapanblog.com

Many Americans envy Japan's healthy citzenry and spartan eating habits. Japan's outstanding 3.5% obesity rate stands in stark contrast to the U.S. rate (over 30%!)

To millions of Japanese, the morning is the time for rajio taiso (radio exercises). Most Japanese know the approximate 5 minute (dai-ichi) first routine by heart. From an early age, students learn the moves at school/neighborhood parks and commit to memory the soundtrack the public broadcaster, NHK, airs on TV and the radio. Doing rajio taiso is also a big part of most factories' early morning routines.

Rajio taiso was actually an American idea before being adopted by the Japanese:

According to the November 2012 issue of Monocle, perhaps our favorite UK-based periodical: in the 1920s, Japan lagged behind richer Western nations by almost every yardstick: economic growth, health standards, longevity. Government officials felt there was a need for something that would improve the lot of the ordinary Japanese. So they did what anyone in their situation would: they sent their best and brightest overseas to learn from the West. One official from the life-insurance division at what was then Japan's post and telecommunications ministry returned from the US with a proposal for an exercise regimen modeled on Metropolitan Life Insurance Co's 15-minute radio calisthenics. By 1928, Japanese post-service employees at all 20,000 outlets were out on the curb every day to demonstrate the moves.

According to the non-profit National Radio Exercise Foundation, roughly one in five Japanese - amounting to 28 million people - does rajio taiso.  Rajio taiso is successful because it has become many things: a warm-up exercise for the health-conscious; a routine for the elderly; team-building for corporate Japan; and a seasonal ritual for schoolchildren.

--Randy Lynch

Tower Power in Tokyo!

source: reuters

We are most excited about the newly-opened Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest free-standing tower at 634 meters/2092 feet. According to Kenji Hall of Monocle, on a clear day, from the highest observation point inside the structure (451.2 meters above street level) you may actually see the curvature of the earth - quite amazing! Similar to Japan's world class Shinkansen (bullet train) transport system and auto industry, Tokyo Skytree is testimony to the Japanese meticulous attention to quality and precision in every detail. 

Building and planning for the tower took more than seven years under the guiding light of sculptor Kiichi Sumikawa and noteworthy architect Tadao Ando. In order to plan for earthquakes and typhoons, the construction team set up weather balloons to measure wind speeds and used sophisticated computer simulation software. Based on Sumikawa's suggestions, they even borrowed design elements from Japan's 1400 year-old five-tiered wooden pagodas. It looks like the preparations paid off when the magnitude 9 earthquake that struck off Japan's Pacific coast on 3/11/11 caused no damage to the nearly finished tower.

- Randy Lynch, Kipling & Clark

All Nippon Airways' Attention to Detail!

Similar to past flights on ANA, Bev, Zen, Zoe and I were most impressed with the meticulous Shintoesque attention to detail on our NH #11 flying ORD/NRT. You may note that in many 5 star hotels the cleaning staff will fold the first sheet of toilet paper into a triangle, thus informing the guest the cleaning staff has attended the room. Similarly, on our ANA flight, I noticed that every single time I visited the lavatory during our 12 hour flight, the first sheet of toilet paper had been folded to a triangle (ANA's own origami) to demonstrate that the cabin crew was regularly (hourly!) cleaning the facilities - BRAVO ANA!

-Randy Lynch

K&C Early 2012 Trips: Burma, Japan, Morocco, Tanzania Safari

Many of our clients have asked for suggestions for travel during the spring break and early summer periods. Bev, Zen and I plan to return to enigmatic, beautiful Burma in February and then to our beloved Japan for the early April sakura/cherry blossoms. We are excited about our much-anticipated safari to Tanzania in early June, including Arusha, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and ending with the great migration in the Serengeti and Grumeti River Camp. This will be Zen's first visit to East Africa and she is totally psyched!

Please note below our Lynch family Burma, Japan, and Tanzania private tour itineraries for your reference. Although we do not have the time in early 2012 to visit Morocco, we have included this private tour itinerary also. The ideal time for travel to Morocco is during the March through early June period, especially if you wish to include a one-night Desert Camp stay (Bivouc tent!).

By the very nature of what we do, each private tour is custom and unique onto itself.

Please click into our Kipling and Clark 9-day Burma luxury private tour

Please click into our Kipling and Clark 8-day Japan private luxury tour

Please click into our Kipling & Clark 10-day Morocco private luxury tour

Please click into our Kipling and Clark 10-day Tanzania Private Safari tour

Yes, Japan is Back

Saihoji Garden in Kyoto

We (well at least Zen and I!) freely admit Japan is our favorite, most compelling destination in the world. Bev, Zen and I are heartened that normalcy is returning to this inscrutable land, despite the devastation and suffering of March 11.

Despite our many travels to Japan, there always seems to be an impenetrable veil in truly understanding this wonderful land. As David Pillig noted, "in almost every aspect of life in Japan from sumo wrestling and tea ceremony to business, one has a feeling of something other than itself, beyond itself." A big part of Japan's uniqueness is its wabi-sabi aesthetic. Wabi-sabi represents the Japanese worldview emphasizing simplicity and purity. You may think of wabi-sabi as a spiritual longing, the beauty of all things humble, unpretentious ephemeral and imperfect. In contrast to our Western celebration of perfection, permanence, symmetry, and bravado, wabi-sabi exalts imperfection, impermanence, asymmetry and humility. Many in Japan refer to wabi-sabi as a feeling of hopeful sadness - nothing lasts; nothing is perfect, nothing is ever finished.

The pervasive Japanese spirit of jishuku has proven an indispensable asset in Japan's remarkable recovery. Although we have sent clients back to Japan over the past two months, Bev, Zen and I have not returned to Japan since 2010. We are most excited about embarking on our fifth (yes, 5!) sakura/cherry blossoms trip this April 2012.

Please click into our Kipling and Clark's 8-day Japan private luxury tour for 2012.

Steve Jobs & The Japanese Concept of Wabi-Sabi

Reading excerpts from Walter Isaacson's recent biography of Steve Jobs, I am struck by Jobs' affinity to Zen Buddhism and his strongly held belief of experiential widsom over empirical analysis. Based on his early travels to India, he felt that the people in the countryside did not use their intellect like Westerners do, but, instead, used their intuition. Wabi-sabi parallels the basic concept of Zen Buddhism in that intuitive insight is considered a more powerful force than intellectual deliberation.

Steve Jobs seems to have been a practitioner of the wabi-sabi aesthetic and worldview as he hailed the power of intuition in contrast to what he called, "Western rational thought." One wonders the true influence of Japan's unique culture on Steve Jobs and if indeed, he ever traveled to this amazing land.

--RL