Landing in Japan for the first time as someone from Barcelona is a bit like stepping into the TV during a Saturday-morning anime marathon. Everyone around you looks oddly familiar. Not because you recognise them, but because your entire childhood animated universe seems to have escaped the TV and spread across the country. However, I reminded myself not to romanticise a culture I was only beginning to understand.
Your first morning in Japan, still jet-lagged, you walk outside and everything feels suspiciously… cute. Street signs have mascots. Construction sites have adorable animals apologising for the inconvenience. Even the police have cartoon characters. Two elderly man holding a light stick are in charge of the hotel car exit, they tell pedestrians where to move and cars where to stop. Something that I thought it was a one time thing, and impossible to happen in Barcelona, suddenly it appears in nearly every street in Japanese cities.
Many interactions in Spain are impulsive and rude so the contrast felt almost surreal, so imagine how shocked I was by people bowing, apologising, speaking softly, lining up without a hint of chaos in busy trains and crowded shops. The spotless streets were another shock: not a single overflowing bin, barely a cigarette butt in sight, as if the whole country collectively agreed to keep the ground sacred. To see that blend of courtesy and cleanliness was unforgettable, even as I’m fully aware this is the surface-level charm a visitor experiences. Japan’s social harmony comes with deep, complex pressures that these traveller couldn’t even grasp.
Besides politeness and cleanliness, their relationship with food was futuristic, convenient and successful. I did not eat a single bad meal in two weeks. Inside my first Japanese konbini I discovered something shocking, specially as this doesn’t exist in Spain.
A full stand of hot and ready food next to the counter, where karaage chicken and heated buns appear instantly warm. Drinks that chill the exact moment you buy them, and drinks you buy warm in plastic containers.
A wide range of bakery products, sweets, more drinks, more food, more snacks, it was paradise! As a tourist, that was such a highlight of the trip. Also, the toilets open automatically and have more buttons than a spaceship and you can order ramen from machines.
In the end, that first journey from Barcelona to Japan became far more than a playful comparison between my favorite childhood animes and the real world that inspired them—it became a quiet lesson in perspective. Walking through temples, cuteness on every corner, and navigating a society so orderly it almost felt animated, I realized how travel stretches you in ways you don’t expect.
Japan enchanted me, and reminded me that every culture—no matter how polished or chaotic it appears on the surface—carries stories far deeper than a visitor can grasp in a single trip.
It definitely opened a door for me and left me curious for more. I will be back soon, and create a new list of experiences that will make me fall in love with Japan even more!