My First Flight to Japan

On my first flight working to Japan, I was struck by two things about Japanese people. They are incredibly polite and their hotel service is unbelievable.

The manners I witnessed on the airplane were impeccable. As a flight attendant, you come across a variety of people from nasty to polite. Up until that flight, I had never experienced a flight in which every single passenger was well behaved and polite. Whether they received their first or last food choice, they were gracious and never complained. I was most impressed though with the way they neatly organized the food trays when they were finished eating. It looked like the original tray without the food, the dirty napkins folded, the silver ware placed back in the packaging, and the trays clean as a whistle. I later found out it is customary for Japanese to do this.

I was further amazed when I got to my layover hotel, the Marriott . The customer service was out of this world. You would have thought it was the Ritz Carlton for the service they provided. Walking into this hotel, they made you feel like a queen walking into a palace. All of the employees near the entrance bow down to you. As you continue walking through the hotel, the bowing of every employee continues. At one point during my stay, I asked a question to the concierge, in which she did not know the answer. I was stunned however, when she ran and I mean literally, to find someone that did. This was something I saw numerous times over my two day stay. I have never seen anything like this.

Visiting Japan and their culture is an amazing experience. I must warn you though, if you plan on traveling there be prepared to come home to Americans that may seem rude in comparison.