The brutal truth about Japan: I was told it’s ‘great for families’ – but the locals were awful to my kids and the cities are a pervert’s paradise. Then an incident at a train station was the last straw, writes JONICA BRAY

Tired and frustrated, I opened the glass doors of the 7-Eleven and made my way to the cold section to pick out dinner for my tired, hungry family.

Custard and strawberry sandwiches, raw spicy tuna and rice, or something fried on a stick?

There’s no doubt the options are plentiful, but there wasn’t another packaged meal on my bingo card for our bucket list trip to Japan.

When I booked flights to Osaka with my husband, Clint, and our three children, Jonty and Hendry, eight, and six-year-old Stanley, I had heard great things about traveling there with kids.

Eating groceries three times a day was not one of them.

Where was all the sushi, sashimi and Yakitori? Why didn’t we have that authentic experience at a cozy little restaurant, steaming, sipping saké, and people watching?

Because we were not welcome.

In Japan, you can hire a boyfriend or eat at a cafe staffed by young women dressed as maids and calling you ‘master’. You can tame hedgehogs or pigs. You can eat raw horse – basashi – or visit a love hotel in Kabukicho, Asia’s largest red light district.

By the end of the holiday, Jonica was used to being denied entry to restaurants because she had a child.

But children are ‘naughty and dirty’. Really.

During our two-week trip in June, there were people who took one look at us and shouted ‘no!’ with their arms crossed. I’ve lost count of the number of restaurant staff barking. or ‘full!’ We look over their shoulders to see completely empty tables and chairs.

It wasn’t just restaurants; Taxis with shining green lights were passing us on the street. On the rare occasion that we did manage to flag one down, we were quickly thrown out again.

I was starting to feel resentful, but I was also not oblivious to the fact that a big family brings more noise, more bags, and more potential for spoilage.

I’d say my kids are pretty typical by Australian standards. They are not wild in any way. They sit at the table while eating and don’t go crazy in the city. They don’t put their feet on train seats and don’t throw tantrums in public.

The three brothers definitely have their time and occasionally push each other noisily. And of course, they can get irritable after a long day. Plus, they They whine endlessly about carrying their own bags.

I would compare them to the Japanese kids we met, but I can’t because we haven’t met any of them. Not even a single one.

Jonica (right) was shocked by passengers being rude to a seven-year-old boy at the train station

It seems that Japan’s population is shrinking, and the average family with a child only has one. They must be hiding somewhere though because I’ve never seen them.

I’m not exaggerating here: I haven’t seen a single Japanese child under 16 on the train or bus, in a store, on a playground, on the street, on the beach or in a restaurant for two weeks.

Yes, it wasn’t school holidays in Japan, but we also had two weekends and evenings there. The whole country was like a childless zone.

Okay, Disneyland was different but just just. I’d say adults outnumbered children by at least 50 to one. Universal Studios in Osaka was more like 100 to 1. And most of the children we saw were Western tourists.

The situation did not get any better when we went out of town. Our hotel in Mount Fuji gave us a back room with no view when they realized we were traveling with children.

The room was booked for five adults; because there was no other option on the website. We were promised a view, but were ushered into a lot of tut-tut down the corridor to the last available room. Out of sight, out of mind.

Halfway through our trip we met up with some friends from Australia who had three kids. Things got worse when we gathered our kids at a crowded Tokyo train station to head to our hotel.

We got nothing but eye rolls and dirty looks, and when a tired seven-year-old sat down next to his bag while we were trying to decipher the map, several passengers charged at him, aggressively telling him he was ‘naughty’ and ‘dirty’.

I thought it should be us. We must be doing something wrong because all I heard back home was: ‘Go to Japan!’ They love children! It’s so family friendly.”

That night I Googled ‘What is considered rude in Japan?’ I researched.

The results came thick and fast.

Blow your nose, eat on the street, eat standing up, use chopsticks incorrectly, leave chopsticks facing up, distribute food with chopsticks.

Tipping, showing affection in public, crossing legs in public transport, chewing, making noise.

Pointing with your finger, not taking off your shoes, using bathroom slippers outside the bathroom, drinking your glass neat.

Getting out of the elevator first, making direct eye contact, speaking loudly, talking on the phone, giving and receiving money with one hand, bringing towels to bathroom areas.

‘Wow, if they told me what it was maybe it would be a shorter list Negative ‘It’s rude in Japan,’ I muttered to my husband.

Our expectations for our Japan holiday were very different from reality

Jonica was surprised by the long list of things considered rude in Japan

Looking deeper, I read that children in Japan are supposed to be independent by sixth grade, and that some schools don’t even employ janitors because the students do all the cleaning and maintenance.

Japan’s strict parenting culture in 2016 why celebre A couple left their seven-year-old child in the forest as punishment for throwing rocks at cars. Little Yamato Tanooka was missing for six nights before he was found safe.

This has led to debates around the expectations of children and whether society is too harsh on parents whose children do not conform to docile, well-behaved expectations.

I’m not saying they’re wrong, or that one should change hundreds of years of tradition and culture to please Western families on their two-week vacation.

However, I am saying that our expectations for our Japan holiday were very different from the reality.

My husband and I have traveled a lot with our children, and I’m not just talking about the usual tourist attractions for Australians like Bali and Fiji.

We took trips to Vanuatu, France, Namibia and South Africa, as well as Thailand, Malaysia and Korea. We loved the Philippines and had a great time in Hong Kong. It’s always a pleasure to return to Britain, the country of my birth.

However, Japan is not a country I can recommend to anyone with children under the age of 15, and it is definitely not a destination I would go to again.

The problem does not only apply to local people; The transportation system is also old and cumbersome. Yes, bullet trains are fast, but booking a seat costs as much as a flight, and since the trains are owned by different companies, you’ll have to bargain to buy multiple tickets..

Everything is time consuming. Despite being the country that produces Nintendo and Sony, the technology is outdated and you better be ready to walk. Everywhere.

We were traveling around 10km a day – even 20km on a few busy days – and that was after We plan our days carefully to avoid excessive walking.

But was there anything I liked? 7-Eleven.

Yes, we have them at home, but 7-Eleven in Japan is a completely different beast and I love it. They have a great skincare selection, amazing egg sandwiches, and sweet treats that rival the best patisseries in Paris. Five stars. I recommend.