Thursday, December 16, 2010

Things I take for granted in Japan

After being in Japan for 7 months, the honeymoon period starts to wear down and one's perspective gradually becomes . . . well, jaded. The endless hours of work signature to the Japanese lifestyle (see karoshi) and the complexities of every day life can often serve as the smudge on one's rose-colored glasses. However, the sure fire way to hit the restart button on life in the Land of the Rising Sun would be to look at things through a brand new set of eyes.

Last week, I had the fortune of accompanying a family friend from my home planet of America. This visitor was nothing but smiles the moment he set foot on Japanese soil and it forced me, in a way, to reevaluate my perspective and remember all of the wonderful things about Japan that I'd began taking for granted. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big fan of making lists, so I decided to list all of the wonderful things that make Japan a wonderful place to be. And here they are . . .

The Beautiful Scenery
Rushing about with my head down . . . from the train station to the hotel, to the ramen shop and past Japan's many industrial zones . . . my friend pointed out the one thing that I hadn't noticed in a while. The beautiful mountains in the distance. "Look at that!" he said, full of awe.
"At what?" I asked, squinting and looking around.
"Those beautiful mountains!" he said, pointing to the sky and taking out his video camera. It may sound strange, but it's pretty easy to forget when you walk past those very same mountains everyday. Regardless, I was brought back to a time when I actually took a moment to stop and look up at the ominous mountains. And now after having climbed Mt. Fuji, it's even more gratifying to take a gander. So that's what I've been doing lately. Trying to take it all in before I head back to the states, where I will no longer have that luxury.

The Kindness of the Japanese People
We walked out of the train station from the airport and was approached by a stranger. "Where are you going?" he asked. I answered immediately, while my friend stood by looking a little suspicious. The man said, "I help you. Let's go!" and I took off after him, not phased by his "strangerness" or questioning whether he was going to take us into some dark alley and rob us. We rushed through the streets and in and out of the train station following our mysterious navigator. He took us to the information area and asked the lady where our destination was located, asked us if we had tickets - to which we responded, "no," went to the terminal, bought two tickets and waved "goodbye" to us as we boarded the train with confusion and exhaustion. When we dismounted, we were at my friend's hotel.
"That man was amazing," my friend said with delighted bewilderment. "I can't believe he did so much to help us."
I shrugged my shoulders, "That's just how they are."
"Yeah, but could you imagine someone doing something like that in Philadelphia?"
I stopped for a minute and thought about it. The blaring answer was, of course, no. In fact, it's the complete opposite. Where I'm from, it's not even okay to look confused, because that might invite someone to rob you.

The Trains
The first time I ever rode a train (about 2 years ago) was a very low period in my life. My colleague who thought way too highly of my intelligence and who took the train everyday, decided to help me (an idiot who would drive to my own mailbox if possible) attempt to take the train all by myself for the first time. Unfortunately, the ordeal ended with me taking the train in the wrong direction and riding to the end of the line, crying in the back of the train-car as the workers snickered and pointed at me while continuing to tell me the wrong information. Not understanding how to read the schedule, my only question was, "Does this train go to Queen Lane?" and not one of the these three snickering fools could answer that single question. 2 years later, I'm in Japan. Not having been here one month, I am navigating these rails like a native. And what's better, if I am confused about which line to hop on, I don't even have to speak Japanese to get a quick and easy answer that tells me what time the train is running, where to go to catch it and if it's going to my destination. There have been times when I have walked up to an attendant and said, "Okayama" and that person immediately said, "Three" and that was enough to get me to my destination. When my friend visited, he was a navigating the rails in no time. "This is easier than I thought it would be," he said. I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, it's not so simple to get around on my home planet.

Kakigori
The first step to admitting you have an addiction is . . . well, admitting you have an addiction. (Wait, I think I said that wrong). Any who, I am addicted to shaved ice. I would eat it every day if I could. I have always crunched on ice (due to an iron deficiency) but this place makes my addiction waaaay worst. I measure my coordinates everywhere I go by how far I am from a place that serves kakigori. It's not just the flavors that are inviting, it's the actual texture of the ice. Like pure snow. I LOVE it. I will miss it dearly when I come back to the States. I heard they sell it in Hawaii but unfortunately, I don't have "Hawaii money," so I am going to have to take this wonderful treat to the East Coast. My friend tasted the pure delight that is kakigori for the first time and decided that he is going to help me start a kakigori chain in the United States. Watch out Dairy Queen . . . we're coming to getcha!

Vending Machines Everywhere
One of the first things my friend noticed was all of the vending machines. He was amazed and intrigued by the various different drinks they had. Beer, water, hot chocolate, hot or cold coffee, hot or cold tea, fruit drinks, pancake drinks (don't ask). The snack machines contained everything from ice cream to hot corn soup. You can't walk for two blocks without coming across a vending machine. It got to the point that my friend would say, "I'm thirsty . . . eh, I'll just wait until we get to the next vending machine." It's something I've been taking for granted now, but when I get back to the States, I am going to miss the heck out of that wonderful convenience.

No Tax, No Tip
Speaking of convenience, I will especially miss not having to worry about tipping after a meal. Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of dropping an extra 15% on the table to further express my gratitude for good service, but I'm not going to lie...it's nice to be able to walk into an establishment and know exactly what I am going to pay within 5 minutes. There are no taxes on food, so if you are eating at a restaurant and order something for 500 yen, that will be the price of your evening out. No tax, no tip . . . just a check showing that you ate one bowl of ramen. I dig the simplicity. After a while you forget about all of the excess money you'd have to dish out in the States. When I'm in America, I KNOW I am going to overreact the first time I get a restaurant bill.

All right, that's all I got for now. To all of my Japan friends, feel free to throw in some things that you take for granted about Japan, but find absolutely wonderful.

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