An Ode to Japan (updated)

So our time in Japan is nearly at an end. After 5 years living in Tokyo we are moving on to the next chapter. I have LOVED living here. As an expat/foreigner/gaijin/immigrant – Tokyo offers so much. I felt it was now time to put my musings about my time in Japan into some written form. I hope its not too crass to divide these into two sections…and do please take these with a large pinch of salt 😉

Surprises/positives/enjoyments:

• I learnt to snowboard on some of the most beautiful snow in the world. Its so nice to learn something new at my old age, especially something physical. I visited Niseko, I think, 5 times and several weekend trips out to the Hakuba region.
• If you believe in reincarnation you’ll want to come back as a pampered Toy Poodle. There are thousands of these wee chaps about, either being pushed in special dog prams, carried in handbags..or, on occasions, on the end of a leash.
• Japan has the most amazing food…it is quite literally the food capital of the world. God I shall miss the food! Incidentally, Tokyo has the most amazing and affordable lunchtime deals. And who would have thought that the most popular soft drink is Ginger Ale?
• Ice-cream
•  The cycling, even in central Tokyo, is safe and mostly enjoyable. I hadn’t ridden my bike much since leaving University but we have both cycled to work everyday over the past five years. Crazy as Japan has no cycling infrastructure at all – most cyclists ride on the pavement – which takes some getting used too. No-one wears helmets or has bike lights. You can spot a ‘gaijin’ on a bike as they will be the ones wearing helmets and glowing with an array of bike lights. It was only two years ago that it became punishable to not stop at lights; cycle while holding an umbrella and to cycle on the road into oncoming traffic. Considering that Tokyo is a metropolis it’s quite remarkable that cycling is so safe. I think the main reason is everyone drives defensively and is tolerant of all the other roads users. There is virtually no road rage. In five years  I must have heard a car horn beep aggressively only a handful of times.
• Jazz bars.
• Japan is an incredibly safe place to live. Crime is extremely low. If you loose/drop something someone will find it and return it to the police. People walk about with bulging wallets protruding out of back pockets; bags left on cafe tables; small children travel on public transport unaccompanied; drunk salary men asleep on the streets after a night out undisturbed as they sleep it off….. It’s so liberating not feeling fearful…and something you can’t really appreciate until you have it.
• Really cheap New World wines
• The Winter sun. Winter is cold but there’s little rain; lots of sun and beautiful crystal clear blue skies. It is by far my favourite season.

• People don’t talk on their phones at all in public. Its so nice not having to listen to anyone’s banal conversations and rantings.
• Tokyo has the most amazing vintage clothes shops. Prices range from ridiculously cheap to ridiculously expensive. What is so nice is that the stock changes the whole time. Boy oh boy I shall miss them – luckily though I’ve bought tons of clothes over the last five years!
• Cherry blossom and Autumn colours
• The postal system is mind bogglingly amazing. The Post Offices, and this is no joke, are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I kid you not! You can order practically anything online (there’s an Amazon JP) and you can either choose to pay with a card online; or with cash at any Convenience Shop (which are every two metres) or pay cash on delivery. If you’re not in they will redeliver it or you pick it up from the PO…which I might have mentioned never closes!
• Sushi
• Japanese love eating and boozing. Many restaurants offer what’s called a Nomihodai – basically a ‘drink all you can’. You pay an amount (usually 2000-3000 yen) and get a period of time to drink all you want. I’ve been to a champagne ones on the 50th floor of a really posh place to little local dives. Of course, being British, we can usually drink lots so its an absolute bargain on a night out. Incidentally, you can also get Tabehodai – an ‘eat all you can.’ The best places of course do both at the same time!
• 100 yen shops where everything is priced at 100 yen (108 yen with tax). They sell so many useful household things.
• Customer service is first class.
• Shinkansen trains are basically the coolest trains in the world.
• I mentioned Convenience stores – these are open 24/7 and sell everything from booze, food, spare knickers, magazines, make-up etc etc. I reason you could shop exclusively in these. My personal favourite is Family Mart.
• Sumo wrestling is amazing to watch on the TV but even better in the flesh. We were lucky to get tickets to see it at Budokan and had an amazing viewing spot near the front.

Shocks/negatives/unpleasentries:

• There’s no escaping the fact that the language barrier is difficult. Of course the longer you are here the more embarrassing it gets that I can’t speak the language. Captain did a great job learning it…but, like the Japanese, is too embarrassed to practice it! I’m utterly rubbish; apart from basic ‘please and thank yous’ and ordering food. It is such a massive boundary to making friends.
• The Summer months are hideous! The heat is one thing but the humidity is another.  We are both clammy sweaty beasts rushing from one air con unit to the next.
• Along with the heat and humidity come the mosquitoes. They are prevalent and are complete  Ninjas.
• Generally people walk incredibly slowly and that drives us both insane!
• One of the reasons people walk so slow is that most people are staring into the screen of a mobile phone as they dawdle. On the subject of phones EVERYONE has a smart phone in Tokyo and many seem to be addicted to playing games on them. You can look down a carriage of the tube and 95% of people will be on their phone. I would loved to have visited Tokyo before the onslaught of mobile phones.
• Natto – fermented soya beans – need I say more?
• What I loved about living in London is the array of different cultures and races. Japan is a real mono-culture which is a bit dull to be frank!
• I won’t linger on this point but Japan is a patriarchal society and equal rights for women have a long way to go. Girl Power!
• Although you can buy them from Amazon JP; Heinz baked beans are prohibitively expensive.
• Japan is a terribly conservative and applicant society so I miss genuine ‘craziness and inventiveness’
• Earthquakes

OK….so there we go. I suspect I will edit this as I think of more and refine others. At the end of the day living here for the past five years has been one of the best things I’ve done. It’s an amazing place…though not quite as good as Frome!!??