Farewell Japan

So today I would like to reflect and think about all the things that I enjoyed about Japan, and all the things that I won't particularly be missing.

Things I won't miss...

I won't miss the smokers (not particular ones, just in general... I will miss you Janice! Haha). Virtually everywhere in Japan still allows indoor smoking. Yuck! I also hated walking behind people who smoked as they walked because I would have to breathe their exhaust.

I won't miss people who can't respect personal space. Most likely because Japan is the most population dense area in the world, people just don't have a problem with invading your personal space. I can't tell you how many times people RAMMED into me and then didn't even apologize. This always amazed me, considering how polite Japanese people are in general, but I think it's just a different perception of personal space.

I won't miss pukers on trains. Not that this happened to me multiple times, but once is definitely enough. A few weeks ago, I was on the train home from Shinjuku and some dude was so wasted that he puked all over himself, then continued to stand and sleep on the train. SO NASTY!!!! I was/still am extremely traumatized from the experience.

I won't miss having to walk everywhere. Especially on rainy days. Occasionally it's nice because it's great exercise, but when it rains, it's no fun.

I won't miss having to leave 45 minutes early to get anywhere. Because you have to walk to the train station then ride the train, then walk to your next destination, most places take 45 minutes. I was lucky when I could go to Shibuya cuz then I could leave 20 minutes before and make it to Hachiko door-to-door. Hoorah for my car!

I won't miss the lack of green! Even in the boonies where my grandma lives, there is green but still no grass!!! Being from the Midwest, my lawn is oh so important :-)

Things I will miss...

FOOD!!!! Probably the only things I miss food wise in America are Five Guys hamburgers, Papa John's pizza, and Mexican food. That's really it. Everything else, I really will miss Japanese food. Japanese rice made in Japan is SO much better. Japanese sushi is of course SO much better. Japanese bread is SO much better. Japanese desserts are like one million times better than American desserts... I have no clue how I'm going to transition back to frosting... ew. Of course, can't forget Japanese ICHIGOs!!! (In non-Vivian language, "strawberries")

I will miss Japanese beauty products. I LOVE Japanese cosmetics, so I will miss going to the drug store and buying up cosmetics and anything beauty related here. Japanese shampoo and conditioner does amazing things for my hair so I will miss being able to buy it cheap here (don't worry, I stocked up).

I will miss Japanese baths!!! Sooooooooooooo relaxing. My dream is to one day have one in my own home in America. Okay Gary?

I will miss UNIQLO. So cute and so cheap! There is absolutely no replacement in the US. Even though there is a UNIQLO in NYC, it's so expensive! Sort of takes away one of the tiers of awesomeness.

I will miss the Loft. Why can't we have one in Columbus? I would totally decorate my house fully with Loft stuff. So cute!!! (www.loft.co.jp)

The convenience of the train system. Even though I hate packed trains, the availability of a train system is still really nice. Especially when you go far away, you can just hop on the bullet train and get somewhere easily. So much more spacious than airplanes! It's also nice because you can use your time transporting to do other things like read. I will also miss being close to places like Disney Sea and Disney Land!!! Ah, the luxury of being in Tokyo.

Finally, I will of course miss my friends in Japan!!! It was so nice seeing everyone throughout my time here, and I can't wait to see everyone again :-)