What I Always Look Forward to in Japan

I don't go to Japan as often as I'd like. If it was up to me I would go every year, but sometimes the wallet and life just doesn't allow something like that. I get to go every other year, and at different seasons too. All of my family, friends, and coworkers all know I'm very happy when I get to go to Japan. But there are still people in my life who just don't understand my love for Japan, and that's okay because they've probably never felt the need to visit other countries.

But I'd like to take this time to list what I always look forward to the most when going to Japan.

The Food

I don't feel guilty when I'm eating over in Japan, even if it's fast food. In America all of our fast food chains are very unhealthy, even the ones that are advertised as healthy. And for me especially, where I live everything is fried. It tastes delicious but it's greasy and makes you feel disgusting after. In Japan I don't really have to worry about that. I don't think I've ever eaten anything greasy in Japan. And I have the biggest sweet tooth in the world, so I love how Japan loves their sweets too. The food not only tastes great, but it always looks so beautiful. I love food guys, even if I'm a picky eater.

Chef at a Japanese restaurant.

Nature

Now, in no way am I a nature person. My favorite thing to do at home is to stay in the house, but in Japan it's a totally different story. Where I live we have to seasons, hot and cold (summer and winter). There's really no fall and spring. In Japan I look forward to nature because I get to see so much beauty surrounding me, and that beauty is heightened by the history of the country.

The People

Whether they know us or not, I've always had great experiences with the people. They are helpful and kind. Even other foreigners in Japan are nice. And I've mentioned this in another blog but their work ethic is a lot different than where I'm from. Japan takes pride in everything they do, so you'll have a good experience just about anywhere.

Using my Japanese

It's hard to practice a language when there's not a lot of opportunities to use it. I could practice with a friend or two but I get really shy about my Japanese because I end up comparing my Japanese to theirs which makes me think I just suck at speaking Japanese. In Japan, that's not the case at all! These people know Japanese as their first language, but they still get impressed when they see foreigners speaking their language. That kind of reaction is really encouraging for someone with a low self esteem. It makes me want to continue practicing.

Visiting my Japanese Hometown

Last, but not least, is my Japanese hometown. For those of you who don't follow my blog or follow me on social media, I've studied abroad in Kyoto, Japan. I lived in Kyoto for 5 weeks on a short-term study abroad with my college during the summer of 2010. It was a great experience and definitely grew my love for Japan even more. I consider Kyoto my second home. Every time I visit Japan I have to go visit Kyoto no matter what; it's a priority! I love the nostalgia, natsukashii in Japanese, of walking the streets of Kyoto, visiting the spots I frequented and passing the university I studied at. There is no city like Kyoto to me, so I look forward to always going back home for a while.

On the streets of Kyoto.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. I loved writing this one, as I'm preparing myself for my trip to Japan in the next few days. To follow my adventures in Japan follow me on social media where I'll be posting many pictures and videos and even keep you updated on where I am in Japan and what I'm doing.

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Stories From Japan- Losing Things

Before taking my husband to Japan for our honeymoon I told him stories about my adventures in Japan and taught him everything I knew about Japanese culture. I wanted him to be prepared for Japan and understand the life people live over there as compared to here in America. One of the things I've always mentioned to him is how safe and honest the people are, for the most part (there are bad eggs everywhere). He was amazed when I told him you can feel safe at night compared to where we live, in New Orleans, where being out at night alone is not such a smart idea. Another thing he seemed to enjoy hearing was how nice and honest the people were. I gave him a scenario that if you were to lose something in Japan you'd most likely get it back in a short amount of time because people are just caring over there.

You know, I've repeated these things to him about Japan but I never knew if he actually believed me. I'm so glad he got to experience it for himself while on our honeymoon.

Story time!!!!

For our honeymoon, we spent two weeks in Japan. The first week was a guided tour which I've talked about in a previous blog post, and the second week was on our own. While on the tour we stayed at different places, moving to a new hotel almost everyday. Most of the hotels we stayed at had a breakfast, some American style and some Japanese style.

While staying in Kyoto for a few days on the guided tour we were getting tired of eating the same breakfast foods such as eggs, bread, miso soup, etc. We noticed a family restaurant across the street from the hotel that advertised breakfast. Pancakes sounded great, so we decided to grab breakfast there. I brought my purse with me while my husband brought his Nintendo 3DS. We both brought our Nintendo 3DS everywhere in order to fill the StreetPass program on the system (I've also talked about this in another blog post).

We enjoyed breakfast. My husband loved the service and the no tipping rule in Japan. We knew we only had an hour to eat because we had to meet back up with the tour to start our day. So we payed for our meal at the register towards the front of the restaurant and left. We were walking away from the restaurant, to the crosswalk, when we heard a woman yelling behind us. She was saying sir in English with a Japanese accent. We stopped and turned around to face her, worried what she could want from us. We were surprised to find her running towards us with a Nintendo 3DS in the hands. When she reached us, she handed my husband his Nintendo 3DS with both hands and went back to the restaurant. When she was out of sight my husband started panicking. He was so embarrassed for leaving his Nintendo 3DS in the restaurant, in the booth we were sitting in. He was even more shocked about getting it back after leaving it at the restaurant. Once again, where we are from we would never have seen that Nintendo 3DS ever again because someone would see it and keep it. My husband kept on repeating how amazing it was to get his Nintendo 3DS back from the lady who worked at the restaurant all day. It's probably one of his favorite stories to tell about his experience in Japan.

I hope you enjoyed this little story. It kind of proves how honest of a country Japan is and how the people have good morals. Sorry there were no pictures. Thanks for reading!

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