What do you miss about Japan?

senseiman · 14 Nov 2005

Its been about 8 months since I left Japan after having lived there for about 5 years. I was wondering what others who have returned to their home countries after staying in Japan miss most?

Its kind of hard for me to put a finger on what I miss. I miss being able to study the language everyday. My Japanese has gone downhill fast since I came back. I miss the cities a lot. Japanese cities are pretty damned ugly but at the same time they are much MUCH more interesting places to live than North American cities. No sprawling suburbs, its nice being able to walk or ride a bike everywhere. The shopping arcades and entertainment districts are just a million times better than the shopping malls and derelict downtowns in Canadian cities.

The Japanese countryside is also cool. Rice fields and old style houses surrounded by mountains, the scene punctuated by the occasional pachinko parlor. I live in Manitoba now, which is literally more than a thousand miles from the nearest mountain. Boring boring boring.

Anybody else have anything they miss?

WHEATTHlNS · 14 Nov 2005

Everything. Even the pushy commuters.

Davey · 14 Nov 2005

Vending machines, ice coffee, the food, the night view of the Akashi kaiko bridge, walking around in Sannomiya, the mountains behind the city, the people, and many more things!

RockLee · 14 Nov 2005

ZENBU !!! I want to experience living there, one of my biggest dreams.

GaijinPunch · 16 Nov 2005

Pita the Great (in Akasaka), the smoke-filled game centers (minus the smoke) that are open until midnight, and the whole "not driving" thing. Too many people here "drive with aloha" -- which basically means driving with your head up your rear end.

MeAndroo · 16 Nov 2005

I miss public transportation as a viable alternative to car ownership, karaoke boxes, and nearly any kind of ramen. I can't count the number of times a tenkaippin would save me at 4 am when clubbing decided to suck.

Oh, and purikura.

kokusu · 16 Nov 2005

Hm . . .

Well, first thought to mind is that I miss the densha quite a bit!

Let's see . . .

I miss being able to pick up fat manga magazines out of the recycling to read for free!

Hrm . . .

And, I miss going to shrines and temples.

And then . . .

I miss really good ramen (and I'm not talking about the instant kind). :auch:

After that . . .

I miss everything!!! :auch:

Carlson · 16 Nov 2005

i truely love it here.. i will miss everything. but most off all the curry... lol

celtician · 16 Nov 2005

The food is mostly excellent. I might miss it when I leave.

Pachipro · 24 Nov 2005

What do I miss about Japan? Alot of things, but a couple do come to mind instantly:

-Karaoke Bars and Whisky and water with maybe some broiled squid.

-Sumo.

-Japanese cardboard pizzas

-Watching the High School Baseball Tournament on TV and getting caught up in it.

-Kotatsu's and always sitting on the floor, to eat, watch TV, read, or whatever.

-Watching Sazaesan at 6:30pm on Sunday nights on TBS while eating dinner.

-Iced Coffee

-Japanese Breakfast with miso soup and dried seaweed for the rice.

-Japanese Summers and all the festivals and fireworks and food!

-Suika (watermelon) with salt in the summer.

-The smell of Cedar wood and tatami in the house and the smell of incense from the tokonoma.

-Talking to 'papa' (my wife's deceased father) at the tokonoma and lighting the incense when we first visit and when we depart. (This custom makes it feel like he is still alive.)

-Hot Ofuros at home and even visiting the local public bath.

-Live Houses

-Japanese Doramas on TV

-The cawing of the huge crows in the early morning.

-The ever present sound of an ambulance at night.

-Taking the last train home and then stopping off for some hot ramen, gyoza, and a final cold beer.

-Riding the trains for outings to an Onsen resort and eating Obento boxed lunches on the train with a cold beer or "One Cup Ozeki" sake.

-Staring up at the stars on a very cold winters night while sitting outside in a hot onsen. Or even feeling the snowflakes fall on your head if it happened to be snowing.

-The beach in the summer on one of the islands like Niijima where the water is crystal clear. The ferry ride over and staying in a minshuku and drinking beer and eating dried squid all night.

-Shopping in department store supermarkets.

-Yoshinoya Gyudon with a raw egg.

-Conbinis like 7-11 or Lawsons and reading the comics and magazines, or buying a few salmon or umeboshi onigiri for a quick fix.

-Coffee Houses.

-Beer, Whisky, and hot and iced coffee machines.

-Ripobitan-D or Oronamin-C for a quick "pick-me-up"

-Shopping in electronic stores like Yodobashi Camera or Bic and discount stores like Daikuma.

-Sleeping in a warm futon in the winter with no heat in the room or in the summer with the oscillating fan blowing all night.

-The sound of the wind chimes on a warm summers night if there was a breeze and the smell of the katori senko (mosquito incense coils).

-Mugicha, oolong-cha and cold zaru soba and edamame in the summer.

-Walking around Shinjuku, Yokohama, and other places when it's crowded.

-Visiting the shrine on New Years and the wonderful few days of great food, sake, and watching TV with the family and then more food, sake and TV.

-Visiting historical places like Hide-Takeyama and shrines and temples.

-The sound of the motorcycle delivering newspapers at 4am.

-But most of all I miss playing PACHINKO!

Man does this makes me homesick!

misa.j · 24 Nov 2005

Pachipro, your list is making me a little homesick. I remember doing the same things like putting salt on watermelon(my husband calls me weird for that), watching Sazae-san or enjoying the New Year's food.

I loved going to the festivals where the venders lined up on both sides of a street with festive foods cooked right in front of you.

kokusu said:
Well, first thought to mind is that I miss the densha quite a bit!

That's what I miss a lot too. I miss riding the train in Tokyo.

blade_bltz · 27 Nov 2005

Right now I miss my native Boston much more than I miss Japan, but I'll go with

- good public transportation

- the madness that is Tokyo

- cheap food

- my friends

Grandpa Frank · 27 Nov 2005

Awww, The Memories !!

Her long silky black hair on the pillow next to me; her whisper in my ear, "I rub you".

Frank

Kara_Nari · 27 Nov 2005

Well I was only there for a few days, but I miss the fresh air, my friends... the ojiisans taking us out for delicious unaffordable dinners, the onsen, the food! The tap beer, the shopping, the politeness and the fact that its safe to ride a bike in Japan. People actually tend to watch where they are driving, I like that a lot. Here most women only look straight ahead and thats it... apparently there is no need for peripheral (sp?) vision.
The vending machines are much better there, as I have to go underground for the cheap drink vending machines, and I dont drink coffee... there are millions of coffee vending machines here.
Oh well, two more weeks, and I can get a reload of it!

ButterSky · 7 Dec 2005

...turning Japanese

☝

I miss the people. Good friends. Going to the bakery and getting one of those cream cheese danish. Movies with subtitles. Peaceful crowds. I go on and on in my other posts about this subject.... I miss it ALL!

cyberryo · 20 Dec 2005

It has been 10 years since I came back to Singapore after 5 years of in Japan. I do make yearly trips there but I miss staying there occasionally. On the one hand, I miss the energy from the crowded streets in Tokyo, the feeling of everyone constantly on the move, the hustle bustle during rush hours, always looking at the latest electronics products, and the other hand, I miss the ability to always take off into the Japanese countryside, visiting the temples, mountains and nature. Having an efficient train system in Japan certainly make it possible to straddle both city development and maintaining the past too. All this talk about Japan is making me hungry. Will pop by the sushi stall tonight...
Ken

Kara_Nari · 21 Dec 2005

Aaarrrrggggh being away from Japan is killing me already! I just got back.
Im going to miss the fact that its warmer in Tokyo than it is in Busan.
Im especially going to miss my friends that I hadn't seen in so long, and the new friends that I made.
Im going to miss the people watching!
Im not going to miss the densha... ugh, I can get that here.
Really going to miss the food, mmm grilled salmon for breakfast with rice and miso.
Havent had the joys of drinking classless grotty beer here since I got back, but I know when I do, I will miss Japanese beer.
Too many things to miss.... three more months of waiting...

sapporokirin · 23 Dec 2005

smell of yakitori shop, smell of katori senkoh, tasty coffee, Tokyo's culture,
Good foods, drinking hot canned coffee in cold winter,etc.

dusktown · 25 Dec 2005

The smell of shrines, the color of the sky, the people looking at me amazed, the train, my long walks in the city, the mochi, the sushi, the shops, the people.

okey I finish early if I say everything

tokyohoney · 29 Dec 2005

i miss narita airport.
the vending machines.
this guy i met at exel ( im not sure of the spelling) tokyu hotel in haneda airport.
all the crazy people but nice people i met in harajuku.

Brooker · 2 Jan 2006

misa.j said:
Pachipro, your list is making me a little homesick. I remember doing the same things like putting salt on watermelon(my husband calls me weird for that), watching Sazae-san or enjoying the New Year's food.

I loved going to the festivals where the venders lined up on both sides of a street with festive foods cooked right in front of you.

That's what I miss a lot too. I miss riding the train in Tokyo.

Will you ever return to Japan, Misa?

Timsan · 2 Jan 2006

rtdfgdgfg assdfs dfs

yukio_michael · 2 Jan 2006

Pachipro said:
-The sound of the motorcycle delivering newspapers at 4am.

When I first came to Japan I noticed this sound (along with the dogs, and the ambulances) most of all--- Now I hardly hear them run up the steps anymore to put the paper in the mail slot...

Your list seems pretty comprehensive, I'm sure if people only get to experience some of those sorts of things (matsuris especially), they'll have some good memories of Japan.

misa.j · 4 Jan 2006

Brooker said:
Will you ever return to Japan, Misa?

I think I will someday when I have more money and time. Just to visit, though. I feel that my home now is where I live.

klepman_1971 · 15 Jan 2006

i miss everything. from the smell of the restauranst when u walking in the streets till the cigarette vending machines that strangly close at 11 pm hehehe.
but i am goingback to japan in april, so i am happy

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