Japan Summary

Hello Family and Friends,

We have very much enjoyed our time in Japan. Japan is unashamedly itself. It is like nowhere else we have visited. I don't think we will be moving here. Because it is so proud of being who it is, it doesn't really make room for difference. And we would be very different in Japan. Don't want to stand out that much in a place I call home.

Visiting the golden palace in Kyoto.

Food: B+

Food was amazing. I wouldn't say there was a lot of variety of food, but the food that was available was exceptional. A gastropub in Japan is called an "Izakaya". Here we would order Japanese comfort food like Okonomiyaki and Takoyaki (octopus balls)

Okonomiyaki on a stick

Japan had a plethora of beef options. So many restaurants served raw meat that you cooked on a hot plate.

A beef meal intended for four people.

We did eat sushi in Japan, but sushi in Japan isn't sushi in the states. Sushi in Japan is raw fish. There is some rice and maybe wasabi. However, ginger has to be requested. Sushi rolls aren't really a thing.

The desserts in Japan have a lot of bean paste. That flavor did grow on me. Also there are a lot of dessert foods with rice as the base as well.

Probably our most memorable meal was at king crab buffet. It wasn't just king crab, the crab was just the star. I don't really care for crab and there were still too many options: traditional Japanese cuisine, curries, beef, sushi, ramen, salad bar, fruit, and soups. It was one of those places that I needed to spend the night at so that I could try more food the next day.

Service: A

Absolutely excellent. There's this idea in Japan that the customers are gods. And everything in Japan is not just a thank you, but thank you very much!

In home convenience: D

Other than food delivery most services require you to go to them. We really didn't stay in one place long enough to have anything ordered into the home. Also when dealing with services, the best thing to do is call. We didn't speak the language, so we did everything in person.

Neighborhood Walkability: A

Took public transportation everywhere. Mostly the train, but occasionally the bus. We would take taxis or Uber if we were traveling with a lot of bags. We saw bikes everywhere. Full parking garages full of bikes with child seats. I'm not sure where all these bikes were being ridden as I didn't see very much bike infrastructure or even people on bikes. But to be fair, I spent most of my commute time underground on the train. A normal day of activity in Japan was twenty thousand steps. We never drove once in Japan (other than go-karts).

Pollution: B

Japan is a very clean place. They don't have public trash cans because of a Sarin gas attack in 1995. However there is no trash on the ground. Japan has a culture of you take your trash with you. Also no one eats on public transportation or in the street. I didn't see a single rat or roach. The water is safe to drink. Public bathrooms are clean and bidets are in every bathroom. The only reason Japan doesn't get an A is because of the the air quality. Due to the sheer number of people there is quite a bit of smog in the city at times and when the air is dry it can irritate your lungs.

Mobility within the Country: A

It's easy to get anywhere in Japan. I mean we went between Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto multiple times while visiting. And then also added in Fukuoka, Karuizawa and Hiroshima. The reason we never stayed in one place for more than 6 days is because it was just two easy to jump on the bullet train and within 3 hours you could be somewhere else.

People: B

This is a hard one. I think the language barrier was a huge deterrent to meeting any locals. We did have some people stop and speak English to us on the street. Atlas had no problems making friends whenever we went to the playground. In smaller cities like Fukuoka, people were more approachable. However, in bigger cities, like Tokyo, people just ignored you as city people tend to do. I think if we had an elementary knowledge of the language we could make friends with moderate difficulty. Didn't experience any racism. People would laugh at Atlas because he is silly and has crazy hair. He also just runs right up to people and says "hola".

Atlas jumping at the Torri gates. This is his energy level all the time.

Safety: A++

We had a running joke whenever we would leave our stroller or bags anywhere, it's Japan and no one is taking anything. Once we were shopping at gap, which was in a larger shopping mall. Started at the basement then left the store, rode the elevator, went to the second floor and then payed. At most stores, there is absolutely nothing stopping you from walking out of the door without purchasing. It is just assumed you are not going to steal. I mean Brett left quite a stack of cash in a book bag on a train and all of it was returned to him.

Driving: NA

Didn't drive not once.

Infrastructure: A-

Everything is very robust, but it is difficult to figure out because there are so many options. We were constantly lost and trying to figure out what train line to take. Google would tell us that it would be a 15 minute commute, but it would take us 45 min because we had to make sure we got on the right train line. One time in Tokyo we got stuck inside the station. We scanned into one train line and then tried to exit via another train line because we realized we didn't need the train. We couldn't exit because we didn't enter via that train line and our card showed we were on another train line. When we went to the attendant, they couldn't help us because we needed to go back to our original gate. The problem is that each train line in Japan is owned independently and they don't overlap. The positive thing about private train lines is that there is plenty of shopping.

We also went to the emergency room while in Japan. I knew exactly how much everything was going to cost and I paid upon leaving the hospital. There was no surprise bill and no not knowing what things cost because we have to go through insurance.

In summarizing Japan, everything looks really great on the surface. According to our rubric there is nothing wrong with Japan and I should be considering it as a place to live. However, the culture in Japan is very rigid. This makes for a society that is very clean, but also very homogenous. When in Japan I felt like I stood out in every way. Not speaking the language is a huge barrier. Of course Brett makes it sound easy to learn. We just study full time for 1.5 years and we can speak and understand Japanese at an elementary school level. However, I have been studying Spanish, that is more similar to English than Japanese, for years and still barely have an elementary understanding. Besides, to Brett, everything is easy. Also everyone looks the same in Japan. I don't mean doesn't look like me, there is only Asian in Japan. When we were in Australia, there were Asians, Hispanics, Africans, Middle Eastern, Indian and White. But in Japan there is only Asian. I would always be an outsider and I don't like that. So that is probably the main reason I would not live in Japan, but for visiting, it was absolutely wonderful!