09/28/2024
Things I miss about my recent 2-week solo trip in Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka):
* Seeing so many Asians 🤓
* The Japanese are genuinely nice
* Hospitality and customer service is essential (employees greet you upon arrival and thank you as you leave; everyone bows)
* Wandering around, getting lost, and finding something interesting
* Culture is respected; museums, art, architecture, tradition
* Fashion is so varied but distinctly Japanese
* Neon nights
* Meals are incredibly affordable ($5-10, usually less; sushi from a conveyor belt at Uobei, Japanese chicken curry and rice at Coco Ichibanya, Michelin-style okonomiyaki/Japanese omelet prepared in front of me at Mizuno, or the popular $2 egg sandwich from 7-Eleven)
* Eating alone is common, and standing sushi bars are traditional
* No tipping allowed (supposedly, it was tried but rejected by consumers)
* 24-hr convenience stores are *everywhere* (7-Eleven, Lawsons, Family Mart, etc...)
* Supermarkets with a wide variety of the freshest fruits and vegetables; even the "junk food" seemed healthy
* Public transportation is easily accessible and mostly reliable, especially the Shinkansen (bullet train); everyone respects being quiet while riding
* Almost no one jaywalks, and the ones that did were usually foreigners
* Listening and dancing to Doc Martin (SF/LA) in Shibuya, Tokyo
* Low crime and a constant sense of security; a lot of people would leave their belongings at their table, including laptops, while using the restroom, and many bikes were left unlocked
* Children are safe going to and from school
* Communicating with locals and things lost in translation (1 time, I had to p*e really bad, but the guy thought I needed to shower)
* Clean public restrooms; restaurants, train stations, and most hotel toilets have a bidet, some have heated seats
* Streets and train stations are generally clean
* Patience towards foreigners, even with the language barrier
* Shrines throughout Japan; large ones like Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, where I hiked up and down hills and stairs for nearly 3 hours in the dark, to the small ones you can miss during the day if you walk by and blink
* Non-Asians and foreign Asians appreciating Japanese culture
