I will miss... but I won't miss...

So, two years in the Land of the Rising Sun has just charged by and it is time for us to be moving on. We have had an absolutely amazing time in Tokyo and our many around the islands of Japan. here is a list of a few of the things I will miss and a few things I won't.

I will miss udon.

Udon became my go-to food in Japan. It was cheap, delicious, and there was often a buffet of tempura you could add to it to make the simple experience that much more special. I will miss thee udon.

But I won’t miss general Japanese snacks

Rice cake sandwich

J-snacks ride a fine line between savoury and sweet and thus it’s not uncommon to get a snack thinking it is going to be sweet, only to find it is quite the contrary. Donut disappointment was often had when biting into a jam and cream donut to find it was actually anko (red bean paste) in the middle. Also, the Japanese rotate new products so frequently that should you find a product you adore you can be sure it will be gone within the week, never to be seen again. My friend asked me if I had seen pancake flavoured milk while I was there and if he could tell me where he could buy some and I just laughed at him. He will never see his beloved pancake flavoured milk again. I will not miss thee J-snacks.

I will miss Whoopi Goldburger

I will miss this grotty little burger oasis. You see, a lot of Japanese burgers are petite and just don't quite fill that hole, whereas Whoppi GB fills that hole perfectly. I must say, I did exclaim, this is the best damn burger I’ve had in my life! After gorging myself. They also had a well-priced range of international beer and played skateboarding videos non-stop. I will miss thee Whoopi.

But I won’t miss Japanese versions of western food

As amazing as Japanese food is, in general, their take on western food is often abysmal and yields a very processed or mass-produced type feel to it. Bread is overly sweet, milk, butter and cheese is average and the beer is terrible. But, you don't come to Japan to eat those foods I suppose – but still, after two years it gets a little annoying. I will not miss thee non-Japanese Japanese food.

I will miss reliable trains

Yeah, not only the reliability of the trains, but the simplicity of getting about Tokyo was something amazing. “Oh, hey, I’ll meet you in Sangenjaya at 11 at exit B3.” “No problem.” There was a spider web of ways you could get there at a fairly reasonable price. I will miss thee trains and how easy it was to get around such a vast city.

But I won’t miss busy trains

As nifty and convenient as the trains are, on a busy day they are truly awful – especially in summer. Every Japanese person in Tokyo has this mentality that THIS IS THE TRAIN I MUST GET ON, despite the fact that another is coming in literally 15 seconds time. There is this also a strange kind of hush over the swarms of train-goers as they push squeeze and shove there way onto the caboose. Oh yeah, did I mention there are specific people hired (sometimes up to three people per door) to push and cram people on to the trains. They are aptly named ‘pushers,’ I think.

I will miss creative energy

There are a myriad of creative folk in Tokyo and because of the general scarcity of foreigners in the metropolis the networks were easy to find and pretty easy to get involved with. I’m talking about organisations such Pecha Kucha and the smaller, more intimate groups like Pause Talk. It was great to just have a yarn with like-minded folk and also draw on a bit of inspiration too. I will miss thee Tokyo creative.

I won’t miss overt racism

It isn’t malicious, far from it; it is just… normal to experience pockets of racism (or anti-foreigner sentiments) around Japan. From being told to “get out of this shop, stupid gaijin” (I kid you not) to signs saying “No foreigners allowed”, you will experience frustrating interactions in Japan that simply would NEVER occur in Aotearoa. I just can't imagine a NZ pub with a sign out the front saying “No Asians”. Quite often you are immediately seen as being a problem, which can result in service staff, for example, ignoring you for an hour and a half because they’re too scared to tell you your Visa was declined etc. I would like to suffix this by saying there are also many many truly lovely and amazing people in Japan too. But, I won't miss the overt racism that can raise its head.

I will miss karaoke

I got well into the old karaoke. Hannah didn’t appreciate it, but I thought it was just so much fun. A few of my favourites to sing were, David Bowie – Heroes, Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls, Everlong – Foo Fighters, Soundgarden – Black Hole Sun. It was always nice to find that one person in the group with which you could find karaoke-synergy, that is, two people that were born to do karaoke together. George Custer and Rachel Buxton, I’m looking at you two. I will miss thee karaoke.

I won’t miss Shibuya on a Saturday.

I loved Shibuya, it was an amazing place to live, but picture this, horrific numbers of people sprawling and snaking there way through the streets. Take Christmas shopping rush on Lambton Quay or Queen Street and times is by a five-hundred. It is just not very pleasant. I will not miss thee busy Shibsy.

I will miss friends and coworkers

Of course, my coworkers. Working in an eikaiwa (one-on-one English School) is a funny business, with little nuances and quirks that kept the place interesting – but also a sense of fun and camaraderie was most definitely required to keep sanity in check. The number 59 will always have a special place in my heart (one minute before lesson start) and I will never eat another Mintia again. But in short, Hannah and I made some really special friends during our two-year stint and we’ll miss them.

I won’t miss buying general items

Kanji, ugh, kanji. I’m looking forward to being able to going into a pharmacy and being able to buy the product I need without a song and dance. Heck, even the conversation you might need with assistant will be novel. The simple things. I will not miss thee everyday interactions.

I will miss Oku-tama

Bears, butterflies, waterfalls, squirrels snowy and dangerous pathways, and breathtaking scenery are some of the sights of the Oku-tama region. Strangely enough, this little wilderness paradise to the far west of the Tokyo prefecture is an amazing place to go all year round, in fact, I went there in all for seasons and each time the nature was significantly different. On a Saturday and Sunday an express train ran straight from Shinjuku Station all the way to Oku-Tama Station – right to the wilderness. I was lost in bear country for an entire afternoon one Saturday. I will miss thee Oku-tama.

Things I won't miss about Japan.

I won’t miss Irrashaimase

The shop staff all holler out irrashaimase when you enter a shop. Now, initially, this was kind of novel and strange and therefore somewhat amusing for a foreigner. Soon I came to appreciate it quite a lot.  And then after a while it came to be the most annoying thing I’ve ever heard. Oh, that is with the exception of two shoe store guys that were trying to out-irrashaimase each other, that was pure class. But I guess the thing is for me, and the bigger picture is, I enjoy genuine interactions with personality and although you can get this in Japan, you generally just receive this insipid overly contrive robotic service. I will not miss thee irrashaimase.

But I will miss Japan in general

To be honest, Japan is one of the most phenomenal places on earth. It is a place where you can live safely and conveniently. It is in no way perfect, but then again, I don’t think there is anywhere on earth that is perfect. Please visit Japan, should you ever get the chance.

Thanks for the memories Nihon!

We will miss thee.