Things I will (and won't) miss about Japan!

OK, take a deep breath, Gwynnie.... it's time to write that list. And, unlike the "Things I'll miss" post about the U.K. that I wrote before coming to Japan, this time it will actually be easy for me to list three things. Well, more than three... many, many more. Writing this list is admitting to myself that I'm leaving in only three days. My stomach is in knots, there's a lump in my throat that comes back every time I acknowledge this fact. On Facebook, newbies are getting excited about their new journey to Japan, stressing out but mostly anticipating their new adventure... and as they come, I leave, with a melancholy sigh, before turning my eyes to the gorgeous city of architecture, culture and cheap beer that awaits me.

Inspired by the rather marvellous blog 1000 Things About Japan, I have decided to weave in things I WON'T miss about Japan... perhaps in an attempt to ease my sadness, perhaps in an attempt to give a balanced view, perhaps just because I feel like it. Then again, sometimes it's the things that annoy us that we end up missing, in our own perverted, masochistic little ways. I do suspect that a part of me will long to hear shrill calls of "irasshaimaseeeeee" when I enter shops or restaurants. So, here goes....

Year 2 Begins...

Well, my first year in Japan has been and gone. With all the recent disasters, panic, sadness and general craziness, my one-year-in-Japan anniversary (Japanniversary?) passed me by, unnoticed. While large parts of Japan are ruined or affected in some way by recent events, the greatest repercussions in Hamamatsu are that the Golden Week festival (and other festivals) have been cancelled. Apparently it is wrong to celebrate while your brethren are suffering - a noble notion, for certain, but one that surely poses a threat to Japan's economy and morale in the long term. Still, other things go on as normal.

With the arrival of the cherry blossoms, Japan finishes one fiscal year and begins another. Students graduate from schools and begin their next steps only two weeks later, businesses reshuffle, ceremonies mark the endings and beginnings of chapters of life. Without researching, I would say that this timing was decided in order to coincide with the cherry blossoms - that haiku-inspiring reminder that all things in life are fleeting, however beautiful. Spring definitely marks a time of change - of movement, of rebirth. And so, while devastating, that world-shattering earthquake and tsunami chose a good time to strike in terms of Japan's psyche - for this week, we move on to the next chapters - we pick up, we rebuild, we start afresh.

A Love Letter to Japan

Dear Japan,

I know that we haven't been together for very long, but I can no longer keep myself from saying these words. I think I love you.

At first, I thought that this would be no more than a fling. We would have some laughs together, I assumed, and then I would go back to what I knew. But now that we are together, I can't bear the thought of leaving you. Perhaps it is too soon; I know that we are still in the honeymoon phase, but sometimes I dream that we are seperated, and I can't bear it.

Things have not always been easy between us, I know. Sometimes it is as if we don't speak the same language, but we always get by somehow. As time goes by, I feel that I understand you more and more, although I know you will never truly reveal your secrets to me. That is, after all, a part of your charm, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

10 things I love about Japan

So, I saw a thread on a forum titled "Positive Things About Japan", and thought I would comprise a little list of things that I love about Japan, so far. Here goes!

1) The politeness
If you ask where something is, chances are you will be walked to your destination, or if it is too far, people will run around to find a pen and paper and draw you a map. If they don't know, they might ask somebody else. I'm not saying this doesn't happen anywhere else, but try it in Egypt - you will probably find yourself lured down a dark alleyway into an obscure shop and asked to buy overpriced souveneirs. How often in the UK do you enter a shop and hear "Can I help you?" or "Welcome!". Here, whenever you enter a shop (or walk past a stand) you will hear "irasshaimase!"... it does get annoying, sometimes, but you are made to feel welcome when you enter a shop, rather than feeling like a total nuisance (as you may do back home sometimes). People will go out of their way to help you, even if you can barely speak the same language.