Ten Things I Miss About Japan

Here are the things I miss most about life in Japan:

1. Ii-kibun: Stuff I bought at the 7-11, like chocolate chip melon pan and Seattle lattes for breakfast or onigiri and a V8 for lunch. I even miss the disgusting combination I used to buy after work on nights that I worked out at the local sports club: Calorie Mate (either regular or chocolate) and a can of V8. Sweet companies like Meiji or Lotte were always releasing new kinds of sweets to try. One of my favorites from years past was a chocolate bar with kiwi filling.

2. Quiet time: Escape to a favorite temple or shrine to think, feed the pigeons or cats and appreciate the nice weather. My absolute favorite quiet place was Sasuke no Inari Jinja in Kamakura--deep green and quiet, isolated even in the middle of town. Beware the mosquitoes, though.

3. International awareness: Oddly enough, the Japanese actually care about what denizens of other nations think of them. They also pay attention to what's going on in those other countries. Until September 11th, Americans couldn't care less if the world was coming to an end, so long as it didn't happen in their back yard. Since the shock has worn off, Americans have gone back to their myopia. World affairs are still relegated to the back pages of my city paper, behind some stupid, whiny article on how someone got offended by something someone else did or the latest study results on what now causes cancer.

4. "High Culture": On a day where I was dressed up, visit a British-style tea house or the Mariage tea shop in Shibuya. Eat fussy little finger foods at expensive Japanese hotels while listening to classical music. Enjoy outrageously expensive fancy dinners at traditional kaiseki ryori shops.

5. The exercise: City life means using your feet. It also means your clothes don't get tight unless you really, really indulge. I'm not surprised to have put on 30 extra pounds upon returning to the US, but I still resent it.

6. Job security: Of course, this was before the bubble economy went pop, but I didn't have to worry about my timecard not working or receiving the surprise news that my last day on the job would be next week.

7. Japanese: I don't get to speak it anymore, and as they say, "If you don't use it, you lose it." And I'm losing it. Oh, I occasionally speak it to myself or use it to discuss family ancestries with rude drivers, but I never happen upon occasions where I must use it. Zannen da yo ne. Occasionally, I heard it from people in Silicon Valley (a very multicultural place with its own Japan Town), but aside from springing the occasional phrase upon unsuspecting Japanese at a store or on an elevator, it's fairly rare. The flying club across the ramp from mine, "Nice Air," is host to many Japanese students and instructors. The first time I heard someone announce over the ramp PA system: "Takashi-san, o-denwa haiteimasu," ("Telephone call for Mr. Takashi,") I got flashbacks.

8. That pioneering feeling: Life in Japan isn't for everyone, but for the tolerant and adventurous, it can be a blast. There's even a feeling of accomplishment for putting up with all the bad stuff.

9. The seasons: Many folks claim that Japan is a land of four seasons. The Tokyo area doesn't have four seasons, it has five: Cold, Spring, Wet, Hot and Autumn. In any case, you were profoundly aware of these seasons because you had to walk in them, because Tokyo houses have paper-thin walls (so the temperature inside matches the temperature outside), and because there are traditional celebrations of all the seasons except the Wet one. New Year's decorations, flower viewing and leaf peeping, summer festivals and fireworks, wind bells... Sigh. I felt much closer to the outdoors in Japan.

10. The neon: I know they have neon signs in New York, but come on: they're like a flashlight beam compared to the marvelous light shows going on in places like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza and Akihabara. Two-story television screens compete with neon animations of paper planes flying through canyons and dazzling strobes. Even after years of living in Tokyo, I was still dazzled by the evening light shows. Oh yeah, and the sound: the clock chimes at five pm... I miss those too.