I was scolded several times by elderly Japanese ladies because I was American (and thus responsible for a lot of uncomprehensible stuff).

I was approached numerous times by Japanese school girls (and YES, they do wear those adorable uniforms!) who wanted to “practice” their English and who were absolutely delightful, giggling (while hiding their mouths behind their hands so as not to rudely display their teeth), blushing, respectful and full of life.

In general the people were wonderful, although it is true that no foreigner will ever be “Japanese”, but will forever remain “gai jin”.

Japanese T.V. was funny, shocking, incomprehensible and mesmorizing. The cities are very clean (the only cleaner place I’ve ever been in the world was Singapore) although one of the first things to greet my wife upon her arrival was the very common sight of a Japanese man urinating through a street grate down an alleyway.

There are night clubs and other places that will not allow entry to foreigners, but there are also places that welcome them and the Japanese business men there will encourage you to sing Karaoke with them, buy you all the sake you can drink and then see you get home safely.

I miss the musical garbage trucks, the ever present noodle (ramen) shops, the outstanding public transportation, the glove wearing conductors who stuff you into the subway cars so the doors can close, the police kiosks with their polite but firm police offiers armed with metal poles and clubs, the ability to spot your American buddies across the most crowded public squares because they all stand a head above the crowd and don’t have black hair, the cars, the motorcycles, the incredibly costumed young people, the technology, the traditions, etc. etc. etc. All in all one of the most fascinating places on the face of the earth.

If, God forbid, I ever found myself widowed and my children grown, I would certainly consider doing everything possible to become an ex-pat there (not an easy thing to do).

One of my goals in life is to fly to Japan, one way, have enough cash to last one week, and stay for a year, earning enough to buy a ticket back to the States.

Sensei Ern on July 12, 2007 at 8:40 AM

So, you’re gonna go the Megatokyo route then? Not sure if they still have the Mortal Kombat visas available.

Actually, I’ve always wanted to take a month long vacation in Japan. I’d love to visit Akibahara, and go on a guided tour of famous Onsen around Japan.

Unfortunately I married a woman who is aerophobic, and I have two autistic children to care for. So I’m probably stuck here in the US unless I get a divorce and have a mid-life crisis. (not necessarily in that order)

Oh well, at least I’ll always have the internet to provide me with my daily fix of all things Japanese. Mmmm Internet…

I can’t wait to go back. Saving up for it right now!

One of my goals in life is to fly to Japan, one way, have enough cash to last one week, and stay for a year, earning enough to buy a ticket back to the States.

An anonymous donor has left money in public lavatories across Japan totalling more than £100,000. The first cases were reported in April but a newspaper said yesterday that there had been at least 33 from Sapporo, in the far north, to Nagasaki, more than 1,000 miles to the south, in the space of a few weeks.

Allah – you gotta go. You’d love it there – I’ve rarely seen so many adorable young women in one place. And a relatively low level of political correctness. And they do love to laugh.

I don’t think it would be wise to knock any of the major contenders, but I’ll give it a partial go:

McCain would try to negotiate a compromise with it, hoping to convince it to only nudge him into the water up to his waist, but instead the entire platform would collapse and the show would be over.

Brownback would jump straight into the water before changing his mind and climbing back out, but before he even regained his composure he would be knocked back into the tank.

Gilmore wouldn’t see any value in the barrier because it’s not a taxpayer and would slip and fall into the tank while he was striking a pose.

Tancredo and Hunter would stand their ground and the barrier would break.

Be merciful, I don’t know if you’ve seen this yet:
TVinJapan.com

Outstanding site with just one, simple mission: Japanese flavored TV awesomeness. The only down side is the high removal rate of clips by the networks/producers/whiners.

On the Democrat Side: Hillary Clinton would contort herself into unimaginable knots to pass. Gore would boycott because styrofoam is not biodegradable. The most entertaining would be Gravel, who would just stare at it and let it hit him every time–then he’d be the rock in the water.

What would happen on the Republican side?

Japan is very safe, clean, expensive, modern, homogenous, workoholic, and there is no tipping.

Operating toilets there necessitates a certain degree of technicality (warming seat, possibility to rinse with warm water, and an entire array of never heard of before options).

The taxi drivers wear gloves and read the WSJ equivalent. Not working is a great dishonor; thus highly educated people take any kind of jobs.

Very fascinating to visit – not so much to move there, except of course for tetris, and other afinities.