What do you like about Japan?

[Duelley49]

What do you like most about Japan?

Having never been there I can still say that I like the people. All Japanese that I've met were really polite and friendly. Too bad more people in America aren't like that.

[Yudan Taiteki]

The food.

In fact, one of the things I liked the least about Japan was how people treated me. Politeness becomes rudeness when after 2 years people are still treating you like a weekend guest who knows nothing about Japan.

[Duelley49]

It does seem to amaze Japanese people the Japanese when a gaijin knows the smallest thing about Japan. A Japanese girl I knew was overjoyed when I told her I knew how to speak some Japanese. It was like she saw a unicorn walk by or something.

I don't see why the politeness would bother you. How the hell are they supposed to know you're not new to Japan?

[Yudan Taiteki]

Because I worked with them every day for 2 years.

[Duelley49]

That really doesn't make sense as to why they would think you knew nothing about Japan. Maybe they just believed in the "foreigners can never understand Japan" stereotype.

[Yudan Taiteki]

Welcome to Japan.

[jinksys]

Duelley49 wrote:
All Japanese that I've met were really polite and friendly. Too bad more people in America aren't like that.

The Japanese just don't know that you're nutty raisin-cake. Give them time.

[Hatori]

I like most about Japan... I don't know. :p I like Japan's culture that's not... like pop-culture. LOL

[Gaddo]

I Like Japan because i could get lost in the crowd and be killed by a stampede of angry japanese buisnessmen.

[Txkun]

- The mix of old and new culture and styles
- The food (agree 100%)

[kayuu]

Even though the OP is a nutcase this is still a nice thread and I'd like to hear some more responses.

As for me, I've never had the pleasure of visting Japan before, either, so I can only tell you what I like about Japan from an outsider perspective. What I like about Japan is (rather predictably) the language and its quirks, and its non-pop culture (like Hatori, I can't think of a way to put it )

I've always wanted to visit a temple or shrine. Anywhere, not just Japan - in fact, there's a Pagan temple in Britain that nobody seems to know about, because they don't advertise it as a temple, they advertise it as a hot spring. Any idea what I'm talking about? The Roman Baths, in the town of Bath - that's right, the Romans were Pagan, and they built a temple (for Minerva, the water Goddess) right on my doorstep and I only very recently found out! It is, of course, now in practical ruins but some parts of it (including the sacrificial altar!) still exist, preserved underground. /end British culture snippit

Anyway, back to Japan. Japan seems to have its fair share of temples and shrines. I'd love to visit Japanese countryside and little 'out of the way' villages, too. (I've heard that there are many!)

As for the food - I challenge you to find something (besides candy) that I like I don't like rice, miso or sushi. Hrm...

[Txkun]

kayuu wrote:
As for the food - I challenge you to find something (besides candy) that I like I don't like rice, miso or sushi. Hrm...

I think Japan has many other delicious foods that aren't so famous.
You could enjoy: tempura, sukiyaki, okonomiyaki, tamagoyaki... just to name a few (and I don't know much about cooking).
But I think it's a pity you don't like rice or miso they are often used as sidedishes and I simply love and miss very much the onigiri (rice balls) that you can get with only 120 yen.

p.s.
kayuu, in Japan when you'll go then visit at any cost to Nikkou and Kyoto. In Kyoto also the Fushimi Inari shrine is wonderful (it's just a little outside Kyoto).

[Shirasagi]

I'm a really picky eater, but I love yakisoba, yakiniku, and nikujaga. And if you don't like sushi, go to an izakaya and order some hokke. Maaan, I loves me some hokke. Also, here in Aichi you have to try the tebasaki chicken wings. As Txkun mentioned, tamagoyaki is awesome. There's a lot of food here. I daresay, given my experience (and really, I'm a real picky eater), they'll be plenty of food that you'll love.

As for what I like about Japan... I dunno. As I said in another thread, my relationship with Japan is not really one of "liking" or "disliking". In a sense, my personality is not really fit for Japan, so living here forces me to improve myself in various ways. But that's not really conducive to liking Japan as a whole. But I guess some little pleasures I get from living here that I can't get in America are:

- short, zany commercials
- sumo
- Cassis Oranges
- karaoke boxes
- izakaya
- winter nabe parties with friends
- Kansai-ben
- Yuka

[john2]

stop you're making me want to go there,

[AJBryant]

<quibble>you're making me want to go there </quibble>