Somebody, anybody,..... say something good about this place

[CrankyBastard]

I mean geez..... I haven't heard any of us say anything positive about Jland in a while now. C'mon folks, no matter how much surviving here is a pain, there's got to be something that makes some of it worthwhile.
I spent a few hours at an izakaya yesterday and enjoyed the food, booze and company far more than a night out in my hometown last visit.
Anyone out there enjoying anything about this place?

I guess I just don't feel cranky enough today.


P.S. Jack, you don't need to. Submit your usual, I mean.

[jim katta]

good stuff:

no matter how counterintuitive many things are here, in comparison my home country, in Japan many things about Tokyo just "work" the way they are supposed to. We live here a while and take it for granted, but coming from New York, I've learned to appreciate how many things Tokyo gets right. Of course not perfect, (I see many holes, but that not for this thread), but I like most of it. Trains run on time, garbage is removed quickly, streets are clean as hell, service at restaurants and stores is usually top notch.

Love the food! My only lingering fear that is not gaijin specific is the fact that a lot of the food establishments aren't being watched and regulated by a proper health agency as far as I can tell, which makes eating out (even at a high class place) a gamble every time. Luckily Japan "usually" prides itself on being clean, so the gamble is not as high as a lot of places.

Love the women. They aren't all proper in the brain mind you, but even the homely ones often present themselves in a very attractive way. It is appreciated.

Lots of stuff to bitch and moan about, but really, if it was that bad, or if it "becomes" that bad, no problem at all for me to leave and go back to my native land.

[Gilligan]

OK Crankster, I'll give it a try.

￥100 sushi
All-you-can-eat yakiniku with daijokis of cold draft beer
Clean efficient public transportation
When the cable / delivery guy says he'll be there between 9 and 12, he shows up at 9
Jack lives in Canada

(Just for starters)

[kusai Jijii]

beer machines
station drinking
women (they also go in the "Japan is full of psychos" thread, but...)
the local Sento
Yakiniku
beer gardens on department store roofs in sweaty summer evenings
Its the perfect environment for fucked up fuck-ups like myself.

[Jack]

OK Crankster, I'll give it a try.

Jack lives in Canada

(Just for starters)

Not for long though
We made a lot of progress on my business in Tokyo. Got a superb location with renovation starting soon. Could be living there by spring 2009.

[Taro Toporific]

Pizza.

[Jack]

Pizza.

Taro, I'll be spending north of $2 million in the space. I don't think that I could generate sufficient return on my investment selling pizza

[IkemenTommy]

[gomichild]

4 seasons!

[Adhesive]

Don't we already have a thread like this? Anywho...

1. Cheap, fashionable clothes that don't need to be safety-pinned in the back to fit us non-obese folk.

2. Hair Salons that cost ~$40 for two shampoos, a massage, polite staff, and a quality trim...don't even get me started on the incompetence here in the States.

3. Lack of great white sharks cruising the surf spots.

4. Friendly surfers

5. GIRLS

EDIT: Fast, cheap internet connections.

[Iraira]

1)The fact that I can disassemble 20 atomic bombs while giving my jiko-shokai.
2)The fact that when I want to be left alone and veg out in a cafe for 6-8 hours, I can do so.
3)The konbini doesn't sell grade D hot dogs that have been rotating for 6 months.
4)Love the toilets....gotta get me one of those that makes the lid rise when you get close to it. Wanna hook up a Clapper to it.

[Visitor K]

4)Love the toilets....gotta get me one of those that makes the lid rise when you get close to it. Wanna hook up a Clapper to it.

ill second that and add super clean and accessible toilets (especially in conbinis) .. i remember going back to the states after living in japan and having to walk around the city for an hour in search of a business that would let me use their bathroom without buying something first (yes, im that cheap)..
oh, and another positive thing related to accessible toilets is the ability to pee in the street in japan, which also would have come in handy while searching around for a toilet.

[ttjereth]

Taro, I'll be spending north of $2 million in the space. I don't think that I could generate sufficient return on my investment selling pizza

Do you know how much pizza costs here?

[ttjereth]

Good service (everywhere except public/government run offices anyway)

People are generally more polite, even if false, and tend to leave you alone more than back home.

[Adhesive]

Food, on the whole, is typically better, but some particulars:

1. Sausage casings snap appropriately, I don't know if this is the result of using natural casings instead of the artificial kind, or what, but I like it.

2. They know how to cook a god damn egg. I swear every egg I get in the States is overcooked.

3. Bakeries. Sure, I can find equivilants in the States, but it's a search. Almost every where you go in Japan you can find decent bread. Their shoku pan is typically so much better than the sliced white bread found on American shelves. Although, I do miss good sourdough when in Japan. I also like Japanese cakes better. American pastries are just big, bland, overly-sweet monstrosities. Donuts, danishes, or birthday cakes are all you can find in the U.S. unless you go out of your way.

[ketchupkatsu]

Sales staff that let you browse without asking you if you need help every 5 minutes.

[GomiGirl]

Clean streets!! Clean subways!! Clean public toilets!!

[ichigo partygirl]

Clean, safe, reliable public transport
shabu-shabu/Yakinuki/Sukiyaki etc type meals
tea
never having to be thirsty

[canman]

Weather forecasts that seem to be pretty damn accurate, up to the hour. I swear there are times that they nail the weather change to within a few minutes. Six packs of chu hi's. Summer festival season, walking around wearing jimbei, drinking a 500ml can of something, eating jumbo yakitori. Can't beat that. Fireworks festivals.

[halfnip]

Here ya go:

-Girls in white skin tight pants in the summer
-Girls wearing yukata's in the summer

Wait... think of something else.

-Imo Shochu
-Yakitori
-Ramune
-Kappa ebisen
-Kakinotane
-Onsen ryokou's
-Pasmo
-Kamakura/Zushi/Hayama
-Depachika's
-A Starbuck's coffee that actually takes like coffee vs. that shiiet that they serve you back in the US

[Greji]

YBF......

[Aho Kun]

-women
-konbinis
-any kind of baked goods
-tsuruhashi no kimuchi
-women in hot pants
-public transport
-toilets
-tabaco vending machines (yes even with taspo)
-nabe
-did i mention women?

Oh i forgot
-downtown
-loose socks
-karage
-famichiki
-boss coffee

[Behan]

1) J women

2) Convenient public transportation, even if it is crowded

3) Few(er than than the US) guns in the public's hands

4) People can be really helpful and nice if you ask for help

[baka tono]

four seasons of beer (or at least new labels each season)
coffe vending machines that have a camera inside and a tv so you can watch the progress of your drink
my toilet
my bathtub
Yodobashi camera Bic camera
my softbank phone

[IkemenTommy]

Onsen, onsen, onsen.
Late night life saving Conbini episodes

[Mock Cockpit]

[FG Lurker]

I don't have too many complaints about Japan really. Certainly no more than I would have if I was living elsewhere. It's a great country and a place of many opportunities.

Off the top of my head one of the best things though has got to be the lack of overall xtian influence. It's great to be free of that.

[MeinJapanLongTime]

1. No tipping! You just expect good service and the majority of time you get it!

2. Trains and subways in Tokyo. They're everywhere and even if you can't read Japanese, all the signs are in Romanji to help you out. Fare adjustment machines are great too!

3. Cherry Blossoms. Just beautiful in March/April every year.

4. The mountains in Nagano. More natural beauty.

5. Cell Phones!!! The best cell phones in the world at more affordable prices than you will find in other places. (OK, they can be annoying electronic leases, but if you have to have a leash, it might as well come with TV, e-mail, internet access, built-in games, music players, cameras, and so on and so on)

6. Courtesy. All those people who do the old-fashioned things like greet you when you walk into a store (Irashaimasse!). And the fact that until recently, full service at a gas station was still the norm. Loved the team of girls who would come out, gas up your car, wipe your windshield, and so on... ^_^

[IkemenTommy]

Fuckin' cell phone manner-mode at public places where you rarely see people yapping on mobile phones about non-emergency nonsense in the public like you do in the US and anywhere else.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Very little smackheads asking for money on the streets and leaving needles around public places.
Food in general, at any price range you can get something good.