Will Miss #260 - my dentist(s)

Best dentists (and hygienists), ever.
I can't speak to the quality of dental care everywhere in Japan, and I have mentioned before that it is irritating having to get treatment in multiple stages due to the way in which the national health insurance works. However, I have had nothing but the best dental care in Japan. This is in stark contrast to the horrific experiences I had in America with

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Won't Miss #260 - Caucasian elevation

If you're white in Japan, you automatically have value based on skin color alone. Many Caucasian foreigners, particularly men, love being seen as special and relish being the favored pet that is fawned over and spoken to with adoration. They're the best of breed among the kennel of foreigners. If you're black, you're a bit out of luck in the gaijin pet show because many Japanese tend to regard

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Will Miss #259 - "live theater"

A family goes about their business in full view of strangers passing by.
This may be something that only happens in my neighborhood. It may be something that happens in all big cities all over the world. I don't know. All I can tell you is that I never experienced such a thing back home in either the rural Pennsylvania town I grew up in or the suburban California town I lived in for awhile. At

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Won't Miss #259 - absurdly fussy shopping

I shop at a very cheap green grocer (Yutakararya). In fact, in terms of produce quality and prices, I'd say that they're the bottom of the barrel, but still good for basic daily fresh food needs. No one with two brain cells would expect to find perfectly shaped, premium fruit and vegetables there. It's not the sort of place where you find $80 (7,900 yen) melons gift-wrapped and swaddled in

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Will Miss #258 - language schools (the good)

A Geos poster, implying that you'll be in one big happy family with foreigners and Japanese alike if you attend their school. Of course, it's too late now since Geos folded.
While there are problems with working at language schools (related mainly to cultural differences and working expectations), the experience carries some unique benefits. The main one is that it is often an ideal environment

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Won't Miss #258 - language schools (the bad)

An ad for "Geos" language school (eikaiwa) using Disney's "Shrek". Even though the school went out of business, these posters are still up all over Tokyo. Given the cash they must have invested to use these images, it's no wonder the company went down the drain.

One of the things that foreigners learn rather quickly after being engaged at a language school is that the experience is not what

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Will Miss #257 - feeling like an Amazon

Several months ago, I was walking around my neighborhood and a group of 5 or 6 foreign men were waiting to cross the street. I was struck immediately by how physically intimidated they made me feel because they were all much taller and more solid (not fat) compared to the people I'm accustomed to having around me. It occurred to me that I so very rarely encounter people who are substantially

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Won't Miss #257 - public urination

A sign in a paid parking lot asking people not to use it as a toilet
I realize men pee in the streets all around the world, especially when they are drunk and it's night-time, but I personally did not experience it that much growing up in America. I was very shocked to see that perfectly sober men in Tokyo urinate in well-traveled side streets and on other people's private property, even when

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Will Miss #256 - air conditioned waiting areas

An enclosed waiting space (left) with air conditioning on the Keio line train platform.
Our last sojourn to Costco occurred in the humidity of the rainy season in June. The trip takes about 5.5 hours round-trip and requires a fair amount of train riding and some transfers. My husband and I were gratified to find the enclosed waiting spaces on the platform were air conditioned. They offered very

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Won't Miss #256 - the "cut off and slow down"

As part of the never-ending competition for space on the sidewalks, stations, and shopping areas with other pedestrians in nearly every moderately crowded area of Tokyo, there is an experience that continues to frustrate me. Frequently, people who are walking behind me will walk very fast just to get around me and the minute they get in front of me, they will slow down to a pace which is slower

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Will Miss #255 - an apology is all it (usually) takes

The Japanese are big into taking responsibility, but they are also very forgiving when you admit that you messed up. I'm sometimes floored by the mistakes or misunderstandings that are dismissed or utterly overlooked with the issuance of a simple apology and an explanation. This works not only on a personal level, but frequently on an official one. When my husband and I forgot on a couple of

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Won't Miss #255 - MSG

Jars of "Aji Shio" at a local convenience market. It's the only type of salt on offer.
One of the many mistakes that foreign folks make early on in their stay in Japan is buying salt with MSG or MSG instead of salt to put on their food. Unless you know what it is, they look very similar and are not marked in an appreciably different fashion. In fact, in many convenience stores, they don't sell

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Will Miss #254 - general trustworthiness

A woman left her wallet, schedule book, drink, and slippers on a bench while she made a call from a phone booth about 10 feet away.
Both natives and foreigners alike are told constantly that Japan is a "safety country", and that people do not engage in petty criminal acts. This is largely true and at least a little false. I left a tote bag in a bike basket while running into a store and it was

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Won't Miss #254 - overheated movie theaters

While it is great to be able to eat and drink what you want in movie theaters in Japan, there is one big problem, and that's the temperature. Most theaters are uncomfortably hot in both summer and winter. In the winter, they overheat them and in summer, they under-cool them. Part of the reason for this is that Japanese people in general prefer hotter temperatures than foreigners, but part of it

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Will Miss #253 - taking my own snacks to movies

In the U.S., most theater owners will not permit people to bring in their own food and drink. This allows them to massively overcharge at the concessions stand and make more money. In Japan, you can nosh on anything you want inside the theater. That's right. People take in bags of fast food to eat during the movie if they want and nobody hassles them.

I'll miss being able to take what I want to

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Won't Miss #253 - Japanese slapped over English

Before I whine about this particular thing, I would ask my gentle readers to keep in mind that I get to complain about things which are decidedly reasonable and fair ways for things to happen because they just so happen to inconvenience me personally. It is absolutely proper for the Japanese importers to plaster Japanese product information over the English on imported products, but it still

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Will Miss #252 - Japanese versions of Western icons

 Click to see a larger version.
Growing up in America, I grew accustomed to seeing certain figures look a certain way. Ronald McDonald, for instance, always has a similar physique regardless of the model or actor under the make-up and in the costume. Any iconic character that has been around for awhile tends to assume a particular image and it's always interesting seeing the Japanese versions of

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Won't Miss #252 - Japanese paper towels

I don't know why these seem to be named for cow usage.
Yes, I know paper towels are the spawn of ecological evil and I shouldn't use them. That being said, considering the fact that I can only do laundry in cold water, I'm not exactly in a position to be cleaning greasy rags or getting germy ones clean and sanitary. I really have little choice but to use paper towels for things like cleaning a

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Will Miss #251 - free ambulance service

In odd contrast to the previous post about paying for emergency rescue services, ambulances in Japan are free. If you've fallen and you can't get up, you get a free ride to the hospital. Considering that many people back home in America won't call an ambulance when they need one for fear of the cost, this is a rather refreshing situation. Of course, there is a down side, and that's that some

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Won't Miss #251 - paying for emergency rescue and searches

If you are the adventurous sort and want to go around climbing Mt. Fuji or any of the other famous natural areas that people are prone to hike around in Japan, you'd better hope you don't trip and fall into a ravine for more than one reason. Besides the obvious pain, suffering (and potential death), your family or you will be on the hook for the cost of any search and rescue expenses. Any

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Will Miss #250 - Japanese onomatopoeia

A "fuwa fuwa" (fluffy) marshmallow cake.
The Japanese language has a lot of onomatopoeia. For those who are unfamiliar, those are words that sound like or suggest the concept they are meant to convey. I've never counted how many we have in English, but I'm pretty sure the Japanese have many more. I encounter a lot of them while snack blogging. For instance, "saku saku" is crispy and "fuwa fuwa"

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Won't Miss #250 - green tea shops

There are many people who are great fans of green tea and I can sort of see the appeal. Personally, it's one of those things that I can take or leave. I don't get excited about it, but I enjoy eating foods flavored with it on occasion and I'll drink it if it comes free with a Japanese meal or someone serves it to me. It's pleasant enough, but I'm not crazy for it. Green tea itself is fine, but

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Will Miss #249 - Mister Donut

Mister Donut originated in the United States, but the market there is quite small. In Japan, Mister Donut is far more popular and carries a variety of small, not too sweet donuts for about 100 yen each. They often have some interesting seasonal flavors and make some unique donuts for the Japanese markets, such as ones made with kinako (toasted soy flour) or mochi (pounded rice). The results are

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