Ahhhhhhhh Japan :)

Well, once again time is starting to fly. In about 3 weeks time we will be back on our old stomping grounds. When we first booked our plane tickets home we were above and beyond stoked, but now that the time to go is actually drawing nearer, we are both a tad sad to leave Japan -- a place that we spent 1 full amazing year of our lives.

Don't get us wrong, we have NO regrets about leaving after 1 year. We have done absolutely everything we set out to do and we actually think that our time here was like one big, long vacation.

It's funny how a lot of people here say "You are leaving after 1 year. That was such a short time". We are always baffled by this because in our eyes we see one year away from family/friends/work as being quite a long time. Of course time flies, but in reality 12 months in a new atmosphere is pretty substantial. We haven't changed at all...other then the new memories we have...we are positive all of you back home are the same...but to put it into perspective I think about my nephews or Abby Mac and it blows my mind to see how much they have grown and changed in a span of 365 days.

I still remember our very first day in Osaka almost as if it was yesterday. The first couple of months here were new, fun and fresh. At the same time we also experienced a lot of culture shock...obviously. We of course adjusted and while I said before we haven't changed at all....personally we haven't, but our eating habits have been altered quite a bit! Things Jamie never ate at home like veggies...he eats all the time. Things I never ate at home like fish and meat...I now do.

After living in a place completely different from what you are used to, one is bound to become accustomed to their new surroundings. Jamie and I were talking the other night about how when we get home we are going to experience a kind of reverse culture shock. There are a lot of things here in Japan that we have gotten so used to that doesn't happen back home. Nothing massive or anything like that, but some things that we will definitely miss.

Our list of Only In Japan (OIJ's)

*of course these things can also be found in other countries, but we say OIJ b/c it isn't common in our home country*

The transportation system here is absolutely amazing! You can get anywhere by use of the train/subway and it is always on time. We have to say that it has been kind of nice not having to drive anywhere for the past year!

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  Customer service -- People here whether it be a clothing store, train station or even McDonald's take such pride in customer service. One is always greeted when entering and thanked when leaving. When you buy anything it is so nicely packaged up for you and food you order is always hot and fresh.

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  Every now and then people stare at you like you are an alien, but a lot of the time people get the biggest smile on their faces if you smile at them or say hello.
  
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  National Holidays and Festivals -- Here in Japan they are always celebrating something and they go all out for it whether it be with fireworks, floats, lanterns, yukatas etc. It's a great reason to go out and have fun.
  
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  Convenience Stores -- I don't know where this kind of store originated, but these kinds of stores in Japan are exactly what the name suggests.....convenient. You can get anything you need any time of the day. It is awesome!
  
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  Open alcohol on the street -- need I say more?!?!
  
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  100 Yen stores -- Of course we have these kinds of stores back home, but most of the stuff they sell is crap. Here everything is really $1 and the things you can buy are very practical and useful.
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  Cheap goods -- A lot of things here in Japan are ridiculously pricey like fruit and vegetables among other things. However, some things like pasta sauce, chicken and other kinds of groceries are super cheap. We eat a lot of chicken here and one breast costs between $1-1.50.
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  Not tipping -- Back home we were very used to tipping our hairdressers, servers, taxi drivers etc, but in Japan tipping doesn't happen. A few times we have tried to tip, but they absolutely refuse your money. This is one thing that is going to be hard to get used to again!
  
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  Cleanliness -- Vancouver is a great, clean, beautiful city. While Osaka isn't the best looking city in the world, it is really, really clean (minus the pollution). I still find it hard to believe how clean it is when garbage cans are rare and always seem impossible to find!
  
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  Trust -- Japanese people feel that Japan is the safest country in the world. This is stated by the fact that women walk around with their purses wide open, people leave the ATM with wads of money in their hand and count it while walking down the street, street vendors leave their cash registers open for all to see, people leave their purses/wallets/cell-phones unattended in restaurants/bars etc.
  
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  Friendly People -- Now that I have lived overseas, it is a great feeling to know that I am Canadian and others view Canadians as being super kind and friendly. I feel the same about Japanese people. Always smiling, saying sorry when they don't really have to, bowing to show their respect for you, giving you gifts when they don't know you but have heard about you etc. They are truly and genuinely kind people.
  
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  Randomness -- It is rare that a day doesn't go by where one of us see's something or reads something and things "What the....." and then burst out laughing.

So ya...I just wanted to share with you some of the things we have experienced throughout the year and what we'll miss. Again...don't get us wrong..we've had a blast...an amazing time and we are very content with our decision to come home after one year of being away. We feel that it is a perfect time to leave...it wasn't too short or too long.

While we are going to miss a lot of things from Japan, there are many things we are looking forward to doing/seeing/eating back home:

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  Seeing everyone we love again and hanging out
  
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  Greenery, greenery, greenry. We live in the most beautiful city in the WORLD! We didn't really know how spoiled we were!


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  Kam's Place


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  Slurpees


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  Comfortable summer temperatures (blue sky and no humidity)

SEE YOU SOON!!!!

PS - To our beloved PONG crew -- have a BLAST at the cabin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!