Sorry for the lack of posts over the past two weeks all, I have been having an interesting time at the very least. Have been having a hard time getting truly settled here, along with enjoying a lot of what Fall time Sendai can offer me. Good thing is that I finally feel that I am comfortable in Sendai now and as a result, I am back to writing.
So, one of the great aspects of living in Japan that the majority of foreign people I meet here always mention is how comfortable it is. This comes from a multitude of things. First off, dining in Japan is an experience that I would experience only in nicer restaurants back home. When you are in any restaurant in Japan, the waiters all take care of you. I think this is a product that there is no such thing as tipping in Japan. The price you pay for your meal pays for all of your service at a restaurant, including the waiters' salaries, which I see as a positive in the cultural perspective of Japan.
Secondly, shopping in Japan is just like a dream. I understand why Japanese housewives are so well known for being great shoppers. Shopping in Japan is quite literally a pleasure. All prices in Japan include tax, so what you see is what you pay, and all the staff are there for any requests and information you might require. Also, I found many prices for items to be quite reasonable given the level of quality and service for every product you buy here in Japan.
Finally, Japan is mostly safe. There has been many times when I have forgotten to lock my bike, and it has never been stolen. There is also close to no fear of public violence whenever you are out and about due to the fact there are extremely stringent weapon laws in Japan. As far as I can tell, even the police does not have firearms. This has allowed me to spend many days until late nights down in downtown Sendai without worrying about my safety.
All of these seemingly positives in Japan comes at a cost though. Many of these societal norms in Japan appear to come from the Japanese extreme following of tradition and what I will call "that is what it has always been" syndrome. As a an overcasting statement of the majority, the majority of people just follow the standard, quite different from other societies I have been in. And this is why I will not be living in Japan in the near future, it will be hard for me to sell new ideas in Japan as Japanese people are very hard to shift in mindset overall.
I have enjoyed everyday I have live in Japan, I do not want to neglect that, but for me, the while the culture might be great, I am looking for a place that is more open to changes in ideas with my young age.