5 Things I Miss About Japan
After 5 and a half years living in Japan, there was a lot of things that I fell in love with over there, and things that became the “norm” for me.
However, in late 2020 amid the Coronavirus pandemic, I moved away from Japan to Germany. I miss nearly everything about Japan but there are a few things that I miss that just don’t exist in Europe.
Here are my top 5:
1.Vending Machines
If you’ve ever been to Japan, you’ll know that there are vending machines EVERYWHERE. Generally on every street and you don’t have to walk too far to find one, making buying a drink very convenient. In Summer, it’s pretty essential when it’s SO hot! (And they even have cute themed one like the one below).
Whilst vending machine drinks in Japan are a bit more expensive than what you’d find in the shops, they’re still pretty affordable. In the West, I find vending machines to be ridiculously expensive and just not worth it. After moving here I realised how few there are and how hard they are to find.
It sounds extremely lazy but having to go into a shop and queue up to buy just one drink seems like a big pain in comparison! I miss vending machines SO much.
And one last thing; being Winter and freezing cold here in Berlin, I would kill for a hot chocolate out of a vending machine (yes, you can also buy hot drinks from them!).
2. Convenience Stores
Similar to vending machines, convenience stores in Japan just add an extra layer on convenience to life in Japan. My personal favourite was 7/11 but you’ll find a Family Mart, Lawson or 7/11 on nearly every street. From my house, I had about 6 convenience stores within 5 minutes walk!
The best thing about these stores is that they’re open 24/7 and have most things you would need. You wouldn’t do a full weekly shop there but for bentos, snacks, drinks and even some home essentials it’s great.
They’re also restocked throughout the day based on which items have sold out, so even if an item is out of stock, it will likely be restocked the same day or early the next day.
In Germany, nearly all shops (including supermarkets) are closed on Sundays and national holidays and none of them are open 24 hours a day. After having the convenience of being able to shop whenever, it took me a while to realise that we needed to buy 2–3 days of shopping/meals on a Friday/Saturday to last the weekend.
Often, convenience stores in Japan liked to be a bit creative with what they have, and this was my favourite one that I saw:
3. Ramen!!!
I think most people know that Japanese food is absolutely delicious and nothing like the food we have in the West. It took me a while to get used to it but I totally fell in love with nearly all Japanese food (except sushi) whilst I was living there.
I tried some Japanese restaurants in Berlin but they’re just not the same. Out of all the food I miss, ramen is by far the greatest one. It is so cheap in Japan and such a filling meal that it’s great value for money.
My favourite restaurant in Tokyo was Ichiran but there was also a tiny ramen shop in Ikebukuro that was pretty special to me (both because it was delicious and for sentimental reasons). And when the food looks like this, how can you say no?!
I found somewhere in Berlin that sells instant ramen but for 5 packets of instant ramen, it cost me €10! Extortionate but I was having some major cravings, but didn’t even come close to the real thing…
I know it’s first thing I’ll want to eat the next time I go to Japan (hopefully as soon as this corona stuff is over!).
4. Great customer service
This is another aspect of Japan that is pretty standard. I don’t think I ever had an experience were someone was rude to me or not patient enough to help me in the customer service industry there. Sometimes the language barrier was a problem, but they were always patient and always willing to help. If they didn’t want to help, it definitely did not show!
I think I took that level of service for granted a bit as coming back to living in Europe, I realised just how rude and impatient people can be, especially when it comes to a language barrier. In my first week living here, I had numerous people in shops and restaurants be openly rude to me and it was a real shock. I had forgotten what people could be like.
In Japan, everyone seems to take their jobs very seriously and people here often don’t have that same attitude towards work. I think that is how the level of service differs so vastly.
5. Feeling safe
This is also something I pretty much took for granted whilst living in Japan. Regardless of what time of night it was and wherever I was, I never really felt in danger.
Of course, there are bad people in Japan, I’m not denying that, but petty theft and random muggings just don’t really seem to happen. I often walked home at night after the last train and whilst I have always been cautious, never had any serious need for concern.
Moving back to a Western country did make me realise just how cautious you really have to be. In Berlin, bike theft is particularly common but there are also a lot of odd people on the streets and on the trains which I feel you need to be really careful around.
It’s more like a need for constant awareness and assuming everyone is bad to avoid any difficult situations.
Conclusion
These are only a few of the many things that I miss about Japan and I’m hoping to re-live my Japan experience with a trip whenever I next can.
Make the most of your time in Japan because once you leave, it’s all gone…
