Why I like Japan

Several reasons:

1. Good food. Even the convenience store sell fresh and homemade-made like dishes. Love the bento boxes. Japanese food is very healthy.

2. Talking bus stops posts. There are electronic posts at the bus stops and they talk. Tells you when the bus is one block away. Amazing.

3. Polite people. Service is excellent. Clerks always greet you though some of them follow me around too closely. I prefer to be able to take my own time to browse around and not have a clerk looking over my shoulder. However, they pay close attention and know instantly when I want something. They are also knowledgeable about everything they sell in the store unlike Singapore where most clerks can`t even answer basic questions like where something was made.

4. Trains and subways. Everything runs on time. There are electronic signs that tell you when the next train or subway is coming. Very exact. For example, 3:21 pm. Right down to the minute.

5. Fashionable and trendy. People aren`t afraid to take fashion risks. Latest trend are high boots; all kinds.....leather, suade etc. Some Japanese in their twenties and thirties have really funky hairdos and clothes though some of it is a bit weird. The women always wear make up and do their hair. The men are well groomed. Men wear suits and ties if they are working.

6. Hot baths. There are centos or public bath houses. My friend lives near a natural hotspring. We went a few nights ago. If you aren`t embarassed to sit in a super hot bath with a bunch of strangers, then it`s relaxing. Everyone showers before getting into the bath. Segregated baths for men and women of course. I would never go to a co-ed one.

7. Attention to detail. The Japanese really put effort into how things look. Flower arrangements in the lobby of my friend`s apartment building changes periodically. Taxi drivers wear suits and ties and white gloves. Restaurants give you proper cutlery etc. Great!