Top 5 of Japan

Whenever anybody left the country from our little Sangubashi community, we could perform the “Top 5 of Japan”. It seams like only yesterday I was performing these quizzes on Zoren and Matthew, last night it was Emily performing these on me (I’ll have to MSN her for hers, considering we’re the last to leave). I’ve got very mixed emotions about leaving, but I’ll let you see for youself… without further adue, I present the “Top 5 of Japan”

TOP 5 THINGS I’M GOING TO MISS
1) Friends – Japanese and Gaigin
2) Cute Japanese girls and their obsession with short skirts, even in winter
3) Some of the happiest times of my life, exploring with Emily.
4) The shier size of Tokyo (there are more people in the Tokyo urban spral then all of Australia)
5) Complete and utter randomness

TOP 5 THINGS I’M NOT GOING TO MISS
1) Rules that won’t be broken – no matter what
2) Inconvenience (why do ATM’s close? They are machines)
3) Crowds (and being pushed into a train by a station guard with gloves)
4) The strange smell the lurks around Tokyo from time to time
5) Cost of living

TOP 5 MOMENTS
1) Being completely gob smacked at the lights and sounds the first time I went to Hachiko crossing.
2) Walking thought the bamboo forest in Kyoto and having the feeling Heather was walking beside me.
3) The day it snowed in Tokyo (First time in 5 years)
4) The 270° view of the Japanese Alps from the ski fields of Nigatta
5) Standing on the bride directly under the spot the first Nuclear bomb went of looking at the A-bomb dome

TOP 5 FOODS
1) Okonomiyaki (the food, the staff, the parties, everything)
2) Inari (every day for lunch for the entire time I was here)
3) Tomago (the only readily available sushi I can eat)
4) Convinie candy (I bought soooo many packets to last me through the coming weeks)
5) Tofu steak (can’t get tofu like this back home)

TOP 5 GIRLS
1) Emily
2) Keiko (my Japanese Pop Star)
3) Mai (My convenience girl)
4) Kanako (My old Nova staff)
5) Ariko (My new Nova staff)

TOP 5 BEST TIMES
1) Hangin’ in the Hallway with the Shu and the Chan
2) Okonomiyaki parties (Christmas party and Menu party)
3) The two trips with Dad including the Tateyama – Kurobe Alpine route and the Romance car with Dad (and the look on his face when the doors shut and he thought we weren’t meant to be on it)
4) Exploring the city with Emily
5) Trying to communicate with the guys at the Monzen Nakacho restaurant when all they could say in English is “This is a pen, that is a pen) and having them call a life line to explain that they are a fish restaurant.

TOP 5 WORST TIMES
1) Having my Okonomiyaki interrupted with that horrible call from home telling me my worst fear came true.
2) My second worst fear comeing true
3) First day in the country, lost, confused, 60kg of luggage on my back, trying to find the landlords office in downtown, busy Shinjuku
4) The moment the plane touched town in Melbourne and it hit me that Heather was gone
5) Spending New Years Eve by myself in a Manga Kissa

TOP 6 PLACES (I just couldn’t shorten this list)
1) Sangubashi (en, hallway, ampm)
2) Shibuya
3) Yoyogi park
4) Meiji Shrine
5) Mashu-ko
6) Graveyard at Takeyama

TOP 5 THING I’LL LOOK FORWARD TO ABOUT AUSTRALIA
1) Friends and Family
2) Bec (My Vespa)
3) Nova and Astor (The nice Nova, one of relaxing, not working)
4) My apartment (It’s 5 times the size of my Jap residence)
5) English

TOP 5 STRANGEST THING
1) Right wing propaganda dudes with their black vans and megaphones
2) Having a soccer field on the roof of a building in Shibuya
3) Harajuku girls (and Yoyogi on Sunday in general)
4) Capsule Hotels (they are actually quite covenant)
5) Love Hotels (although they didn’t live up to the expectation)

TOP 5 CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
1) Sticker booths and amusement halls
2) Abiding by the rules, no matter how stupid/ irrelevant/ difficult they are
3) That all women quit their job the moment they get engaged
4) Smiles in messages (^_^)v/ (@-@)
5) Vending Machines (Soft Drinks, Hot drinks, Chocolate, Alcohol, Cigarettes, Condoms, Fresh Flowers, Bread, Face Masks, Batteries, Towels, Business shirts, hot food, pot noodles, bath salts, love hotel rooms, dildos, porno magazines, computer parts, CDs, Computer games, fortunes, prayers, disposable cameras, rice, vegetables, the list just goes on and on)

TOP 5 RANDOM NOTES ABOUT JAPAN THAT DON’T FIT INTO ANY OF THE FOR MENTIONED CATEGORIES
1) Earthquakes, they were fun, I’m glad I escaped “the big one”
2) Dancing Benito flakes
3) Polaroid photos of friends and family from home on the wall to make you happy when you are sad
4) Hanging with Matthew on the 24 floor of a hotel and looing at the ants march over Hachiko crossing
5) Beautiful ornamental gardens

And that is and was my time in Japan. Thanks you all for coming along for the ride, it’s been fantastic to have your guest book messages, it’s helped keep us going when times got low. Please leave a parting message in the guest book for old times sake. Emily’s still got a little over a week in her left but this is the end of the line for me so Sayonara, I’ll see you all shortly.

Matta ne