It's finally sunk in that I'm here in Japan! Today I did my usual, walked all over the neighborhood in all directions scoping out restaurants, shops, stores, etc. What was notably absent was a subway exit/entrance...in Korea, you can't walk 100 feet without seeing one. Chances are, if you look across the street from that point there will even be another one. Maybe it's just the area I'm in? Or the subway/train system is different here in Japan than Korea.
Anyway, the first thing that hit me was that people walk on the wrong side of the road here lol. Just like we walk on the right side of the road (to allow people going the opposite direction to walk on the left), they do the opposite. I'm guessing this is because they drive on the opposite sides of the roads as we do? I'm telling you, I almost had a heart attack when I took my taxi from the bus station the other night. It just feels WRONG making a wide looping right turn onto a street, and seeing cars coming straight at me (on that street) in the passenger seat O.O Anyways, I was obstructing foot traffic for awhile when I was walking around until I realized I had to walk on the left side of the road, not the right haha.
On a side note, the mannerisms and speech patterns are very different from both America and Korea here. It's a different country so it's to be expected, but you know I notice these things and fixate on them lol. Being used to Korean spoken all around me for awhile, Japanese now sounds much more...I don't know how to describe it. Like sit-up-straight kind of a tone, much more crisp, and more stress on sounds. Just take the Korean and Japanese words for "yes". In Korean, you just say "nehhhhh..." (which is already a soft sound) and kind of hold it then let it trail off. In Japanese, you say "HAI." Emphasis on the period there lol. That's what it all sounds like to me. It's really interesting to me, since before this I had heard much more Japanese than Korean in America; I never noticed these differences as much as I do now!
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Left: They love their games here in Japan! I saw several of these arcade-type places on my walk today just in my area. --- Right: Found a post office near my hotel! Excellent. - (Red prius) Hi Mom and Dad :) I'm in the birthplace of our cars! - Lots of stores like this too; the packaged dried smelly foods that my parents like...like dried squid and stuff ::wrinkles nose::
Also, the names of places are EXTREMELY DECEPTIVE. I wandered down one street and saw a big sign proclaiming itself to be Gourmet City. Fully expecting a food court, or a restaurant I walked in and found...a home goods store?? I was happy to have found one so close to my hotel (it will be my Japanese version of Daiso haha), but why is it called Gourmet City?! Another example was a place called "Book-Off Bazaar" (picture above) but it had no books lol, it was clothes inside?? I was so sad lol.
Since things are expensive here in Japan I had resolved not to buy much in terms of material things. I did however pick up some cool sock shoe things (I couldn't resist haha) and another pair of inside slippers (due to lack of space, I had left my ones I used previously in Korea). They are relatively the same price as in Korea (around the $2-$3 mark), so it wasn't bad.
Since things are expensive here in Japan I had resolved not to buy much in terms of material things. I did however pick up some cool sock shoe things (I couldn't resist haha) and another pair of inside slippers (due to lack of space, I had left my ones I used previously in Korea). They are relatively the same price as in Korea (around the $2-$3 mark), so it wasn't bad.
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I'm having so much fun trying all the different drinks they have here! Surprisingly it's much harder buying food here than in Korea because of LESS English used. I was expecting the opposite since Japan has been a tourist destination for quite a while now while Korea is relatively newer. I have to literally look, smell, poke, and guess at what things are before I decide to buy them lol. Luckily all my guesses so far have been correct or equally delicious incorrect guesses :D
After my lengthy walk, I stopped by my trusty 7-eleven (I think it IS a sub-store of our 7-eleven, because it has it's proper 7-eleven name on the sign outside). I picked up some drinks and cool dessert things I've always wanted to try. I don't know if it's because I'm Japanese and I'm more used to the flavors or what, but I haven't been shocked by or disliked even ONE of the Japanese snackfoods I've randomly tried so far. This is a radical difference from Korea where unfortunately I tried tons and was surprised by how different each tasted than I was expecting. For example, I bought what looked like garlic bagel chips, expecting it to be...well, garlicky. It was not to be. They were super sticky SWEET (???) and I couldn't even swallow the first one it was such a shock. I also tried what looked like Funyuns but they ended up being this these airy rings with like barley poweder on them. I did however find a brand of these onion ring chips that actually tasted like onions so I liked that one :) Alas, I couldn't eat most of the snacks in Korea... perhaps given time I would get used to it haha.
Here though I've tried all sorts and LOVED them all! I was super apprehensive trying each one at first (given my experiences with snack foods in Korea), but the onion rings here are cheesy onion rings and awesome. I've also had nori (that's seaweed you non-Asian people) seasoned potato chips (DELICIOUS), some seriously perfect vanilla bean custard, and all manner of yummy instant pastas and bottled drinks. I have also found the BEST chocolate I've ever had in my life and it's sold in a convenience store. It's these little individually wrapped chocolate cubes called MeltyKiss. I got the one with green tea flavored chocolate in the middle. It's thick but soft, almost like a fudge, tastes like dark chocolate (my favorite, I can't stand milk chocolate), and is covered on the outside with a dusting of cocoa powder. I am FORSURE stocking up on these things to take home, I'll stuff them in my pockets if I have to to save room lol.