What is something you have in your home country you wish Japan had?

36 comments

1. Cheese and Bread!

2. Isn’t airsoft fairly big here? Seems like a fairly decent alternative.

3. Sarcasm.

4. Street names.
   Pretzels.
   Referenda.

5. Holidays (and the Christmas spirit and food)

6. XL clothing that fits.

7. As someone who spends time between Japan and the US: legal weed.

8. Reese’s cups.

9. 5 weeks of paid holiday per year.

10. Free healthcare and primary education

11. Long holidays, but I guess that would ruin service standards in Japan.

12. Flexibility. I wish people in service industry didn’t completely break down if you asked a question/request that’s not in the standard operating procedures.

13. Chipotle mexican grill

14. The common understanding that people should wash their hands with soap, and that germs spread by children (such as when they pick their noses and touch things/people) are every bit as dangerous as those spread by adults (even the FOREIGN ones)!

15. 4 seasons

16. Independent critical media. Insightful long read articles and amazingly researched documentaries.

17. Paintball never caught on here because the airsoft scene is huge. And was literally invented here. I know a lot of paintballers diss airsoft because pain and giant bruises is manly, but I recommend giving it a try.

    Anyway things from home I wish I had here:
    * garbage disposal
    * dishwasher
    * real oven
    * insulation and double-pane windows
    * clothes driers that actually work
    * functional kitchens
    * flexible thought patterns

18. Cheap good cheese, none of that processed crap.

    Cheap prosciutto or jamón.

    Clean beaches.

19. Fresh peppers beyond just bell peppers and togarashi. Supermarkets in general really. Japanese supermarkets aren’t bad but besides my family the thing that makes me think “Maybe moving back home wouldn’t be so bad” every time I go home is the local supermarket. There are just so many more options for things than there are in Japan.

20. Friends :’(

21. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. But fortunately there are sellers on Mercari with US base access.

22. As a distinct man of culture:
    -sports bars with tater tots and fried pickles

    -the legal ability to have an entire beer and drive home an hour later without worrying about losing your license and job

    -garages where you can store all your hobbies and projects that you’re never going to finish / seeing all your friends’ hobbies and unfinished projects

    -space for kids indoors to have a proper nerf battle

    -NZ pies and fries (not my country but this would be welcomed)

    -meeting your friend’s parents and their grandparents, and then going from like “eww gross whitefish salad?!” to like being in near-tears when your friend brings her grandma’s whitefish salad for you

    -Delis, delis, delis

    -Cuban food / Honduran bakeries / Supermarkets with Mexican groceries and soda among other things

    -affordable roadtripping

23. Where. is. the. putt-putt???

    I long for the days when I could just spend an afternoon stirring up a little competition with my friends over a game of putt-putt! I feel like it’s a giant missed opportunity here in Japan. Think of all the cool themed obstacles and courses people could design!

24. Salt & Vinegar crisps. Don’t get me wrong, seaweed, wasabi and consommé are all exquisite flavours but you can’t beat the classic.

25. Actual street food.

    Edit: A better banking system.

26. I wish Japan had chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Shout out to Baskin Robbins in 2012? 2013? for giving a brief taste of home.

27. Repeat prescriptions, so I don’t have to make an appointment each time I need more medicine 😭

28. More varied breakfast option. It pains me to see a coffee place only starts at like 10-11 and my only option for breakfast at 8-9 is conbini or chain coffee place

29. Big salads with grilled chicken breast available everywhere. Iced coffee sizes that are bigger than like 3 sips.

30. Pools that were open all year round, don’t require caps, and don’t enforce constant breaks. I miss swimming but it’s such a fuss here.

31. A modicum of critical thinking, instead of cripplingly rigid adherence to operating procedure and a complete & total collapse of function when this is challenged by even the most ordinary of situations.

32. I want a cafe that opens earlier than 8-9 am. My day starts at 5~, and I want an espresso at 6 during my morning ride.

    I feel that it’s honestly a missed opportunity, but combinis fill that gap for most of the populace I guess.

33. fucking hot water in the washing machine

34. Sunset after 8-9pm in summer.

35. Workers rights that are actually enforced. The worker mentality where you don’t feel pressured to stay at work after hours and work yourself to death.

36. Hospitals that are open all the time.