What was something you were excited to try once you moved here? Did it live up to your expectations?

26 comments

1. I had this image of Tokyo in my head. The first time I visited there I was super disappointed lol.

2. * Leaving my door unlocked.
   * Walking around without worrying about street robbery.
   * Living without a car.
   * Having health insurance.
   * Living in a country not at war.

   All lived up to my expectations.

3. – Having both Saturday and Sunday off.
   – Earning enough to provide for my family back home.
   – Buying the game, anime and manga I want.
   – Visiting the places shown in anime/manga.
   – Attending comiket.
   – Affordable sushi.

   All lived up to my expectations and more.

4. Being able to walk around aimlessly at night with a strong zero in hand.

   Expectation met.

5. Life with a kotatsu.
   I love it so much and love watching horror movies while using it.

6. Lived in Kansai as an exchange student around the turn of the millennium. Things I couldn’t wait to try:

   – Seeing the Hanshin Tigers and also watching high school baseball at Koshien. Loved both.

   – Takoyaki. Didn’t like it and sort of had the thought, “It’s *octopus*. What were you *expecting*?”

   – Historical places like castles and temples. Got really into them and enjoyed walking through places that were older than any structure where I come from.

   I also arrived with very low expectations about the navigability of Japanese cities, and discovered to my pleasure that Kyoto has streets that are straight and numbered, just like NYC back home, and it was very easy to avoid getting lost. The addresses even included the nearest cross street, which is something that requires [arcane calculations] back home. And I could leave my bicycle in front of any store and not have to worry about it getting stolen!

7. Summer festivals are a lot of fun. I’ve been lucky enough to have seen a few, despite COVID getting in the way the last few years.

   I think what I wasn’t properly prepared for in the summer festivals was it being so muddy. For some reason almost every one I’ve been to has taken place on or after a rainy day, so the ground gets really churned up by the crowds of festival-goers.

   All in all, they have great food and really nice atmospheres, but bring some good tough shoes (and a lot of coins)

8. Cliché but seeing the sakura blossoms. My hometown did not have them so I was really looking forward to seeing them.

   And they truly are pretty! Now I’m happy to see them again every year in spring.

9. White rice and raw egg. 😮‍💨♡

10. Attend a pro baseball game, the Koushien tournament, and a summer festival.

    Expectations exceeded on all counts!

11. Daikokufuto PA and the car community. Definitely lived up to it!

12. Natto. Not disappointed

    Edit for more explanation:
    I was expecting it to be so nasty because that is how they usually show it in manga. It is nasty (texture) but fun to eat at the same time.

13. I wanted to do the festival thing too with a Yukata

    Totally worth it

14. Sushi and yes

15. Chuhai. It exceeded my expectations.

16. I expected more robots

17. Buying an affordable house, monthly payment of around 1/8 of salary.

    Expectations met!

18. Scuba diving in Okinawa. Exceeded my expectations and then some. Now I go every summer to a different diving site in the prefecture, it never ever gets old.

19. Being able to see Mount Fuji from my house 🙂

    Although it does mean going to the upstairs balcony, and only on good days.

    I think a little bit of wee came out the first time.

20. I thought i would cook and eat lots of good fish at home. I was not ready for these insane prices lol.

21. Hot springs, Onsen. Love it.

    Need a second party to call me out cuz’ I don’t wanna leave.

22. Wandering around Tokyo at night with an open beer. Yeah, it was pretty enjoyable.

23. Shinkansen. Yes.

    Kaitenzushi. Yes.

    Speaking Japanese. No.

24. The hiking.

    It mostly has.

    The biking

    Not really but I did move from Taiwan so I have to keep that on perspective.

    Fishing

    It’s ok. I enjoy it overall but am sort of stuck in the middle at times. Not high enough to do much high mountain fishing but not close enough to do much ocean fishing

25. If I’m studying or drawing at a cafe, I can go to the bathroom without lugging all of my materials with me in fear of it getting stolen.

26. Japanese christmas is in reality incredibly depressing and soulless compared to back home. Christmas cake is meh and eating chicken feels wrong.

    The beautiful nature is not so enjoyable once you see that 70% of the country’s forests are 1 tree planted en masse after the second world war. They’re not ecologically diverse at all.