Just a few of my running stream of consciousness thoughts on Japan..

1. The women are slimmer, more fashionable, and better looking than almost any other country I’ve been to. On the downside, I constantly felt fat and dowdy the whole time. It’s hard not to – the girls are just so slim and petite, with pretty faces and GORGEOUS hair (are they wearing great wigs or is it natural? We couldn’t figure it out!). Their fashion sense is amazing, especially compared to my thick-shapeless-jacket-and-jeans ‘fashion sense’ 😉 They wear adorable little dresses and mini mini mini skirts/shorts.. despite the weather being sub-zero and freezing. How do they even survive?! Both Dad and Chris declared the women “very good looking” and I think Chris’ eyes were out on stalks half the time 😛 Total eye candy.
2. The toilets. I don’t ~fear~ going into a public toilet, not even the ones at train stations. They are always spick and span, clean, and smell nice. NO pee smell, NO pee splattered all over the seat, and NO period blood on the seat and/or soaked on toilet paper and dumped into bins with no lids. It made me want to leave China for good, when I realised how awesome Japanese public toilets are 😛
3. The queueing. The Japanese are so civilised and organised, they queue for everything. NO queue jumpers!! Everyone stands orderly on the left-side of escalators (so people in a rush can walk on the right-side) – unheard of in Shanghai. In the train stations, the people boarding the train stand to the side, and in a queue.. letting people off first. Take note of this China and Singapore!!!
4. No shoving. At one of the busiest intersections in the world, NO ONE pushed me or elbowed me. People make the effort to not touch each other, and a bump results in a flurry of apologies from the offending party (instead of ignoring, or giving you a dirty stare). It was bliss… I’m so used to being pushed and shoved here, I almost felt weird with the lack of physical violence in Japan 😛
5. Foreigners are treated normally. You don’t feel out of place as a tourist. Most of all, you’re NOT hassled until you want to punch someone. No one selling you random crap, no one hassling you for money, and no one trying to rip you off. It was bona fide bliss.

So what’s bad about Japan? I thought long and hard about this… and only came up with ONE thing. Prices. The fancy stuff is expensive. You can live fairly cheaply in Japan, but no where near China. In China, we get cheap massages any time we want, we have a housekeeper, we have a driver, and we can jump into a taxi without blinking. In Japan, that’s not possible on a normal day because it’s far too expensive. I think that alone makes China pretty awesome to live in 😛

United First International Lounge, at the Japan airport on the way back.
It was GORGEOUS and so plush inside!

A beer pourer (!) in the ANA Lounge, alongside an assortment of wines
and spirits. We were fascinated!

A SAKE BAR!!! All free in the Lounge *whee*

Nice hot bowl of ramen. UMMM TO CLARIFY:
That says “ANA”+logo, and not “ANAL”…. *ahem*

Fachon Paris ice cream and luscious clam chowder, all free in the Lounge as well.

Japanese snacks = heavenly. Royce chocolate-covered chips, strawberry mochi,
Pocky dessert sticks, Japanese cheesecakes, green tea.