Some, not so great, things about Japan

Listening to: If I had a Million Dollars by the Barenaked Ladies
Currently drinking: A nice tall glass of water, but I had a beautiful double mocha with Julia earlier today :)

A couple of posts ago I talked some of the things that I love about Japan, trust me there are a lot more, but today I'd like to focus on some of the things I don't appreciate so much. As you may have figured out by now, I generally don't like to focus on negative thoughts and feelings in this blog (ok well maybe once), but I also think it's necessary to talk about the negatives as to keep things in perspective.

1) Some of my least favorite things about Japan are all of the "isms" that are generally accepted in Japanese culture: racism, sexism, ageism, ableism, they all blatantly run abound in Japan.

2) Not only are the Japanese intolerant to most other races, they also hold "whiteness" in high regard. Many beauty ads targeted at teenagers show skinny, young, white females as the ultimate ideal of beauty. I've talked with many of the girls in my classes, and, even though I love the attention, I find it just a little unsettling when they talk about how beautiful I am because I have, mostly, natural blonde hair and round, almond shaped eyes. 

Nicole Ricci is a favorite here

3) Not being close to nature. Most of the people in Japan are concentrated in the larger, more industrial cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya, Osaka, etc... Back at home I can hop in my car and be at a beautiful camping sight fifteen to thirty minutes later. If I want to go camping, go to the beach, or just even be out in nature in Japan, I have to make a several hour trek outside the city. I miss being so close to the water. I also really miss trees :(

View of the sunrise in Anacortes, Washington

4) I also dislike the fact that the pressure to be sickly skinny here is so completely normal. I mean, I thought it was bad in America, but Japan takes this infatuation with thinness to a whole new level. While American women are definitely getting fatter, and obviously need to take their health into consideration, Japanese women should not overlook their own health concerns. Not consuming enough calories is harmful to the immune system and restricts the body's ability to grow and heal. In America, my size four is definitely on the smaller side of average, but I can barely fit into large size pants here... many of my friends (who are completely healthy and have an average body weight) can't fit into the clothes here at all; jeez Japan.

Hello eating disorder!

5) On a lighter note, I also find it quite distressing that it is almost impossible to find good Mexican food here. Of course, any sort of "authentic" food not made in its country is not going to actually be original, but I still feel like America has a large enough Hispanic nation that the food there still has enough traditional and ethnic flavor in it to be at least a good semblance of what "real" Mexican food tastes like. Many people here don't really understand my obsession with finding things like tacos, burritos, fajitas, etc... but they also weren't raised in my family, where the weekly trip to Azteca was a ritual of our young lives. I did find one shelf in our local grocery store with a pack of six, small taco sized, shells for $4.00, so sometimes I will spring a little more to make my own version of deliciously cheesy quesadillas, but it's still not the same. I eagerly await the day I, once more, can chow down on a giant gooey burrito (no innuendo intended).

I might be salivating a little bit... just a little

Ok well, I tried to end on a positive, at least slightly funny, note. Japan really is a wonderful place with a lot to offer. Every country has its ups and downs, some more serious than others, and the best we can do to work on these problems is to talk about them. Is there anything about America, or your own home country, that you wish you could change, or, on the opposite end, will miss about Japan when you return home?