What I Love about Japan (so far!)

Haha, there are a few things that I think make Japan a great place to be!

~The measurements. I went to look at bathroom scales the other day and everything is in kg (1 kg to 2.2 pounds) so I basically weigh half what I used to, LOL (only in my head but I love it!) Although it does make my friends seem emaciated when they only weigh 50kg! ;)

~The consideration for the elderly and visually impaired. There are special seats for the elderly everywhere but I think the BEST thing is that every street and every sidewalk (even the mall's parking lot!) where I am has special indentations in the ground to let the visually impaired know what's happening! It's like braille for the feet! There are straight line indentations that are painted yellow that will lead you to the mall entrance from your car (should they be driving in the first place?) or around the subway tunnels and sidewalks. Because they're painted yellow it looks a *little* like Follow the Yellow Brick Road! =D There are also bumps in the sidewalk to let you know when steps are coming up! It's a simple idea that is extremely considerate to me! The sidewalks are also very smooth here and VERY wide (some as big as a lane of highway!)

~The grocery store! In Japan there are no chemicals added to the food so it goes bad very quickly. Because of this, every single day the grocery store puts all their fresh food (sushi platters, onigiri, tempura, little sweet potato donuts, even BREADS) on clearance for 50% off! It starts at 20% in the middle of the day and hits 50% sometime before I get out of work so every night I go to the grocery store and get something delicious for CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! Last night Ai and I went a little overboard, LOL. We got a platter of sushi (12 pieces!) for only $2.50! Then I wanted to try the platter of tempura (5 HUGE pieces, one of which was a huge piece of fish) for $1.99, and a tray of 12 dumplings was also $2! Last, but not least, I bought one of my favorite dishes for the next day's lunch! It's hysterical because it tastes like really soft meatloaf or salsbury steak or something and comes with a bite of spaghetti with red sauce, a single potato piece cut like a steak fry, a small piece of carrot shaped like a flower, and a bunch of rice with corn and peas. YUM!

~The cute things! Everywhere you look feels like a Disney/Hello Kitty playground at our mall, LOL! There are whole shops (many of them) that just sell really adorable things! There's even a shop with some Very Hungry Cateppilar items! I was debating getting a new Stitch plush for my bed (since my old one is well loved and left in Mass) but the prices on a lot of Disney stuff are outrageous (EVEN for Disney!)! So I went to Nitori (our equivalent of IKEA sort of) and bought this adorable longgg plush bear for hugging at night! He looks like he's sleeping and is stretched out on his tummy, he's so funny! Gary named him "Elliot" for me! Elliot the Bear, super cute!! I'll post pictures soon... once I start taking them, LOL! My next day off isn't until Sunday but hopefully I'll get some sooner! Have a good one!!