I've come to appreciate many things about Japan. However, there are a few things that I don't like or don't understand. Here's a list of "thumbs up" things and "thumbs down" things. You can judge for yourself! :)

Thumbs Up
1. Hilarious variety shows on TV
2. Vending machines EVERYWHERE
3. The widest selection of cell phones and cell phone accessories I've ever seen
4. You can buy a Starbucks drink right outside the ballpark and be allowed to go in with it
5. Strangers are extremely helpful if you ask for directions. They may even walk you part of the way there.
6. Conservation of water and electricity is a pretty high priority for most
7. Japanese castles are very cool
8. No tipping at restaurants
9. Sick people wear masks so as not to infect the non-sick. I can appreciate that on a crowded subway train.
10. Take out sushi rocks

Thumbs Down
1. Cosmetics are twice the price as the US
2. No one opens the door for others
3. I can never find a trash can when I need one
4. Eastern style toilets make me feel like I'm participating in urban camping
5. Fish is often served with the head still on. Yuck.
6. Conservation of paper doesn't even come close to the aforementioned #6
7. Public bathrooms may or may not have paper towels or hand dryers, so a third of the time you come out with clean, but wet, hands
8. Shoe sizes come in S, M, L, and LL. Somehow that takes some magic out of shoe shopping.
9. Japan's smoking population is pretty large meaning smelly bars and restaurants
10. Mayonnaise comes on everything. You have to make sure to ask first to get your order without it, just in case.

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For those of you still keeping up with this blog of ours, you may have noticed a lack of posts lately.. Well, we lost our internet connection. It was our own fault, really. Never the less it was extremely irritating as well. My Japanese language skills are improving, but not enough to be able to understand a full phone call to our ISP, Biglobe. It seems we made a small mistake: We never paid for their service. Much like most Americans would, we waited for a bill for the first month, and since it never came, I think that we forgot about it.

Regardless, expect updates to come soon.

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