Sorry for not posting anything in a while. I have been pretty busy doing some school work, but mostly hanging out with friends. TUJ sucks, but I’ve got a good group of friends, and making more as time goes on. And for what TUJ lacks in fun and resources, Japan makes up for it in fun. Karaoke is so much more fun here and there is always something to do. But despite this fun, there are some things that we got right in America that Japan has yet to pick up on. I provide the following list of things, in no particular order.
· $1 and $5 dollar-bills (¥100 and ¥500 marks)- for those not familiar with the yen’s currency system there are a lot of coins. There is the useless ¥1 coin, the ¥5 coin, and the ¥10 coin (equal to a little more than a penny, nickel, and dime respectively), that’s pretty cool. There is the ¥50 coin which is equivalent to about a half-dollar. These coins are okay. I can live without quarters, as long as I have the 50 yen piece. The ¥100 and ¥500 coins (valued around $1.25 and $6.25 respectively) are the annoying ones. You go to a combini (convenience store) and you break ¥1000 and you get a ton of coins. These coins add up if you do not spend them effectively. Fortunately for me, I have developed a science to get rid of the annoying coins instead of breaking bills. However, others haven’t and they fumble around to get the right change, or break a ¥5000 bill (well over $50). The $1 and $5 bills in America make your wallet lighter and help you pay faster.
· Credit Cards-you walk into a store or restaurant and you quickly realize everyone uses cash. This becomes an issue for many reasons. First, it takes forever to pay…I just explained this above. We all know how dirty money can get, and it just gets dirtier when it’s used so often. In a country that prides itself in its cleanliness, it puzzles me that cards are no so prevalent. It is cool that you can pay with your Suica or Pasmo (train passes) at some places to avoid the slow problem. The problem is the only way you can put money on your card is by paying with cash. Some places do take cards, like in Tokyo. However, they tend to be a little more expensive or they take forever to process the cards. I wanted to buy a shirt that was about $20. The cashier told me it would take 20 minutes to buy it via credit card because he had to call the credit card company….I told him to forget about it. The worst part about the lack of credit cards though is it is easy for organized crime to take advantage of people. Instead of running up credit card debt like Americans, some Japanese take out loans. A lot of the time these loans are taken out by the Yakuza directly or one of their front businesses. They charge ridiculous interest rates (around 22%). People who cannot pay back the debts can expect a group of Yakuza at their door. I think I’d rather have a bad credit score.
· Competent set of laws and a police force to enforce them- Tokyo’s the world’s safest city, but also has the most cops per person. This means people get stopped for something as minor as jaywalking or even appearing suspicious…especially if you’re a foreigner. Additionally, when crime does happen and the Yakuza’s involved, not much happens. I won’t go into much detail, but the Yakuza get away with unthinkable stuff here and the law allows it. Japan has gotten better of the years, but still needs to drastically step up its game.
· Ability to eat and walk on the street- seriously I want to do this…would make my life a lot easier, especially when I am in a rush. But, I’d look like super gaijin if I did it so I don’t.
· Good pizza- the pizza here, as expected, sucks.
· Mexican food-yeah, there’s like one restaurant here, haven’t been yet.
· Less corrupt sports- In America, the athlete’s haven’t bet on their own sports since Pete Rose. Somebody should tell the sumo wrestlers that they shouldn’t gamble and throw fights.
· Rednecks-the natives need to make fun of some kind of group that’s not foreign. Plus a redneck Japanese would be hilarious to see.
· My family =)
All of these factors would make Japan better for me. Don’t worry Japan is still great. To my Japanese friends, don’t be discouraged. In all fairness, my next post will be just like this one except the other way around—what Japanese things can make America better. Trust me, the list is longer =)
I love America! 日本が大好き！
