Family and Friends
Annie! (Omega Mu Gamma's doggie)
Being able to drive around in my car
Hot water in the immediate bathroom sink
Certain kinds of food - I really want to eat some of these things
- Mexican food (both authentic and inauthentic)
- Greek Food (I really want a gyro...)
- Cheese (Cheese is scarce and strange here)
- Hamburgers with buns that aren't from a fast food restaurant
- Pear tarts
- The Old Spaghetti Factory's Hearty Mizithra
- There's definitely more than that but I'm tired
However, there is one strange this here that beats burgers in the states. Check our Japan McDonalds' Mega burgers!
McDonalds' メガたまご (Mega Tamago - Egg) と メガトマト (Mega Tomato)
I totally ate that Mega Tamago on a dare. How gross am I? Pretty gross, lemme tell ya. There's plenty of things that I really like here, though, especially curry rice.
Eating here is definitely something I've had to get used to. First off, the portions are, as expected, for the most part smaller. Depending on where you go, food can be really expensive or really, well, not. It's just a matter of finding a place that's the right combination of inexpensive and tasty. Restaurants, even ones styled to be kind of like a western diner, almost always give you the little moist towels (usually disposable, depending on how classy the places is) to use on your hands, especially if you're having finger foods.
Tipping doesn't happen here. Also, tax is included on all all menu items. (This is true in retail as well) The national tax is 5%, so you see a lot of prices of things like 105 yen or 315 yen. Most of the time, prices are round numbers with the tax on top, though there are definitely exceptions. (It's unusual to see something with a price like 1999 yen in Japan, unless you're buying really big things... like Minamatsuri Dolls at Toys R Us)
It's fairly uncommon for your waiter (although more often than not, waitress) to serve you water. Most of the time, you're expected to go to the drink bar and pour your own. After you're done looking at the menu, there's a button that you can push to summon someone to come take your order. I would've been so lost and confused if Jill wasn't here to show me all of this stuff the first time I went to a restaurant.
Eating here is definitely something I've had to get used to. First off, the portions are, as expected, for the most part smaller. Depending on where you go, food can be really expensive or really, well, not. It's just a matter of finding a place that's the right combination of inexpensive and tasty. Restaurants, even ones styled to be kind of like a western diner, almost always give you the little moist towels (usually disposable, depending on how classy the places is) to use on your hands, especially if you're having finger foods.
Tipping doesn't happen here. Also, tax is included on all all menu items. (This is true in retail as well) The national tax is 5%, so you see a lot of prices of things like 105 yen or 315 yen. Most of the time, prices are round numbers with the tax on top, though there are definitely exceptions. (It's unusual to see something with a price like 1999 yen in Japan, unless you're buying really big things... like Minamatsuri Dolls at Toys R Us)
It's fairly uncommon for your waiter (although more often than not, waitress) to serve you water. Most of the time, you're expected to go to the drink bar and pour your own. After you're done looking at the menu, there's a button that you can push to summon someone to come take your order. I would've been so lost and confused if Jill wasn't here to show me all of this stuff the first time I went to a restaurant.
Another thing we've experienced a lot that I'll write about more later is that folks working in what would probably be considered minimum wage retail positions in the states are almost universally college-age. Japan's employment system typically seems to hire folks practically immediately out of college, and since positions in company jobs have age-limits and the potential for lifetime employment, if one finds a job when they're young, they'll usually stick with it.
Or that's my understanding of it so far. Small, family owned restaurants, of course, are quite different, where a husband and wife may run the business and thus are both servers and chefs, but in corporate retail spots like McDonald's or Toys R Us, (since they're familiar and I'm already using them as examples... there's plenty of similar Japanese companies) the visible employees are pretty much all in their twenties - likely working their way through college.
It's kinda interesting, to me at least! I need to read more about Japan, and will be doing so. Next time, I'll finally write about what happened at the airport. Other things planned - a short creative moment with Shiva-Chan, reflections on friendship among guys in Japan, and Japanese language classes here at Miyadai. 'till next time!
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