Miso Happy!

I realize that I've had a few negative posts recently about my time here in Japan. However, these posts don't reflect my perspective on the country as much as they reflect my own quibbles (in regards to teaching for a private company that cares more about profit than it does its students) and my own struggles (in regards to making authentic connections with people); although there are certainly cultural aspects to both of those that are part of my criticism, the cultural role is minor. In short, the negative posts don't reflect my overall impression of the country. As I wrap up my time here, I have to stand back and express my sincere appreciation for this beautiful country - its people, its culture, and its traditions. As if I need to state the obvious, there is no other country I have visited or lived in whose people are quite like the Japanese: the orderliness, the selflessness, the kindness. It's an amazingly complicated society with an exquisitely rich history

Tokyo is the 7th city I have lived in and Japan is the 6th country I have lived in. I have lived in a few cities over a million people - and visited many more - but nothing like the size of Tokyo. Just so you know, Tokyo is the largest urban area (not the largest city - that honor goes to Shanghai) in the world at around 37 million people. Outside of your neighborhood, daily route to work, or your regularly patronized waterholes, there is an extremely small chance you'll ever run into the same person twice. But at the same time, there are throngs of people EVERYWHERE you go. Sometimes it feels like it's difficult to get a respite from the crowds unless you're at home! But what I have found is that there is a palpable feeling of being alone in a crowd while living here. Partly, I think this is cultural. In Japan, people often keep to themselves and striking up a conversation with strangers is simply not done like it is in, say, smalltown Midwest in the United States. From

I chose Kanazawa as my last big trip in Japan. I had mostly been wanting to visit Kanazawa since I had arrived in Japan because an acquaintance from high school had lived in the same prefecture as Kanazawa for many years with his wife. However, once I started to learn more about what Kanazawa has to offer, I wanted to visit the city on its own merits (especially since my friend moved to the United States with his wife earlier this year). Kanazawa is known as one of Japan's traditional cultural centers. Kanazawa is one of the few major cities (including Kyoto) in Japan that escaped bombing by US forces during World War II. As a result, there are many historic buildings that are still standing, which is most apparent in the Higashi Chaya-gai district. This area was traditionally the tea house and geisha district - a tradition that still continues as many of the businesses in the district seemed to be cafes that retained at least a little bit of the traditional decor of the orig