If I've heard one consistent anecdote from people throughout the years, it is that Japan is essentially the greatest place in the world. Can you give some input on Japan?

Have you heard the word on Asian men and you’re looking to get laid a lot?

ಠ_ಠ

Lol, not at all.

Japan…what can I say about Japan…
The street food is good. They eat other stuff besides sushi.
You can buy used panties.
The only place where you can get REAL Kobe beef. Death to false Kobe!
The food in display cases is not real.
Don’t mention the war.
You better fucking bow to the Emperor if he greets you. And it better not be a shit bow.

I was in Japan in 1984, and it wasn’t the greatest place in the world.
I still think that is San Francisco.

Japan is great. The people are polite, thin, many speak some English, and they love technology. Tokyo is amazingly quiet for such a large city. Tokyo is like a super duper NYC. Crime rate is very low, so you feel very safe, even late at night, just some pick pocketing crime is growing a little in shopping areas. Food quality is very very good. The fruits are amazing, bread is delicious, seafood is fresh, and I even had very good Mexican food and Italian there. The museums I went to were impressive. The Roppongi area of Tokyo has the most Americans and people from other countries. I didn’t get to go clubbing, but the nightlife seen is supposed to be very good, which I believe. The rest of Japan has many very beautiful areas. If you can go for a few years I would go. If you don’t get transferred, still try to go on Space A if you have enough leave.

It is a very crowded place, especially the cities.

Men have a sense of entitlement there. They push women out of the way to get where they are going.

It is physically beautiful.

The housing ( size of house/rooms ) is miniscule. A great and gracious people; ready to practice their BEST ENGLISH.

Huh? All I ever hear is how expensive everything is.

I was only there once, and only for a couple of days. And I was only in Tokyo.

Ugliest, gaudiest, most unpleasant city imaginable. No zoning. No unifying look and feel. Noisy. Crowded.

(Of course, if I had been outside the city, it might be different. My impression of Tokyo was UGLY.

@syz Yeah, but that’s pretty much expected of any major city and we just accept it :( Or, find dive bars, lol.

@elbanditoroso What do you mean by “No zoning.”

@Blackberry – huge 100 story building next to a small two story home. Department store next to a farm. No city planning worth a darn.

A lot like Toronto, but multiplied by 10.

@elbanditoroso Oh ok, that is pretty strange.

I have never been to Japan. From what my brother tells me about his trip there last month and what my parents tell me about their honeymoon, it is very beautiful outside the cities and has amazing art.

News stories like this and some comments a friend of mine teaching English in Japan writes on Facebook make me think child abuse is prevalent there.

They’re one of the most rampantly misogynistic and authoritarian societies, not to mention technophilic to a fault. No wonder so many Americans love it.

And remember the radiation: don’t buy the government crap about the safety of it. Numerous non-governmental organizations have found higher levels everywhere.

@incendiary_dan – let’s be clear here. NGOs are not objective. The NGOs have a political agenda, which is supported by their “worse than it seems” rhetoric.

I’m inclined to believe the japanese government for than a pressure group with an agenda.

@elbanditoroso That’s about as useful of a statement as saying “humans all murder people because some humans are murderers”. NGOs run the gamut, and most of the ones going to or already in Japan that are monitoring these levels are unfunded. The fact that various unrelated groups are showing similar numbers is telling, as are the numbers coming from outside governments about what’s reaching them and what that means for the probably levels in Japan.

Also, common sense and logic.

@incendiary_dan – your opinion clearly differs from mine.

Doesn’t make your right and me wrong. or vice versa.

Japan is like many other countries in the world..

There are parts of it that are beautiful

..or special for their uniquely cultural aspect..

And there are also some overcrowded cities…

So it depends very much on where you go. If you like big cities – you’ll find Tokyo and Osaka sublime. Cleaner than many other large cities, efficient and ample public transit, shopping galore.

If you want to surf and enjoy beaches go to Okinawa or Miyazaki-ken.

If you want to ski or hike mountains go to Nagano or Mt. Fuji.

You can also find sukebe old men buying girls underwear or teachers and parents who still believe in corporal punishment—but I don’t think this is unique to Japan.

Also, most importantly, please know that if you are going there as an American Armed Forces your experience will NOT be like that of someone living in Japan.

Living on base in Japan is like living in an American-flavored bubble. You have to go pretty far off-base and away from the surrounding areas (which cater to the bases) to get an authentic experience.

There are 3 major areas you’re likely to be stationed: Okinawa (highest likelihood), Yokohama (esp. if you’re Navy or Air Force) or Nagasaki.

Please know that Okinawa is NOT like the rest of Japan. It’s like visiting Hawaii and saying: “Oh, so that’s what America is like.”
Okinawa is wonderful, beautiful place to live (I lived there in High School)..but it is a pan-Asian melting pot that is HEAVILY influenced by the large American military presence on the island. You could be in Guam or Okinawa and not really know the difference, IMHO, as far as being stationed on a military base goes.

@geeky_mama I would assume that corporal punishment is rather more common in the States than you might think.

@geeky_mama Yeah, corporal punishment all around me in the midsouth of America. Parents and schools. I was surprised to discover this when I moved here. If you search corporal punishment Q’s you will be shocked how many Americans support it. Asia does seem to be more rigorous about it, more that a “simple” hit or spanking, but still, many Americans support corporal punishment and it is still legal in every state by parents and legal in something like 23 states in schools. I find it shocking myself.

Meanwhile, @Blackberry doesn’t need to worry about any of that unless plans on marrying a Japanese woman. But, hey, he needs to sort that out with an American also.

@geeky_mama Yeah, I’m in the navy. Two of my friends that were stationed here in NJ with me, are now in Yokosuka so I’m going to try to go there next. If I can’t get there, I’ll try somewhere else in Japan.

I dunno. For a Navy station it’s probably great. Personally, I’m tired of Asian countries. I would rather go to Guam, Sigonella, Spain, or even San Diego as a station.. but Japan is probably still among the top 10.

@digitalimpression Interesting. I always think of Guam as part of Asia, is it actually grouped in with Australia? I know it is an American territory, and the population is mixed, I think a lot of Spanish and Filipino? And, of course American military has a large presence there. But, I always picture it as having a lot of Asian influence?

@JLeslie Regionally it is damn close.. but demographically and culturally it is quite different from Japan, China, Singapore, or Korea from my experience.

Yes, it technically has strong roots in Japanese culture and yes, technically there are a lot of Asian people there.. but it is vastly different in my opinion. It felt more like Hawaii, Southern California, or Florida to me.

I love Japan. I lived in the south on Kyushu for 3 years and in Tokyo for a year. I spent another 6 years flying back and forth to and from different parts of Asia and Japan.

It’s a great country. There are too many things to do to mention here. The culture is too vast and its roots are too deep to really go into detail here.

I say, “Go! Enjoy!” You’re young. There will be plenty of time to explore other great naval port cities and countries.

@Blackberry – Yep, Yokosuka (essentially Yokohama) is where most Navy go. It’s plenty nice—you can hop on a subway train and be in Tokyo for a night out but also it’s a bit more residential and quiet in Yokohama. Yokohama is definitely the NJ of Japan…it’s like a bedroom community for Tokyo metropolitan area the same way Newark or Parsippany-Troy, NJ is for NYC.

If you really love hot & humid and prefer to spend your time off at a beach..see if you can try for Camp Shields (full list here ) at Okinawa.. there aren’t so many Navy folks stationed in Okinawa.. it’s mainly Air Force and Marines on Oki (and frankly, the Air Force bases are far and away nicer than the others..I’ve heard Navy families complain about Okinawa…where as Kadena is huge and has amazing facilities) even Nagasaki (on Kyushu) is nicer than Yokohama in my humble opinion.

If you like night life / city life..you’ll be happy at Yokosuka. If you really want to feel like you’ve left NJ, try for Nagasaki. If you like to dive or spend time at the beach – try for Okinawa.

@geeky_mama Thanks for that info, I am going to pass it on to my dad.

@geeky_mama Yeah, thanks a lot :) Decisions, decisions. We’ll see what happens.

@elbanditoroso Totally. I’m just looking at track records, which NGOs in Japan have better than the government and TEPCo, both of whom have been caught repeatedly lying and changing their stories, not to mention covering up information and hushing media reports.

Hopefully @Blackberry will bring a geiger counter.

@incendiary_dan Good idea, I’ll get one just for fun. Maybe see how radiated some grocery foods are lol.

Well, a friend of my daughter told me that most people in Japan see foreigners as foreigners first, and then as people, not the other way round. I found this observation quite shocking. She spent a year in Japan as a student. She found it almost impossible to become close with anyone. Well, it’s just one anecdote. Other people may have had a completely different experience. So I’m careful about believing this.