I love Japan

I love Japan so much. It's one of the best experiences in my life. I am so grateful I was able to go there, even though I had to leave all of my friends. I did make a lot of friends there and hopefully I can still keep connection with them, and maybe one day I will see them again. I think living there has taught me so many things. There are not many, but I have seen some homeless people there and it has made me appreciate everything I have. I just loved everything about living their; the beautiful sights, shopping, the people, and now that I think of it even the weather! I thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world when I saw snow for the first time when I lived in Japan. Being able to travel has let me see how other people live. I guess you could say, I learned a lot about Japanese culture!

Monokuro Boo

Monokuro Boo is a Japanese anime brand which is two bigs, one white and the other black. When we went to Japan I noticed this and I fell in love with it! Monokuro Boo is very popular in Japan. There are so many stores that sell their merchandise. The Monokuro Boo slogan is "Simple is best!!"

I love Monokuro Boo so much and I have so much of their stuff. I have two t-shirts, a beach towel, water bottle, underwear, stationary set, eraser, pen, notebook, stickers, cell phone charm, purse, and two big pillows.

There is also something called Baby Boo (first picture) which is the same brand except the pigs are colorful, not black and white, and they are babies. It's kind of like Bratz dolls, they made something called Bratz babies, which is kind of what Baby Boo is except it's pigs.

Kindness

One of my favorite things in Japan is the kindness of everyone. Although sometimes the younger kids would stare or point and tell there parents, that's just because they've never seen anybody so "white". But whenever you went to stores the first thing the people would do is bow to you and thank you in Japanese for coming into their store. They would be so polite and again, thank you after you purchase your items and bow to you. They always smile and are eager to help you with whatever you need. If they see that you're lost (which has happened many times when my family went "exploring") they would stop and ask you if you needed help, if they knew the English for it. One time we got lost trying to travel to a new destination and this man went out of his way to guide us where we needed to go. He was very kind and seemed delighted to help. He was very impressed on how we already had subway cards and knew how it worked.

They don't take tips there either. When you go to a restaurant they don't expect you to leave money, and if you did they'd probably think you forgot your wallet! After you leave a fast food restaurant Japanese people will leave their trays, the remaining food, and wrappers of their meal. The workers at the restaurant are expected to take your trash after you leave. When you take a taxi somewhere they also do not expect to be tipped.

Over all, they are just very kind and polite. They like to give you presents and spend time with you. I really miss all of my Japanese friends.

How does the Subway work?

Before I moved to Japan I always thought that it was a train underground that people who couldn't afford cars would ride on. Well, I was right, almost. It is hot an smelly but that's because outside it's freezing cold. The heat actually really feels good. As for the smell... well everyone stinks right? But the subway is not for people who can't afford cars. Almost everyone uses it. Although some of them do have cars for destinations are too far of a walk from the station. It's just like when you go to Disney World and ride the monorail to get to the main part of the park. Well, that's basically what the subway is.

The have different lines and different station on each one. In Japan there were about 50 different lines and maybe 25 stations on each one. They have stations called intersections where you get off to change lines. We lived at Toyocho station (T14) on the Tozai line. To get on one of the trains you would have to scan your subways card which was called a Suica. It's kind of like a debit card, you would put money on it and they have scanners that you tap your card on before and after you ride. You could also use your card at stores and restaurants.

The reason I liked the subway so much is because I could go anywhere I want. It cost about 160 yen to go to each station, which isn't that much. So my parents would feel my card with about 2,000 yen a week and they would tell me to have fun. Since it is so safe in Japan, not near as much crime like the states, they didn't have to worry about me getting kidnapped of something. So I could go to the mall or a park or any place I would like anytime I wanted to, as long as my school work and chores were done.

One of my favorite places to go was called Omoto-Sando station on the Gozai line. I liked it so much because there were a lot of designer stores there and nice restaurants to go to. I enjoyed the subways station so much and I am so glad that they have them here in Singapore too!

Anime

Most people are familiar with the word anime, the abbreviation of the English word "animation". When I lived in Japan, I saw it everywhere. They have a lot of Japanese anime comic books that so many people read. I even saw grown men reading out of one of the comics.

Anime is usually hand-drawn but now-a-days it has been made using technology, the computer. You can see anime on television, films, video games, and all over for advertisements. There were a lot of book stores in Japan that sold so many of the comic books written in Kanji. Anime started in Japan around the the 20th century. Things like Pokemon, which also started in Japan, is anime.

You see anime pictures on the side of buildings, posters in stores, in the subway, malls, restaurants, almost everywhere.

Easter with Nishi Kasai Church

The church my family normally attended, Nishi Kasai Evangelical Church, rented out a room at the Y.M.C.A. International School for their Easter service because their original building is too small to hold all of the people that came for the service.

When we first got there there were a lot children and adults already in seats waiting for the sermon to start. First the pastor came out and preached to us for about 20 minutes and then all of the children performed a play . It was really neat, they all dressed up and told the story of Easter. There were two children who brought their violins and played for background music. There was a boy who looked like he was nine or ten and a girl who was 11. They were really good, I was impressed. Next everyone went in the back of the room and enjoyed the huge buffet of food where everyone brought in a dish. Of course my brother and I had a hard time deciding what to get because it was all... well it was Japanese food. Luckily we were able to grab some bread rolls.

After the play was over we sang some songs and while the children and parents were preoccupied doing that, the teachers went in the back and started to dye Easter eggs. After the songs were done and the pastor closed in prayer, then the children came back and finished the rest of the eggs.

Later a band of grown ups came in and played their instruments and sang. The teachers went in the backyard and hid the Easter eggs, I came too and helped them. Once the band left all the children went running outside to find the eggs. Then we all played a huge game of tag, which was so much fun. Some of the kids had to leave, forced by their parents, and about an hour after the church service the remaining children all went and bought ice cream. I had a lot of fun playing with all of the kids. My favorite part was the play the children performed and were able to understand the true meaning or Easter.

Church

This is a picture of the pastor and his family. His wife, Mrs. Beth, is actually really good friends with my mom. (The baby's name is Naiomi and she is the one on my blog titled "yukata".)


Going to church in Japan was quite an experience. It is very hard to find a Christian church, most of them are Buddhist. When my parents were eventually able to find one it was very small with a lot of people. We had to take our shoes off before we entered, of course. Every Sunday there is a translator that comes for the people who do not speak Japanese, such as my family. We had a small elderly lady sit behind us during the sermon. She whispered to us while the pastor preached. It was one of the hardest things in the world to understand her while she talked to us. For one thing, the pastor was talking very loud and it was hard to hear her along with the Japanese words in the background.

No body told me that this stranger was translating for us and she was sitting in between my parents so it was harder to understand. So I simply ask "Are you talking to us?" because I was curious to know why she was interrupting. I was so embarrassed when my mother told me that she was translating.

After the preaching was over, the pastor closed in prayer. Well, the translator stopped talking to us when he started to pray so I didn't know what we were praying for. So I just prayed silently to God. When we sang afterward it was a little easier. Half of the songs we sang in Japanese, which I kind of just moved my lips for, and than the other half was in English, and it was songs that I was familiar with! So after that the service was OK for me. Of course, singing is always my favorite part of every Sunday.