Why go to Japan? 日本に行くべき理由

There are many reasons I love Japan. It’s the main reason I live here after all. It isn’t a perfect country however and there are quite a few things that annoy me about being here as well. I want to focus on the good things though. As with life you shouldn’t ignore the problems, but that shouldn’t be your only focus. So let’s get to the reasons I love Japan and you should too. I’m not going to talk about everything, but mainly the things I missed when I wasn’t in the country.

1. It’s exciting

I’m from America and have lived in Japan for around 2 years and a half now. One year was as a study abroad student in Nagoya and one and a half (so far) as an English teacher on the JET Program. One of the best things about Japan is simply that it’s different from life back home. That was my biggest problem whenever I did go home. It was something I was too familiar with; I missed the uniqueness of Japanese life. Even though I’ve been here for a decent amount of time now, it is still fun. It’s not as crazy exciting as it was for the first few months in this land, but compared to back home it is still fun. A new language to practice, new customs, new culture, new foods, new sights, new transportation, a new way of life. Get it? Good. Now come to Japan and appreciate it. It’s the daily life here that keeps things interesting.

Snow monkeys in Nagano

 

2. It’s beautiful

Japan is a beautiful, beautiful country. The sights are simply amazing. I love photography so for me it’s always fun to go see all the different places and try and take the best pictures I can. The most important thing though is just learning to appreciate them. Cityscapes and temples along the mountains; trains flowing throughout the valleys of distant villages and exciting city street alleys spurring throughout Osaka. Japan is one of the most unique places I’ve ever been and I think anyone who takes the time to appreciate the sights, will fall in love with the country.

Fuji at twilight

3. You learn and grow

To be fair this could be put under probably any place that you move to and live, especially when a new language and culture is involved. Japan is quite different from where I was raised in America. It still is a first world country, but many things are different. I had to leave my family, my friends, my house, and a lot of comforts to come here. A lot of people don’t like giving up their comforts, that being said I’m not too fond of it either haha. It’s important to realize how important it is to do that though. Challenging yourself is the best way to grow, maybe in ways you didn’t even know you needed. Japan presents a new language that is both fun and annoying. A new culture that is both unique and weird. People with different upbringings that are both mysterious and frustrating.  You make friends that are so different from what you are used to at home and yet strangely similar. Travel, especially living in a new land opens your eyes in a way nothing else can. That’s what makes it so amazing, it shows you things you never even considered or imagined. Travel is amazing.

This is just a small list of things that make me so happy to be able to live in this country. I could go on and on, but a lot of the things are smaller things that become personal to us. Japan is a great place to both live and visit. Make it a destination for you this year, peace.

Arashiyama in Kyoto