Do you love Japan?

[Splendid Monkey]

Many people interested in videogames, anime, martial arts and such have an infatuation with anything Japanese. I used to be the same. I majored in Japanese and in 2004 I was fortunate enough to spend half a year in Kyoto as an exchange student. This time still stands as the happiest time of my life. After coming back to The Netherlands my only wish was to get back to Japan and.....it didn't matter what I would be doing there, as long as I could go back. I got an English teaching certificate but due to Englishs schools in Japan making a really big deal out of me not being a native English speaker I ended up teaching English in China instead of Japan. In June I finally returned to Japan and spent a good 2 weeks there. While I had a good time and still like the country and the culture very much, Japan is no longer a sort of heaven on earth for me. I guess I was really living in a dream word during my student exchange and teaching English in Japan wouldn't really have been that much better than my job here in China.

I started this topic because I'm curious as to how the lot of you view Japan and what your experiences are with this country, if any. Bust loose!
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So long! I gotta go do wrong!

[Aurelien]

Having never been to Japan, I have no idea what it's like over there for real. However, I always associate Japan with the scene of lots of people walking on the street busy with their own thing may it be talking on mobile phones, talking with their friends, or listening to mp3s, or whatever they do while walking. And you know what? I like it whenever I see a scene like that. I don't like Jakarta (Indonesia) much because everyone is driving around to get somewhere (it's not too safe to walk around there) that the city looks like cars and cars and more cars.

Where I live now, Melbourne/Australia, we also have a lot of people walking around in the CBD (Central Business District) area which is nice. But I'm a bit annoyed because there are soooooooo many foreigners (including yours truly lol) that it doesn't feel like being in a foreign country anymore for me.

Going back to the topic about Japan, I plan to someday visit there when I'm in a better position financially. The thing that I worry the most is the language. I have zero Japanese language skill other than the common phrase used in anime and I barely know anyone in Japan.

But yeah, someday .. I WILL go to Japan. ^^
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~City-States of Jowston and Tinto Republic~
06.06.2004 - 20.01.2008

[Kain]

i just like love japannese Culture.. i have to!.. it because i have Japannese bloodline running in my veins . even i never practice their culture a alot more but i hope someday i just go there and learn their culture.

and yeah.. if im going to married... japan is the place i want to go to honeymoon.. XD well at least my Current Girlfriend love japan as i am
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[Ezekiel]

I used to love Japan a lot. I guess it's just another country to me now. I'm sure the excitement would come back if I ever visited there, as it's 1000 times cooler than america.
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[ferrouslupusrex]

[HarmonianHiccup]

I also studied Japanese in conjunction with my anthropology/archaeology major, and was blessed enough to have the opportunity to live there for a while.

I adore the place. Some of my happiest memories are there, and I can't wait to go back. I'm looking at various jobs there now—we'll just have to see if I can get them.

Japan is, culturally, one of the most fascinating and beautiful places one can study. Its history is rich with art and beauty; its times of peace as profound as the years of strife that embroiled the entire country.
The language is exact and refined in both writing and speaking (but it's a pain in the butt to learn O_o) and the people are good-hearted and loyal.
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Proud Owner and Operator of The Hiccup's Speciality Grassland Atelier, the only place to find Electric Whiffle Bats!

[Sialeeds]

Never have been there, but I still do.

[Masaya]

Yeah, I was only there for a month and I have a lot of wonderful memories in Japan. I'm actually going back there in 09' to teach for 3 years. I'm quite excited for it! Though I've been getting really rusty with my Japanese ever since I stopped taking it. Unfortunately the college I'm going to right now does no offer it as a language so I"m going to have to regain what I lost through another method.
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[Leb]

No, I don't love Japan. It's crowded and some of its cultural quirks confuse and scare the hell out of me.

But I certainly don't hate it, either. At the very least, it's a valuable US trading partner and a fairly model democracy right next door to China and North Korea. I like more of it than just that though, so don't worry.

[Vextor]

I was born there and grew up there and I like it a lot. No place is perfect but it's still a place I consider to be my home.

[Ikano]

I like Japan and want to get a chance to tour there at least once...
It sort of hurts that a bunch of my relatives on my dad's side of the family (whom live in Taiwan) have gone there on tours more than once.

On the other hand I've only stopped by their airport on the way there to and from Taiwan...One time we did get to stay there in a hotel for a night cuz our plane had to undergo maintenence overnight and that night we stayed there made me want to tour Japan all the more...

I'll probably get a chance to eventually since we could somehow easily arrange to stay there a few days on the way to or from Taiwan but another problem is we wouldn't know the good places/sites to go...and there's always gonna be that communication problem...
I've tried to take Japanese classes a few years ago but sigh...my brain was too slow at the time and I couldn't keep up =x

ah well....eventually...somehow eventually I'll get to tour there one day....
Helps that my brother wants to go too. Heheh
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[Cleife]

Just love Japan for it's manga, anime and video games. Haven't been there though. But the school life there looks cool =P.

Maybe someday I'll go there...
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[Splendid Monkey]

[Thor McOdin]

Le sigh. I love Japan. Why, that chibi Thor picture was taken in Japan in the late 80's. Splendid (as you already know because we are from the same nation, damn it!), I lived there at a very early age. Hell, most of my early memories come straight from Japan.

In 2000, I moved to Korea. This pretty much paraphrases the conversation with my parents.

Dad: Hey, want to go to school in Korea?
Mom: It would be a great experience!
Me: Awesome! I'll go! Is it like Japan?!
Dad: ...Yes.
Mom: LOL.
Me: Why are you lol-ing?
Mom: It's pretty much for the plot structure that will detail three years of your life. While you will go to Japan often while residing in Korea, you will come to realize that the two countries are about as different as apples and oranges.
Dad: ...LOL.

Okay, so it didn't go precisely like that. Nevertheless, I consider myself a part of the Japanese culture (in a somewhat misguided and pedestrian sort of way), but Korea has also entered my heart. Sigh...good ol' Asia.
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Not all ninja codes are brewed equally. Here at Shinobi, we use the choicest Bavarian hops that are ripened to perfection. One sip and we will have you saying...nothing.

[TruePerception]

I don't really care for the culture, but I definately love some of the products that come from japan. Most obviously: Suikoden!
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Daily Funny Award for May 1st, 2008