Super-city

I am beginning to see how one could become enamored of living in Tokyo. There are so many little conveniences here that I find myself getting used to that I didn't have in the States, and as much as I complain about this place, I can already tell that when these conveniences are no longer available to me, I will miss them. Like serviced apartments (never having to wash towels or change sheets or do dishes or sweep or mop or clean!). Toilets that do all of the following: lift the lid on its own when it senses you are next to it, heats the seat so you never have to sit down on a cold toilet, self- flushes when you get up, washes your butt, closes the lid on its own, has separate flushes for pee v. poo to save water, has a button to lift or close the toilet seat so you don't have to touch it. Convenience stores on every block with lots of yummy Japanese snacks, bentos, onigiri, and drinks. Restaurants, bars, grocery stores and even bookstores that are open until 4 in the morning. So many restaurants that you could not possibly ever try them all. Something to do at all hours of the day or night. Luggage delivery service (so you don't ever have to lug your luggage anywhere, not even home from the airport! They pick it up, then deliver to your door by the next day). Delivery men who are always on time. Businesses that open and close exactly when they say they will. Transportation that is always on time and readily available.

Living here is so convenient. I assume living as an ex-pat in any of the big cities in Asia would be similar (if a little less orderly). HK, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore...I think you could have a similar, if not better, quality of life in any of those cities.

***

After almost a month, I'm finally coming to terms with this city. And that process meant not only accepting some of its terms, but also imposing some of my terms. So I've accepted the whole "stand to the left" thing. I've accepted the 82 degree temperature in the office. I've accepted that people will say sumimasen like 10 times each encounter you have with them. By and large, I am trying to respect the customs and mores here. But at the end of the day, I am not Japanese, so I don't think I need to try to BE Japanese, just be respectful of them. So there are some rules I decided don't apply to me, as a foreigner. Like pantyhose. I will not wear pantyhose [because it is oppressive, especially in this weather]. I will not bow 1000 X a day, although I am definitely infinitely more polite here and do say sumimasen. I will not talk in a high-pitched nasally voice (why do all Japanese women talk like this when speaking Japanese?). But most fundamentally - I refuse to adopt their style of saying the "polite" thing all the time. Because to me, it is just really disgenuine and goes against every fiber of my being. People here are always polite to you but my understanding is that they talk a whole lot of shit behind your back. Everyone I know who has lived here for any length of time tells me this - don't take a Japanese person's facade or reaction at face value because they will always act nice and polite and always act like they like you but could be thinking/feeling totally the opposite inside. Eww, why? If you don't like something, why not just express that you don't like it so you don't confuse anyone with your actions which don't match your feelings? How exasperating. Anyway, so I went off on a tangential rant there, but point is, I refuse to conform to the social custom of always being polite.